Cruz Hernández Alexander was heading to Plaza Oriente del Tesoro, where one of the supermarkets of the Paramount franchise was located. Alexander was born at the beginning of the 21st century in Xogleice*, a relatively small Latin American country compared to other countries, but like other countries in the region, with abundant natural resources.
It is a century in which human rights are universally recognized and the fight for equality puts this concept increasingly within the reach of humanity, however, there are still areas that still suffer great ills that have not been eliminated, mainly for lack of will. Alexander could only finish high school and had to interrupt his studies at a middle-high school in order to get a job and help his precarious family economy. Despite all difficulties; with effort, ingenuity, perseverance and some luck, Alexander has landed quite decent and relatively well-paying jobs.
At this time, despite having limited experience as a security guard, he had landed a night shift security guard position for a staggering 20,000 real xolotl pesos per month for eight-hour shift four days a week, not to mention all the benefits they were going to give him. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse!
Cruz Hernández Alexander observes his schedule once again; Monday to Thursday from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Their duties were to consist mostly of surveillance via video cameras of the facility, repair cameras that break down or report them if attempts to repair them are ineffective, and conducting several random rounds of the facilities. Also, once a week, I was to do fire protection checks and support with inventory workers who enter at 6:30 a.m. In addition, you must open the door to the morning day shift staff, who comes in at 6 a.m., check and open the door to the night shift janitors. The janitors tend to various stores in the plaza and generally leave the supermarket at 3 a.m.
He knew that the plaza had its own security system independent of the supermarket’s security systems. In fact, at first, he tried to get a job as a security guard vacant in the plaza, which offered better benefits and a better salary than the private security guards at the supermarket or other local within the plaza. And although he didn’t get the job he was looking for, he got a job that seemed to be even better than the position he was applying for, obviously if you didn’t take into account that it was a night shift.
Alexander did not accept the job immediately, although he was told in the interview that the job was his if he was willing to start next week. At the time he responded that he was going to think about it and that he would call the next day to confirm if he accepted the job. Alexander was not surprised that the Paramount supermarket had only one security guard on the night shift; in fact, it would have seemed normal if it were completely lacking a night security guard. Surveillance inside the plaza is through video cameras, it had alarms, drones that were used to patrol and have a direct line with local and national police. The plaza also has another surveillance circuit of the external facilities, a couple of night guards assigned to guard the parking lot, and a rather elegant perimeter fence. In addition, Alexander is sure that the owners of the plaza have some kind of deal with the local police, since he knows that at night a patrol passes through the area at least three times a night.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
The plaza’s security is so good that only another business in the plaza has night guards or video surveillance systems active inside at night, or at least that’s what he knows. When Alexander saw the salary and benefits, he thought something must definitely be wrong with the job, something they hadn't put on the job application.
Seeing the history of the Plaza Oriente del Tesoro discovered that the Paramount supermarket was in that place before the plaza was built as such, perhaps that is one of the reasons why the Paramount supermarket is “slightly isolated from the rest of the plaza”. The supermarket has its own parking lot, an independent entrance, and a 15-meter “corridor” that connects the first floor of the supermarket with the rest of the plaza, it has relatively small stores on one side and a view of the trees and the entrance of the supermarket on the other side, separating the exterior with resistant glass. The supermarket has a ground floor and a first floor, with the first floor almost entirely occupied by a cinema from the Cinexo cinema chain. The supermarket in this plaza has three entrances: the entrance on the ground floor and two entrances on the first floor; two escalators and an elevator.
The Paramount supermarket in this plaza has always had a night guard, and his salary had always been equal to or lower than the rest of the supermarket’s security guards; 14,000 real xolotl pesos per month, or less. Even though he asked some friends and tried to find out if anything bad happened at night found nothing, he didn’t know why a night security guard would currently earn more than conventional daytime security guards.
I note the additional benefits of his new job; dining room service, Paramount pantry vouchers, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, employee discounts, indefinite contract option, free uniforms, free additional training. If he worked on vacation, he would be paid double salary for his normal hours and duties. Best of all, your medical and dental insurance could extend to your immediate family!
Alexander reached the entrance to the ground floor of the supermarket, identified himself, was taken to the locker room and introduced to his colleagues on the afternoon shift; they came in at 3 p.m. and they left just at the time the night shift began. His five companions proceeded to leave, because at 11:30 p.m. the last bus in the area was passing and the plaza parking lot will close its last exit at 11:45 p.m. He was also introduced to his work area and he met the janitors. At that moment he realized that these cleaning staff were from the plaza and not exclusively from the supermarket. “Well, I guess that explains why they work in various places in the plaza,” Alexander thought as he watched the janitors in the work.
Alexander had already been explained that the external steel curtains of the mall were closed 15 minutes before his shift with the exception of a door in one of the metal curtains. This metal door is used by his colleagues to leave and he will use it to get in. Alexander was responsible for locking this door, as well as closing the metal curtain in the hallway that connects the shopping center with the rest of the plaza after the cleaning staff left the supermarket. He is also responsible for closing the metal curtains at the two entrances on the first floor of the mall.
That first night, before closing the metal curtain of the hallway that connects the Paramount shopping center with the rest of the plaza, one of the night cleaning staff said goodbye kindly and said a single:
“Don't forget to read the list of rules.”
.
.
.
*Fictional country