Title: Let them Play
Author: Lisa
Email: lisacheerio_85@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: See part one
Note: Part Two, and Catt – I added your favourite subject somewhere around page four! Hehehe mmm...waffley goodness...:P
Oscar stopped on the steps outside Mac's office door. He opened it silently, listening to the conversation inside.
"You can't mope about like it matters-" Angie was saying.
"It does matter-" Pete was cut off as they both turned to see Oscar. "What?" he asked. Oscar shrugged.
"Just decided to join you."
"That's nice," he replied, mocking a high-pitched voice. "We're not discussing anything important."
"Doesn't sound that way to me." He paused, looking around the room. "Where's Danni?"
"What?" Pete replied.
"Danni came in here too."
"Right here," she spoke up, and Oscar spun at the sound of the voice behind him.
"How'd you get there?" he asked. She grinned.
"Did you know there's a secret door there?"
"No..." He drifted off as Pete walked over.
"I thought in light of what's happened I should show you." He walked over and opened the side door, hidden against the wall in Mac's office, camouflaged and invisible to anyone that didn't know it was there.
Oscar watched as the door opened to reveal a small hallway.
"Mac and I use it all the time," Pete stated plainly, not realising how that sounded until it was too late. "To walk through, I mean..." Oscar stuck his head in as Angie laughed. Danni just hung around in the background. Off the short hallway were two doors, one on either side.
"Since when was this put here?" Pete grinned.
"When Bernie discovered the place he decided to board that section up. Make it a sort of 'authorised persons only' getaway."
"And of course you were first informed?" Pete nodded.
"Exactly. Then it was passed on to Mac. You aren't meant to know but..." He walked in, urging Oscar to follow him. "Just in case, the door on the left-"He opened it. "Contains a spare room where you can sleep and there's a cupboard. Bit like a prison cell though." He closed that door and opened the right one. "And on your right you've got a bathroom and more storage space. At the moment, all the storage is empty, and all the cupboards lock from the inside." Oscar's brow creased in confusion.
"They lock from the *inside?*" Pete nodded.
"Yep, so if something happens tonight or whenever, this is where you go, all right?" Oscar managed to nod as Pete led him back out.
"Does Mac know?"
"She should, yes."
"And what's that third door for? Straight ahead?"
"That's an exit."
"Is it open?" Pete shook his head. "Then someone knows about this area?"
"Not necessarily. If they're smart they'll realise there's something because there's no door leading outside in the main office but, if you just look at it from outside, it looks like a normal door. However, the clamps are on it, from the inside..." Danni cut in.
"How come there are only two doors? Isn't that against standards?"
"Lots of windows, and yes, technically, but they've never approved our applications for another."
"What?"
"The council."
"That's crap." Pete shrugged.
"Mm-"
*
Oscar returned to Mac with Danni. She was still sitting in the chair, her feet up on the table. She'd managed to get her hands on a file though, and was flicking through aimlessly. She looked up, smiling, glad for the company.
"What's going on up there?"
"Just giving us the grand tour of your retreat," Danni started. Mac watched her, confused.
"My what?" She paused. "Reatre-...Oh, that! I hardly use it." Oscar grinned.
"According to Peter you and he use it all the time!" Mac laughed.
"I think he means by way of passage."
"Yes, through that nifty little bedroom."
"Shut it Stone."
"Yes Ma'am."
"What's Ange doing up there anyway?"
"Discussing," Danni replied.
"Yeah, but what?"
"You." Mac blushed a deep red. "And 'this.' And everything. But no, mainly you."
"Uh," she looked at her lap, closing the file and putting it on the desk behind her. "Anything new? You were listening to most of it, weren't you Dan? Couldn't be *that* bad!" Danni raised her eyebrows.
"I guess not. Ange thinks he's being inconsiderate towards you in light of uh...current events which are still very current." Mac grimaced.
"Oh," she whispered. Pete and Angie appeared, still deep in discussion, at the top of the stairs and walked down slowly. Angie nudged him in the ribs – hard. He cringed, turning and staring her down but as usual, she didn't back anywhere but forward. He turned to Mac.
