"Hush!" she whispered crouched down behind the incinerator.
"Did you really just hush me, who uses that word?" he rambled nervously back at her.
"Now is not the time for a discussion on language usage; just be quiet!" Her hushed tones
strained against a whisper.
The sound of feet outside the door silenced both of them. Nell's heart was palpitating so loud she was sure it was audible. Really what did she have to fear? Demotion, charges… Hetty. It had been a complete accident bringing Eric with her to the incinerator. They had just been talking so intently that she had not realized where they were until it was too late.
The footsteps of outside the door stopped. Hearing the click of the lock, Nell's heart fell to her feet. Of course this room was the only one that was actually locked with a turnkey. They would now be stuck in here until morning when she would have to explain why she had broken protocol and taken non designated personnel into a room where classified documents were destroyed. She looked at Eric and he was about to speak. Raising her finger to her lips she quieted him again. After hearing a succession of clicks, she exhaled her stifled breath. At least they hadn't been found yet and there might still be a way to escape this calamity. Nell looked at Eric and saw his look of despair.
" Well this is another fine mess I've gotten us into," he muttered.
Nell stood from her crouched position and started to mentally assess the situation. When Eric stood in the somewhat confined space he seemed to dwarf her. Looking up at him she couldn't help but smile.
" I am quite sure you did not drag me in here kicking and screaming Wolfram" she tried to plaster a false smile on her face. Eric's worry was evident in his hazel eyes.
"If I hadn't been geeking out about the convention, maybe we would have been paying attention to what we were doing."
Eric had gotten two VIP tickets to an upcoming Sci Fi convention. His status in the collectibles world had to earn him perks at some point. All day long the partners had been discussing the finer points of several of the panels, as well as arguing over whether to cosplay. They had gone through the whole day multi tasking in tandem while still discussing the upcoming event. It came as a complete shock to both of them when they heard people starting to shout out their nightly farewells and realized where they were.
Nell looked at Eric and then looked at the door. Her wheels were starting to turn. There had to be a way out without calling attention to themselves. Between the two smartest operatives in the building Nell was sure they would come up with something. Neither one had taken their tablets in with them. Nell started feeling her pockets to see what they would have available. Eric realized what she was doing and followed suit. Digging out his phone from his jammers Eric smiled.
"It's going to be alright. We'll just call someone and I make an excellent scapegoat."
" Absolutely not! I will make sure that we get out of here with both of our careers intact. We are Wolfram and Ununoctium and we have been in tighter binds than this before."
Nell refused to let her partner take the blame for her mistake. Not that she could or would admit there was a mistake. Any argument of culpability would lead to the question of why. There was no way that she would admit that the whole day was kind of a fog. How could she confess that her brain had been hazy with thoughts of spending a weekend alone with Eric in a hotel . That would mean being honest with herself and Eric and that was not going to happen. She had gone this long holding tight to their friendship and stomping down her growing feelings for Eric. She could hold on for just one more night. Looking at Eric cock his head sideways and give his goofy smile Nell was almost giddy. She suddenly wasn't sure she'd make it through the night, let alone five minutes.
No, Nell had to stay strong. Time to think like Callen or even better like Hetty and get them out of there. Sitting down again she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pen . She started to sketch out the layout of the mission. Eric had started to fiddle with his phone , she looked over at him with her version of a gorgon stare.
"Just trying to see what I can pull up from here," he said smiling.
After listing out the exits the air vents and all the possible cameras that could catch them Nell was starting to formulate a plan. She would need Eric's help but she was actually beginning to see a glimmer of hope.
"I can modify my phone and fiddle around with the operating system. But this may take a little while." Eric continued to tap away at his phone.
" Well we have until 7 am to get out without alerting anyone and keep our jobs and partnership…easy as π." Nell looked around and scooted over to lean against one wall. This was not the first time they had pulled an all-nighter but this was definitely the most memorable. Something in the back of Nell's mind told her this night was going to really put them to the test. And Life's test were the only ones she was never sure she could pass.
"Well I accomplished one thing," Eric looked from the incinerators to Nell. "I pushed off their cycle for two hours. That's the maximum without using Hetty's password."
The incinerators were set to cycle on and off during the night as a secondary protocol to make sure any paper remnants were truly soot. Tonight things would undoubtedly get hot but not in the way Nell secretly hoped they would. Running through her head the BTU output of the average incinerator and the size of the small room Nell was pretty sure that it would reach temperatures of 103 in the room. Even with the appropriate venting that was a little too hot to handle.
Suddenly there was a thud in the hallway, it was quickly followed by another thud. Nell closed her eyes and waited for the next sound. Who was skulking around and were they about to be found out? Locked in a nervous stare Nell and Eric nodded their concession and waited for whatever was coming through the door.
.