Billy stretched and walked to the doorway of his office, taking advantage of a quiet moment to simply watch the quiet bustle of a bullpen that was not currently dealing with a crisis. He absentmindedly polished the apple he'd picked up on the front of his shirt before taking a bite and enjoying the view. Suddenly an abrupt movement caught his eye and he focused on the corridor outside the plate glass windows. Lee and Amanda had been walking down the hall but something in their discussion had been distracting enough that they had come to a complete stop and were now facing each other with identical expressions of exasperation.
He chuckled to himself, wondering what possible topic they were arguing about now. They had already gone into their typical fight positions, Lee leaning back with his arms crossed, trying to stare her down with the sheer advantage of height while Amanda's arms were straight down at her sides, fists clenched while she explained something to him, obviously in great detail and with a passion for the subject matter. Billy could see the amused glances in the bullpen as people looked up to take in the regular occurrence. He knew he should put an end to it as unbecoming to professional agents but he had to admit that, however this quirky system of loud give and take worked, it worked in his favor. Their solve rate was unparalleled and besides that, the sheer humour of watching them do this was the best office morale booster a boss could ask for.
Francine walked toward him from her desk, glancing over her shoulder to see what had attracted his attention. She turned to stand beside him, a grin lighting up her face at the free entertainment.
"Who's going to win, do you think?" he asked
"Henery, of course," she answered without a pause.
"Henery?"
She started to laugh then. "You mean you've never noticed? Just watch." As the argument continued on the other side of the glass, Francine began providing the voices.
Lee looked down at Amanda with a confused expression. "Now come on son, come on now, whatcha doin down there?"
Amanda bounced up on to the balls of her feet, obviously keyed up with making her point. "Ah, I ain't so little! Come on! Come on, you big palooka! Get up and fight! Put up your dukes!"
Lee leaned down with a smile on his face as if he knew he'd just scored a point. "Now back off, son. You'll never do it, you're not strong enough."
By now the bullpen had gotten very quiet as more and more people began to listen to Francine's version of the conversation.
Lee's arms were spread wide now and his face was a study of confusion and he ran his hand over the back of his head. Unfortunately, this caused the hair to stand straight up exactly like a rooster's comb and the room began to fill with quiet chuckles. "Now that's what I've been - I say, that's what I've been telling you, boy! If I'm not a chicken, then what am I?"
Amanda was now on her tippy toes, staring him straight in the eye. "You're no chicken! You're a loud-mouthed schnook!"
It was amazing neither of them heard the laughter now coming from the bullpen.
Amanda was begun poking him in the chest and speaking rapidly. "Ok chicken, are you going to come quietly or am I going to have to slap you around some?"
Lee had his hands on his hips. "And why would I come with you, boy?"
Amanda had settled back down now and crossed her arms with a triumphant expression. "Because you're a chicken…"
"And I'm a chicken hawk!" chorused almost the entire bullpen as Amanda turned to stalk back down the hallway with Lee following her, shaking his head in exasperated amusement.
"Ask a silly question, get a silly answer," finished Francine with a laugh.
The bullpen burst into applause and Francine took a theatrical bow.
She turned to look at Billy who was wiping his eyes with the heel of his hand. "See? Henery always wins, because Lee's a chicken and she's a chicken hawk."
"Okay people, back to work!" barked Billy with considerably less than his usual bite. "Show's over!"
He walked back into his office, still wheezing with laughter. "God, some days I love my job."