"May I have a word with you, Pam?"
Pam's face flushed as a male scientist elbowed her in the side, "Oooohhh….."
She frowned at him, "Shut up, Joe." Before Langers eyes turned to slits and she reluctantly followed him through an elevator, her heart sinking. The silence was strained and Pam stared off, feeling Langers gaze on her.
Finally they reached Langers office, a bare white room with a single white desk and large, comfy chair. Pam boots echoed off the walls as she walked to his desk, stopping a foot away as her boss slumped in his chair, turning round to face her and Pam felt her cheeks grow warm when Langer looked at her again. A piercing quiet fell on the two and for a moment Pam wished she had her own chair. She swore he could see her hands were trembling; the ones that'd held Bensons only moments ago.
She swallowed the lump that'd formed in her throat and clasped her hands together as she spoke, "S-Sir, I didn't mean to-"
Langer held up a hand, "Silence, Pam."
Pam went quiet, forcing herself to calm as he continued, his lips curling down as he leaned forward, both hands pressed on the desks surface, "Do you realise what you've just done?" When she didn't answer, he raised his voice, startling her, "You've compromised the mission!"
"I-I know Sir but if you'll let me explain-"
One look from him made her shut her mouth and she stayed still, his eyes boring into hers before he quickly stood to walk to her with his hands behind his back, "Listen Pam. We only have ONE chance to get this right. We cannot afford another screw up." He stopped a meter away from her and even then, she could see sweat beading his forehead, "Maellard's counting on us."
Pam cast her eyes to the ground, unable to face her boss with the thoughts running through her mind. While he was right, her feelings for Benson'd grown since they'd parted and she couldn't risk saying a word on it for fear of what Langer would do to him. Although they had a plan set out for the park crew, Benson was the ultimate target and with her stupid decision to bring him into the dome, it was just asking for trouble.
"He could've seen what we were doing!" He screeched.
She raised her head, "I'm pretty sure he's oblivious to it all, Sir."
Langer stopped and there was a haunting silence, before he asked softly, "What?"
"Me and my team've been studying him as well as the others and…Benson doesn't seem phased by our experiments." She chose her words, the mere presence of her boss making chills run through her body. He was a powerful man, capable of quite anything. When she saw Langer look away, raising a hand to scratch his chin in thought, she continued, "And there wasn't anything in the room I took him in that could give him any indication of the plan."
Langer slowly looked back up and those familiar chills made her neck hairs stand on end, "Are you sure?"
"Yes Sir, I'm quite sure."
He didn't say anything else for a moment and Pam watched as he walked back over to his desk, sitting in his chair and turning so his back was to his employee. Pam frowned in confusion, before Langer swivelled the chair to her, his hands together. She watched him lean forward, staring at his fingers until he lifted his gaze up to meet hers.
"Do you love Benson, Pam?"
Heat flooded Pams cheeks and she let her eyes fall to a stack of files on Langers desk, feeling his eyes on her once again. His gaze was intense and she finally had to look back up at him, ignoring her stomach twisted in knots, "Y-Yes, I think so."
It was then that Langer suddenly smiled at her and Pam slowly felt the warmth dissipate from her body as he leaned back in his chair, locking his fingers together and Pam could almost see the evil idea hatching in his mind.
"Good…" He said, more to himself than her, and that suddenly made goosebumps raise on her arms. Words fell in her throat and she didn't dare open her mouth for a moment, fear gripping her entire body as Langers eyes searched her.
"W-What's good, Sir?" Pam swallowed thickly, falling silent almost immediately.
Langer clicked his tongue before sighing, his expression changing drastically as he shrugged, dropping his hands on his desk, "Oh nothing. Just a little idea I had, that's all."
Pam hesitated, "Would you…care to share that idea, Sir?"
Langer frowned and Pam shuddered. Luckily for her, he only waved a hand, "No, no, I'll keep it to myself…for now."
Something dawned on her and she felt the knot tighten. Forcing a smile, Pam asked, "It doesn't have anything to do with Benson, does it?"
He only glanced at her and in that moment, absolute dread sunk into Pams body. She stared at him but he gave no reply- right as she opened her mouth to ask "why", the door opened and Joe appeared, his face slightly pale at seeing Langer. Pams eyes tore from their boss to rest on her co-worker, but she couldn't form a sentence; it was as if she'd been punched in the gut.
"Uh Sir?"
"What is it Joe?" Langer snapped, his voice thick with anger. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
Joe pointed behind him, "We have an emergency in Room 45."
Langer sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Let me guess; Carl let them out again?"
His employee paused, making an unsure noise before saying, "Nnnot exactly…."
Pam couldn't help the relieved laughter that bubbled in her throat, spilling into her mouth for both Langer and Joe to hear. Langer gave her an odd look while Joe smirked, until their boss brushed Pams behaviour and got up from his chair, "This better not be a waste of my time, Joe."
The smirk was wiped off his face as he followed Langer down the hall, leading him to room 45, "I promise you it isn't, Sir."
Pam waited a moment before seeing herself out. She waited for the twos voices to fade off until taking a step towards the door, feeling a sudden uneasiness take hold of her chest. How was she going to tell Benson if she knew Langer was watching her every move? No doubt he'd keep a fair eye on her since the twos escapades in one of the rooms. Pam chewed her bottom lip as she shut the door behind her…she could still taste the chicken wings on her breath and for a fleeting few seconds, she suddenly feared for not only Bensons life…but her own.
