50 Ways To Kill Your Boss

7. A Cooler Kind of Electrocution

Despite all the paths two separate bodies can take through the universe and all the moments that lead them to their current position through spacetime, Cameron and Brock managed to walk directly into each other in the lobby.

SMACK

Claire had the good fortune of witnessing this incredible collision of individuals, and snapped a pic with her iPhone.

Cameron recovered quickly. "Brock?"

"Saw, dude?"

"Actually, we don't need a saw right now, thank you. We were looking for Marley." Cameron said.

Brock lowered his handsaw. "Oh, she's in her workshop. Have you seen Jay?"

"9th floor."

They tipped their hats and parted ways.

~

"Marley?" Cameron knocked on the doorway of the workshop.

"In here."

Cameron and Claire entered the workshop, gadgets strewn everywhere from various items they were certain Marley had no idea how to put back together. Marley sat at her lab table, screwing or unscrewing something with a screwdriver. "Whaddup?" She grinned. "Are you okay, Cam?"

"Oh, you witnessed the collision too?" Claire asked.

"No, I meant about yesterday. That guy. And the Johnny Depp cardboard cutout. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Claire wanted to say something." Cameron shoved Claire forward.

"Uh, um. Can't believe you're making me do this, Cam." She grumbled. "Um, thanks for like, sticking up for us yesterday. It was really brave of you."

"He was an asshole. He deserved a good Marley-beatin." She made a fist.

"You really beat him up?" Cameron sounded impressed.

"tOtally." Marely emphasized. "For you, my love."

Cameron blushed.

"Anyways, we were gonna grab an early lunch from the hotel restaurant, you want to come with us?" Claire offered, sticking to the plan.

"I would love to, ladies, but this is pretty important." She gestured to the gadget in her hand.

"What is it?"

"Um... well it was part of a vacuum cleaner."

"What is it now?" Cameron asked.

"Broken." Claire answered. Cam glared at her. "Sorry, force of habit."

"It's uh, important."

"Okay, how about meeting us for dinner?"

"Uh, busy then too. Sorry." Marley casually spun her chair, cringing a little.

Claire frowned at her. "There's no way you beat those dudes up."

"I'm like a cockroach."

"For real, what happened? Did they hurt your arm?" Claire noticed Marley holding her arm close to her, and poked it.

"No."

"Stand up."

"Why?"

"They hurt your legs?"

"No!"

"Then stand up!"

Marley stood up slowly. "See?"

Claire poked her side.

"Ow, I'm a cockroach!"

"A cockroach that got her ass kicked."

"Stop touching me!"

"Stop it!" Cameron stepped between them. She looked at Marley. "Did they hurt you yesterday?"

"No!"

"See, Claire?"

"She's lying."

"Aww, are you worried about me?" Marley teased.

"No. I'm just... showing that you're a liar."

"Please, ladies. It's been nice talking to you, but I have work to do." Marley tossed her vacuum cleaner part across the room and picked up the shell of a toaster.

"Wow, what does that do?" Cam tried to make conversation.

"... It crispens bread."

"incredible!"

"It's a toaster, you idiot, they all do that." Claire elbowed her.

"It does other things." Marley said. "Watch this," She popped a frozen waffle in and plugged in the toaster. As soon as she plugged it in though, the lights flickered and an ambient buzzing died down, then started back up again with a kick. An alarm on a wall panel started going off.

"Incredible!" Cameron exclaimed.

Marley had only meant to show them that it also crispens waffles, and had no idea what the alarm was about. She kicked her rolling chair over to the wall, then to her computer.

Cameron and Claire gathered around as Marley checked the security cameras and found the source of the alarm. It was a room with a large indoor pool.

"Is that the pool?" Claire asked.

"It's A pool..." Marley zoomed in. "It's Perry's private pool."

"He has a private pool?"

"Hence private."

"What are those things in it?" Claire pointed to the screen.

"Dead Perry, and a live wire."

"Why is there a live wire in his pool...?"

"Oh, I put it there for a later extravagant kill involving a prize-winning watermelon and George Lopez. But, I guess when the system rebooted, it sent electricity into that wire that wasn't live before, but is now."

"So you just electrocuted and killed Perry, right now?" Claire asked.

Marley looked at the toaster. "I guess."

"I have to admit, that was kind of a cool trick." Claire said.

"And I have to admit, I really did only mean to crispen the waffle."

A cooler kind of electrocution