Title: Three Zane Moon
Author Name:BithaBlu
Characters: Zane, Senator Wen
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Language (?)
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Spoilers for 4.16
Summary: I had a summary but I forgot to write it here so I'm just going to sum it up with this: Here's parts of Zane's day that we didn't see. Also- this isn't all of it. This is just part one of two/three. I keep getting distracted by real life crap, though, and I wanted to get this, at least, in on time. So this might get something added to it later. Check back in a week or two.


Being summoned to Fargo's office wasn't normally that big of a deal. It used to be that Zane would get a nasty little text (if he wasn't in too much trouble) or a security escort (if he was) and then have to sit through a twenty minute lecture on either how to behave in civilized society or that getting sent back to prison was still an option. Blah, blah, blah. These days, it was much more fun: either Fargo and crew needed Zane to do some more of their cyber dirty work or there was some kind of project that Zane would actually enjoy working on. Thing had changed a lot in the last eight months but a visit to the 'principal's office' still wasn't something to get worked up about.

Today, though, was different. First of all, Fargo wasn't the one behind the desk. A very composed and stoic Senator Wen had taken over Fargo's office. She sat in the director's chair like she owned it and it mildly annoyed Zane that someone like her could sneer her way all over GD simply because she was part of a group that held the purse strings.

Hell, if Fargo didn't ask where the money came from, Zane would gladly fund all of GD's research if it meant getting the government asshats out of the picture. Of course, even he would have a hell of a time getting the twenty billion that Senator Wen got for the Astraeus grant. Credit card fraud and hacking corporate bank accounts usually didn't rack up that kind of cash.

Since Senator Wen was the one choosing the the people for the Astraeus mission, Zane was trying to be polite- making that the second big change of Zane's usual pattern of behavior for being in Fargo's office. But behaving himself was a pain on a good day. Now? Now was almost unbearable.

Which led to the last different thing of the day- Zane's presence in Fargo's office wasn't usually requested at midnight. But here he was. At midnight. When sleep should be had. Or Jo. Whichever was available.

So Zane just sat up straight and tried to pay attention in a polite, non-threatening and non-felonious manner. Wen was making it difficult though. She kept babbling in politician-speak instead of just saying what she wanted and Zane was having a hard time keeping track. Finally, he just blurted out, "What is it, exactly, that you want me to do?"

With a resigned sigh, Wen finally gave him a straight answer, "I want you to collaborate with Dr. Haberman on the psychological testing phase. I need to see how candidates react to aggravation in close quarters and how well they can work with others even while competing against each other."

"Work with Larry on the psych phase? Yeah. I can do that."

"Good." Wen gave him a small smile and transferred something to his data tablet. "Here's a list of Dr. Haberman's current plan for inducing aggravation. Review it and let him know if you have any suggestions."

Zane gave the info a quick scan and grinned, "Oh, I've got a few suggestions already. First of all, Larry can do plenty of damage from the outside but you're going to need someone actually in the isolation room to really send people over the edge. And if you want to test team work skills, you're going to have to add a few 'problems' that need more than one person to fix. The toilet not working and the power going out? Both of those can be fixed by one person. I'm not saying those scenarios won't be useful for you to observe but they don't exactly inspire that 'Go Team' mentality. Oh- and Larry needs to stock the fridge with flatulent foods. Milk for the lactose intolerant people, bean burritos, potatoes, onions and asparagus stalks."

Senator Wen made a sound that certainly wasn't a snort. It also wasn't a snicker, a titter or a laugh. It was kind of a dry bark that expressed a brief (and quickly suppressed) moment of amusement.

"I knew your help would be invaluable." The senator paused and then, hesitantly, added, "I'd like to utilize your people 'skills' and have you be the inside man. I think that you'd be the best person for the job. Especially for the first round of testing."

Leaning back in his chair, Zane grinned. "And who's the first group of victims?"

"Douglas Fargo, Holly Marten, Isaac Parrish," Wen check her file quick before finishing with, "and Jo Lupo- provided she passes her written test this morning."

"She'll pass." Zane didn't even hesitate. She'd worked too hard the past few weeks and Zane had been surprised by how easily she had picked it up. He had known that she was smart but her ability to process new information (provided that it was explained decently) was amazing. Jo was amazing. She... was not going to be happy with him reverting to his old obnoxious ways. Zane slouched back in the chair and started to say, "Look, I'll help out where ever I can but I don't really want to-"

"Excellent," Wen interrupted, "And, for your assistance, I'll be happy to review your eligibility for Astraeus."

Huh. All he had to do was be his old pain in the ass self and he'd get his chance to go to Titan.

Hrm.

Jo'd get over it.

Right?

Yeah. She'd forgive him... after the fact... if he explained it... provided she didn't kill him first.

Zane weighed the pros and cons before flipping a mental coin. When 'why not' beat out 'why' Zane nodded and grinned at the senator, "Well then, I'll be happy to help. If you don't mind, I'm going to go see if Larry and I can tweak the test quick."

When Wen nodded, Zane stood up and started walking to the door. A quick thought stopped him and he turned to ask, "The written test is the one where people get yanked out of bed and dragged here without a chance to prepare, right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Umm, you might want to call S.A.R.A.H. and clear it with her before you send a squad for Lupo." Zane had a brief flash of what S.A.R.A.H. would do to a group of unsuspecting commandos innocently trying to kidnap Jo and it wasn't a pleasant thought. Then Zane thought of what Jo would do to a group of unsuspecting commandos and that visual was even more disturbing. "And you might want to double the number of guys you send after Jo. Oh- and when you call S.A.R.A.H., ask her how many guns Jo has in reach and where they are so the guys know. You know what, just triple the number of guys and have them tackle her so she doesn't kill anyone. She'd be pissed if she killed one of her guys."

Senator Wen let out another one of those 'laughs' and said, "You're joking right? Ms. Lupo may be tough but I doubt she could take out six soldiers from a dead sleep. And who's Sarah?"

Zane flinched. The senator had no idea who she was dealing with and Jo's security guys were going to pay big time if he didn't warn them. "Senator, think of Jo as Batman without the bankroll. She could kick someone's ass while sleepwalking. Chuck Norris would avoid her before she's had her morning Vinspresso. Trust me when I say that I've seen her take down six opponents without breaking a sweat. And S.A.R.A.H. is Carter's smart house. When one of her people is threatened, she is the single most vicious AI I've ever seen. She demolished Andy. Twice. And that was just for taking Carter's job temporarily."

The senator winced. "Why don't you give this Sarah a call and I'll let Lt. Kemp know that he has permission to triple Ms. Lupo's escort. And, if you haven't figured it out yet, you're restricted to GD until after the test and you can't warn any of the candidates about the test."

"Yeah. I kinda figured that senator. After I get done plotting with Larry, I'm going to crash out in the sleep lab. If you need to find me, that's where I'll be."

Grinning, Zane strode out of Fargo's office. This could be fun and it could be his chance to join Astraeus. Now he just had to figure out how to meet Wen's expectations without pissing off Jo too much.