"I'm uh," he hesitated and Angie got him in the ribs again. "I'm sorry for being a prick." Mac laughed.
"When were you a prick?" He turned to Angie, spreading his arms.
"See?" he exclaimed. "All that pain for nothing!" She rolled her eyes.
"You're always a prick if you can help it. Say sorry...Say it!" Oscar saw her going for Pete's arm.
"Woah, don't let her go any further there mate," he warned. Angie narrowed her eyes.
"Give me a drink or two and I'll get you. Now Church...say it..."
"Sorry," he replied, staring at the floor. Mac reached out, grinning, taking his hand and kissing it as though she were Queen Elizabeth the First.
"That's okay darling. You're forgiven."
"Nice accent!" Oscar exclaimed. She turned to him.
"Thanks!" she exclaimed, screwing up her nose. Danni sighed.
"Oh God, give her some blonde hair and we can start calling her Phoebe." Mac turned to Danni and made the same screwed-up-nose expression, grinning as she blinked.
"Thanks!" she repeated. She fidgeted in her seat as they laughed. "Meanwhile," she returned to normal. "I need to get moving before my blood solidifies."
*
Danni, Mac and Angie were leaning around in the tearoom trying to work out what to make.
"Why is it we're all here?" Angie asked suddenly. She leant out the door. "Oscar Church! Peter Sto-Wait no, that's not right...Oscar Stone!" She called. Mac laughed, Danni smirked.
"Yeah?" he called back, coming into view, ping pong racquet I hand.
"Come and make us dinner!" He laughed.
"Yeah, right."
"It's not like we can order Chinese." He walked closer. "Come on, I'll help. It's just, you know what Mac and Danni are like in the kitchen!"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Mac mumbled to Danni. She nodded.
"Let's spike their food."
"Good idea."
*
Mac sat on a chair they'd dragged in for her as they all stood/sat around in the cramped cooking room.
"All right," Pete was saying. "You've got three frozen dinners, some chips we can cook, some potato chips, an apple and baked beans. Who wants to pick first?"
"I bags hot chips," Mac called out. "Do we have salt?"
"Yes, but what happened to the cholesterol count?"
"Uh, that's shit I haven't counted cholesterol my entire life!" Pete laughed.
"Yeah, we noticed!" She rolled her eyes.
"Chips please," she replied. He nodded, sticking them on the bench. Danni reached out and grabbed the apple.
"I'll have the left over chips too," she added. "But this is fine."
"You sure?" Angie asked. Danni nodded.
"Oh yeah, nice and healthy." Pete scratched his head.
"Yeah sorry no legumes..." Danni gave him a death stare.
"I'm pregnant Peter."
"Yeah!" He was about to explain what legumes were but Angie started laughing, beating him to it.
"Green stuff, stuff with beans and peas Danni!" Danni blushed.
"Ah, sorry forgot."
"A-huh," Angie laughed.
"Apple'll do," she maintained. Angie sighed, turning to the others.
"Well I vote to throw out the baked beans before we even consider it- "
"You never know Ange," Oscar put in. "We might need them for breakfast."
"What, no waffles?" she shot back. He put a hand to his chest playfully, pretending to be hurt.
"I'm shocked and disturbed that you don't like my waffles."
"Waffles in general- Well I'm taking one of those TV dinners. What have we got?" Pete read the covers.
"Roast Beef, Roast Beef and Roast-"
"Beef?" she cut in. He grinned.
"Gotcha! Nup, the last one's roast lamb."
"With mint sauce?" Oscar asked. Angie laughed. Pete turned the box upside down.
"I dunno. Eat it and find out." He shrugged as they worked out whose would go in first the easiest way they could think of: drawing straws.
*
Clunk-bang. Silence. Clunk-bang. Silence.
Danni looked up first, before the rest of them followed.
"What the hell is that?" she whispered. Oscar went for his gun as the figure came into view.
It was Mac!
Oscar laughed. She was hopping on one foot, before reaching out and slamming her hand into the wall to steady herself. It then took her a moment to find out where she was – about three centimetres from where she'd last jumped from. Angie got to her feet and jogged over, slipping an arm around her waist.
