broken scanner

I dreamt that I was at work, but the office was different. It was an open space with two levels. One level open to the next. I was going to leave with some friends but then came back. I had forgotten something. There was a man there threatening to kill us. I was trying to figure out a way to escape. I somehow was using the scanner not working as an excuse. It was as though it was legitimate for him to let me work on the scanner because it was an important thing to do. More important than his neurosis.