Lt.-Col. Bill Montgomery glanced disdainfully around the open-concept office. He had to admit that the high-tech training simulation he'd seen demonstrated had probably saved a lot of lives, and that was the only reason he was here. That didn't mean that he had to like the fact that adapting the program, which had been designed for the Air Force, to meet the needs of his Marines, meant working with these... people.
'Scruffy' was an understatement. Hair that looked like it had been months since it had been combed, much less cut. Baggy shorts and cut-off jeans, sagging at the waist to reveal underwear, most of which appeared to be printed with assorted cartoon characters. Ancient T-shirts, usually stained, often riddled with holes. Even the guy in charge of the motley crew looked like he had just crawled out of his parents' basement after having spent the entire weekend playing some adolescent video game. Which, he thought ruefully, he probably had.
Montgomery wondered how on earth he was going to survive the six to eight weeks that he'd been told the modifications would likely take, having to work closely with whichever of these programmers would be making the changes.
It took all his Marine training not to visibly cringe when scruffy-guy-in-charge – Derek, he reminded himself, suppressing another wince at the memory of the 'we only use first names here, Dude' he'd been told in response to his inquiry about the man's surname – waved over a kid who looked about twelve years old.
'This is Gonzo...'
Gonzo?
'He worked on designing the original software - I mean, he helped write the original video game, before it even got turned into a combat simulation system for you guys - so...'
Heaven help us...
Just then, a young woman, her arms full of thick coil-bound books, shouldered open a door and stepped into the office. She was casually dressed in dark slacks and a light blue blouse, but compared to her co-workers, she may as well have been wearing a suit. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back from her face, revealing a single gold stud in each ear.
'Gonzo is gonna be working with you on those changes you want. He's one of the best we have, so...'
Seeing that the young woman's path was blocked by the small cluster of people, Montgomery took a step back, clearing enough space for her to pass. To his amazement, her eyes flicked quickly to his collar.
'Thank you, Colonel.'
He returned her smile.
'Military family?'
'My parents both work for NCIS, and my sister is a naval aviator, stationed on the Seahawk.'
'And you design video games?'
'It's a job. I have a PhD from the Centre for Intelligent Machines, in Montreal, but...'
Montgomery turned his attention briefly back to Derek.
'I want her.'
