Career opportunity - Steve L. Krebs

Career opportunity
(aus: Fury from Hell)

One
Jeffrey Farrow stood on the narrow plank leading up to the lake. Tail wagging and happy as could be, his border collie who (occasionally) listened to the name of Chip led the way.
The wind was tugging at the upturned collar of his jacket. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his jacket. He’d forgotten his gloves in the cabin and regretted it tremendously. But he was too stubborn to turn around and get them. Chip didn’t mind the weather at all. On the contrary, he looked like the proverbial duck in the water.
Jeffrey walked out towards the lake. The boards creaked beneath his feet and water was lapping up to touch the weather wood. The weather has gotten worse, Jeffrey thought. Last time he’d been out here, the water had still been a good few inches below the plank.
For a time he stood there, gazing across the water. Dark clouds were driving by. There would be rain in the days to come, he figured, there always was at this time of year. It had been part of what had attracted him to this remote spot in the first place. He’d come here by accident many years ago, having lost his way while hiking along the Appalachian Trail top-down. It was then he’d fallen in love with the stark beauty of the region. Carla, his girlfriend at the time, had hated it right away. Well, she was gone now but both the lake and the cabin were still here.
He took a deep breath, basking in the cold air on this late morning. Too, he was looking forward to hot coffee and a late breakfast. After all, he’d been working almost the whole night. Again. And this was supposed to be his weekend off from work, too. He shrugged. No harm done. There was lots of stuff that had to get done next week. Might as well get a head start.
Looking out towards the other side of the lake, Jeffrey spotted a herd of thirsty deer break cover. He smiled at the scenery. The lake wasn’t that big and it took him only about fifteen minutes to row it across in his small boat, which was stowed away beneath the rough canopy he’d made last autumn. Judging by those clouds he’d done good putting it on land.
Chip was back on the beach, sniffing out the area. Jeffrey only gave him a cursory glance before raising his eyes to the sky. He could feel the charge running through the atmosphere. Too bad Selma wouldn’t be joining him tonight. She loved this weather and sex with her had then always been an experience to remember. The way her athletic body became all the more vibrant and sensual. He grinned at the memory, as her curves lit up in his memory. It was like an ad for her body: this is what you get – come on and enjoy yourself, the two delicious orbs beckoned.
Jeffrey’s eyes tried to find the group of deer again. After a few seconds, he spotted them where he’d first spied them. He lifted his arms and suggested holding a bow and arrow, aiming at the buck bringing up the rear. He smiled as he let his imaginary arrow fly. Fixing its path with his eyes, he felt confident that he would’ve hit them.
Sighing, he turned back. The week ahead would be even busier than the one before. Jeffrey did not look forward to it. Sometimes, he thought, it would be worthwhile to just up and leave. Break away. Live out here in the woods. Maybe build the odd mail bomb. He grinned at the lame joke. Of course, he didn’t know how long he could afford to live here with no real income. It wasn’t that he was broke, just the fact that he wasn’t Ritchie Rich either.
He shrugged, knowing that he couldn’t feel down or else the wheels at the office would grind him to dust. Especially now, with his boss, Thomas, gone AWOL for more than ten days. The CEO was well on his way to a triple bypass, and he was probably not the only one. Thomas had been in charge of some very delicate negotiations that were decisive for the future of the company. And then he vanished. Vamoosed. And the company turned into a bus headed for Shitsville without a driver.
Jeffrey could understand the man. Well, sort of. Hadn’t he tried to turn the ship around himself, only to see it go to ground on the mediocrity of the Board or the thievery of his co-workers? Throwing in the towel really was not that stupid a thing to do, especially if the rumors were true and Thomas really had had an affair with Tamara, the wife of the CEO.
Verboten, Jeffrey chuckled to himself. Maybe the CEO himself had made Thomas disappear, set him up with a nice pair of concrete shoes. But this was just one of the rumors coursing the coffee breaks. Jeffrey didn’t believe any of this. He was pretty sure that the CEO never even suspected about the little… indecent behaviorisms his wife indulged in whenever he was away. One seldom found out until too late, he thought.
No, something else must’ve happened. Ah, sweet rumors. And until Thomas came back, which was doubtful, he, Jeffrey, would sacrifice himself and get the job done. He had no bad feeling for climbing over Thomas’ head. After all, this was a mean old dog-eat-dog-world, didn’t you know?
The strong wind ruffled Chip’s fur. The temperature was dropping and Jeffrey decided to head back. There was that breakfast and a good book waiting for him. Afterwards they would head back and he would be at his desk at eight sharp on Monday morning. Grinning to himself, he picked up a branch and threw it. Chip bounded to retrieve it. They whiled away another ten minutes like this before reaching the cabin.
“You’re too fat, my friend,” Jeffrey said when they were inside the cabin. He looked at his four-legged friend and scratched him behind the right ear. “City life does not become you.” A smile played across his lips. “You’re spoiled rotten, buddy.” The dog did not reply but grinned back at him.
Jeffrey took off his coat. He noticed his gloves hanging from the hook beside where he placed the coat. He took them and stashed the pair into the pockets after brushing the dirt off. Satisfied, he turned towards the stove at the far end of the cabin.
The cabin was small and housed few items. A bed just big enough for two, a table with two chairs. A cupboard. The kitchenette. The place had the Spartan look of a confident outdoorsman who knew what he was doing. Jeffrey liked it that way, even if the look wasn’t all true.
He remembered the first weekend here when he suddenly thought he’d forgotten to turn off the stove at his apartment in the city. Or the run-in with what he thought was a bear but probably had only been a big dog as scared as himself. While mildly amusing, Jeffrey hadn’t really enjoyed his colleagues at work calling him “Daniel Boone” after he’d told one secretary about this mishap. No, not really.
Hot water for coffee, bread and cheese. Chip watched him prepare it. “Nope,” Jeffrey said. “I told you: you’re too fat.” The dog slightly tilted his head to one side. So what?
He laughed. “Can’t argue with that, my friend.” Jeffrey took a piece of cheese and broke it in half. “There you go, fatso,” he said.
Chip snatched the cheese out of the air and swallowed it whole. Jeffrey furrowed his brow. “That’s why you’re as fat as you are, my friend.” He petted the dog. Chip’s eyes never left him.
“What?” Jeffrey said. “Want some more?” The animal’s tail wagged left to right. You bet, they said loud and clear. He laughed again.

