Clifton Falls (3 page)

Half an hour went by before he crept upstairs to see his wife. Upon entering the bedroom and noticing Karen still asleep, he leaned over the bed, kissed her on the forehead, sneaked back down, grabbed his lunchbox and left the house to start another day of work. He had a large smile on his face on this particular morning.

Blake never drove to work if the day appeared to be a pleasant one and today the sun shone. Walking the mile or so from his home to the factory was good exercise and made him feel great for the shift ahead. Today, Blake felt like he could walk a thousand miles and still feel great.

Ten staff members waited outside the factory gates as he arrived. “Bloody hell, you lot are eager to get some work done.”
Todd, a tall, dark-skinned, stocky, Asian male made his way to the front of the crowd, speaking as he did so.
“You told us to be here early, so here we are,” he said, with a deep huskiness in his tone.
“Did I give you a time?”
“No,” Todd replied quickly.
“So, what time did you arrive this morning?”
“Four o’clock.”
“You’re joking. We never come into work that early. When I said come in early, I meant about seven.”
Blake felt slightly embarrassed that his workers had waited for nearly three hours, but the staff members produced tiny smirks. “Yeah, I’m joking. We’ve only been here about ten minutes.”
Fingers pointed at the boss. Comical giggles indicated that the others had played a joke on him for once.
It was a bit early for messing around, but whatever rocked their boats was okay as long as the job was completed today
, Blake thought.
“It’s about time someone got one over on you. We did get you, didn’t we boss?” Todd said childishly.
Blake wasn’t expecting this, but had to admit to being caught out by his foreman. “All right, you got me. Now are we going to do some work today or what?”
“Yes boss,” Todd replied on behalf of the others.
“Okay, in we go to start another great day.”
Blake unlocked the main gate and everyone moved down to the factory to be let in. The staff members positioned themselves into groups. They all knew what was expected of them and Blake had no need to interfere with their daily routines; that task was down to Todd.
Thirty minutes slipped by before the sound of a farm truck was heard in the distance. With the engine generating extreme noises, which gradually increased as the seconds ticked by, the big machine headed toward the factory gates. Blake saw the vehicle from his office window, opened it, and shouted down to the waiting staff.
“We should be receiving fifty fertilizer sacks, so you’re going to need a couple of wooden pallets.”
The window shut and he returned to his desk. He needed to wake Karen because he’d forgotten to reset the alarm clock, so a quick phone call was required. A faint murmuring noise was heard on the other end of the line.
“Hey, baby, are you awake? It’s gone half seven and the clock is ticking as we speak. The sun’s shining and it’s going to be a wonderful day.”
“Why didn’t the clock go off?” said Karen, sighing sleepily. “You didn’t forget to reset it again, did you?”
“I’m sorry, but at least I remembered to call.”
“Why’d you sound like you’re in a good mood this morning? Did you have a good night last night?”
“No,” Blake answered seriously.
He tried so hard to sound disappointed, hoping not to let on that he was overjoyed when she seduced him. He couldn’t keep up the pretence and so said things his wife did want to hear. “It was a great night. The things you can do with your tongue are unbelievable.”
Karen became alert at once. “Mine. What about yours? I’m surprised you’re able to speak today after what your tongue did.”
Blake grinned, but then noticed that the delivery truck had come to a standstill in the yard. “Sorry, love. I’ve got to go. We’ll finish this conversation later. The delivery’s just arrived. Love you, bye.”
He was a bugger for talking rude on the phone then disconnecting when it got exciting, but on this occasion Karen was willing to forgive him. “Okay. I’ll see you tonight. Love you back.”
The driver stood by the side of the truck, smoking a cigarette as staff unloaded the fertilizer. Blake went outside, wandering over to speak to him. “All right, mate. Do you know if this stuff’s really as good as they say it is?”
The scruffy, stubble-faced driver left the cigarette butt in the corner of his lips while turning his head in Blake’s direction. “Yeah man, I’ve heard it does what it says on the packet. They’ve been testing this stuff for months in this giant greenhouse in the city, but I don’t know where. I think you’re the first customer to try it out.” A sadistic grin escaped the driver’s features as the cigarette flipped from side to side. “You’re going to be a fucking guinea-pig.”
“Really, so I’m highly honoured then?”
“Too right you are, pal.”
The unloading was over. Todd double-checked the amount, exactly fifty sacks. Blake signed the delivery note, peeled off a copy for office use, and handed the original back to the driver. The man returned to the lorry, slamming the door shut as he sat down, then a hand emerged to indicate he was ready to leave. Blake
acknowledged the wave as the driver began his departure out of the yard.
“I want this stuff on the fields before the end of day. Come on, chop, chop,” Blake said, waving a hand toward the sacks.
Bodies flowed from all angles to manoeuvre the fertilizer to its destination. There was no way all the bags would be used at this stage of proceedings so half were placed in storage for a later date.
Now the work would begin to destroy the insects. Once this had been achieved, Blake could ensure the success of the fields of wheat, corn and barley, as they were the priority crops, gaining the most profit. His plan for the future was to grow a vast array of vegetables and expand the factory in order to produce livestock for other sources of income, but today was the beginning of putting his plan into action.

