Bobby peered nervously into the shadows of the storage unit. "Are you sure that this is alright?" he asked Jerry, not for the first time.

'Look," Jerry told his friend and accomplice. "It's not like we're stealing anything. Hold that light over here. We are just taking a look. If we find any valuables, we mark the box. Then, when the stuff comes up for auction, we will know which boxes to bid on. "

Jerry sealed that box and picked up another. "The owner gave up all rights to this unit when he stopped paying the storage bill. It says right in the contract that the stuff can be sold at auction to recover the rent."

"When's the auction?"

"Old man Anderson ain't scheduled it yet. But when he does, all the stuff in this unit gets moved to the secure room. That's why, when I seen this unit was in arrears, we had to get in and get a look. Before it got moved. Get it?" 

"I guess." Bobby didn't sound too sure of the whole enterprise. He was thinking of his next question when Jerry swore.

"Damn it. Just a bunch of old VHS video tapes." He picked up the tape roll to re-seal the box.

"You should mark that," Bobby told him. "There might be some good movies in there."

Jerry looked up at him, "You gotta VHS player?"

"Well no. But..."

"Then we ain't gonna bid on it. I'm only marking the boxes that have valuable stuff."

"So tell me again why we just don't take the valuable stuff when we find it? Why go through all this auction crap?"

"Cause that would be stealing and I would lose my job here. Plus, if it was stolen, then we'd have to go to a fence and get pennies on the dollar. This way, we win something at auction, it's all legal and above board." 

The next box was heavier. Jerry looked and there were two more just like it. "Hey, this might be something. Bring that light over here."

Jerry slit the top. "There's a black plastic bag in here." The moment he cut into the plastic, a horrible stench filled the room. Jerry's hands continued to slice the bag while his brain worked to interpret what his nose was reporting. His stomach got it first. Gagging, he tried to stop the bile that was rising through his throat. Losing that battle, he turned away to barf. 

Eyes watering, Bobby continued to hold the light on the box. When Jerry let go of the plastic, it fell back, revealing a partially decomposed hand. Bobby dropped the light and stumbled back.

Suddenly, the bay was filled with light as the owner of the facility flipped a wall switch and entered the room.

"Mr. Anderson, thank God," Jerry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Anderson shook has head. "You boys just had to go nosing around." He reached up and tugged the rope, pulling the overhead door down behind him. As it crashed down he said, "Looks like I'm gonna need a couple more boxes."