"Allen, you have those results I need?"
"You mean from the evidence I told you would be done yesterday?"
Hanson shifts awkwardly, no doubt playing with his tie. "Yea, those. I mean, if you haven't finished yet that's perfectly fine. I can–"
Betty rolls her eyes, keeping her gaze focused on the microscope as she points to her outbox. "Your file is fourth from the bottom. Your results were in yesterday morning and I finished compiling it all by lunch."
"Why didn't you tell me it was done?"
"I told you two days ago it would all be done and the report would be ready by lunch yesterday," she sighs, making notes on the current sample. "You are a big boy, a detective with the CCPD, I'm fairly certain you know how to read time and check a calendar."
"Why didn't you say anything yesterday? I've been waiting–"
"We have a system, Detective, and have for over two years now," Betty cuts in sharply. "Evidence is collected, it comes to the lab, I look it all over and give you a ballpark figure on when the results will be in. If, by some miracle, it's done early, or something comes up and I need more time, I text you. Otherwise, you show up at the pre-appointed time to get the initial findings and once I'm done compiling the results and have written my report, I text you to come pick up your file. If you're one of the more brutish officers you even come in and harass me so much that I either take care of your evidence just so I can get a break from you, or your evidence somehow mysteriously gets moved to the bottom of the pile. That's our system. That is the same system we've had since I was set up here. In no part of this do I hold your hand through the entire process and make sure you remember to check on your evidence. It finished on time so you should have picked it up on time. You didn't though so I assumed you had better things to do and I moved on through my log. If I need to treat you like a little kid and text you every time a result comes in and when each report prints and when my file is done, I can start doing that. But then you can explain to Captain Singh why there are so many text charges on my work line and why I'm keeping better track of you than your girl does."
A throat clears from the doorway and Betty finishes her train of thought in her notes before calmly setting everything down. Joe is standing in the doorway behind a beet-red Detective Hanson looking like he isn't sure whether he should scold her or laugh at his poor co-worker.
She sighs heavily and grabs the aforementioned file. Betty passes it to Hanson, "I am not a psychotic person on the brink of a mental breakdown. Stop treating me like one. Go back to the harassing hourly visits and treat me like the forensic scientist I spent nine months of the silent treatment from Joe to become. Next time, I'll either pass the results to Clayborn 'by accident' or your evidence will continuously find its way to the bottom of the stack for a solid month. Got it?"
Hanson takes the file and starts to leave, tossing out a parting shot. "For the record, I like working with your brother better."
"That's because he's a pushover," she snorts.
Joe is thumbing through the stack of files on her desk and shakes his head. "These are your outgoing?"
Betty nods, grabbing her current file and finishing her notes. "Kyle's has been waiting for him for three days now. Three, Joe. Every time he comes in, he asks if it's done yet but then launches into how he can totally wait and, as a matter of fact, he can just come back tomorrow, and then he just leaves. Today, I even had it in hand, ready to give it to him but he just left!" She makes a noise of disgust and adds her notes to the current folder. "I thought they were all bad after the particle accelerator and again when Len left, but it's actually gotten worse. I didn't think that were possible, but they've managed it."
"Give it a few more days," Joe tries to soothe. "This time next week they'll all be back to normal."
"They better be, otherwise I might just have that breakdown they are all so scared of," she mutters. She leans past Joe and passes him the file he is looking for. "Yours finished half an hour ago so you're right on time. If that's all, I've finished my log for the day and I was supposed to be out an hour ago."
"In which case you better get your butt out of here before Singh catches…"
Buzzing fills her ears and Betty's skin lights up, the hairs standing on end as energy thrums through her. The buzzing quiets after some time and the energy disperses, leaving a low hum that dances along her spine.
"Betty!"
Betty jerks sharply at the tone, eyes focusing to find Joe standing in front of her with a worried look on his face.
"You okay? What happened, did you get dizzy? Do I need to take you–"
"Barry's awake."