FOUR

Karen had been employed at the National Bank for the past two years. She’d witnessed the violent robbery. Although everyone had moved on from the awful incident, and the workplace had gone back to normal, her mind still spurted out past memories. She knew it could happen again. Even though the bank had put up new security cameras and sensors, it wasn’t enough to stop her from worrying about her own safety.

Karen also had a work-related problem to deal with and that came in the shape of her boss. He was such a pleasant man before the robbery but now was a bit of a sex freak. If anyone complained, he would always blame it on the knock on the head that he’d received at Christmas. He would use sexual gestures in an attempt to persuade Karen to go out for a drink with him. She hated the way he behaved, but for now had the situation under control.

Vincent was an overweight, pompous fool, who was in his late fifties, so just thinking about having intercourse with him made Karen want to vomit.

He walked by, shouting out to Karen as she tidied her desk. “Karen, could I see you in my office for a minute. I’ve got important information to discuss with you.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.”

The troubled walk to face the manager began and soon she was tapping on his office door.
“Come in,” he shouted.
“Grunting old fool,” Karen muttered, as she entered.
“Please, sit down,” said Vincent, so she pulled back a chair. “There’s something I need to ask you?”
Her heart beat faster. She was alone in the room with him and he seemed gentle, polite. This worried her.
He’s after something again, but he’s not going to get anything resembling sexual activities so why bother asking
, she thought.
Vincent carried on with his speech. “I’ve just heard there’s a new kind of fertilizer being delivered to your husband’s works.”
This information totally stunned the bank-clerk. Her heartbeat slowed down again. Vincent had said nothing to indicate sex, so now a tiny thought of disgust entered her mind. She disliked her boss for thinking of rude things to offer her but changing the subject and talking about fertilizer lowered her self-esteem. An opportunity to use the usual flattering charms and he’d chosen this conversation instead.
Maybe
, she thought,
he’s thinking of harassing another female colleague instead of me. I suppose I should be grateful.
Karen snapped out of her weird daydream and responded to Vincent’s question. “Yes, I know of it. He received the delivery this morning. Why are you so interested in the stuff?”
“I have a small garden on my property at home. I want to grow vegetables but those pesky bugs keep spoiling my chances of this. I’ve heard the fertilizer kills them.” He aimed a sneaky smile at Karen. “Could you have a word with Blake, see if he can be so kind as to spare me a bag. I’ll pay whatever it cost.” Karen remained stunned by the conversation. “Could you do this for me please my dear, and tell me what the outcome is? Thank you, that’ll be all. You can go now.”
Karen hadn’t been able to get a word in during Vincent’s speech. “I’ll ask him, but I don’t know if he’ll have any spare to sell you. I’ll let you know.”
Inwardly she was fuming.
Who does he think he is? Demanding I ask my husband to save him a bag of fertilizer. The man’s got a cheek
. She thought about saying those words to the fat boss, but they were safer inside her head.
She rose from the chair and moved toward the door.
“Don’t forget to mention the bit about me paying. I’m sure you could do with some extra pennies,” Vincent shouted out.

What was he going on about this time, extra pennies? Was he trying to say that we were poor and needed his cash? Fuck him, the pig
. Karen did a great job in keeping these bad thoughts locked up, but couldn’t believe that he’d not tried to be obscene in a sexual nature. However, he did make up for it by taking the piss out of her.

Once seated at her desk again she did what was asked. “Hey, sex machine. Have you missed me?” she said, as the phone was answered on the other end.

