Andais arrived at SynTech Distributions shortly before eight. Stopping her car outside a large building that looked like a four story warehouse, she exited her car, sighing in frustration. The matronly mink started for the door, pressing the button on her key fob to activate her car’s alarm, and dropped it into her purse. Pulling out a thick card with black and gray geometric shapes on one side with the name of the company in red scrawled across one side, and white on the other, she waved it in front of the reader, only to see the red light turn green, and the door unlock.
Opening the door, she walked into a small security station. “Good morning, Marv.” she greeted the overweight, and aging reptile cordially. “How are Louise and the kids?”
“They’re doing fine, Mrs. Thomas,” the reptile rasped as he checked her purse in, “Edward’s about to get his Master’s Degree in Dentistry, and Bethany just got her Chief Warrant Officer three in the Marine Corps.”
Giving the kind lizard a smile, she nodded. “That’s wonderful! How about Louise?”
“She’s… doing better. I need to have a live in nurse, but with the medical care the company provides, thankfully I don’t have to pay it out of pocket.”
“I’m only happy I can help,” Andais remarked as she walked through the metal detector, “but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to make it known to Employment Resources.”
Marv nodded, “Thank you again, Mrs. Thomas. I will.”
Picking up her purse from the opposite side, she smiled at the kindly old reptile. ‘What a sweet old man.’ Andais thought silently as she turned to head for the main hallway. In the foyer lay the security station, with a room off to the side where men and women monitored everything that went on in the plant, a receptionist desk with two people present at all times, the hallway that headed deeper into the plant, a pair of restrooms, a sizeable conference room where the workers had their meetings, and a break room complete with a refrigerator, snack machines, microwave, oven, sink, tables, counters, drawers and cabinets.
Once she passed the receptionist in the lobby, greeting each of them with a wave, Andais headed straight for the hallway that would take her deeper into the plant. Her hips moved ever so slightly as she entered the hallway that would take her to the elevator going up to her office. “Good morning, Mrs. Thomas.” one of the nightshift crew called out, waving at the comely woman.
“Good morning, Gordon.” she remarked cordially. “I trust everything went well last night?”
The older badger nodded with a smile, “Fifty full units packed up, and ready for shipping.” he answered as he handed over the clipboard for her perusal, a broad smile on his face. It was noticeable how much the male puffed out his chest whenever she was around, pulling in his abdomen ever so slightly.
Receiving the clipboard, she looked at the numbers, her eyes roaming over the collection of items that they were about to ship. “Hmm…” was all she said as she did the calculations in her head, “That sounds good, but has machine seven been acting up again?”
“Nope. She’s been purring like a kitten.” Gordon bragged.
“Okay, then see if you can’t get production up to seventy-five tomorrow night.” she suggested, handing the clipboard back.
“... but… but we worked our asses off just to get this much done.” he started to gripe, looking directly at her. “Everyone was so exhausted by the end of the night that we had…”
“Gordon,” she warned, narrowing those crystalline eyes at him, “I check the video and audio surveillance each morning, and gauge everyone’s working habits for their quarterly reviews. For the past two months, I have seen how everyone on the night shift “works” and I plan on putting a stop to it come next month. Understood?” she then narrowed her eyes at him, “I want seventy-five units tomorrow night, or I want your resignation on my desk in the morning.”
The supervisor just stood there, stunned as she walked past, greeting and saying hello to several members of the morning crew that had already arrived ready for work. Holding the clipboard in his hand, he gripped it in his fists, and pushed inward, making the plastic shatter, and the metal bend. ‘Fucking bitch!’ he thought silently, ‘Okay, fine! You want to be a hard-ass, let’s see how you like what I do next!’ Turning around, he stormed into the break room, getting ready to log out for the day.
A massive space sat beyond the entrance of the hallway that Andais gazed at longingly, as she stood beside the elevator, waiting for the car. The majority of the space was taken up by massive molding machines, plastic injectors, metal wiring, and whole rooms dedicated to painting or assembly. Multiple level conveyors crossed the area with stairs that went down ten feet to the floor below. Stairs with railings went up to catwalks that spanned the conveyor belts, allowing the workers to check the equipment going up or down.
Equipment filled three-quarters of the space, offering ample room for everyone to walk and work. When the elevator dinged, Andais stepped in and pressed the fourth floor button. The Formica and steel car shuddering only slightly as it ascended the shaft. Stopping on the fourth floor, the doors opened to a spacious office done in oak, with beige wall-to-wall carpet. Double oaken doors led to the mink’s office, while a couch curved around on her right so that people could sit and wait for their interviews.
A young, and slightly pudgy, chipmunk in a white blouse, and gray skirt stood up from behind the only desk in the room. Walking over to a counter where a coffee pot had just finished brewing, she poured a liberal amount of coffee into the vessel, leaving only an inch and a half from the rim. “Good morning, Mrs. Thomas.” the receptionist announced without preamble.
