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ten minutes and already overheard Carl involved in two heated conversations.
    A metallic clang nearby told Sam someone was coming up the steps to the balcony. He clipped the badge to his chest and walked over to the top of the steps. A woman on her way up saw Sam and frowned slightly when she didn't recognise him. He cheerfully greeted her good-morning and carried on down past her.
    Sam took a leisurely stroll around the factory. As a strange face on the site, he naturally got a few curious looks. In the loading bay, he saw two men sitting on a stack of pallets, deep in conversation. An empty wagon lay idle yards away from them. As he walked past the men, they stopped talking and stared at him.
    'Morning,' he said to them.
    'Alright, mate,' said the younger of the two, a genial-looking chap with dyed blonde hair. 'You lost?'
    Sam stopped and studied the men. They were either waiting for some work to do or lazing about for a few minutes.
    'No, mate,' he replied pleasantly. 'Just taking a look round.'
    'Looking at anything in particular?' asked the other man, eyeing Sam suspiciously. 'Picking out who to make redundant next?'
    That threw Sam. Redundancies?
    'I don't know anything about that,' he replied. 'I only started today as Carl's driver.'
    The two men exchanged perplexed looks before turning back to Sam.
    'Driver?' exclaimed Blondie, shaking his head. 'Jesus Christ, mate, don't you know Mr Renshaw laid off a dozen people last week?'
    Sam was dumbfounded. He had presumed DR Garments was thriving, not laying people off.
    'Bloody hell, Jase!' said Blondie, addressing his mate. 'I think Mr Renshaw's got his priorities-'
    'Oi, you two, get back to work!'
    Sam turned to see who had shouted. A solid man with close-cropped hair was storming towards them with a scowl on his face.
    'That wagon should have been loaded by now!' he bellowed at the two men. 'Now, get on with it!'
    They rolled their eyes petulantly, jumped down off the pallets and moved off towards the empty vehicle.
    'And who are you?' the angry man asked Sam aggressively.
    Sam felt the heckles rise on his neck. Who was this arsehole?
    'I tell you what, mate,' he replied evenly. 'You talk to me properly and I'll give you a polite answer.'
    The man was speechless for a moment. Sam supposed he was a gaffer of some kind and not accustomed to people talking back to him in such a way.
    'I'm Dave Starkey, the foreman,' the man huffed pompously. 'Not that it's any of your business. Now, what are you doing here?'
    Sam told him. Once again, the reaction he got was one of bewilderment.
    'A driver?' yelled Starkey indignantly. 'What the hell is the man playing at?'
    Starkey didn't hang around for an answer. He was already marching off in the direction of Carl's office, presumably for words with his boss. Sam watched him go thoughtfully. Was Bill Seymour arguing with Carl over the same thing? He could understand why these people felt repulsed. They had seen work colleagues lose their jobs, and now the man responsible was paying out for the luxury of a personal driver. It looked bad. They didn't know the real reason for Sam being hired, and Carl was unlikely to be sharing it with them.
    It appeared Sam had unwillingly walked into a sensitive situation and he didn't appreciate it one bit.

Chapter 9
    Sam headed back through the factory intent on speaking with Carl. However, word seemed to have already spread amongst the workers and a general unease had infiltrated the atmosphere. Sam was aware of people staring at him as he walked by. Others whispered to each other and pointed in his direction. Then a shout went up from somewhere, followed by another. Suddenly, he was the sole focus of hundreds of mistrusting eyes. A sea of resentful faces leered at him. A hand tugged at his sleeve.
    Sam turned to face the young blonde lad he had spoken to in the loading bay.
    'C'mon mate,' he said to Sam earnestly, 'let's get you out of here.'
    Sam went to argue his innocence but realised it would do