6.f.
Commander
Credit was the only one fully clothed.
The rest of the Union stood around, shivering in
their skimpies, waiting as their clothes dried.
Except for Fair Wage. He wore no
underwear as a rule and was, therefore, bare-assed naked.
“You know,”
said Business Woman, “despite being old and wrinkly, you’ve still got a firm
butt.”
Franklin Buck
groaned and said, “I was hoping we could get through this without comments like
that.”
“What? It’s true,” Business Woman said grabbing Fair
Wage by the shoulders and turning him so his backside faced Franklin . “Look at it.
Tell me that’s not a fine piece of ass.”
“God. Point that thing somewhere else.”
“You’d prefer
the other side?” she said. Corporate Man
and Senior Executive tried to stifle laughter.
“Isn’t this
sexual harassment?”
“Not at all,”
said Fair Wage. “I call it welcome attention.”
There was a
round of laughter. Then Supply and
Demand went to the dryer to check on the clothes.
“Convenient
that this gym came equipped with laundry facilities,” Supply said, opening the
dryer door. The words she muttered next
were quite foul.
The clothes
were gone.
Also missing
was the backside of the dryer. In its
place was a hole. This hole led into a
hallway. The hallway looked exactly the
same as all the corridors they’d been in on this floor already.
“Well,” said
Corporate Man, “for the comfort of everyone involved, I suggest that Fair Wage
be the last to climb through.”
“We’re really
going in there?” asked Senior Executive.
“I don’t see
any other choice,” said Corporate Man.
“We’re half
naked,” said Franklin Buck.
“Not all of
us,” said Commander Credit with a smirk, his hand gesturing subtly to his full
wardrobe.
“Yeah,” said
Fair Wage, without the smirk but with the same subtle gesture, “not all of us.”
“The longer we
discuss this,” Business Woman said as she climbed into the dryer, “the further
away our clothes will be.”
The rest of
the Union climbed through the dryer and into the hallway
on the other side.
Fair Wage went
last.
There was an
abundance of awkward running that followed as the Union
tried to maintain modesty and support while hurrying down the corridor. There was an uncomfortable slapping sound
which they all tried to ignore but could not.
It subsided when Business Woman barked an order at Fair Wage insisting
that he secure his assets.
The shambling
crew ran down many hallways, sped around dozens of corners, made lefts and
rights in all manner of combinations.
“There they
are,” Corporate Man hissed. Ahead of
them a group of workers dressed in office casual disappeared around a
corner. The Union
increased their speed and rounded the corner only the find a stubby, dead-end
hallway with no doors.
“Uh…” said
Franklin Buck.
“Wait a
minute,” said Fair Wage with enthusiasm usually reserved only for those who
received insider information. “Were
there towels in that gym?”
Everyone
looked dumbfounded and guilty. Like an
investor brought up on charges for insider trading.
“Hey, was that
hallway there before?” asked Commander Credit, breaking the strange silence.
About twenty
feet back the way they’d come was a doorway leading into another corridor. Corporate Man examined it as though it was a
heavily worded contract with slippery language and semantic traps.
“Did anyone
see this as we ran by?” Corporate Man asked.
Shrugging was
the unanimous response.
“All right
people. Eyes open. Stay frosty.
I don’t think this place is as stationary as it might seem.”
