"Alright, a few years ago, I acquired a large amount of money
selling some items I found in the locker I bought at my first auction"

"I'm aware of the process. Continue."

"It was the biggest return anyone's ever seen on their first day.
Although with travelling costs and my lifestyle, I've spent most of it.

It takes buying more units in order to make money in this industry.
I'm as loud as the rest of the crowd but it seems I get outbid
by at least one dollar on every unit I really want.

​The worst person to do this was Gerard,
he had to make sure I didn’t get any lockers.
He became my nemesis ever since that very first auction
because it was his record that I broke.

Even though I loved this place, I hated him,
and it made me almost hate this place.

He didn't care if he spent his entire life’s fortune outbidding me
and sometimes I'd use that to my advantage.
I'd bid on what I thought was garbage
so he ended up getting very expensive but worthless junk.
He didn’t want me to score a locker like the one I was describing earlier.

Back then, I was just another face in the crowd
so it was easy to get a unit and stay below the radar.
Not anymore, everyone knows me.

Gerard has spent tens of thousands trying to win this war.

I woke up on the morning of the incident ready to win at all costs.
Not to do what happened but I nearly drained my account in order to win.

 I was in the mood like I was going to not only upset Gerard,
but score another unit that would change my life forever.
If I only knew I'd get just that.

I was either going to score big today or bid the last of my money.
Either way today was my big last push.

When I showed up to the yard I saw the familiar crowd.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

When the auctioneer started I didn't see Gerard anywhere.

I thought he wasn't going to show until
I heard him behind me rambling about traffic.

He patted his chest pocket with a grin on his face.
I've had enough experience to know that's his money pocket,
even before he pulled out the half folded stack of cash.

It was at least triple what I brought,
and mine was the last of my money, so it felt a little more important.
I couldn't let him win so I was going to bet smart and only on profitable units.

When we got to the first unit it clearly belonged to a school teacher.
It was filled with old desks and chalkboards.
I didn't bid on it and neither did Gerard.

The second belonged to a coach because it was filled with gym equipment.
I tried to bid on it but Gerard bid a thousand over right away.
I let him have it.

The third locker of the day I did want.
It had a bunch of boxes and bags and in this industry,
closed bags and boxes are always good.
There's something about the mysteriousness of their contents.

I tried to bid but Gerard was very persistent in his mission to outbid me.
He was so focused on me he didn't hear a woman behind him bid on it.
It wasn't until Jack, the auctioneer, yelled sold that he realized what happened.

 When we got to the second last unit of the day, I went to look.
Gerard told me he'd spend his entire stack just to make sure I didn't get it.

I knew that bidding on this one was useless but I figured
if he was going to outbid me I might as well make him pay a lot more.

Gerard started with a huge opening bid.
I matched it and we went into a little bidding war back and forth.
Every time I said a number he went just a little higher and vise versa.
When almost all of my money was invested he suddenly
stopped bidding and instead started laughing at me.

I realized he used my own trick against me and I bought a unit that looked like it was full of old blankets and sheets for over six thousand dollars.

I was ticked off but I didn't let it show.
I kept my composure and made him think I really wanted this unit.
 He stood right in my face though, and his voice alone made me irritated.
I had spit all over my face, I was irate.
This is where you probably want to hear about the fight, right?"

"Yes, continue"

"He pushed me so I tackled him.
Nothing really happened because the crowd pulled us off each other.
We normally would've been kicked out but we agreed to keep it civil. 
If we agreed to stay separated we could bid on the last unit.

Once I knew I was allowed to bid on the last unit
I completely drained my account in hopes to win it from him.
I was broke but I was going to win at any cost".

"By any cost? Did you mean you intended for..."

"No, let me continue. He opened the door to the unit
and I could see a lot of things that I really wanted.
There were collectible signs and some fancy equipment.
This was the mother load of units. Or so we thought.

It looked to be worth a fortune.
I almost wished I hadn't bid on the last unit now because Gerard
could tell I wanted it and kept outbidding me.

Finally, Gerard seemed to be out of money so I went all in.
just as the auctioneer was about to close, Gerard bet one dollar more.

