by B. B. Hamel
Which is a good thing. I don’t know why I’m second-guessing it. Maybe that optimism isn’t as strong as I thought it was.
After an hour of digging and collecting, we walk the machine back to the main cavern. Vernon gives me a little wink as we park it and start unloading our haul, getting it set up in tractors that’ll pull it all back to the surface.
“What do you think?” he asks me as we finish. We lean up against the wall of the cave, lights on and trying to get a little breath back before we head down again for another load.
“About what?”
He shrugs. “All this shit. The walkout.”
“Well, you know what I think.” I cock my head at him.
“It’s necessary,” he says, nodding to himself.
I watch him for a second. “You’re not so sure?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. But if you say it’s the right move, I’ll back you.”
I don’t say anything right away. I’ve never experienced this kind of loyalty before. I don’t know what I did to inspire it in these guys, but apparently I did something.
“Why?” I ask him finally. “Why’s everyone so keen on pissing the bosses off?”He laughs at that. “Everyone wants to piss off their boss.”
“Not me. I just want a damn job.”
He nods slowly. “Yeah, there’s that.”
“You know we can get fired, right?”
“That won’t happen. It’s not so easy, finding real miners to replace us.”
“That’s true. But it’s still possible.”
He sighs. “I just believe in this, okay?”
“I just want to know why the men are following me, is all.”
He shakes his head, a little smile on his face. “You really need to ask that, Samuel?”
“Guess so.”
“All right. I’ll tell you.” He pushes up off the wall and stands. “Down here in the mine, you never slack. If a job needs doing, you do it, no comment, no bitching. You offer to help when someone needs help, and you ask for help when you need it. You’re honest, Samuel. That’s why people follow you.”
He walks off and I sit there a bit longer, trying to digest what he’s saying.
I guess I just don’t see it. I do my job and I do it as well as I can. It’s a damn dangerous job, and I know that I have to try every single day to make sure nobody ever gets hurt when I’m around. I know some guys slack a little bit, won’t take some of the tougher, dirtier jobs, but that’s just not my style. I do what needs doing, and I don’t worry about the rest of it.
I never really thought that was a special trait, but maybe it is. I don’t know. I’ve never worried about any of this before, if I’m honest with myself. I’ve always just done my job and moved on, but now I’m in this position of power and I have to worry about more than just what’s in front of me.
That’s why I took this union gig to begin with. I saw a job that needed doing, and so I stepped up to do it. I didn’t think about all the stress and difficulties that would come along with it, because the job needed doing, and I could do it.
So here I am, down in the fucking mine, worrying about all this stuff.
I sigh and stand up. I rejoin the other guys, and we get back down in the hole together, machine running, doing our damn jobs. We pass the rest of the day like that, going back and forth, dropping off our loads and digging out another one. Eventually, the shift passes, and we get back on the trolley and ride it back to the surface.
It always feels good, coming up out of the mine. I don’t know why. I guess humans are just built to be on the surface, and there’s this little nagging anxiety that’s always present when we’re down there in the darkness. It lifts as soon as we get outside, and everyone says that’s one of the best parts of the job.
It’s no different today. We breach into the sunlight. I blink as the sun’s dipping down, and we nod at the shift change guys heading down into the hole. Our trolley stops and I climb off, and the guys are all talking about heading over to The Shaft for some drinks.
“I’ll see you guys there,” I call out to them as they head over to the little warehouse we use to store our shit, use the bathroom, get changed, that sort of stuff.
I head toward the offices, intending to check my mail, since I get fucking official mail now. But I don’t get far. Strolling toward me is Ingram, flanked by two of his flunkies, guys in suits that I don’t recognize.
At least they’re not ex-cops here to try and fight me. The injuries ache suddenly, and I can’t tell if it’s the memory of that night or just the post-work exhaustion catching up with me.
“Samuel,” Ingram says, smiling his snake smile. “Glad I caught you.”
“Ingram.” I stop and reluctantly shake his hand. He smiles the whole time. “What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to have a chat with our young star.” That smile never goes away as he starts to walk away from his two aides, who stay put.
We move off toward the gap between buildings. There’s nobody around but the two of us, and I’m tempted to beat him senseless right here and now in retribution for what he did to me. But I know I can’t do it. This is about more than just me, and that would just be petty revenge. It wouldn’t help our cause at all.
It would feel fucking good though, smashing that grinning snake face of his.
“I heard some things,” he says, turning to me.
“What’d you hear?”
“You’re planning a little strike.” His smile gets wider as he says those words. He must see the surprise on my face. “You thought you could keep it secret?”
“Guess not,” I say. “You have people everywhere, looks like. Did you get your cops to find this out too?”
He laughs, shaking his head. “Now why would I do that, Samuel? No, I use them for more… physical applications.”
The fucker has the gall to wink at me, but I know he’s just trying to push my buttons. “If you’re trying to intimidate me, it’s not going to work. You tried that once already.”
