IV. The Emperor.

My Office—AFTERNOON

The Boss waves “Have a nice weekend!” to some of the crew as she heads into her office. We are back from the field and unloading tools into the storeroom.

“You’re not going to—?” calls the Sailor noticing. The Boss nods and holds up a marijuana pipe as she shuts the door. As the Sailor makes a beeline to her office, he pokes his head into my area where just plopped down tired. I am sitting before the computer fiddling with a broken old kaolin tobacco pipe the crew had found one the survey. Trying to decide what king’s or politician’s effigy I have half of.

“You smoking too?” the Sailor smiles.

“No, no, not this.” I explain to him embarrassed, “This is an artifact.”

As we discuss this one of the crew sticks his head in my office and warns that the Boss is approaching again. And angry. The Sailor makes himself scarce.

I have only been at this job a few days and despite the fact that most everyone else are temps, I am ahead of schedule, so I have no fear of her. Anyone angry after a few tokes worries me so, when i see her storming my way, I pick up a short shovel and march over to her, meeting her halfway to my office. I brandish the shovel causally at her and say “What do you want?”

“You piece of dirt.” She snatches up a shovel too, grabbing it from a technician headed to the storeroom. She makes to hit me with it.

“I dare you. I will easily smash out your brains if you swing first. And as far as me being threatening, I am, for the record, just holding my usual work equipment.”

She backs down and begins to inspect the samples the crew is hauling in. The work is fine but she begins firing people. But not all: she needs me to finish the job. It is a toothless gesture. Most were temporary hires anyway. She needs us to finish, but we don’t need her. We all prepare to abandon her.