Mac fiddled with the paper clip in his hands, blindly trying to fold the delicate steel into his desired shape. The sharp end bit at his thumb as he distractedly manipulated the object. He wished Bozer was here during the debriefing, instead of back at the lab.
"Matty, these guys-"
"Are dangerous. Gold star, you just told me what I already know about hundreds of other scumbags in our case files." Matilda Webber glared blatantly at the wiry mess in his hands but chose not to comment. She had learned to accept and even utilize some of his "quirks" as she called them, although he still felt scrutinized more than the other members of the team. He spared a quick glance at the ragged paper clip. It was going…horribly. Much like the conversation with his boss now.
"With all due respect, these men-"
Matty spun on her heel and barked at the lumbering figure behind Mac.
"Jack, what is Mac babbling on about?" Jack, who'd been trying to fashion his own work of art out of a Phoenix paperclip, dropped the item with fumbling hands at the mention of his name.
"I...uh..." He looked back and forth from Mac to Matty with a sheepish grin. "What was the question? This paper clip thing is way harder than it looks-"
"JACK. Since you and your peanut sized brain decided to shut down more than usual during the last five minutes, allow me to bring you up to speed," their superior interrupted curtly. She folded her arms across her chest. "You and Mac have been tailing a splinter group for a week. I want to know why the two of you cut your detail short, blew up a roadhouse, stole an ice cream truck, and created a homemade sprinkler." When Jack studiously avoided her gaze, she added, "Well?"
"Mac is really the best storyteller. I mean, you should hear his monologues sometime. Poetic stuff," Jack said. He pulled said poet into a one armed hug that quickly turned into a forceful push as he turned Mac into a human shield between himself and his boss. "Go on, buddy, do what you do best. Here, have another paper clip." Matty slapped the offending object from Jack's hands.
"Tell me what I want to know or I'll ban paper clips from the entire building. And fashion bracelets," she added dryly. Jack jerked his right wrist protectively against his chest. "Hey, I'll have you know this is leather. Real leather!"
"...Uh, guys? We might have a problem," Riley spoke up from her coveted spot in the corner armchair. Her eyes scanned the laptop screen almost as fast as her fingers typed indecipherably on the keyboard. "This splinter cell. There were...how many of them?"
"Ten," Matty replied automatically, then tensed as she heard a nervous cough to her left. "WHAT, Mac?" The blonde avoided her gaze.
"Nine. The, uh, sprinkler took one of them out." The techie nodded, her attention fixated on the screen.
"Uh huh. And you're sure you weren't followed?"
"Hold on, missy," Jack interrupted, pushing his human shield aside for the moment. "We've been doing this gig an awful long time. I think we can lose ten—"
"Nine." Mac interjected.
"Fine. NINE baddies without any problems." Riley huffed.
"Okay...then why are nine of your 'not problems' currently ransacking Mac and Bozer's house?"