“I know, and yet here you are. It seems that my tactics only pissed you off.” He laughs, shaking his head. “You have more balls than your predecessor, I’ll tell you that.”
“This isn’t about me,” I say to him. “This is about our working conditions and our contract. You want us to keep working? Then make the contract that I gave to Amelia signed and official.”
“No, I don’t think so,” Ingram says, still smiling. “But we do have a little problem. See, we just got a big order in this morning, the sort of order we can’t risk losing. Your little walkout stunt is going to have to wait.”
I blink at him. “Why the fuck would we do that?”
“Because I’m going to break the knees of one miner every hour until you give in.”
That grin drives me fucking crazy, and I practically growl at him. “You touch my people and I’ll kill you.”
“Now, now, Samuel. Don’t lose your temper.” He’s still smiling, nice and cool. “You want to fuck with me, then I’m going to try and fuck you right back. That’s how this works.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“You’re right.” He gets serious suddenly. “This isn’t a game. There’s a lot of money at stake, and if you fuck this up for me, I will kill you. And I’ll follow through with my little threat.”
I stare him down and he finally smiles again, stepping away from me, back toward his aides. “Think about what I said, Mr. Carter,” he calls to me. “Have a wonderful day.”
I watch the three of them walk off and I stand there, fuming, anger rolling through me.
I can’t risk the health of my guys. I know Ingram’s going to attack them, and there are guys that can’t afford to miss any time. Disability would ruin them, assuming they could even get that much. I can’t risk it, but I also can’t just give in to Ingram. If I do that, we’ll never win.
I don’t know what to do. I need to protect my guys, but I also need to beat Ingram. This order clearly i
s important to him and the company, and it’s a great opportunity to walk out and cause a lot of damage. That could get them to stand down.
I walk away from him, angry and trying to puzzle this out. I don’t know what I can risk and what I can’t, or how far he’ll really go. It was one thing for him to attack me, but I can’t let him hurt my guys.
I head back to the showers, forgetting about the mail, trying to figure out what the fuck to do.
17
Amelia
The conference room is tense, and I have no clue how to break the tension.
Samuel and Roy sit across the table, looking grim. Ingram is to my right, with a smile on his face, along with two of his lawyer aides whose names I don’t know, and to my left is Laura Shane, the PR head.
“We saw your updated contract suggestions,” I start off the meeting. I have a copy of the contract that Samuel gave me the other day on the table. “I think there are some promising things in here.”
“From my perspective, it’s a good balance,” Laura says.
Samuel frowns at me. “Far as I’m concerned, we already came up with the contract.”
“Unfortunately, the board wouldn’t accept that,” I say to him.
He glances over at Ingram. “Your doing, as we’re all aware.”
Ingram just shrugs. “I have to do what’s best for the company.”
Samuel scoffs and goes to say something, but I interrupt him. “This isn’t about that contract, this is about the new one. We need to keep these talks open and figure this out.”
Samuel nods but he doesn’t look happy. I open up a folder and start going through some of the changes he suggested, line-by-line, while Ingram and his lawyers follow along. Laura is on her phone the whole time, clearly not all that interested in this.
I manage to get control of the situation and try to engage Samuel, but he’s clearly not interested. He’s busy glowering at Ingram like he wants to murder him, and I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.
“What if we dropped a vacation day, but increased pay by twenty cents?” I ask, glancing over at Ingram, who nods.
“No thanks,” Samuel says. “Won’t be worth it.”
I sigh. “What will be worth it?” I ask him.
He arches an eyebrow. “The contract I gave you, as I gave it to you.”
“You know that’s not going to happen,” I tell him.
He shrugs. “I don’t know what to say then. Maybe we’re wasting our time here.”
I clench my jaw. I don’t know what his deal is, why he’s acting like an asshole, but I can sense the tension in this room. I know Ingram is the reason for everything. I thought he could put it aside long enough for us to get some work done, but clearly I was wrong.
I look at Ingram and back to Samuel, and I make a decision. “Everyone out,” I say.
The entire room looks at me, including Laura. “Excuse me?” she asks.
“Everyone, get out,” I say. “I’m sick of this. Samuel stays. The rest of you, leave.”
Ingram gapes at me. “You can’t… kick us out.”
I stare at him. “I outrank you, Ingram. Get out.”
He hesitates a second. The whole room is staring at him. But finally, he stands up. “As you say, CEO.” He smiles at me, full of venom, and leaves the room. His lawyers follow him out.
“Are you sure about this?” Laura asks me.
I smile at her. “It’ll be fine. Please, go.”
She shrugs and leaves the room.
I turn back to Samuel and Roy. “I can’t order you out, Roy, but could you please give us some time to talk alone?”
He looks at Samuel, who reluctantly nods. Roy smiles at me. “You got some balls,” he says, before leaving the room.
I look across the table at Samuel, who stares right back at me. “So, should you start taking off your pants, or should I do it for you?”
I sigh. “That’s not what we’re doing here.”
“It’s not? I figured you needed a little stress release.”
