Owen wanted to slam his head down onto the table and scream. Unfortunately, Owen was a 'professional' and therefore couldn't do that. He also cringed to think what Malcolm would do if he found out. Even an ocean away that man was intimidating.
Though Cynthia isn't much better, Owen thought bitterly, with her tendency to randomly shoot him to make sure he remembered his bullet-proof vest. And poison him. And stab him. And- well you get it.
God, he hated it here. A.S.S was a very fitting acronym.
Barb was standing across from him, waving her hands violently as she talked. Owen was vaguely worried that she might take out one of the many scientists that were around. But they seemed used to her antics and expertly dodged her.
Owen surveyed the table in front of him. There were several weapons disguised as every-day objects, including a pair of black-rocket shoes. That sent a stab of sorrow through Owen's heart. Maybe if Barb had made these three years ago Curt would still be alive.
No. That was not Barb's fault. It was Curt's sense of fashion and lack of common sense.
"So, what do you think Owen?" Bard asked excitedly.
"It's all very… inventive. Though I don't see the need for that number of guns," Owen replied honestly, leaning back in his chair, eyeing the pile of hidden guns. Barb just shrugged and muttered something about funding. "Though the dart-ring is quite interesting."
Barb perked up. "I know right? I figured it would help when it comes to infiltration in more fancy settings! Oh, that reminds me!"
Bard quickly turned on her heel and promptly crashed into a passing scientist. Barb jumped to her feet and continued to run away while the scientist sat dazed on the ground. Another scientist came over and pick him up and lead him over to another table.
Owen watched all of this in amusement. Back at MI6, this would've never happened. If one scientist knocked another over, they would be fired instantly. Owen had to admit the slightly more care-free atmosphere was nice. Probably was why Curt loved working here. He always did well in chaos.
Barb raced back with a slim black box in her hands, this time managing to dodge oncoming scientists. She placed it proudly on the table in front of Owen. She smiled at him, slightly out of breath from her sprint (and why was she running, it wasn't like Owen had anywhere else to go). Owen looked at the box in front of him. It was a plain black box maybe 40cm long.
"Well, go on. Open it!" Barb urged, pushing the box closer to him. Owen grabbed the lid of the box slowly, wary of any poison darts or electrical darts.
I wonder how many new agents get hurt because of these demonstrations.
Owen opened the box part way, facing the opening away from him, just in case. When nothing happened, Owen relaxed before shrugging at Barb's confused look. Turning the box towards him, Owen fully removed the lid to see a… plain black tie. Oh God, please don't be another gun.
"A tie," Owen deadpanned. "You shouldn't have."
"It's not just a tie, silly," Barb scolded, gentle grabbing the tie and unfolding it. She held it in both hands and held the wide end towards Owen. "Look!"
Deciding that the probability of something popping out was slim, Owen leaned in, not quite sure what exactly he was looking for. It was a black-tie, nothing special that Owen could see. He looked up at Barb and shrugged. Barb sighed a little irritably, setting the tie onto the table. She scurried to a nearby table and grabbed a small vile. Owen looked at it warily, well too aware that poisoning co-workers wasn't uncommon at A.S.S.
Barb laid the tie on the table and put a pair of gloves on her hands. She carefully opened the vile and with a small pipette dropped a few drops of the liquid onto the end of the tie. Owen's eye widened as the spots were the liquid had touched turned a dark shade a blue, just barely visible on the black.
"Alright, I'm intrigued. What exactly caused the color change?" Owen questioned, leaning in closer to the tie to inspect it. He stopped, however, at Barb's quick 'stop!'. He leaned back and looked at her in confusion.
Carefully closing up the vile and removing her gloves, Barb spoke. "The end of the tie is laced with special fibers that change color when in contact with a set of poisons. It'll automatically break the poisons down, but I don't want you to touch it till the color goes away."
Nodding in understanding Owen watched as the blue slowly faded away. This was amazing. Owen thought of all the times where he'd been poisoned and had to make a quick getaway to cure himself. "So does it detect all poisons or?"
Barb chuckled and carefully folded the tie back into its box. "No silly, that would be almost impossible! Instead, we used the 15 most common poison used on our agents! Oh! It also can detect some drugs, but that's less precise. We mostly focused on mind-altering drugs and it can be so hard to get them all…"
Barb trailed off, probably thinking about all the trials for the tie. Owen spoke, "So are different poisons color-coded, or is it always blue?"
"It's coded!" Barb confirmed. "For example, blue is belladonna!"
"Well I have to say, that is one impressive invention Barb," Owen complimented, smiling softly at a flushing Barb. Barb ducked her head and mumbled something inaudible while pushing the box towards Owen. Owen grabbed the box and stood from his chair. He had a meeting with an informant, about the informant for his mission. Insane.
"Well, I've got to head out. Thank you for the tie," Owen said as he began to walk away.
"No problem!"
Just as he reached the door, Barb called to him from across the room, "Owen! About the drugs, it may not be fully accurate so be careful!"
Owen tossed his confirmation over his shoulder as he left, not paying it much mind since he doubted it would useful for his upcoming mission.
Tracking the deadliest man alive. Owen was bounded to get poisoned. Or shot. Or stabbed. Basically, everything that's already happened at A.S.S.