“Oh thank you, Jen…” Andais started to say before noting the female, “Persephone?!”
“Yes, Mrs. Thomas?” the chipmunk asked.
“What are you doing here?” Andais asked looking at her secretary. “Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?”
“Mrs. Thomas. I’m alright.” Persephone remarked with a smile, “I just wanted to get back to work.”
“Nonsense! You head back to the house right now!” Andais ordered, “You just had a baby a week ago, sweetie. Right now you should be back at home, recuperating, and taking care of her.”
Persephone shook her head, “Jennifer called, and told me that she came down with the flu or something, so I went ahead and filled in for her.”
“... but… the baby…”
“Reggie is staying at home with her,” the chipmunk said softly, “little Rachel is in good hands.”
Looking at her secretary, she narrowed her eyes at the new mother. “You swear you’re going to be alright?” she asked.
“Yes, you consummate worry-wart. I’ll be fine.” Persephone answered, handing her boss the cup of coffee. The young mother then picked up a trio of slim, brown leather folders, and a fourth one that was in a regular file folder. Both women started for the double doors that led into Andais’s office.
“I just… if you feel even the slightest bit tired, or have any pains, I want you to go home and rest up. No excuses, and no backtalk. Understood?” Andais asked.
Giving the mink a sigh as she turned her key in the lock, the pair of women walked into the room, causing the lights to come on immediately. Across the distance her oak desk sat in front of a bank of windows that overlooked the wharf and the river. “Yes, mom.” Persephone teased, “Oh, I already have your nightly report, contracts for TanMedia, TriComm, and DripTech, along with a request for additional security from TechTronics. Apparently they had a break-in, and although the crooks were caught, the little punks managed to smash a camera.”
Andais sat down behind her desk, rubbing her forehead. “Did the brain children at Tech-Tronics at least give the serial number for the camera, or did they also want to upgrade?” Andais asked. “If they just want a replacement, then the order should’ve just gone to Shipping.”
Persephone looked at the folder, and opened it up to look at the work order, “Apparently they want to upgrade their system, replacing all the cameras, and add the microphone system.”
“Isn’t that the suggestion that I gave them before, when I pitched the idea?” Andais asked her secretary, holding out her hand.
“All of the information is right here.” the secretary announced handing over the folder.
Leaning back she looked at the work order, her eyes narrowing. “Okay, so they want to pay the same amount for a system that costs $15,000 more to install and keep running. Not to mention paying for the servers to monitor everything 24 hours a day.” Andais shook her head, “Get them on the phone, and I’ll see if I can’t make them listen to reason.”
The younger woman gave a wan smile. “Good luck.”
Sighing, she nodded “I’ll need it, but while you’re getting them on the phone, I can get started on these.” Andais said as she held out her hand for the contracts. For a brief moment, she paused as she felt the leather in her palms, “Oh, and while I read through them, can I have you do a little bit of research for me?”
Persephone looked at the mink, her head cocking to the side a little. “Of course, boss. What do you need?” she asked.
“I need as much information on a young woman as you can find. She goes by the name of Chani. Feline. Purple on her ear, tail, and the right side of her face.” Andais commented, her eyes narrowing, “I want to know everything about this young woman. Family. Friends. Every little detail about her past.”
Scrawling the information down on a notepad she’d brought with her, the chipmunk nodded, “Okay. Is this an official investigation? Has she done something wrong?”
“No. Unofficial.” Andais commented, looking at the three contracts, “I want this off the books. Tell the police to consider it a personal favor.”
“Okay, Mrs. Thomas.” she commented, “On a more personal note… you look a little wore down. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather take some time off?”
“Unfortunately, no amount of time off will fix what’s wrong with me, Persephone, but thank you for the concern.” With that, she dismissed the young mother. Andais managed a small smile as she sat there watching last night’s security footage, and reading the automated transcript. Hearing the phone beside her beep, the matronly mink picked up the receiver. “Yes?” she asked.
“I have Mr. Edwards of TechTronics on the line.”
“Put him through, Persephone.” Andais said with a smile. When the line clicked over, she started with “Mr. Edwards, a pleasure as always.” She then held up the work order, “I have an order for one of our more advanced systems, and an upgrade in security.”
“That’s correct.” the man on the other end of the line stated.
Smiling, she leaned back a little, “What I have also noticed is the quoted price for these expenditures, and I wonder if you’re aware that this particular upgrade would cost us a lot…”
“Listen here, little lady!” the man barked in her ear, causing the mink to grip the phone in her hand, “My place was just broken into last night…”
“Which our security stopped the culprits before they were able to get away with anything less than a little property damage, and one of our destroyed cameras.” Andais interrupted.
