- 9 - Mary Ruth Cramer
The tires screeched as Mary Ruth flew around a turn. The city scape flew past them. Light reflecting off the steel and glass high-rises on both sides of the street. Back before the city was industrialized, the tallest building was 4 floors, above ground. Then the steel refineries and architecture families blossomed under the guidance of their analytics departments. Glass manufacturing boomed and the city streets went from blue skies to gray and white hallways of mirrored buildings as far as you could see.
“Its a remarkable innovation. With the weight of the engine in the back of the driver the vehicle can handle much better at high speeds.” Mary Ruth said.
“Is that right?” Andrew managed to ask as he held onto the door handle and roof of the car to avoid falling out.
“It is in fact. The engineers call it a centralized polar weight distribution. And that puts more weight on the rear-wheel-drive system. It is simply exhilarating.” She replied as she passed a black limousine not unlike her father's.
They took the boulevard and cruised through the downtown city streets. The boulevard was prohibited to commercial and pedestrian traffic and was clear at this time of the day, except for a few long
limousines that cruised along. Because of that, private cars like hers could travel uninhibited. and the roads were far better maintained. Not to mention that commercial trucks weren't traversing the roadways and damaging them. Potholes were a thing of the past.
They might as well have been standing still.
They blew past a pedestrian footbridge and two young women exclaimed and pointed at their car as it blew wind up their skirts in their wake.
“You know, 10 years ago these Boulevards weren’t here. The roads would have been packed with horses and trucks.” Andrew said.
“Days of the past! The future barrels ahead and waits for no man or woman.”
All commercial traffic was shifted underground 20 years ago. The rail systems spread out like a web under the city. Fully electric, the boxcars moved relentlessly, without the need for fuel. A former suitor had once spent hours exalting the simplified mechanisms of an electric train over the mechanicals ones.
“Electricity made it possible for all sorts of innovations. Now the rail system can move people and goods at a fraction of the cots.” Andrew said. “And keep the boulevards open and clear for drivers.”
"Affordable electricity." Mary Ruth corrected and Andrew nodded to concede the point.
“You forget that it was Caliber weapons and blood and steel that cleared the undercity. Men and women fought for this city. And then broke their backs to carve out and unify the tunnels.” Mary Ruth said slowing down. “It was a golden era of adventure and men and women pushed themselves to their limits.”
Some parents told stories of the unusually large rats, sleeping lizards made of stone that belched fire, or gelatinous slimes that had plagued the undercity. To Mary Ruth they had always seemed like an amazing challenge, an adventure calling to her. More than once, while home from college on holiday her and her friends had delved into the undercity, past the paved tunnels into the winding natural caves that predated them. Most everyone their age had. But they never found anything more than a fun jaunt.
“Perhaps it was a golden era for Caliber. Many people died. I don’t think anyone misses those days. And you still hear about strange goings on in the tunnels under the city.” Andrew said, then
shook off a chill.
“You believe those rumors?” Mary Ruth scoffed. “Large rodents and stone cold lizards and all that? Kids stories, to keep foolish youths from getting run over by trains.”
“I’m not so sure.” Andrew Said. “My cousin is an engineer for the Castellanos line and she saw-“
“A Castellanos?” Mary Ruth said as she took a tight turn merging onto a smaller roadway heading west without slowing down. “You can’t trust a thing those crooks say. The tunnels are quite safe now. The only thrill in town is up here on the boulevards in a fine sports car!”
Or out west behind stone doors.
-
The roadway finally merged into public streets and Mary Ruth was forced to slow down or she would hit something. Andrew was much more comfortable riding along at these speeds with traffic pressing in occasionally.
Mary Ruth sniffed the air disdainfully and pulled a lever on the dash of her car. The hood of the car popped open slightly to reveal a contraption, not unlike an umbrella.
“Ms. Cramer.” Andrew asked. “Is this car perhaps a convertible?”
She smiled at him as a small motor kicked into gear. The roof unfolded in front of the windshield, blocking her view for a moment and then it stretched it’s way all the way over the cab of the car. It clicked into place behind the seats. The small motor quieted down after it brought the hood clicking back into place.
“It is in fact.” She said smugly. “If you could catch that latch above your head please, quickly now.”
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She did the same on her side, fixing the roof to the frame around the windshield. She slowed to pass behind a truck and came to a stop with the traffic. She waited impatiently to make a left turn and met eyes with a police officer directing traffic.
“Remind me to contact the city planner and have the lights inspected. I have been seeing more and more of these traffic lights out of commission.” She said.
Andrew scrambled for his folio that had dropped between his feet.
Across the street there was a ramshackle city of tents and boarded up windows.
I can fix that. Caliber will bring these people out of the cold.
The lights flickered on the intersection but couldn't muster themselves to function. The officer changed directions and let her group go. Traffic creeped along.
Slow and inevitable progress.
After two more turns they came to a gravel road in an industrial district. The area was home to smaller refineries, and steel working shops. Independent contract manufactures that made too much noise or smoke for the headquarters.
Mary Ruth pulled up to a large warehouse with three massive chimneys spewing black smoke. There was a steady flow of men entering the building dressed for dirty work.
She removed her gloves and hung them on the steering wheel before opening her door. She stepped out of the car and reached back in for her saber and work shoes.