Two
It was after two. Jeffrey put aside the dishes and towel. The wind was rattling branches against the house. Chip was asleep on the rug beside the bed. Occasionally, he made the jerky movements suggesting he was running even in his sleep. Good for you, Jeffrey thought.
He walked to the table and sat down. He picked up the book he was reading but didn’t open it. Thoughts of Selma rose but he shook them off. It’s your own fault. Shouldn’t have cheated on me.
He checked his watch. Two-twenty. Three hours and he would be back at his flat in the city. “Now there’s a thought,” Jeffrey said to no one in particular.
There was little use in postponing the inevitable, so Jeffrey got up and put the book in the gray duffel bag. In went the food that would spoil in the next few days. The rest he stowed in a locked box under the stove, next to the gas.
The ammunition to his rifle he wrapped in a piece of leather and hid it under the table. “Never put your gun where your ammo is, son.” Sage advice from his uncle Frank. Another one of uncle Frank’s highlights would probably be “don’t smoke while you’re filling up the car”. Only this one uncle Frank hadn’t been taking too seriously himself. Perfect way to a closed-casket funeral, too.
“Come on, boy,” Jeffrey said. Chip perked up and was on his feet and at the door before Jeffrey had made another step.
“Whoa, looks like somebody here is in quite a hurry to get back, hunh?” Chip, stoic friend and companion didn’t reply.
He closed the door and locked it. Sure, there was nobody out here but deer, badgers and the occasional fox, but Jeffrey didn’t like the two-legged kind of vermin stumbling through his belongings while he was away.
The wind drove the leaves up the way from the lake. Jeffrey pulled out the keys to his car as he walked. He yawned. Chip was first yapping then pulled at a heavy branch stuck in the undergrowth next to a batch of poison ivy. Jeffrey shook his head. “Let it be, Chip.”
Chip continued to pull. “You’re not bringing that into the car,” said Jeffrey. But there really was no reasoning with the dog.
Jeffrey unlocked the door and threw the duffel bag onto the passenger seat. The dog box was in the back of the Jeep. He walked around the car to open the rear. A sudden wind blew a first spatter of rain at him.
“Come on!” he said. Chip still wasn’t in the mood to listen. Man’s best friend had decided he would rather stick his face into the thicket and burrow for unknown riches.
“I said,” Jeffrey said, “come here!”
Nice try, but no cigar. The border collie insisted on ripping out whatever it was he’d found. Jeffrey rolled his eyes. Finally, with a sickening crack, Chip tore free his price and started prancing around. Showing off to the jury, Selma would’ve said about now. Don’t go there. That’s over.
“Yup, good boy, but you’re not taking that with you,” Jeffrey said. He looked at the thing between Chip’s teeth. He shook his head and made the dog sit and give up his price. Reluctantly, Chip complied.
Jeffrey looked at the object in his hands. It was a human bone.
“Ah, Thomas,” Jeffrey said. “You shouldn’t have fucked my Selma. Or is this you, dear?”
He dropped the bone and ordered Chip into the car. After he’d closed the rear door, Jeffrey returned for the bone. He shook his head.
It was true: Thomas had vanished. But only after he’d set his roving eye on his Selma. And sweet Selma had spread her legs for the man while he, Jeffrey, was working at the office. Not only had Thomas stolen his ideas, he had taken care of his woman as well. Had it been anybody else but that bastard, Jeffrey would have forgiven her the fooling around. But to surprise the two in bed together, why, that really had been asking for too much. So they had to go. Both of them. Permanently.
Jeffrey held up the bone. Maybe not as permanently as he had hoped for. There was a bit of meat left on one side. That would be gone by the time they got back in two weeks. He would have to bury the bone again. Or else Chip would only dig it up the moment they got back. He frowned as he walked over to the thicket to bury it. Has to be deeper this time, he thought. Lots deeper.