"Yeah don't I feel stupid," Mac mumbled as Angie helped her steady. "Anyone want to swap a foot?" Everyone looked at each other, before shaking their heads sadly.
"Sorry Mac, you're on your own on that one!" She shrugged, before almost slipping over again. Angie grabbed her around the waist, managing to push Mac back up against the wall but falling back onto the floor herself. She laughed, lying on the floor.
"You two are hopeless!" Pete exclaimed, getting off his chair and rolling it over. "It's no wonder that ladder was still standing by the time you got up it!" Angie giggled and Pete stopped the chair in front of Mac. "Now it's not electric, so you'll need a pusher." Mac rolled her eyes as he helped her sit.
"Gee, thanks," she replied dryly. "Angie, get off the floor!" She shook her head, still giggling.
"I can't...stop..." she managed, before bursting into laughter again. Oscar and Danni stood and walked over to them, before then knelt down beside her.
"You think it's funny?" Oscar asked. "Hmm?" She nodded, holding her stomach, laughing. Before she knew it Oscar was holding down her shoulders as Danni unlaced Angie's shoes and took them off her feet, pulling one of those two-dollar feathered pens from behind her back and waving it in front of Angie's eyes. She squirmed but Oscar held her firmly. Danni lightly brushed the feathered part of the pen over Angie's feet and she screamed, trying to kick away.
"Oh violent!" Danni exclaimed, holding her ankles down as Oscar let her shoulders go. She sat up and he grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and planting her back on her feet.
"There you go Mac, she's up." Angie turned around.
"Do you want me to hit you? That's torture." Oscar smirked.
"Yes," he replied darkly, eyes narrowed. "Yes it is." Angie pointed her finger in his chest.
"I'll get you."
*
Later that night, when everyone had settled down and most of the lights were off, all five were sitting around Pete's desk, Mac's bandaged foot obstructing her view of Pete – right where she wanted it – as it sat in the middle of them all.
"So, what are we going to do?" Danni asked, her head resting in her hands. It was still raining, they'd thought they'd even heard some hail while they'd been eating. It hadn't been confirmed though. Just heavy rain at the moment. Pete looked at his watch.
"I guess we better try to get some sleep," he mumbled. "It's late."
"Is it safe to sleep?" Angie asked. He shrugged.
"We need it. There's no indication this isn't any more than a cruel joke."
"That's obstructing out security system," Mac added. "This is serious. The commission's going to kill me."
"What was that meeting you wanted to have with us about anyway?" Mac sighed.
"Oh, nothing."
"No, come on," Oscar urged. She looked at her hands.
"Uh, well I was going to start off by giving you a talk on relationships and the codes of employment here, but," she sighed. "I don't think I'm in the mood any more."
"Tell us anyway Mac, if you want to," he replied. "We should probably hear it. It'd be good for us." Danni shot him a look but he shook his head. Mac wasn't herself at the moment. Probably in relative pain, tired, worried – hell they all were! Who cared what was said? And then it would be said, and wouldn't need to be again. Danni folded her arms over her chest, leaning back in her chair. She was starting to show, and it unnerved her slightly. Not that anyone seemed to mind – yet. Mac scratched her head.
"Do you really want me to do it?" They nodded. "Well...I know I'm not a model employee of this place, and I'm not going to say you shouldn't experiment." She looked over at Pete in particular. "It's how things like that work. Experimentation with different people, see this and that. But...If you want to be serious about it, add responsibility, loyalty," she rolled her eyes, "*love* even...Then you come to me and you must, and we'll sort something out. I don't want you to feel like you have to take a back door or something." She looked at Danni. "I don't want you to feel ashamed." She looked back down again. "I know what feeling ashamed about something like that is like," she looked back up. "And you shouldn't have to. Got it?" They nodded. "There you go, that was that."
"We're not in trouble?" Angie asked.
"Should you be Angie?" She laughed.
"No!"
"Mm-hmm...There's more." She looked up at them. "As of tomorrow, this unit is under review."
"Again?" Pete exclaimed. That hadn't been so painful. She was trying to understand. He knew how hard it was for her, how upset she had been to find out, how thoroughly it destroyed 'them.'
