as the crow flies

They called out to each other when he entered the building. “CaCaw-CaCaw”, the sound of the crow echoed through the staff to warn that the boss has arrived. Quickly scurrying to clean up, sweep up, and look alive, everyone knows what the boss likes to see and what sets him off.  This factory was for a while the last remaining business in the town.  Generations of village folk have worked in the same jobs for decades.  The relationships between the factory and the town were simple.  The workers provided an honest labor force, and the factory provides jobs to keep the economy alive.

The casket industry is a lucrative niche in the death market. Since 1795 the luxury leaders in the industry had been Royal Flush.  They were the providers of royal caskets, designed for pomp and ceremony.  To stay in high society and leave a…