Sunday afternoon Layla and Terry were inside his small Dojo in the backyard sparring when her phone began ringing with Walter's ring tone. They stopped immediately as they looked over at the small shelf over the coat hooks. "I knew it was too good to be true. I wonder what Homeland has going on." Terry said as he watched Layla walk over and pick up her phone.
Layla grabbed a towel and wiped down her face before she pressed the answer icon. She lifted the phone up to her ear. "Hey boss, what catastrophe is going on this time?"
Terry watched as her brow furrowed.
"Sure, I understand, I don't know why but okay. I'll call the guys and let them know, bye." Layla looked over at Terry as she pressed the hang up icon. "Walter told me to call the others and let them know to be at the Garage at 10 instead of the normal start time."
Terry frowned. "That is a bit out of character for him."
Layla nodded as she pulled up her contacts and called Paige first. "I'll say it is, first he gives us 3 days off and then come in late our first day back?"
Paige and Layla spoke for almost an hour as part of their normal friendship but they discussed Walter's strange request but Paige assured her she had no knowledge about what was going on as Walter hadn't said anything to her about anything before he left her condo the night before.
Layla went ahead and had Terry take her to the Garage at the normal time so he could be at work on time. She unlocked the door and stepped in and turned off the security alarm. She frowned seeing the chairs from the desks had been grouped together. She slowly walked over to her desk as she pulled her sweater off and hung it on the small hook on the support column just behind her desk.
She looked into the kitchen but didn't see Walter and didn't smell coffee on yet so she walked back and began setting the coffee maker up when she heard the door open. "Hey Walter!" Cabe yelled. "Are you here son?"
Layla stepped out of the kitchen. "Good morning Cabe."
Cabe smiled. "Hey Kid, do you know what is going on? Walter wouldn't explain last night. He just told me he was having everyone come in at 10 this morning."
Layla shook her head. "He didn't go into details for me either. I talked to Paige after and she had no knowledge about what was going on. I went ahead and came in so I didn't have to worry about keeping Terry from going to work on time or finding a ride to get here."
Cabe nodded as he looked around at the chairs. "Did he do this too?"
Layla nodded. "I guess, I just got here and they were like this. I haven't seen him yet. I just got the coffee going."
They both looked towards the loft as they heard the only door up there shut meaning Walter either just went into the bathroom or more likely had just came out. A moment later Walter appeared at the top of the steps and he began bounding down them as he looked at his friends puzzled. "What are you both doing here? I said 10."
"Well I wasn't going to ask Terry to go in late to work so I came at my normal time." Layla responded.
"Come on kid, you got to give us more than that. This is so out of character for you. You got us both concerned." Cabe said as he walked over to stand by Layla.
Walter shook his head as he walked over to his desk and sat down. "Nothing to be concerned over, I've got information to disseminate and afterwards everyone has the rest of the day off."
"What?" Both Layla and Cabe asked incredulously.
Walter looked up as his brow raised up in puzzlement.
"Now look here Walt." Cabe started.
"Walter you are acting damn peculiar." Layla started at the same time before they looked at each other and laughed.
"You go on Layla." Cabe acquiesced.
"Walter, you gave us three days off last week, wanted us to come in at 10 this morning and then you are giving us the rest of the day off? What is going on?" Layla asked as she walked over and sat at the chair next to his desk.
Walter half smiled. "As I said, I have information to disseminate to you."
"I get that part, but why the rest of the day off?" Layla questioned.
Walter pushed his laptop back a little ways as Cabe stepped up and stood behind Layla. "I only want to go through this one time, you both will just have to wait until everyone gets here. Why don't you both go to Kovelsky's and get breakfast or whatever on me and come back in a couple of hours?"
Layla felt completely confused. For the first time since she came to work for Walter she felt like he was a complete mystery to her.
Walter glanced back at her when she hadn't moved and he saw something like pain on her face and his brow furrowed. "Are you okay Layla?"
She shook her head. "I don't understand, you've never withheld information from me before. No matter how personal it was so I am unsure where I stand."
Walter's eyes opened a bit larger. "This isn't something bad Layla as I said I just don't want to have to go through it more than once." He reached over and placed his hand gently on top of hers on his desk. "I promise."
Layla took in a deep breath before she slowly nodded and then stood up and turned to look at Cabe and shrugged.
Cabe nodded. "Okay, we'll give you some space and go over to the diner."