"It's been three years. But good news, no Susan Abbott this time." Oscar let a sigh of relief escape his lips and Angie laughed. Danni didn't mind that she had no idea what they were talking about. She was used to it. Mac smirked. "I'm conducting the main part of the review."
"What?" Angie asked. Mac nodded.
"They're trying a new concept. All four of you are going to complete a survey, a psych evaluation, write a report of your time spent here, the last year. What sort of things you've been up to, how you've dealt with the things the question mentioned – I'm not sure, I haven't seen them yet – You'll each have an interview. My part is that I'll be writing a formal report on each of your participation, skill level, improvement, team functions, a whole lot of pathetic words that I have to analyse about each of you."
"Uh, Mac..." Danni started. "Mm, do we get to see these?"
"You're only going to see the ones I complete if I wish you to." They nodded slowly. "Of course that is my personal opinion, but I promise you, I will be objective, unbiased."
"Good to hear it," Pete murmured. She managed a smile, although dealing with these two lately was becoming increasingly difficult.
"My recommendations, however, you may read, I will inform you of them myself. Before I write that I need all of your reports so that I may look over them. The details should be arriving here tomorrow morning by courier."
"And what are the results going to be?" Danni asked. Mac shrugged.
"Haven't written it yet." She looked around. "Church is right you guys better get some sleep."
"You guys?" Pete stated.
"I'm going to do some work in my office. I'll stay there the night. Not enough beds otherwise."
"Still one too many people."
"We'll do shifts?" Oscar suggested. Mac nodded. "Who wants to go first? There's uh, five hours till daylight. An hour each?"
"Hour and a half. Don't want to be up too early!" Pete replied, chuckling. Oscar nodded.
"All right, an hour to an hour and a half."
"I'll go first," Danni stated. "I'd rather get the sleep in a chunk later than be woken up in the middle of it." Mac nodded, no one seemed to have any objection.
"I'll go after you then Danni," Oscar added, and they quickly worked out the order before heading in their separate directions.
TBC
Author: Lisa
Email: lisacheerio_85@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: See part one
Note: Part Two, and Catt – I added your favourite subject somewhere around page four! Hehehe mmm...waffley goodness...:P
Oscar stopped on the steps outside Mac's office door. He opened it silently, listening to the conversation inside.
"You can't mope about like it matters-" Angie was saying.
"It does matter-" Pete was cut off as they both turned to see Oscar. "What?" he asked. Oscar shrugged.
"Just decided to join you."
"That's nice," he replied, mocking a high-pitched voice. "We're not discussing anything important."
"Doesn't sound that way to me." He paused, looking around the room. "Where's Danni?"
"What?" Pete replied.
"Danni came in here too."
"Right here," she spoke up, and Oscar spun at the sound of the voice behind him.
"How'd you get there?" he asked. She grinned.
"Did you know there's a secret door there?"
"No..." He drifted off as Pete walked over.
"I thought in light of what's happened I should show you." He walked over and opened the side door, hidden against the wall in Mac's office, camouflaged and invisible to anyone that didn't know it was there.
Oscar watched as the door opened to reveal a small hallway.
"Mac and I use it all the time," Pete stated plainly, not realising how that sounded until it was too late. "To walk through, I mean..." Oscar stuck his head in as Angie laughed. Danni just hung around in the background. Off the short hallway were two doors, one on either side.
"Since when was this put here?" Pete grinned.
"When Bernie discovered the place he decided to board that section up. Make it a sort of 'authorised persons only' getaway."
"And of course you were first informed?" Pete nodded.
"Exactly. Then it was passed on to Mac. You aren't meant to know but..." He walked in, urging Oscar to follow him. "Just in case, the door on the left-"He opened it. "Contains a spare room where you can sleep and there's a cupboard. Bit like a prison cell though." He closed that door and opened the right one. "And on your right you've got a bathroom and more storage space. At the moment, all the storage is empty, and all the cupboards lock from the inside." Oscar's brow creased in confusion.
"They lock from the *inside?*" Pete nodded.
"Yep, so if something happens tonight or whenever, this is where you go, all right?" Oscar managed to nod as Pete led him back out.
"Does Mac know?"
