September 9, 2010 - Versauen, VT
The equipment in the back of the freight truck slams around as Julian McWillis stops the large rig he's operating to a halt just before the scale of the scrap yard. Wiping sweat off his face, he exhales forcefully, waiting for the stop light to indicate he may proceed forward. The light changes and he pulls forward. Once on the scale in front of the black and yellow striped intercom, the light changes back to red.
"What'er ya bringin' in sweetheart?" The woman says over the intercom.
"Couple washer and dryer sets, two washers and three dryers in total," he says avoiding the glaring eye of the camera near the mouth piece.
"Okay, dump off and come back for a re-weigh, then I'll get you the ticket you can bring to the cashier," she instructs Julian.
The red light flicks back to green and he pulls away from the weigh station. He drives to the back of the scrap yard to drop off the junk he's brought to claim for cash. He pulls the truck around the scrap pile as to get the rear of the vehicle closest to the scrap pile as possible. There is a mechanical claw tearing apart and sorting the metal dropped off by others. Julian puts the car in park and waits...
Julian Anthony McWillis is 21 years old, from the mid-west, and resourceful. Looking to do whatever he can to make money, he has done hundreds of odd jobs for money. A few legitimate jobs, but mostly illegal ones. Finding a life of crime was far more lucrative than one on the 9-5 schedule; he quickly decided this was the best thing for himself. Never arrested for the insanely bizarre jobs he's done, and he doesn't plan to make this job any different.
He gets out of the truck, and prepares to unload the back, by putting gloves on. The heat is oddly persistent the last few weeks with an exceptional heat wave sweeping the entire country at the moment. He pops the back hatch and pulls out one of the two washers, easily moving it to the pile currently being obliterated and put into bins by the massive claw rummaging through the metals. Returning he gets one of the dryers and really struggles to get it over closer to the pile.
Two cars pull in and start dumping their own scraps of metal into the mound of junk. Julian pivots the dryer on its cover and shimmys it across the area to the pile. The door to the side loading dryer pops open, Julian's hand is right near it and he quickly shuts it looking to his right and left to see if anyone was staring. The man in the highlighter vest instructing the crane was busy doing his job. The two people that came in to dump their scraps, only one remained, and he was about halfway done unloading his car. Julian returns to his vehicle a few feet away.
Easily getting out a washer and dryer of the same models previously dumped, one watching Julian from a far would begin to get suspicious that he had such an issue with the first dryer and appears to have gotten his second wind, or possibly stronger by the second with the ease he had until he gets to the final dryer. Julian is by himself in the lot again except for the man directing the crane from the pile.
Julian pulls the last dryer to the edge of his vehicle and it slips slamming to the ground, knocking Julian down. The sound of the metal slamming the ground was silenced by the crane's work, but the man advising the crane still saw Julian fall and began to walk over. Julian quickly gets to his feet and closes the dryer door that flung open. A car pulls up to the scrap pile and parks. Julian looks down and sees the door to the dryer didn't close because of an obstruction. He shoves a limp body's arm back into the dryer and slams it shut.
The man in the highlighter vest is close enough now and yells to Julian, over the sound of the crane, "Are you okay?"
"I'm good, just lost my footing and let it slip," Julian replies not paying the man any attention and preparing to make the extra weight in the dryer seem non-existent.
The man looks oddly at Julian but brushes it off and returns to his job. As Julian glances at the bright vested man walking away, the sound of the car door opening nearby pulls at his attention. He looks over to the car and sees an older man wearing a leather jacket exit the vehicle. Julian moves slowly and watches the other man nonchalantly.
The leather jacketed man takes almost no time at all to rid his spotless vehicle of the six, what Julian can only assume are space heaters. When complete he looks at Julian, squinting in the sun. Julian has the dryer close to the pile, but is exhausted and barely moving it. The other man walks over to help him.
"Uh-" Is all Julian can say before the man pops the door open slightly to put his hand in the door and waits for Julian to grab the other side.
"You'll want to toss with force, as to get door facing up or your cargo will be all over," Felix says to Julian matter of factly.
"Okay, thanks," Julian says, "I think we're close enough."
The men heave the dryer into the pile. The dryer rolls an entire time around, the door opening and flopping shut when stopping. The crane redirects and begins to head over to these items as the men walk away.
"If you plan to get money for those items I suggest you walk away now, I will walk over here to redirect the crane. I have no idea how long I can delay them so hurry. I'd like to meet up with you in near future," the leather jacketed man says, "How about we link at the café down the road in twenty minutes."
"Deal!" Julian says quickly entering his driver's seat and driving back to the scale. He's sweating intensely and looks for a napkin to mop the sweat away with. He finds that his hand will work for now. He sticks his hand out the window to dry the sweat. He returns to the scale and comes to a stop.