Walter smiled as he nodded. "Thank you Layla for getting the coffee going."
Layla nodded as she slowly stepped over and grabbed her sweater. She stood on legs that seemed weakened before she began to walk slowly over to the door and outside with Cabe.
"What do you think Cabe?" Layla asked in a tiny voice as she climbed into his SUV.
"Well the one thing I know about Walter for sure is, when he makes up his mind you have to give him space to see it through. Anything else is an exercise in futility. But take comfort in his words that this isn't something bad." Cabe told her before he shut her door.
Paige frowned as she reached out and gripped her office phone and then picked it up and hit the intercom button. "Guys, I need you at my office." She stood up after hanging the phone up and grabbed her sweater and slipped it on.
Sylvester was there first followed by Happy and Toby brought up the rear, late as normal.
Paige looked at the guys. "Walter just called. He said he needed all of us at the Garage."
"So? We don't work for him anymore. And if he isn't paying Centipede Partners normal rates he can pound sand." Toby spoke up first.
*Oof* Toby exclaimed as he bent over quickly from where Happy backhanded him in the stomach.
"When does he need us?" Happy asked.
Paige smiled. "He said right now."
Happy nodded and turned and pushed Toby back out of Paige's office. She saw Sylvester standing there. "Unless you want some of the same I suggest you get your ass out of Paige's office and into her car."
Sylvester's eyes went wide and he quickly moved past her and out the door before stepping around Toby and on out the main door.
Toby moved quickly after him as he saw the look on Happy's face as she came out of the office. Paige just smiled. "You got him trained pretty well."
Happy laughed as she nodded.
Dustin sitting in his chair looked at Walter as he worked on his laptop. "Uh Walt, we're all here. Can we get this over with?"
Walter looked up and saw the four geniuses, Layla and Cabe all sitting looking at him speculatively. Walter shook his head as he looked at his watch. "It isn't 10 yet."
Dustin let out a loud breath of disgust as Walter had gone right back to working on his laptop. He looked at Layla and as his mouth opened she shook her head.
"No, I don't know what Walter wants or why we have to wait. So don't ask." Layla told him firmly.
Dustin sighed. "I hate this. It's like waiting your turn to see the principle."
Sarah just smiled. Anything that disrupted Dustin's day had her seal of approval. But she swallowed hard because she was actually feeling the same way.
Dustin looked at Cabe and he just shook his head and Dustin sighed again. Finally he looked at Sarah. "You don't have any idea about what is going on do you?"
Sarah was shocked. It was the first time she could remember him being decent towards her since they first met. She shook her head. "Sorry, he hasn't said anything to me and I can't read anything from him either."
Dustin nodded. "Thanks anyway." They all looked at Dustin in disbelief. "What?" Dustin asked.
The Garage door opened and everyone looked back and looked shocked to see Paige walk into the building followed by Sylvester, Happy and Toby. Florence and Layla both stood up and moved back. While Layla hugged Paige, Florence stepped into Sylvester's arms.
Layla pulled back a bit as she looked at Paige. "Do you know what is going on?"
Paige barely was able to shake her head when Walter cleared his throat. They looked back and saw him standing behind his desk. "Centipede Partners, thank you for agreeing to attend." Walter said casually as he walked around his desk pulling his chair with him. He pushed it out further and as it stopped next to Layla's chair he leaned back a bit as his butt pressed against his desk. "Please have a seat."
"Actually some of us didn't agree, we were ordered to attend." Toby spoke up.
Walter had watched Layla and Paige walk up and sit down in front even as Happy, Sylvester and Florence sat down on the large sofa. "That's fine, if you don't want to be here you are free to leave." Walter said gently.
Dustin looked at Walter a bit darkly. "What exactly is the old Scorpion team doing here?"
"If you will just wait a minute while Toby decides if he wants to be here or not." Walter said still speaking casually.
Every eye turned to look at Toby and he finally grunted and walked over and sat down in the chair Florence had been in.
Walter looked at Cabe. "Because of poor emotional development and without applying logical thought on the situation I set in motion the actions that ripped Scorpion apart and created Centipede Partners and a reforming of Scorpion with new members." Thankfully because of Layla's persistence, Paige's ability to forgive and willingness to try and Sarah's extraordinary ability that rift which caused so much devastation has been closed."
