The Extra Read Free

along.”
    “Can’t a man stand on the sidewalk?” Warren replied with spite in his voice.
    “Not with your fingers through the fence.”
    Warren glared at the guard before he let go.  He picked up his sax and headed back in the direction he had come.  When he got to the intersection he turned right and followed a cement wall down an alley.  Who were they to be so rude?  Since when was it a crime to stand on a public sidewalk? 
    Warren searched the alley for a safe place to stash his saxophone.  At the base of an old apartment building he found a small square door, two-feet high.  He swung it open to reveal a dark crawlspace with cables, pipes and wires running the length of the building.  It would be safe here for a while.  He looked both ways up and down the alley to make sure nobody was looking before he tucked his sax inside and closed the door.
    On the other side of the alley, the cement wall separated these apartment blocks from the complex of buildings he’d seen through the fence.  It was the only thing between Warren and all of that glorious food.  At eight-feet high, the wall was roughly two feet taller than he was.  Warren found an empty plastic trash bin and turned it upside down beside the wall.  When he climbed up, the bin strained to support his weight, but from this perch he peered over the top of the wall.  On the other side was the back of one of the long tall buildings he had seen before.  From this angle there was nobody in sight.
    Warren made certain that he wasn’t being watched before he climbed onto the wall and then dropped over the other side, landing first on his feet but then falling to the ground with a thud.  “Ow!  Damn!” he exclaimed and then hopped up to dust himself off, examining his body parts for anything sprained or broken.  He seemed to be in one piece.  He picked his fedora up off the ground and put it back on his head before he looked around to see if he had been spotted.  He still saw nobody.  His heart sang at the excitement of it all.  He’d show that guard!  Like a spy on a secret mission, Warren ducked around the nearest building, where he found a small crowd of workers on the other side.  They hurried back and forth, carrying sand bags, lights, cables and cameras.  They were all too busy to give Warren a second look.  He moved along amongst them until he spotted the food table and then stopped in an effort to blend in and survey the scene.  He ducked behind a white van and watched as two caterers unloaded ice chests full of drinks. 
    When the caterers were finished they hopped in the van and started the engine.  Warren froze in a panic, not sure where to go or what to do, but when the van pulled away he found himself standing alone faced with all of that food.  He hurried to the table to survey his spoils, hardly knowing where to begin.  He chuckled out loud before lifting a piece of chocolate cake to his lips.  The dark frosting melted on his tongue.  Next he grabbed a chicken leg and quickly gnawed it to the bone.  He stuck a second leg in his pocket and then grabbed at a bunch of grapes and shoved them in his mouth, sending juice streaming down his chin as he laughed in delight.  He was reaching for a beautiful slice of apple pie when he heard a furious shout from somewhere behind him.
    “Hey, get the hell away from there!!!”
    Warren turned around to see the angry, red-faced security guard rushing his way.  Warren ducked under the table to avoid the guard and came up on the other side, still searching for something good to eat.  He grabbed a few round pieces of melon and popped them in his mouth before the guard scurried around the table, arms flailing.  Warren quickly ducked under and then hopped back up, face to face across the table from the guard.  When the guard moved one way, Warren moved the other.
    “You’ve had your fun.  The game’s over!” said the panting guard.  “Give it up and come with me!”
    “I’m