Tales of the Melandren Corporation - Chapter Five (Patreon)

“Nadia Kischek?”

Nadia sighed, exhaling smoke from her cigarette into the cool air.  She knew it was only a matter of time.

“Who’s asking?”

The man leaned on the railing next to her and pulled out his own pack of cigarettes.  

“Michael Anderson.” 

She looked over at him.   He was a slightly overweight man with bad posture.  It indicated a sedentary job, probably monitor duty if she had to guess.  She had expected one of the brute squad to come get her.  

She sighed again.

As he brought the cigarette to his lips, she held up her lighter.  She expected him to take it from her, and was surprised as he leaned forward and let her light his cigarette for him.  It was a surprisingly progressive gesture, especially from the men the company normally hired.

He puffed once or twice and then took the long first drag.  

She joined him and they blew out smoke into the cold air together.

“They want a report.”

She nodded and took another drag.

“No doubt.”  She watched the smoke curl into wisps around her, like tendrils of a creature.

He chuckled and then silence.  Silence that drifted on and on.  

Nadia liked silence.  She liked the comfort of not having to generate banal small talk.  There were very few people in this company that could stand to tolerate silence, much less seem comfortable in it.  Yet the man next to her seemed unfazed.

They finished their cigarettes, burning them down to the filters.  She crushed hers in the ashtray, before turning to look at the man again.  He was holding the butt of his smoke in his fingers, as if examining it without seeing it.

The silence stretched on and she waited.  She would not break it first.

He flicked the butt into the bushes.  

She smiled.  It was a small act of rebellion in a place that tolerated few.

“The way I see it…”

He didn’t look at her, just stared ahead into the cold, brisk morning sun.

“… the asshole was processed.  No permanent harm was done to him.  If protocols were broken they must have been minor.”

She looked at him, trying to puzzle him out. Nothing about what she had done had been a minor infraction.

“Yeah?”

He turned to look at her finally.  

“Yeah.  We all have our bad days.”

She shook her head, leaning on the railing next to him.  She was surprised by the sense of relief she felt.  She had expected them to fire her, or worse, add her to the inventory.  She always knew her temper was a problem.  She owned that.  She just didn’t realize how scared she had been about the consequences of her tantrum until the fear lessened just now.  

“More bad than good nowadays.”

He nodded.  

“Yeah.  I hear that.”

She felt like crying.  She had not cried since she was a little girl.  She would not now.  She was not built that way, but she suddenly felt like she could cry if she wanted.  It was relief.   It was gratitude.  It was just a small act of kindness in a place that did warranted none.  A flower growing out of asphalt.

“Listen…” Michael said.  He didn’t exactly lean closer, but somehow the softness and tone of his words made it feel that way.  “This partner of yours…”

“She had nothing to do with it.  It was all me.  All my fault.”

She had said it too loud comparatively to his volume.  It made her feel like she was defensive. He had not moved or reacted, yet even still, she made herself breathe and try again.  

“It had nothing to do with her.” 

Michael nodded and the silence returned.

“It’s good to own your shit and it’s nice that you look after her.  I have a partner, too.  Good kid.  Works hard and has my back when I need it.”  

The man stood up, arching his back in a stretch.  It cracked and popped audibly. He leaned forward continuing the stretch.  It moved him a little too close to her and she almost pulled away when she heard him whisper.

“…yours does not.  She went right to your supervisor.  Probably hoping to get a promotion or bonus.  Ratted you out and exaggerated the offense at that.”

The man stood, leaning against the railing.  His eyes focused on nothing in front of him. 

Except they weren’t focused on nothing.  They pointed right at the camera above the door.  The one pointed at them.  

She glanced away from it, hoping it wasn’t obvious.

“Got another cigarette?”  

She nodded, pulling out her pack and offering him one.  He took it and she took one as well, turning back to the railing as they did so.  With her back to the camera, she could whisper without being seen.

“So, what happens next then?”

Michael held the cigarette out, asking for the light.  As he cupped his hand around it, he whispered again.  

“Her word against yours and because she exaggerated her story it’s full of holes.  The Sissy is too scared out of his brain to speak coherently right now and anything you did was…out of frame… of the camera.”

She lit his cigarette and they both puffed in silence, backs towards the camera.  She knew that wasn’t true.  She had been dead center in front of the security cam and the audio would have been picked up.  Either he was lying, or he had doctored the footage. 

“Why?”  Her whisper was barely audible in the wind.  

He turned and puffed out a line of smoke, looking her up and down.

“You remind me of my daughter, you know that?”  His voice wasn’t a whisper.  Just a casual conversation.  “She was a good kid.  We’d always fight… man that girl had a temper… got it from her mother.  But she had her head on straight.  Could take care of herself.  She knew who her friends were, and how to deal with those that weren’t, you know?”

She nodded.  

“Welp.  Back to work, I guess.  Reports been filed.  You’ll have a warning in your box.  Don’t let it happen again, ok?”  He crushed his half smoked cigarette in the ashtray.  “Nice meeting you Ms. Kischek.”

“Nice meeting you to Mr. Anderson.”

“It’s Mike to my friends.  Thanks for the cigarette.”

The door shut behind him, and she was once again alone in the morning sun.  The cold would disappear soon as the morning turned to day.  The wind flared the tip of her half smoked cigarette and she watched it snuff out.  She twirled it in her fingers for a moment and then flicked it into the bushes.

Know who your friends are…

She smiled.

…and deal with those that aren’t.  

It was time to go back to work.