Andrew struggled with his door handle, unable to get the door open for a few seconds. He stood on shaky legs besides the car and tried to catch his breath but the air was too thick with smoke. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and a couple of the workmen catcalled him.
The men quieted down suddenly and Andrew turned to see Mary Ruth glaring at them.
“Keep it together Andrew. I’ll have you take notes during this meeting.” She said. “Right, walk this way.”
The men cleared a path for her and she strode confidently forwards, taking the stairs two at a time up to the double doors at the front of the building.
-
Mary Ruth shook the owner’s hand, and then the shop manager’s hand.
Both very capable men, well informed. They aren't just yes-men. And they know what this will mean for their labor hours.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” She said.
They will meet the new quotas and can scale up if the board approves the project.
They showed her out to the lobby offering to but her lunch but she waved them off. Mary Ruth looked around for anyone that would dare make advances. The crowd outside centered on a food truck that had pulled up onto the muddy sidewalk since she had arrived.
Selling hot dogs and fries no less. If they knew what all went into those they’d not eat for a week.
Andrew kept to her heels as she descended the steps.
“Ms. Cramer! I’ll be damned. What brings you out to brush shoulders with the common dirty folk?” Said a man.
Carlton Castellanos.
Mary Ruth turned smiling at the lanky man approaching her. He was not as dirty as he professed to be. He was sporting trousers and a vest in tweed that matched and had not a speck of grit on them. His white shirt was unbuttoned far too low and he showed some manicured body hair. His sleeves were cuffed up and he had on a fine silver wrist watch.
“Carlton. I admit I am surprised to see you here.” She said.
He went in for a hug but she stopped him with a hand.
"Not happening." She said.
“Aww no hug for your cousin?” He asked with false offense. “Why I haven’t seen you since before you went away to school. You've grown into a fine woman. Come on down to the club your Aunties would be happy to see you.”
“It has not been very long at all.” She replied. “I have been busy. Running a legitimate company."
There are too many eyes and ears here.
"Would you walk with me?” Mary Ruth asked.
“Anywhere dear cousin.” He replied, then looking ahead to where they were heading he gasped. “Oh! Is that your car?”
Two workmen peeled off from the crowd and trailed Carlton. They at least matched the profile of the labormen standing around. Except both were Castellanos. Likely 2nd cousins.
“What are you doing here?” She demanded.
“Why working of course. Times are tough now a days.” He said with a sneer. “I’m the production supervisor here. I work day and night to ensure steel gets out the door.”
“You should quit.” She said simply.
“Well I can’t do that. Who would look after all the good men I’ve gotten hired here?” He said with a nod to the two men following him. “Good family men that need jobs just like everyone else.”
Mary Ruth glared at him.
“A family man would kill for employment like this. It’s honorable clean work refining and forging steel, cousin.” Carlton said. “That’s what yer father is, he’s steel. You are steel. My side of the family? We are just slag, not even worth tempering.”
They had reached her car and Mary Ruth walked around the front to speak with Carlton in the street.
“You couldn’t find work anywhere else?” She demanded in a hushed tone. “You came here. I have to assume it’s to get at Caliber.”
“So what? I needed a job, my boys need jobs too. And this refinery was hiring.” He said with a growl. “And with your new project business will go through the roof."
Mary Ruth glared at him again but he wasn't fazed.
"You should have told me you were coming I could have put in a good word for you. What's a favor for family?" He said with a casual shrug. "I’ll need more guys for this job in no time at all.”
“No, it is not a favor, and it is not job. A job is something criminals pull, a job is what your lesser known pickpockets take in at sideshows. This is employment.” She said and got in his face.
Carlton backed up but she kept close to him.
“Employment at a legitimate business. You get a paycheck and you work 10 hours a day, twelve if you are lucky. This refinery has direct ties to my family’s company. You will not jeopardize this.” Mary Ruth stabbed him in the chest with two knuckles to emphasize her point.
“You don’t run this business, princess.” Carlton said sarcastically. ”You can stonewall me out of your family’s business but you sure as shit can’t stop me from working here.”
“Oh it’s not about you, it’s not about this place. If this refinery had any ties to criminal activity Caliber would take its business elsewhere.” She said.
“You would put all these people out of work over that?” He demanded a little too loudly. “Should we ask your father what he thinks? Or is that what they teach you in that fancy school?”
The bastard is not wrong. Times are hard enough. These men feed their families. They’d be in the bread lines if they weren’t working here. Lumping coal is their best option. That’s wives and children that would be going to bed hungry otherwise.
“Caliber is a legitimate business. Perhaps it is time we branched out and incorporated a couple smaller refineries. We could bring the work in house and would need to hire for it.” She said but the
fire had gone out of her voice.
The vetting process is the most time consuming part of new ventures. Doubly so when it's an election year. And I'm not making waves right now. Dropping this refinery would be bad press.
“Sounds expensive, what would your precious board members say about that?” He replied and took a step back up onto the curb to look down on her in the muddy street.
The board meeting is in an hour.
“This is not over.” She said. “Andrew we are leaving.”
“Run along with your pet, cousin.” Carlton said as he rejoined his men in line for food.
“That seemed heated.” Andrew said leaning on the roof of the car.
“You can ride quietly or walk.” She said as she stowed her saber and dropped into the driver’s seat.
He thought a moment before speaking.
“I’ll risk it.” He said with an uncertain smile. “Are we heading somewhere else or are we off to the board meeting now?”