I had never hated him more than in that moment.
I vowed once I cleaned out my unit, I was done auctioning forever.

I didn't want to fight him again so I turned away.

Everyone has to go and fill out the paperwork to handle the purchases
before they're allowed to clean out their units. So i did that.

When I arrived at my locker, I opened the door and that's when I heard
the explosions. I was thrown on my stomach.

 When I came to, I saw the smoke and chaos.
 I started staggering through the smoke and the first thing I saw
was someone else holding their arm, or what was left of it...

that's when I knew something serious had just happened.

When I saw Jack,
he said there must've been some kind of security system, was there?"

"Please continue"

I looked over and saw Gerard laying on the ground and I rushed over to him. 
I tried to help but he just wouldn't respond.
It was surreal how I hated him minutes before this and then suddenly,
I felt devastated.

As I looked at the rubble around me that's when I wondered
what would've happened if I had won that unit.
I would be dead.
It's an unsettling thought but one I couldn’t stop thinking about.

 When I arrived at the hospital
I found out he'd passed away almost instantly after the explosion.

My heart sank because I hated the guy,
but I never wanted something like this to happen to him.
He saved my life that day by out bidding me.
I'll never forget him"

"You said you were done auctioning but you were at one last week right?"

"Yes. A few weeks passed and they installed a whole bunch
of security features so I felt safe coming back again.

I bid on the first unit and a man to my right added ten bucks.
I added twenty figuring it would start a bidding war but it didn't.
 I bought a full unit for only $70.
I should be hapy about the cheap units but I wasn't.

I didn't even feel like bidding half the time because it became too boring.
I never knew what Gerard meant to me until he was gone.
Auctioning was never the same again.
I thought I loved bidding on units, and hated him,
but I think I loved competing against Gerard more than winning the units.
I tried to leave halfway through the auction.

When I was approaching the exit, Jack called over to me
and reminded me about the unit I bought the other day.

 Usually I'd have to empty it by the end of the day
but no one was allowed to until it's been cleared by the bomb squad.

I didn't want anything in the locker but I was legally responsible to clean it.
And the fact that I spent six thousand dollars on it, I might as well check it out.

The unit was full of junk and with every piece of garbage
I threw out I felt Gerard taunting me.
Usually that would annoy me but today it actually made it better.
I miss him in a weird way.

Inside the unit, there ended up being junk like shoes and old books.
I knew Gerard would have told me to enjoy my six thousand dollar shoes.

It didn't matter to me because I was alive.
Just as I thought I was finished
there was a blanket in the corner and it had something under it.

Today it's the most important object in my life.
It sits on the wall of my house next to my lucky hat, and a picture of Gerard.
I look at it every day as a reminder of how precious my life is.

It's a painting that showed four squares side by side
with the same two figures standing in all of them.

You couldn't tell whether they were male or female, they were shadows.

In the first square they're standing side by side looking up at a wall
as if they were standing in a hole.

The second square showed one of the shadows holding the
others foot and boosting it up the wall.

The third picture shows the same shadow reaching down
and grabbing the hand of the other to lift it up.

The last picture shows the same figures celebrating on top of the wall.

It displays the caption 'Teamwork makes the Dream Work'.

This hit me pretty hard because a few weeks ago
I was more than happy to get rid of my enemy by any means necessary;
 now I feel as if I've lost a dear friend.

I paid six thousand dollars and only kept that painting.
To me, it was worth every penny.
It reminds me everyday how lucky I am to be alive.
I thank Gerard for the sacrifice he made, whether he wanted to or not,
I'm alive today because of his actions.
I never knew how much he meant to me until he died.
For as long as I live, I'll remember Gerard.
The Storage Warrior".

"Okay, that about wraps this up Mr... What's your name again?"

"I'm David Fretz. I can go now?"

"Not quite yet Mr. Fretz... Guys"
the man signaled two officers that were standing nearby
and they moved closer.

"You're under arrest for the Murder of Gerard Kensington anything you..."

"How did you know?" asked David.

"You're the only one who knew it was multiple explosions
that killed him, now please come with us"

David put his head down low as he got into the back of the police cruiser.