NBA Dramatique: Bring Your Beatdown to Work Day

It was good to be wanted. There were many different kinds of power that a man could wield, and King James was familiar with a number of them. The one that he found most intriguing was the power of youth. Specifically, his own. He was a young man destined for greatness, and most of the armies of the world believed that he could achieve that destiny with them. It was always whispered wherever he went that his loyalty was only as good as his army. If his soldiers could not carry out his orders to take possession of the Prize, he would likely abandon his castle and take control of an army that could.

He had been invited to the Factory. The owner was a man very serious about business. The invitation had been sent, its meaning somewhat deeper than the actual script. The written words offered a chance for the King to view the Factory and to consider a treaty. That was the ruse. The One Who Would Be King knew exactly want the true intention was of the invitation. "Come see my Factory. See my workers. See my army. Doesn't it fit nicely? Would you not succeed with these men at your side?" The King was no fool. He decided to accept the invitation but with an agenda of his own in mind.

On the day of the visit, the Would Be King's horses paraded up the lane to the Factory late in the afternoon. The knights were resplendent in armor and the King led the procession in a heavy crimson cloak. The Factory owner, Joe, walked towards the procession with an outstretched hand.

"Welcome, King James! I've been thinking a lot about your visit. I've done my best to make sure everything was just right for your arrival."

The One Who Would Be King dismounted and shook hands with Joe.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Is the Factory in operation now?"

"The first shift is just running down. Our second shift will be arriving before the end of the hour. May I show you around?"

"If it's all the same, Joe, my knights and I would prefer to tour the facilities unaccompanied."

Joe did not let his smile falter, nor did he hesitate with his reply.

"By all means. If you have any questions, please send for me." Joe turned and walked away, knowing exactly where he needed to be. He was no fool.

King James turned to Z. "We have him fooled. Let's get inside and take this Factory for our own." The knights entered the Factory and spread out quickly. The first-shift workers had known that the visit was coming, and had made sure that the Factory was highly presentable and that their work was top-notch. However, King James had purposely arrived at this time, knowing that the workers on the first-shift would be rather worn down and tired. With his knights in place, the One Who Would Be King walked to a large steel press, aware of all present eyes upon him. He placed a hand on top of the press and dragged the hand forward, collecting a handful of dust. He looked at his hand. The workers looked at him. The knights looked at the workers. With a loud clap he brought his hands together above his head and the dust blew out into a cloud. "War is in the air!" he shouted. The fight erupted.

*****

Joe had hurried to the bar down the street from the Factory. He knew that some of the guys liked to go there right after work, and hoped that he would find at least a few of them there tonight. When he arrived, he found that he was in luck. Two of his best were at a table near the entrance. They saw Joe come in looking concerned and stood up to meet him.

"Guys! I think you should come back to the Factory."

"What happened, Joe? We just left a few minutes ago!" asked Wallace. He had come to the bar with the Answer after a long work day, and wasn't in much of a mood to be bothered with more business.

"King James is here. He brought all of his knights. They're up to something."

"Let's go." said the Answer. The three men left the bar in a rush. Two cold untouched beers stayed behind on the table.

*****

"You were right. They're too tired to fight us." Z said to King James. He had been at the side of his king through most of the fighting, bashing men over the head. James was not giving much to the fight, instead letting the knights do the work. They were having an easy time with this enemy, an opponent usually more difficult to overcome.

"Once they're beaten, it will be even easier to take out the second shift. Then the Factory will become my palace." said King James excitedly.

As soon as the words had left the air, a tremendous crash was heard from the area of the Factory entrance. Wallace had driven an over-sized forklift through the wall. The Answer held onto the frame of the cab, and the forks held a large pallet, on which stood the men of the second shift. Wallace turned the engine off and looked at the men on the pallet.

"Hey guys. Why don't you go get clocked in. The Answer and I will get started."

*****

Start they did. The second shift came in energized and within moments had turned the tables on the knights. Stuckey and Afflalo loved their work, and took pride in doing a good job. They did a superb job demonstrating that men in armor did not belong in their Factory. Wallace and the Answer showed how they survived year after year of war. The knights lost composure and the One Who Would Be King lost interest.

The Factory produced another victory.