“Our five year contract was for $45K a year, nothing more! I’m not going to spend another $15K just because you want to charge me more.”
“Then you don’t get the upgrade…”
“I need the upgrade in security!”
“Fine, then pay for the upgrade, and you will get the upgrade. It’s a simple concept.” Andais commented, “You pay for goods and services.”
“My contract is for $45,000, and I’m not paying a penny more…!” he started to yell, at which point she set the phone down and listened to him rant from a distance.
Picking up the phone as he started to wind down, she picked up the phone again, and sat there letting his vitriol wash over her like water over a stone in a river. When he took a breath, she responded in a calm tone of voice, “Very well, Mr. Edwards, if you believe that the customer is always right, then I will honor our contract until… Oh, look, your contract is up for a renewal review this month for another five years.” Leaning back, she smiled as she looked over the date, “In fact, this is only another five days away. Well, I can already tell you that when this particular contract has ran its course, we will not be renewing, and we will be recovering all equipment that we leased to you for the duration of the contract.
Over the course of several seconds, silence permeated the phone call before the male came back with a soft, “Wait. What?”
“SynTech will continue to keep your security up to date, but this Saturday, I hope you have another security firm taking care of your systems, because we will be moving everything of ours out of your company.”
“No! Wait! You can’t do that!” he started to shout into the phone, “I… I still need the security for my company!”
“Terribly sorry, but I will pass on to any security company that you go with exactly the conduct of your business, and the employees with our own.” Andais gave a cordial smile as she continued, talking over his sputtering, “Thank you for using, SynTech, and goodbye.”
Rubbing her temples, the matronly mink sighed as the door opened, “More coffee?” Persephone asked.
“No… if I have any more, I’ll be bouncing off the walls.” Andais remarked. “I seriously didn’t need that this morning, but… oh well.” Looking at the chipmunk, she gave the woman a wan smile, “How’s that search coming?”
“Pretty good.” Persephone answered, “I have it about halfway done, and I’ve printed out the first pieces of information if you want to look them over.”
“Sure.” Andais commented. “What’s taking so long, anyway?”
“The computer is compiling her criminal record.” Persephone answered.
“Okay.” Andais nodded, “Wait! What?!”
“Um… the girl has a criminal record.” Persephone repeated slowly, trying to see what reaction Andais might have, but the woman just sat there, stunned.
‘H-How is that even freaking possible?!’ she thought silently, ‘What could a young girl like her have done as far as…’ Blinking, she thought back to what Martin said about being at the police station, ‘C-Could they have been partners of hers in some criminal organization, and she just left them out to dry? Or could she be innocent of the charges? If so, then… why would the computer need to compile a list of her crimes?’
“Andais?” she heard from beside her.
Looking over, she blinked at Persephone a couple of times. “Oh, I… I’m sorry I must have zoned out there for a few minutes.” she said softly, before noticing a collection of paperwork, “Is that what you have so far?”
“Yes, but I… I read some of it, and…”
Reaching up, she held out her hand for the paperwork, “It’s alright, Persephone. I’m sure that there’s nothing too terrible there.” When the new mother handed her the paperwork, she gave the chipmunk a small smile before glancing down at the top page. “Hmm, birth certificate. Chani Eloise Sawyer.” Andais commented to herself, “Sawyer? Do I know a Sawyer?” she then shook her head as she flipped the page over to see school transcripts for kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. “Not bad grades wise, so she’s smart at least.”
The third piece of paper stopped her in her tracks, especially when the words “Police Report” were in bold print at the top of the page. Reading the entire page, her blood turned to ice as she read the names, and what happened. Bringing up her hand, she wrapped it around her muzzle with a soft “Oh my god!” as tears welled up in her eyes. Within seconds they streaked down her face, as she shakily flipped the page over to read the next police report.
Several minutes later, Persephone arrived at her desk with a file folder and about two dozen more pages. “That… That poor little girl…” the chipmunk mumbled. “I… I read the police report, and… I just…”
“Take the rest of the day off.” Andais said softly, looking at her. “Go home. Be with your baby and your husband. I can handle everything here.”
“But… I…” Persephone commented.
“You’re still on paid maternity leave as far as I’m concerned, and you should be at home with your baby, sweetheart.” Andais told her. “Just… go home. I’ll manage without you.”
Persephone nodded as she headed out to the desk, and transferred her line to Andais’s phone. Once she had her purse in hand, the chipmunk shut down her computer, and headed out of the office for her car.
“I need something to take my mind off of what I just read…” she sighed as she picked up one of the leather bound folders. Within a few seconds, she started reading the title of the first contract. “TanMedia…” she murmured to herself, while her mind went back to what she had read about Chani.