"She should, yes."
"And what's that third door for? Straight ahead?"
"That's an exit."
"Is it open?" Pete shook his head. "Then someone knows about this area?"
"Not necessarily. If they're smart they'll realise there's something because there's no door leading outside in the main office but, if you just look at it from outside, it looks like a normal door. However, the clamps are on it, from the inside..." Danni cut in.
"How come there are only two doors? Isn't that against standards?"
"Lots of windows, and yes, technically, but they've never approved our applications for another."
"What?"
"The council."
"That's crap." Pete shrugged.
"Mm-"
*
Oscar returned to Mac with Danni. She was still sitting in the chair, her feet up on the table. She'd managed to get her hands on a file though, and was flicking through aimlessly. She looked up, smiling, glad for the company.
"What's going on up there?"
"Just giving us the grand tour of your retreat," Danni started. Mac watched her, confused.
"My what?" She paused. "Reatre-...Oh, that! I hardly use it." Oscar grinned.
"According to Peter you and he use it all the time!" Mac laughed.
"I think he means by way of passage."
"Yes, through that nifty little bedroom."
"Shut it Stone."
"Yes Ma'am."
"What's Ange doing up there anyway?"
"Discussing," Danni replied.
"Yeah, but what?"
"You." Mac blushed a deep red. "And 'this.' And everything. But no, mainly you."
"Uh," she looked at her lap, closing the file and putting it on the desk behind her. "Anything new? You were listening to most of it, weren't you Dan? Couldn't be *that* bad!" Danni raised her eyebrows.
"I guess not. Ange thinks he's being inconsiderate towards you in light of uh...current events which are still very current." Mac grimaced.
"Oh," she whispered. Pete and Angie appeared, still deep in discussion, at the top of the stairs and walked down slowly. Angie nudged him in the ribs – hard. He cringed, turning and staring her down but as usual, she didn't back anywhere but forward. He turned to Mac.
"I'm uh," he hesitated and Angie got him in the ribs again. "I'm sorry for being a prick." Mac laughed.
"When were you a prick?" He turned to Angie, spreading his arms.
"See?" he exclaimed. "All that pain for nothing!" She rolled her eyes.
"You're always a prick if you can help it. Say sorry...Say it!" Oscar saw her going for Pete's arm.
"Woah, don't let her go any further there mate," he warned. Angie narrowed her eyes.
"Give me a drink or two and I'll get you. Now Church...say it..."
"Sorry," he replied, staring at the floor. Mac reached out, grinning, taking his hand and kissing it as though she were Queen Elizabeth the First.
"That's okay darling. You're forgiven."
"Nice accent!" Oscar exclaimed. She turned to him.
"Thanks!" she exclaimed, screwing up her nose. Danni sighed.
"Oh God, give her some blonde hair and we can start calling her Phoebe." Mac turned to Danni and made the same screwed-up-nose expression, grinning as she blinked.
"Thanks!" she repeated. She fidgeted in her seat as they laughed. "Meanwhile," she returned to normal. "I need to get moving before my blood solidifies."
*
Danni, Mac and Angie were leaning around in the tearoom trying to work out what to make.
"Why is it we're all here?" Angie asked suddenly. She leant out the door. "Oscar Church! Peter Sto-Wait no, that's not right...Oscar Stone!" She called. Mac laughed, Danni smirked.
"Yeah?" he called back, coming into view, ping pong racquet I hand.
"Come and make us dinner!" He laughed.
"Yeah, right."
"It's not like we can order Chinese." He walked closer. "Come on, I'll help. It's just, you know what Mac and Danni are like in the kitchen!"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Mac mumbled to Danni. She nodded.
"Let's spike their food."
"Good idea."
*
Mac sat on a chair they'd dragged in for her as they all stood/sat around in the cramped cooking room.
"All right," Pete was saying. "You've got three frozen dinners, some chips we can cook, some potato chips, an apple and baked beans. Who wants to pick first?"
"I bags hot chips," Mac called out. "Do we have salt?"
"Yes, but what happened to the cholesterol count?"
"Uh, that's shit I haven't counted cholesterol my entire life!" Pete laughed.
