3rd person POV
Frank pressed a button on the tiles next to the lift and part of the wall slid away. It revealed another room unknown to all the agents except Stella and Frank. Stella led them in allowing them to admire the personal touches made by the M.I.9. Stationary Department. They were there to stop the agents getting bored during the lock down. Keri had received several fashion magazines and a romance novel; Zoe had received several books including a copy of the one she had been allowed at SKUL; Tom had a portable console with a Blade Quest game inside; Frank and Dan both had several books; Aneisha had a sketch pad, pencils and an art book. As all of them examined there entertainment for the next three days, Stella walked back into the base.
Stella's POV
I was meant to be back at HQ before the lock down commenced but it had taken longer than expected to de-brief the agents. Now I was stuck her with not work to do and M.I.9 where left without a leader at their main offices. I was meant to be chairing a meeting later this evening to discuss up-grading the M. team to full agents. It had taken months to persuade all of the heads of department to consider up-grading them. Now all my efforts would be for nothing. Stark would end up chairing the meeting and there was no way he would let the M. team up-grade. In all likelihood he would have the suspended on a petty charge. Focus Stella, the task now is to somehow stay alive for three days without food or water.
In a cabinet underneath Toms desk I found the emergency supplies for the lock down. Each agent had three meals per day each calculated to give the agent all the energy they needed without excess. As all the agents would need all of their food to keep alive there was nothing left for me. What was I going to do? Then I remember, somewhere in the base must be Tom's stash of biscuits. He could never complete a mission without them. Smiling, I started to strategically search the base. I quickly found a metal tin. Opening it I discovered it was full to the brim with an assortment of different biscuits and chocolates. Well at least now I would not die of hunger, a sugar over dose maybe but not hunger.
Frank's POV
We walked into the base to find Stella crouched in front of the desk.
"What are you doing?" came Keri's voice from behind me. Standing up and turning to face us Stella replied.
"Nothing just getting out the food parcels set aside for the lock down. You each have a ladled package with three days' worth of meals; you are not allowed to share as they have been calculated to your weight and diet. "
"But what are you going to eat?" I asked, I could see in her eyes that she had a plan but I had no idea what. There was no other food in the base unless…
From behind her back she pulled a sliver tin with an open lid.
"These!" she answered. It was Tom's emergency supply of biscuits, I wondered how she had found them, he kept them hidden even from me. I had searched the base several times to find them but with no luck. Stella had found them in a matter of seconds but then that was why I loved her. She always knew exactly where to look and how to achieve her objective.
"But those are mine," stuttered Tom, "How did you find them?"
"Tom? Really? I am Head of M.I.9., I think I can find one small box of biscuits in an enclosed underground base." She smiled; I had forgotten what she looked like when she smiled. Since she had become head of M.I.9 she was always serious and focused on the job. In some ways I was glad we were going to be stuck in here for three days. Maybe I would get to talk about us. She was always avoiding me at M.I.9. HQ but here she would have nowhere to hide. She could not even pretend to be working as the entire computer network was switched off to simulate a cyber-attack.
"So now that we are not all going to starve," Stella continued drawing me back from my day dream. "There is just the small matter of beds"