Chicken A La King Page Fiv

Ritchie had narrowly escaped death once at The Big house and recounted his tale of horror many times to a concerned Lili. He now sat in front of her strumming his new guitar made from wood and string.
“I tell you Lili, it was the worst day of my life.”
“Oh dear, you don’t have to tell me if it bothers you.”
Some other chickens gathered around to hear the story.
“Come on, do tell”, said Henrietta, an old hen
“Well, it was a cold February day, there was snow on the ground and they gathered us up in some crates and stacked us on the back of an open truck. It was freezing and I thought my feathers would fall off. Some of my buddies froze right there and didn’t make it off the truck.”
“That’s terrible!” crooned Charlie, a wise old cock.
“Then we arrived at the Big House and they pulled some of us out of the crates and others were plucked off with a forklift. There we were dumped onto a conveyor belt. Some of the girls fell on the ground and were stepped on. Moving vehicles and heavy equipment crushed some.
Sighs of horror echoed through the barn.
“Then they hung us by metal shackles on a moving rail and we were sprayed with water and electricity. That’s when I escaped, before they could zap me. I saw the rest of the guys go through a tank and then their throats were slashed by a big blade.”
His eyes tear at the memory.’
“How did you get away?” asked Charlie.
“I ran like hell. I ran out the door and hightailed it back to Lili.
“Sounds like you were in hot water”, said Henrietta
“Oh, for sure”
“Thank Goodness you’re safe now Ritchie”. Lili hugged him
Ricthie continued to strum his guitar.
“I’m one lucky guy”.
Manuel walked by them, his heavy work boots kicking up dust on the floor. Some workers followed him. The chickens scattered about, running to dim corners of the barn.
“Quiet” said Lili, guarding her chicks. She snuggled down in some hay. It was going to be a long summer.
It was a quiet evening at Sam Fullbein’s mansion, except for him screaming at his wife. Sam turned and looked away.
“What the hell is this?” he screamed, shaking a tabloid in his hand. He turned around.
“Nothing”.
“Nothing? You call a picture of you kissing this, this...gigolo.... nothing? Are you trying to ruin me? Do you want me to have a heart attack?”
“No, it was an accident! It was an innocent peck on the lips and that garbage tabloid has blown it all out of proportion...And he’s not a gigolo, he’s my trainer.”
“I don’t believe you!” he sneered at her.
“Well, believe me, I would never cheat on you Sam! I swear, I swear on my mother’s grave!”
He looked her square in the eye.
“I am going to cut you off Mindy.”
“What?”
“No more credit cards.”
He picked up the phone and started dialing. She grabbed the phone out of his hands.
“You can’t be serious.... You can’t do this to me!” Her eyes filled up with tears
“Alright. All right, but I am warning you. One more incident like this and I am cutting you off, maybe for good.”
“I am so sorry Sam”. She hugged him
He pushed her away.
“I have work to do. Please leave me alone now”.
She left the room and Sam sat back in his tall leather chair. This room was his sanctuary. His trophy room, filled with trophies and awards from the chicken industry from his years of hard work. His phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Sam, Newirth here...”
Dave Newirth was the number one man at Mmm! Foods. A respected leader in the industry his conglomerate did over ten billion dollars of business worldwide.
慡am, I want you to come to a meeting at the Food Exposition on Monday. We have a business proposition for you”
“Sure David, I’ll be there”
“See you Monday at 10:00 am”
“Bye”.
Sam sat back and thought about what they might propose. He had a pretty good idea. They wanted to buy him out. He wouldn’t sell, because that would mean disclosing the secret recipe. He had worked hard for twenty years, building fifty restaurants in fifty states. His chain was worth 50 million dollars. He was damn rich. Why did he need anybody to be his boss?
The TV was on and he looked at the screen. It was Mona Meredith the sexy superstar turned animal activist. God how he hated these pesky celebrities always toting some cause they knew nothing about. He turned up the volume on the remote. She was hot though, he thought. She was a catch! He watched her show Cove Island every week.
Mona was clad in a tight white T-shirt accentuating her breasts and her full lips were a soft pink. She spoke quietly.’
“It’s cruelty”
“Why do you feel this way, Ms Meredith?”
“Animals have feelings. They care for their young. They have minds and hearts, its been scientifically proven. They are being killed senselessly.”
“What are you doing to stop it Ms. Meredith?”
“I do not eat meat. I do not support the barbaric institutions that kill animals. Everyone should stop eating meat and the world would become a better place.”
“Thank you Ms Meredith...That was Mona Meredith, star of Cove Island.”
Sam Fullbein turned the TV off. These celebrities were killing him, killing his business. But business was still good; there were still a healthy population of people eating Uncle Sam’s Wings. He dialed the phone.
“Demato?”
“Yes”
“Sam here...Get that X-TRA Crunchy campaign in effect immediately. I want advertising, print, broadcast...a full blown campaign.”
“Yes sir”
“Demato?”
“Yes?”
“I want to be in the commercials”
“Pardon me?”
“I said I want to star in the commercials. I want the world to know me as The King Of Wings”
Laughter was heard on the other end.
“Sorry”
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes sir!”
“Well, get on it...now!”
“Yes sir...”
Sam sat back and smiled. This was war. He would show them all who were The King Of Wings.
Ali woke up and looked at the clock. It read 10:10 am. It was a sunny Sunday morning and she had worked the night shift. Her uniform lay on the floor and the side of the bed kicked her shoes. She got out of bed, went into the bathroom and took a pee. Then she showered and brushed her teeth.