“This is a surprise at ten o’clock in the morning. Anything wrong, love?”
“No, no. Everything’s okay. Did you get the delivery sorted?”
“Brilliant. Exactly the fifty sacks they said we were going to get. Now we’ve some spare for later on in the season.”
Karen paused, wondering if she should tell Blake that Vincent was an utter twat. Her mind now stored a large capacity of abusive language and it would be a worrying sight for the poor person who finally ended up receiving the immense amount of words. One day they’ll all spill out, as she cannot store them in her head forever.
“So, you have some left then.” The words raced out.
“Yes. Why? Would you like some?” Blake asked.
“Funny,” she smirked. “I was wondering if you could spare a bag for Vincent. He wants to try the stuff out on his garden. I think he’s trying to grow the world’s largest marrow or something like that.”
Blake was normally a stickler for abiding by the rules, but surely one bag won’t be missed. “Is he going to pay for it?”
“Oh yeah, he said he would pay whatever it cost to get his hands on the stuff, and I mean whatever it cost. He’s that desperate for it.”
“Okay. You tell him to get in touch with me and I’ll see if we can come to some kind of arrangement.”
“Will do... I’ll speak to you later.” Karen paused for a second. “Oh, what do you want for dinner? I mean, you must be starving after missing out on real food last night. We could eat out?”
A pleasurable smile danced on Blake’s lips now.
“Last night was worth it though, but eating out sounds like a good idea. Let’s just say we’re celebrating a new beginning in crop rotation.”
“Sounds good to me... I’ll see you later. Bye.”
Karen put down the receiver, telling Vincent what her husband had said. He wasted no time in calling Blake.
“Hello, Blake. It’s Vincent Smythe here. Your wife has informed me that you may be able to help me acquire one of your fertilizer bags?”
“Yes something like that. It’ll cost you one hundred pounds and you’ve to let Karen go home early this afternoon. If you can manage that then the bag is yours.”
“You don’t want much.” A silent moment slipped by. “Okay, it’s a deal. Will you deliver the product to me?”
“If you want it then you’ll have to pick it up. Make it around twelve.” Blake stood his ground.
There was no arguing from the older man. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”
Everything went to plan at the factory as Blake neared completion of the morning’s paperwork. He took a sip from his caffeine drink and gazed out of the window. He stared at his employees then casually strolled toward the main entrance of the building. Once outside inhaled a deep intake of breath, allowing his lungs a taste of fresh air.
Blake decided to become more involved in what the staff members were doing, so walked over to Todd.
“How’s it coming along? Do you think we’ll have it completed by the end of the day?”
“Don’t panic boss. Have I ever let you down?”
“Good point. If this stuff is as good as they say it is then this company’s going to have an excellent year.”
Blake produced a slender grin until it mapped across his face. The company meant a lot to him and for it to achieve something big was a huge boost, quenching the rumours of a possible closure.
“This stuff they put in the fertilizer, do you know what it is?”
“Todd, as long as it does what it’s supposed to do then I don’t really care what it is.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” The foreman shuffled his gaze over to the busy workers. “We should be on schedule to complete the job by about four o’clock.”
“Good, hopefully I won’t be here then as I’m taking Karen out for a meal. Can you use the spare set of keys to lock up?”
“No problem. What’s the big occasion for you to have time off?” asked Todd, knowing Blake must have a good explanation, as he wouldn’t normally want to miss out on supervising an important job.
“There isn’t one. My wife needs pampering sometimes and today happens to be one of those times.”
“Right, so if I don’t see you before you go then have a nice time and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Todd was the one who seemed happy now. Not only was he in charge when Blake went home, but would be credited on his achievements when the fertilizer did its job on the fields.
“Thanks Todd, I will.” Blake turned away, but spoke again before finally making the walk back to his office. “Oh, before I go, if you ever need a favour, just ask.”
“Cheers boss.”
Blake remained at his desk as the time reached 11.30am. He hated being stuck for something to do, but knew his office was the right place to be in just in case Vincent popped in to close the deal.
After another dozen or more checks on the time the clock handles finally faced upwards, and sure enough, dead on the stroke of twelve, his phone rang. He was told that a gentleman was waiting to see him. Blake didn’t want anybody finding out what he was up to as the fertilizer wasn’t his to sell to the public, so the fewer people who knew about it the better. A quick race was on to reach the banker before he gave the game away.
Vincent had occupied himself with a couple of female staff by the time Blake entered the reception area. Blake moved swiftly, hooking an arm between one of the other man’s and pulling him away to have a quiet chat.
“You haven’t told anyone why you’re here, have you?”
“What do you take me for? I know you shouldn’t be selling me this stuff. I’m not going to get you into trouble now, am I?” There was a scrunched up scrooge-like appearance on the older man’s face. “You did say seventy-five pounds, didn’t you?”
He gave Blake a look to imply that he had him over a barrel and there was no way he was going to get the full one-hundred out of him. Blake bit his tongue, accepting the offer before it went down even more.
“Okay. You win, but my wife still gets out early. Is that a deal?
“Deal... I’ll let her go at three. I’ll get cover for her.”
Vincent became impatient, needing to see the stuff now. “Well my friend it’s good doing business with you but where is it?”
“Keep your voice down. Where’s your car parked?”
“It’s just outside,” the hurried reply came.
“Good. You drive up to the factory gates and I’ll fetch you your bag.”
Both men left the building, separating as they reached the outside. Blake opened the gates, walked into the storage barn, making sure the coast was clear before removing one of the sacks from the pile. He lifted it up onto his shoulder, moved away from the area and waited for Vincent to pull up. As soon as the car stopped, he raised the boot, placed the bundle inside and shut it down while glancing around to see if anyone was watching. It was all clear. He walked up to the driver’s side window and the fat banker slapped the cash into his hand. “Thanks a lot. I’ll make sure Karen gets out early. Anyway, I’ve got some gardening to attend to.” Blake raised a hand, producing a fake wave as the bank manager drove away.