Five Minute Observations

Tag: Fiction

  • Floyd Patterson Comes Home: Part II

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Cookie was sitting on a few upside-down milk crates, jumping up as soon as Kathy opened the swinging door. Tears streamed down her cheeks, smearing her eyeliner and foundation. No sound came from Kathy, her hand pressed tightly over her lips. The older man knew best to leave well enough alone, especially when it came…

  • Zander’s Backup Plan

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Zander wasn’t comfortable talking to another attorney about the scam connecting him to Unger and the Zaterelli family. So, instead of mentioning any names, connecting him in any way to Mark Unger or the crime family, he spoke about the shell companies and private investors that he wasn’t at liberty to discuss. Attorney-client privilege worked…

  • Melton’s Plan Takes Shape

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Three years ago. That’s when Mark Unger introduced himself to Zander Melton, believing him to be the right man to help him put his get-rich-quick scheme. If anyone had a reputation for being a strategic player, it was Zander Melton. As a financial advisor, Unger dealt with influential people. The majority of them were honest,…

  • Emulsion Plastics Opens in Iowa

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Are we ready to open next week, Cole?” Cole Wilkes, the Global Human Resources Director, was working hard to hire new staff to open their latest hub facility, a segment of their production line that would utilize cheap U.S. labor to assemble each of the pieces needed to complete a variety of products overseas. RDF…

  • Signature Required

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Kathy pulled into the parking lot of Janice’s Diner, dust flying over her new 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra. It drove like a luxury vehicle, unlike Jack’s Studebaker. The cloth seats felt like butter compared to the pseudo-pleather of the Studebaker. All electric controls meant she could roll down the passenger window. It wasn’t a convertible…

  • Moloski’s Take-Over

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Twenty-one days, Jim,” Gerald whined. “Twenty-one days I’ve had to listen to alcoholics talk about getting clean, getting sober. And for what?” Jim didn’t see him pull out the cigarette or light it. But there he was, the former President and CEO, smoking a cheap cigarette. “All so I can prove to everyone that I’m…

  • Considering Retirement

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Kathy!” Janice’s shrill voice echoed through the diner from the kitchen. The Presbyterian church let out a few minutes before 11:30 a.m., hunger setting in. Church people knew Janice’s breakfast foods would be hot and ready to go in minutes. Janice knew well that a few of these ‘holy rollers,’ as she called them, would…

  • Moloski Returns to Plastics

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    After parking the Lexus in a secured parking garage close to the Burnside Bridge, both men got out. A few minutes later, they were at the spot where Jim Barton met Gerald Moloski. Sitting between two homeless men, Gerald passed his bottle. On Gerald’s left sat Miguel, and Edward on his left. Miguel had Parkinson’s…

  • Emulsion Plastics is Hiring

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Cole Wilkes wasn’t comfortable in small towns in Middle America. Emulsion Plastics employed him as the Global Human Resources Director for new production facilities. Hiring and training new employees was his only job. Only after all the staff was hired and consistent production levels were achieved could Cole move on. His latest assignment was the…

  • Bad News for Moloski

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “What do you mean leaking?” Gerald looked down to Dr. Charles Kirchoff, one of the senior scientists in charge of maintaining RDF Plastics policies and procedures. A short, mousey man, Dr. Kirchoff was a stickler for following the rules, towing the line, and ensuring everyone complied with company policy. Kirchoff was the first to inform…

  • Kathy’s Second Job

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “I heard they is gonna be openin’ a factory just up the road. Some kind of assembly work is what I hear,” Beatrice whispered, even though the number of people inside Janice’s Diner numbered less than five, not including the staff. Betty and Beatrice sat at the third booth from the door. Doc and Jim…

  • Setting the Cruise Control

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Angie is my favorite person in the whole world. She and I do a lot together. And I mean a whole lot! We get coffee. Manicures. Pedicures. Facials. We’ve been known to get massages simultaneously but with different masseuses. Huh. That would be kinda hard. Two massages at the same time? I wonder if Sven…

  • Rin Zaterelli

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Get down!” A black, unmarked, unlicensed car pulled up next to Zaterelli’s limousine, automatic machine guns firing into the limo. Reinforced Kevlar plating, bulletproof glass, and insulated rubber tires made the limo the perfect vehicle to keep the crime boss safe. Rin Zaterelli and two of his goons were finishing up a quick visit at…

  • Check-In with Floyd

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “You know somethin’ Jim,” Doc said, rolling down his window halfway, “the ladies is right. Somethin’ ain’t right ‘bout Floyd not being in the diner for a week. I sure hope we ain’t goin’ to find him holed up inside the house, windows locked tight, shotgun in hand, ready to shoot whoever decides to come…

  • The Zaterelli Family

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Mr. Zaterelli? There’s a Zander Melton here to see you?” The voice on the other end of the office intercom was silent. “Melton? Zander Melton?” Rin Zaterelli looked at the two goons on either side of his mahogany desk, puzzled. Both men stood in unison, ready to bum-rush the door. Zaterelli hired them as bodyguards…

  • The Patterson Homestead

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “I’ll drive,” Doc told Jim, opening the passenger door for him. Jim eyed Doc’s truck. The eight-inch scratch showed signs of rust. Jim shook his head, no. “You’ve been tryin’ to drive us places ever since you put that gash in the passenger side door. I remember. Ya almost killed me. I told you once,…

  • Janice’s Pancakes

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Waking up early was never a problem for Floyd. He’d been waking up before 4 A.M. since he was twenty. He greeted the morning with a cup of black coffee, stopping chores just long enough to appreciate the simplicity of his life. Work. Eat. Sleep. Nothing complicated about it. Doc asked him at Janice’s Diner…

  • The Harrow Club (cont.)

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Six minutes later . . . “Good afternoon, Mr. Barton.” “Good afternoon, Jasper.” “Right this way, sir.” Jasper led him through the dining room, seating him very close to James Penrose and two other business partners. Jim didn’t recognize the other two men. Based on their attire, he assumed they were angel investors looking to…

  • RDF Plastics – Cujo and the Man

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Continuation of RDF Plastics.

  • RDF Plastics

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    Looking into the mirror, he saw the reflection staring back at him and thought about saying the infamous line, what are you looking at. Instead, he chose to smile at the audacity of that particular thought. “You’re being ridiculous. Everything is going to be fine. Smile. Nod. Shake hands and walk out. That’s all you…