“No,” I say. “But I think you do. What’s your deal, Samuel?”
He glances away from me. “It’s that fucker,” he says.
“I know, but come on. We need to get this contract negotiated, for both our sakes. You can’t let him get to you. That’s what he wants.”
He clenches his jaw. “I know that,” he says. “You think I don’t know it? I’m playing right into his hand, which pisses me off even more.”
“Samuel,” I say softly. “Come on. Work with me here.”
“I can’t,” he snaps. “Don’t you get it? We’re enemies. I can’t let… whatever this is between us get in the way.”
I bite my lip for a second and let that linger in the air. I reflexively put my hand on my stomach where his child’s growing, but quickly drop it away.
“What is this thing?” I ask him softly.
“I don’t know,” he says quietly, relaxing a little bit. “But I know you feel it too.”
I don’t deny it. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. “So what do we do?” I ask instead.
“I don’t know,” he admits. “I know I’ve been… distant.” He looks like he’s struggling to say something. “It’s just that, I’m torn in all these directions… the mine, the union, and you…” He shakes his head, not able to go on.
“I understand,” I say. “And Samuel, I want to help you. I want to help everyone. I just need you to help me do that. We’re on the same side, even if we’re coming at it from opposite ends.”
He nods a little and sighs. “We’re planning a walkout. Not tomorrow, but the day after.”
That surprises me. I hadn’t heard anything about the workers striking, but that’s huge news. “We just got a big order,” I say. “Do you really need to walk out right now?”
He nods. “It’s the best time, actually. But there’s something else.”
“More than you guys walking out?”
“Ingram threatened my guys. Said he’d break knees if we go through with it.”
“Fuck,” I say softly, which makes him smile. “That bastard. How can he get away with this?”
“He has the cops in his pocket.” He shrugs a little. “That’s how.”
“It’s not fair.” I tighten my fists, and I want to walk around the table, sit in his lap, and kiss him. Or maybe pull his hair. Or slap him a little bit. Or scream and punch Ingram in the face.
Instead, he just smiles at me and I lean back in my chair. “I’m going to call them back in. Can you please work with me?”
“I can try,” he says. “But the strike’s happening. Ingram can try to stop it, but we won’t let him.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
He smiles a little. “We have some ideas.”
I sigh and shake my head. “Just don’t get in any trouble.” I stand up and head toward the door.
“Why not?” he asks softly. “I think you like that I’m trouble.”
I glance at him and smile. I can’t help it. He’s probably right.
I open the door and call everyone back in, and from there on out, Samuel’s more engaged. We get some decent work done, mark up the contract he gave me, and Ingram promises to give it to the board. I don’t know if he means it or not, and I seriously doubt it. Most of his suggestions were outright ignored by Samuel, mainly because they were unnecessarily harsh and one-sided.
I can sense something looming. I know this is going to come to a head, but I don’t know how. I can smell violence in the air, and I’m afraid for Samuel. Not really because I think they’ll hurt him even more than they already have, but because I think he’ll hurt them back even worse. I’m afraid he’ll do something, go too far, and he won’t be able to come back.
I’m stuck in the middle of all this, torn between two worlds, wishing I was never given this burden, but glad I got to meet one part of it at least.
18
Samuel
We walk off the job. And nothing happens.
/>
Which is really the point of a strike, actually. The early shift meets up at the usual spot, but instead of heading down into the mine, they leave and go to The Shaft. Most of the union’s there, minus a few guys from last night’s last shift.
And everyone’s in a good fucking mood.
“Looks like they’re gonna cave,” Roy says, grinning his head off, already on his second whiskey of the day. “I mean, they haven’t done shit, right? And they got that order.”
I nod, frowning. They haven’t done shit, that’s true. Ingram threatened to hurt us, but he hasn’t done anything, which doesn’t seem like him. I know he has the means and the ability to cause damage, not to mention the desire, but there’s nothing. As far as I can tell, all the guys are fine and accounted for.
Which is what worries me. I drink some coffee, not in the mood to get drunk with the other guys this early.
I keep thinking about Amelia. I know she’s trying to help us, but she’s so unprepared and powerless. I can’t blame her though, she got thrown into the middle of this violent, insane situation, and she’s doing the best she can. But still, she can’t help, and I know this is all on me.
“You’re not celebrating,” Roy notes, shifting in his seat toward me, the smile on his face gone.
“Not yet,” I say. “We don’t have a contract.”
He sighs. “You can’t celebrate any victories, can you?”
“Just doesn’t feel like a victory, is all.” I look around the room. “Why hasn’t Ingram done anything?”
“He’s all talk, maybe,” Roy says.
“Nah,” I answer. “I got the bruises to prove he means business.”
“Maybe your plan worked.”
I shrug a little, unsure. Ever since Ingram threatened us, I ordered all mine union members to go everywhere in groups of at least three, the idea being that they’re safer in numbers. It was a pain in the ass for a couple of days, always trying to get groups together, but we did a pretty good job of it. Maybe that’s what kept Ingram at bay.