"As I remember telling Paige one night before the rift, without her Scorpion wouldn't have risen up to the pinnacle it was at. We floundered about, unable to secure jobs that meant much." Walter looked at Toby. "Alienating the clients we did get, irritating prospective clients on my part, even assaulting them when they acted sexist." Walter looked at Happy. "Getting lost in math and misplacing important papers including client checks." Walter smiled at Sylvester.
"After the split things looked so bleak for Scorpion. But meeting Sarah helped to save it. But still we floundered. It especially didn't help when Sarah and Dustin clashed in front of clients. But then a rare chance meeting of Layla changed all of that. And Scorpion became the powerhouse it was before the rift." Walter smiled at Layla.
"I've spent the last five days going over everything that has happened since that day I first met the most amazing woman I would ever know in a little diner while repairing their wifi. And this is what I have come up with." He hit a remote and the monitor tree lit up beside the chairs.
There were many graphs and complex mathematical equations. "While I know I will never be able to give up control, this is what I propose. Centipede Partners will dissolve and be reintegrated into Scorpion. Any contracts currently held by CP will be honored under the Scorpion banner. Scorpion will then have two teams for the most part. Scorpion as it stands today will be team A and the members of CP will be team B."
Toby jumped up. "Wait a minute. Why do they get to be team A?"
Walter looked up at him. "Mainly because they are team Scorpion and it is only a designation. If you would prefer I can call them team 1 and you can be number 2?"
Toby's face turned red as he sat down.
Walter drew in a deep breath. "The A & B are merely for reference sake. There is no special privilege assigned to them."
"Well if there is no privilege let them be team B." Toby spoke up again.
Walter just stared at him for a moment. "Also until team B can be re-qualified by Homeland you won't be able to work Homeland cases. While we are in between cases and if a case isn't an emergency type of situation I will do my best to give everyone in Scorpion involved in the case a chance to voice their opinion on what we should do. But in emergency situations I will continue to reserve the right to assert my authority in decisions."
Walter pointed at one of the monitors with a laser pointer. "I'm also willing to issue a 4.9% share of the company to each of you. That leaves me with controlling interest at 51%."
"That's barely better than what you proposed to us before." Toby said aloud as he jumped up again.
Everyone looked back at him and Toby sat back down.
Walter nodded. "The difference is this is just in regards to control of the company. I plan to disburse company profit in a 30-10-60 split. 30% will go to me, 10% will stay in the company for unforeseen needs and 60% will be issued equally among the ten of you or eleven if Ralph is involved in a case. That is above your normal salaries."
Walter turned off the pointer and he looked at everyone. "I know this kind of catches you off guard so I am giving Scorpion the rest of the day off so you can think about this plan and then come in tomorrow and tell me if you decide if you want to move forward with Scorpion or not. As for Centipede Partners, I would appreciate your answer tomorrow or as soon as possible."
Walter grew silent as he looked out at the faces before him.
Greetings and Happy New Year! I decided to try writing yesterday and surprisingly the story really spoke and well, chapter 12 was finished and I figured I would go ahead and post it as the year is ending. The wife always said whatever you do the last day of the year is what you will do the most of in the next year. So here is to hoping for many more stories next year.
2020 has probably been the worst year ever but it also saw me writing a bunch. 2020 started with my Knight's Tale story line, continued my Uncivil War storyline, created a different tangent from the start of the Graduation storyline, Betray Me Once, Shame On You. Several other fix-its stories, Dreams, Chances including my favorite I still need to finish Secrets and its runner up Consequences. My season 2 alternate I Only State Facts. It saw the flip of Knight's Tale, Lady Knight. The incredibly fun to write Genius Squared and Expectations. And finally The War Between Us.
I am truly thankful for the creativity that I was granted and the blessing I have felt sharing the stories, however imperfect, with all of you. I am also very thankful for those who have been here to read and comment expressing your feelings on the stories. Your words mean a lot!
I am also so thankful for the other writers who have graced this site with their very entertaining stories, even when they drove me to bite my nails. Something I truly hate to do. ScorplinginTraining, Pamz, Lucy just to name a few. If 2021 could do anything to make up for 2020 it would be to see some of the past writers return to pick up their pens and finish their stories that have lied dormant for so very long. Stories that had such promise like Fading and Because You Want To, just to name a couple. Not to mention bringing their unique creative thoughts and write entirely new stories.
I look forward to the new year, the new possibilities. Here is to a new healthy, loving and prosperous new year for all of us!
To the Adventure! -Tim