ONE PRICK

‘Can you hang on a minute?’ said Four when i got out the lift and he saw me from where he stood against the open door of the ground floor atrium.
‘What’s up?’
He waved his walking stick towards the bottom of the stairwell, ‘There’s someone there,’ he said, ‘and I’m going to ask them to leave.’
He went into the stairwell and I heard him say something to the man who sat, probably, on the second step. As he did so another man came down from above carrying a bundle of Big Issues.
I waited, watching, wondering what else I might do. But there was nothing. So I stood back as the three of them, the two unknowns followed by Four, came out the atrium door.
‘Go on,’ said Four. ‘Fuck off.’
We watched them go and when they had Four turned to me and said, ‘How do they get in here?’
‘Someone must let them in,’ I said.
‘Coming in here doing their drugs,’ he said.
‘I wouldn’t mind so much if they didn’t leave such a mess behind.’
‘When Alan the caretaker was here he’d come down the stairs and pick up all the syringes, end up with a bag full.’
‘What with the kids, around,’ I said.
‘Exactly, all those dirty needles,’ said Four. ‘It only takes one prick.’