Quest

Job

...

Getting up and having breakfast was hectic. Dawn took a shower, made coffee, got dressed, looted the cupboards for cheese, jam, and factory bread, and had breakfast, all more or less at the same time. Luke got dressed, the third day in the same set of clothing, had a single jam sandwich, and drank two cups of coffee, strong and black, though with 'sugar.

As they left, Dawn locked the door to the studio but put the key under the mat in the hallway. "Not ideal, but nobody comes here." She told the front door to allow Luke in at any time until further notice.

In the street, she started to explain where he could do some shopping, but then she changed her mind. "Why don't you come with me. You can help, which means I'll be done more quickly, and then we can go and buy some stuff for you together."

At the station, she suggested buying a week pass for the local trains. Two and a half dollars, and he could get about.

Their ride was less than ten minutes. Then she steered them to a hidden entrance into a vast C'aing municipal building.

"Hi, Jake. This is Lucas Subotnik. He's an art major over at Zadan State. He's staying with me for a while. Would it be ok for him to help me out a couple of days? I mean, doing my batch, or maybe more, but then you'd have to pay."

"Sure, that's how we work here. You tell me how many people you would like to employ, and I'll go out and find work for them. Why don't you just hand me over a list of people I have to bring work to. Jeez. What is it with you people."

"Didn't say that, Jake. Just asking if it's ok if Luke here helps out, and I'm suggesting that we could do a bit more if you want us to, is all."

"Yeah yeah. Why don't you do the Abercrombie's over in Ventura Park? It's easier with the two of you. There's a little extra pay, though it ain't a whole lot. But, you'll be done in a couple of hours. Tomorrow I may have more, with the festival coming up in Fenwick Park. But I'm telling you, it's only temporary. Here, I'll make a note in my calendar. If he's around in two weeks, both of you are out. And also, if you fuck up, I've never seen this guy, and it's your ass. Are we clear?"

"Sure, Jake. Couldn't have put it better myself. And we do appreciate some extra work."

They went to a workshop and picked up a small cart with all sorts of cleaning materials. Dawn filled a container with water and another with green goo. She put on her coverall, and found a spare one for Luke.

When they went outside, she said: "Well, that went reasonably well. It's ceramics, so it's fairly easy to clean. It's just kids improving upon the esthetics. We wash it with this detergent, wait a bit, and rinse it off."

It was a twenty-minute stroll to Ventura Park, a tiny lawn with four palm trees, four benches, and a set of ceramic shapes. Someone had spray-painted numerous acronyms, icons, and vague political slurs all over the figures.

As Luke tested the paint with a fingernail, it came off easily. "That's odd. This paint comes off just like that. This is about the worst possible paint for graffiti."

"Oh no. They know us. We know them. It's symbiosis. They give us work, and we give them something to work on again."

They covered the statue in goo. To reach the top, Dawn climbed on the cart while Luke held it. Jake had been right. Doing it on your own would be awkward unless you brought a ladder.

Then they sat on one of the benches and waited, talked, for about an hour. Luke asked it was essential to wait that long. "Oh no. you can rinse it off immediately. But then we'd be done in an hour. And when Jake stops by, we'd be gone. He wouldn't like that. He doesn't mind if we goof off, but we shouldn't advertise it. He'd feel obliged to give us more work next time. And besides, every now and then, someone uses proper paint, and then it is a lot of work."