The dream opens with me getting my ass chewed out by someone that thought they were my superior. While she paced back and forth detailing my lack of duty to her, someone of her rank, and someone in her position, I was reading the papers she had left exposed on her desk. Being able to read upside down in the waking serves me just as well here, and I obtain the information I needed without ever asking her a question.
“And have you anything to say?” She turned on her power stiletto heel expecting to see a cowed and crying peon. I didn’t even look at her, but continued reading the papers. My turn.
“Yea, who the fuck authorized you to send the crew for [very important train] home? By contract, that train is only allowed to be stationary for a maximum of 45 minutes for refueling and crew transfer in this yard. Because you sent the crew home, it was here for seven hours, and now the company has a six digit fine to pay and is looking for someone’s ass to hang off the yard tower. Looks like it is going to be you, unless you can give me proof you were following someone else’s order.”
She paled as I finally turned to face her. She recovered quickly, and doubled down on intimidation. “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! I WILL HAVE YOU FIRED IN THE HOUR!”
“I’m someone that is not in your command chain. That’s who. And someone that left the 80’s notion of power suits behind. Next time you decide to jump someone’s throat, make sure you know who your target is. I know you was expecting the driver that took the crew home. You wanted a scapegoat, and what better than the person with dirty hands, right? I already interviewed him. Did you know his radio is recorded? Of course you knew, it was part of the communications briefing you hold every quarter. Then you should also know that he attempted to remind his dispatcher about the [very important train] and he wanted a superior to give their name to the order to take the crew home. Do you know what name that dispatcher gave him?”
I watched fear and anger struggle for domination in her eyes. It was delicious to watch. I now understood the appeal of being an asshole.
“Yours.”
“I DO WHAT I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE THE TRAINS GO AND KEEP MY YARD RUNNING!”
“No. You do what you want to do, and when caught, you throw everyone else under the trains. Your numbers are inflated. Your logbooks are cooked. And your bribes are poisonous.”
She clenched a fist, then forced herself to calm down. “Look. We are both reasonable women. Yes, things had to be… massaged gently… to make sure the targets were reached. But I’m sure that once I show you why…”
I picked up the papers on her desk and handed them to her. “I’ve seen enough.”
“Who the hell are you, anyway?”
I looked at the clock. “Did you know you have been bitching your pretty little heart out for fifty minutes? And then it has been another ten minutes after that? So for an hour, I had full observation and inspection of your office, and your desk, and not once did it cross your mind that you had called for the driver, a man, but the person that walked in is a woman? Who the hell am I? Someone that just had full access to your files, that’s who.”
My phone buzzed a certain pattern in my pocket. The text message that was received was not the imparted information. It was which caller-id would trigger that pattern. “By the way, you might want to take this call. I’ll see myself out.”
“No! I’m not done with you! Who the hell are you! Who is your superior! I’m calling Security! I will not be toyed with!” She reached for her phone just as it started ringing. She funneled her anger into it. “WHAT! I SAID I DID NOT WANT TO BE DISTURBED YOU STUPID BITCH!”
I opened the office door to the sight of three black garbed security officers. They tipped their hats to me as I stood aside to allow them entry. She started shrieking at them to detain me. I continued holding the door open for the person I knew would come in last.
“Your phone etiquette does not follow company guidelines. However, after seeing how you run this yard, that is the least of my concerns with you.” The voice came from two sources, but not in sync. The voice from the speakerphone was lagging just enough behind the body that produced it to give a jarring effect to the ear. The Vice President stepped through with his cell phone to his ear. He was followed quickly by the woman’s secretary.
“They’ve been through everything! I couldn’t stop them! I…”
“Shut up, you shit. You’re fired. Incompetent slut. You couldn’t even fuck right. Interns are useless and I am giving broken toys to work with.”
The Vice President looked at me then glanced at the stunned and quivering secretary. I put my arm around the woman. “Come on. You don’t need to see what happens in a lion’s pit. Let’s go get some coffee. Some real coffee.”
“She…”
“Don’t worry about her. She is no longer your boss. Intern, eh? Are you going back to college in the spring or did you need paying employment? Or both?”
We left the den of iniquity together. The door was gently closed behind me and the shouting started immediately. I was impressed by the timbre of the Vice President. His bass rattled the hinges.
As we continued making our way out of the yard tower, we had to step carefully to avoid upsetting the forensic teams that had invaded while I kept the yardmaster occupied. Along the way, I just let her talk out her tears.
Intern, unpaid of course. Was supposed to be a three month assignment, but the tyrant had bullied her into staying for a year. She was able to trap the intern by making a series of unwelcome sexual advancements publicly, then making it appear as if the intern had instigated them. Blackmail is a bitch, regardless of gender.
As we entered the parking lot, my phone buzzed again with a different pattern. I excused myself to read the important message. “Intern assignment changed. Deliver to B150 ASAP. Temp2perm avail.”
“So… uh… I need an answer to that question right now. Do you want paying employment, or not?”
Her mascara left streaks down her face, and on her hands when she tried to wipe it away. I waited for her to blow her nose and recover from the surprise question. “But… Why? I’m just an intern. Interns are always the first to be booted when something goes wrong.”
“Yea. And you were. Which means you are not an intern anymore and you get to be a real person again. So. Answer the question. Do you want a paycheck, or not?”
“I do!”
The yard shuttle pulled up to us. The driver rolled down the window. “Hey, ‘Cuse, in a rush. I’ve been sent to pick up [Ms. Nox] and [Formerly Known As Intern]. Have you seen them? It’s urgent.”
I smiled at the driver. “Guilty!” He put the vehicle in park as I opened the side door. “Madam…” I bowed with a flourish. “Your paycheck awaits.”
She smiled warmly for the first time. Almost giggling, she eagerly entered the vehicle. I climbed in and closed the door. I had barely buckled in when the driver took the vehicle out of park and started driving forward.
We exited the parking lot and I exited this dream.