The camera lens is burning a hole through him as he leans in to greet the woman over the intercom. Glad that he's wearing sunglasses he leans back in his seat and waits for the light to indicate he's good to go. He waits and waits and the paranoia sets in. He sees the leather-jacketed man's car speed past him and the light changes to green. Julian's stomach backflips, and he pulls up. He walks up to the window shaking. The small window opens.
"What's the plate number?" A woman's raspy voice says through the small square in the wall.
"RCS-9123" Julian replies.
There is a fit of paranoia as a few other people walk up to the window. They receive their tickets and walk into the section the tickets are redeemed for cash. Julian continues to wait and finally the woman returns.
"Sorry, we thought there was a weight issue, but we're all good."
Julian chuckles and takes the slip of paper. He turns and quickly walks over to the redemption building. Walking into the redemption building was terrible. There were several sweaty and dirty men in the small area. Even being late summer it was still oddly warm for Vermont. One of the men began coughing and dust particles were visible floating above his head. There was a small window on the wall opposite side the door that was barely cracked. The coughing man stood next to the window going through his wallet. Everyone was getting more and more soaked in their own perspiration while the two women on the other side of the enclosed glass wore sweaters to protect from the air conditioner chill that may befall them. They worked through the line slowly and eventually got to Julian.
"Receipt from the scale and current I.D. please," the woman says in a thick accent from Wisconsin or Canada, Julian doesn't care. She smiles blankly at Julian as if her day was just fulfilled in the most amazing way, and that nothing could break the grin across her stupid face.
Julian tosses the items into the basket and then into the tray to slide behind the bulletproof glass. The woman reviews the information at her own pace leaving Julian to sweat further. Another of the men cough while he's waiting and Julian can feel himself catching whatever they're coughing up.
"$147.92, not bad for five appliances," the idiotic smile still present on her face as Julian takes his money, receipt and the basket out of the sliding tray, "Have an awesome day! Next person please."
Julian is completely over her accent and quickly exists the building. Having been at least thirty minutes already, he bustles to the vehicle and heads in what he thinks is the direction to rendezvous with the man that just helped him. Not seeing the café a few miles down he decides to go back the other way. He arrives eventually, an hour after meeting the man in the junkyard The first time.
He gets out and sees the man's car parked alone over in the corner of the lot. He closes his door and figures now's as good as any to have a cigarette. He smokes quickly since he's already late. Entering the café he looks around for the man, not seeing him right away. Julian walks up to the counter and orders a coffee. He continues to look for the German man that requested him to come meet up.
The man eventually gets Julian's attention and calls him over to the table he's sitting at, behind a large potted plant, making himself invisible to the average person glancing around the room.
"Thanks for coming!" The man says to Julian, in his German accent, gesturing him to sit at the seat across from him.
Julian takes a seat and the two men begin to talk. "Well for starters my name is Felix Ferdinand. I work for a company that may be able to help you highlight your talents. We operate as a book publisher by day, but we have a side-business that someone like yourself would do very well in."
Julian hesitates for a minute, not wanting to get wrapped into a "real job" even if it means more work. He decides no harm can come if he decides to start and quit.
"So this all sounds great, but how would I sign up?" Julian asks very intrigued at how much money this could make him.
Felix chuckles, "Well, you apply to the company like any other job. Once you're employed the bosses would bring you in if they wanted to. I mean I can tell them I came across you and what was happening and they may find a spot for you in the front AND back, if you catch what I mean."
"I don't." Julian says flatly.
"Well you can have the night job, but also be on the companies payroll as well. Do you have any talents that would be use in Marketing, Customer Service, Call Center work, anything like that?" Felix asks.
"I mean, I suppose my several different jobs could pose a good resume. Can I ask though, how fast can this happen?" Julian responds.
"Give me a minute," Felix says and walks away to make a call.
He returns quickly and let's Julian know he's hired.
"What? How? I didn't even talk to them," Julian asks confused.
"They trust my judgement, and I told them your diverse so they will find you a perfect match for a position internally," Felix answers.
"Why would you do this for me? I mean thank you! Sincerely! But why would you take a chance on me? You don't even know me," Julian says getting antsy.
Felix has a smirk on his face before answering. He leans in closer to Julian, "I like your style. And based on what I saw back at the scrap yard I think you'd do well with our crew," Felix says very matter of fact. "Is there anything you need to pack? I'm bringing you back to Maryland with me to meet the bosses. You'll get an apartment near by and we'll get you started so bald wie möglich," Felix tips his head back finishing his drink.
Julian looks at Felix blankly, "You know you didn't peak English right? And yeah, I have to meet my contact about the laundry I just folded for him."
"Yes, it's German. I let it slip here and there, but meh-" Felix trails off standing and preparing to leave the café.
Julian stands and looks around. He waits for Felix and they walk out together. Julian opens the door, "So do you want to meet up again?"
"What for? You got a problem with me coming with you?" Felix questions.
"No man, we're good. Let's hurry up though, I want out of this state," Julian says leading the way out to their vehicles.