Outliers 15A Sam
Sam walked out of the commons and was headed to his first inspection job of the day. He had
six on the schedule and he was certain that all of them would fail. He was chewing on the meat
roll that the cooks had made up for the morning breakfast. He had a satchel strap on his shoulder
and he was feeling on top of the world this morning.
“SAM!” yelled a man that was more than fifty yards away.
Sam did not turn around, he actually quickened his pace so as to reach his bike before the man could catch up to him.
“Dammit Sam! I know you can hear me.” the man shouted again and started to run in his direction.
Finally Sam turned, “I don’t have time for you this morning, tons of work to do.” He held up the leather briefcase. “So many inspections.”
The man was closer now. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. The Lee’s house. Why the hell didn’t that pass inspection?”
“What does the report say?” Sam shot back.
“Well, hell Sam I don’t know, you didn’t leave one.” Tom was out of breath by the time he said this and didn’t continue.
“I’m sure it’s just a clerical error.” Sam stated and then continued when Tom was next to him, “Just make another appointment and I will get back over there.”
“When?” Tom asked.
“Oh, very busy right now.” Sam said, looking away. “It would take a lot to get to it this week.”
“Dammit Sam, that job should have been done last week.” Tom was getting angry.
“Well you can take it up with the council, but..Oh they don’t meet for another two weeks. Or you can help me some other way.”
Tom thought about it for a moment. Then asked, “What do you need?”
“Oh nothing much.” Sam looked into his briefcase and pulled out a slip of paper. “This.”
Tom looked at the paper. “That’s not just a one day project.”
“It will get you at the top of my list again.” Sam said.
Tom just about walked away. If he gave into Sam’s demand what would be next. This was basically extortion. But if he was at the top of Sam’s list then he could complete more jobs and get paid faster. “Fine.”
“When?” Sam asked.
“I’ll have a guy out there tomorrow.” Tom conceded.
“I’ll see if I can make it back to the Lee’s this afternoon.” Sam said with a smile.
“When?” Tom asked.
“Oh, not sure just yet.” Sam said.
“So I gotta waste a guys whole afternoon waiting for you?” Tom asked.
“I’m a busy guy.” Sam said, holding up his briefcase.
“You need to watch yourself, this ain’t the old days. You play this too much and you’re libel to end up lynched.” Tom threatened.
“I’m only one of two guys that has passed the inspections test, so like it or not, you're stuck with me. So get your guy out there and wait till I get there and be ready to do what I need done. Sam said in a harsh whisper.
“You’re a bastard.” Tom sneered.
“I’m an inspector. Deal with it.” Sam shot back.
Later that morning Sam was in the barn of Mr Holland, his crop of sugar beets had just been brought in from the field. Sam was poking through a few bins that were stacked for him to inspect. He then asked to see a bin that just came in from the field. Mr. Holland explained that this batch was not a part of the shipment. That it was being set aside for immediate processing for their own consumption.
“How do I know that?” Sam asked. He looked in the direction of the wagon, “The bin looks exactly like the rest.”
“Because I said so.” Mr. Holland stated.
“Sam asked, “What are you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding anything. Those containers are just scraps or beets that need to be process by hand or immediately. Eitherway they have nothing to do with this shipment.”
“Again, how do I know that you won’t slip them in as soon as I leave.” Sam smuggly asked.
“First of all, you’re not here to question my integrity. Second, I need some of this for myself, just like every other farmer out there. So stop fishing for something that isn’t there and sign off on this shipment so it can go to the processing plant.”
“Maybe we need to take a closer look at each of these bins.” Sam said slowly. “A good long look.”
“Young man, you might be the inspector, but I’m one of the biggest sugar producers we have, you don’t want to play games with me.” Mr. Holland was starting to lose his cool. This little suit is not going to best him.
“Well without my signature, this crop rots.” Sam said.
“And the whole damn valley is going to know why. I’ll see to that.”
Sam thought about it, “This can be easily handled…for…say a case of molasses.”
“Oh.” Mr. Holland looked at the boy. “One case.” Mr. Holland thought about it, was it really worth the hassle over one case. He always had more than enough. “Done.”
“Now.” Sam said.
“Fine.”
“Okay here’s your inspection certificate.” Sam said joyfully.
Mr. Holland took the slip and signaled Sam to follow him. They stopped outside a locked door. At this point Mr. Holland turned to Sam and said, “Wait here.” He then turned and unlocked the door. Opened it just enough to slip in. After a short wait the door started to open again, but the lights went off before it was too far open. In Mr Holland’s hand was a case of molasses. “Here.” He said handing it to the inspector. “Hope you choke on it.”
Sam smiled and took his prize.
He left the barn and went to his carriage. He took the tarp off the back and placed his new acquisition with the three others he had gotten that morning. This business was very profitable. And he was sure to have the home he wanted by next spring. Next on his list was a surprise inspection of Mr. Ho’s shop. The man made metal things. All kinds of important things, but that did not make him above the law. Things had to be done safely and waste had to be handled properly. So the inspection services needed to drop by and make sure that was happening. Alan Scott told everyone that they needed to respect the officer that was conducting the inspections and adhere to the rules. Even if they were an Elder.
