Adam straightened in his chair as his infolink displayed an incoming transmission. The corners of his lips twitched upwards as he noticed who it was coming from.
"Jensen!"
"Yes, Francis? How may I help you?" he answered, his voice sounding almost perfectly convincing.
Pritchard didn't buy it for a second, his every word lined with exasperation: "Cut the crap and get over to my office. We need to discuss your inappropriate behavior in the workplace."
Adam could no longer hide his amusement: "Care to elaborate? I'm not aware of-"
"You know why I want you to come here, Jensen!" barked Pritchard. "Now make it snappy!"
Adam rose from his chair and walked past his desk, his pace rather leisurely. It was already damn near impossible not to laugh, he wondered how he would maintain a straight face once he reached Pritchard. As he headed down the stairs, he bit down on the insides of his cheeks and put on the best poker face he could muster. A poker face that all but evaporated once he got close enough to the tech lab to see the red faced Pritchard stomping towards him.
"You must think you're so damn funny now." fumed the hacker as he approached him.
Adam stopped in front of him, his voice almost a chuckle: "I thought we were meeting in your office."
"Ha. Ha. I'm dying." deadpanned Pritchard. "I thought your constant need to somehow berate me was annoying, but this, this just took the cake." He gestured towards the completely blocked doorway to his office. "A vending machine, how creative. Seriously Jensen, your sense of humor... Ugh, what am I saying. This isn't even humor, this is just plain idiocy!"
"I don't know, Francis. I think that if you keep it around for a while it might grow on you. Who knows, maybe you'll even start eating food during work hours now that you don't have to leave your office to get it." prodded Adam, wondering if the other man would ever gather up the nerve to hit him with anything other than words.
Pritchard opened his mouth to spit something back at him, only to stop as he noticed two co-workers passing by them. There was a muffled noise as they evidently tried their best not to burst out laughing. Witnessing such a scene must've been the highlight of their day. Much like their reaction seemed to be the last straw for Pritchard. He turned his attention back to Adam, his voice dripping venom: "Get that thing away from my doorway, Jensen. And don't expect it to be over once you do. I assure you that Sarif will hear every single detail about this."
"Maybe you won't be the first one to mention it." shrugged Adam as he ducked in front of the vending machine, gripping it with both hands.
Pritchard just stood there watching him, arms crossed and ponytail ruffled.
The aug lifted his load and started carrying it towards the stairs to return it back to where it was originally. He knew that Pritchard meant what he said about reporting him to Sarif, but for now he didn't care. The taste of victory was just too sweet.