Sam covered his prices and got into his cart. Kan Ho’s shop was just a few kilometers from the fields and on his way to the commons for lunch.
He pulled up while Kan and two other men were moving the frame of a new vehicle that Kan was working on. There was an overhead crane and four chains that supported the frame. They were moving slowly and had ropes to guide the metal to its new resting place. Kan was supervising the move and watching for any issues. This wasn’t the biggest thing he had ever moved, but the crane at his shop was far more primitive than at the shipyards. It was clunky and the fame swung back and forth a bit. The men struggled to keep it in check.
“That looks dangerous!” Shouted Sam.
Kan did not look away, “Stay back, we are almost there.” He did a hand signal and the frame started to descend to the table it would be set on. Slowly they rotated it and it was lining up with the mounts on the table. Kan kept signalling the crane operator and the frame neatly set in place. Once that was done, Kan turned to Sam, “What can I help you with.”
“Well for one, where is everyones hard hats?” Sam said.
“What are you talking about?” Kan asked.
“Well that was an overhead pick and you and your men should have had hard hats on.” Sam stated.
“First of all, a Damn plastic hat wasn’t going to stop that frame from crushing your head. Second, none of my men were under it, ever.” Kan stated.
“That is not how the regulation is interpreted sir. And you voted yes to the new inspection rules and regulations. You insisted that they be implemented immediately. Those were your words” Sam said as respectfully as he could.
Kan said nothing. This was a joke. Then he looked at Sam, “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just my monthly safety inspection.” Sam said.
“Well get it over with, I have work to do.” Kan said.
“Oh, I’m done, you’re good.” Sam said.
“But you haven’t looked at anything.” Kan half said, half asked.
“Like you said, you're a busy man. I don't’ want to hold you up. But you could have them wear the hats, you know, just in case something flies off and hits someone.” Sam said politely.
“Okay.” Kan said.
Sam got back in his carriage and left.
He let the horse take him back to the commons as he looked over the inspection schedule that he set up for himself. After lunch he had two more and the extra one at the Lee’s place. He thought about going there first and then making his way outward, but then he thought that Tom was a bit harsh with him and maybe he should show him who’s in charge now. So, the Lee’s house would be put to the end of his day. Tom was lucky he even considered him for today. He then took out tomorrow’s list, which only had two names on it. Dee’s farm and someone he had not known before. The Cooper farm. That didn’t ring a bell, so he pulled out another notebook and looked up the Farm. Corn, hops and some fruit trees. Corn wouldn’t be ready just yet so why was this farm on his list? He kept reading. “Hops was used in brewing beer.” It would be ready soon. He would have to go to his library and look up the properties of this crop so that he could inspect it. Maybe he was just going to see if the farmers were following the safety standards that the council approved. Both farms were on his list and it was a good two hours out by horse, so he would put it on his list first. This way he could stop by the commons for lunch. This job sure had its perks. He got to use the horse and carriage, but didn’t have to care for the horse. He got free food at the commons and he got stuff just for the asking. Yeah, this was going to be a good gig. He put his documents back in the satchel and put it below his seat. All he had to do is keep his records straight so that when they called him in to account for his time, he could baffle them with mounds of information. Everyone here was just too busy to look to deep, so he could put whatever he wanted down on paper, no one would care. The notes were mostly for himself. He had a horrible memory and if it weren’t for the cheat sheets he took to the test, he would have never passed. These people were so trusting, they left him in the room alone for hours while he slowly plowed through the fifty page test. Someone named Art put it together and it was very thorough. It took him hours to compare what was on the test to his notes. But he did it. It only took three days. In the end, he was only one of two that passed. Truth be known, only four people signed up for it. He then wondered why Art didn’t just be an inspector. But then he would be one. That would be a shame. He liked this. He then directed his horse to go past his home, he wanted to offload his stuff before going to the commons.
As he pulled up to the little shack of a home he thought to himself, soon. Real soon I’m going to trade this crap for a real house. Then I can get someone to notice me. Have a few kids and a life. This is just the first step. He opened the door as it protested loudly. He then pushed a rug back with his foot and revealed a door in the floor. He set his stuff down and opened it. He started down, then turned around and to take the boxes down the stairs and stacked them with the others. He was going to need shelves soon. Once back up, he secured the door and put the rug back and left through the same creaky door and out to the cart. He would get lunch next and head out to serve the people of his community.
If you want to read more about the Remnant Series see the links below.
Bood 5: Chaos coming soon to Amazon.com
Book 6: Obsidian Arrows
You can Leave a comment. Or follow us on Facebook. Or hit the subscribe button to get updates on new chapters or books.Thank-you
R. A. Legg
R. A. Legg
R.A. Legg © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
Comments
Post a Comment