"Yeah, we noticed!" She rolled her eyes.
"Chips please," she replied. He nodded, sticking them on the bench. Danni reached out and grabbed the apple.
"I'll have the left over chips too," she added. "But this is fine."
"You sure?" Angie asked. Danni nodded.
"Oh yeah, nice and healthy." Pete scratched his head.
"Yeah sorry no legumes..." Danni gave him a death stare.
"I'm pregnant Peter."
"Yeah!" He was about to explain what legumes were but Angie started laughing, beating him to it.
"Green stuff, stuff with beans and peas Danni!" Danni blushed.
"Ah, sorry forgot."
"A-huh," Angie laughed.
"Apple'll do," she maintained. Angie sighed, turning to the others.
"Well I vote to throw out the baked beans before we even consider it- "
"You never know Ange," Oscar put in. "We might need them for breakfast."
"What, no waffles?" she shot back. He put a hand to his chest playfully, pretending to be hurt.
"I'm shocked and disturbed that you don't like my waffles."
"Waffles in general- Well I'm taking one of those TV dinners. What have we got?" Pete read the covers.
"Roast Beef, Roast Beef and Roast-"
"Beef?" she cut in. He grinned.
"Gotcha! Nup, the last one's roast lamb."
"With mint sauce?" Oscar asked. Angie laughed. Pete turned the box upside down.
"I dunno. Eat it and find out." He shrugged as they worked out whose would go in first the easiest way they could think of: drawing straws.
*
Clunk-bang. Silence. Clunk-bang. Silence.
Danni looked up first, before the rest of them followed.
"What the hell is that?" she whispered. Oscar went for his gun as the figure came into view.
It was Mac!
Oscar laughed. She was hopping on one foot, before reaching out and slamming her hand into the wall to steady herself. It then took her a moment to find out where she was – about three centimetres from where she'd last jumped from. Angie got to her feet and jogged over, slipping an arm around her waist.
"Yeah don't I feel stupid," Mac mumbled as Angie helped her steady. "Anyone want to swap a foot?" Everyone looked at each other, before shaking their heads sadly.
"Sorry Mac, you're on your own on that one!" She shrugged, before almost slipping over again. Angie grabbed her around the waist, managing to push Mac back up against the wall but falling back onto the floor herself. She laughed, lying on the floor.
"You two are hopeless!" Pete exclaimed, getting off his chair and rolling it over. "It's no wonder that ladder was still standing by the time you got up it!" Angie giggled and Pete stopped the chair in front of Mac. "Now it's not electric, so you'll need a pusher." Mac rolled her eyes as he helped her sit.
"Gee, thanks," she replied dryly. "Angie, get off the floor!" She shook her head, still giggling.
"I can't...stop..." she managed, before bursting into laughter again. Oscar and Danni stood and walked over to them, before then knelt down beside her.
"You think it's funny?" Oscar asked. "Hmm?" She nodded, holding her stomach, laughing. Before she knew it Oscar was holding down her shoulders as Danni unlaced Angie's shoes and took them off her feet, pulling one of those two-dollar feathered pens from behind her back and waving it in front of Angie's eyes. She squirmed but Oscar held her firmly. Danni lightly brushed the feathered part of the pen over Angie's feet and she screamed, trying to kick away.
"Oh violent!" Danni exclaimed, holding her ankles down as Oscar let her shoulders go. She sat up and he grabbed her around the waist, picking her up and planting her back on her feet.
"There you go Mac, she's up." Angie turned around.
"Do you want me to hit you? That's torture." Oscar smirked.
"Yes," he replied darkly, eyes narrowed. "Yes it is." Angie pointed her finger in his chest.
"I'll get you."
*
Later that night, when everyone had settled down and most of the lights were off, all five were sitting around Pete's desk, Mac's bandaged foot obstructing her view of Pete – right where she wanted it – as it sat in the middle of them all.
"So, what are we going to do?" Danni asked, her head resting in her hands. It was still raining, they'd thought they'd even heard some hail while they'd been eating. It hadn't been confirmed though. Just heavy rain at the moment. Pete looked at his watch.
"I guess we better try to get some sleep," he mumbled. "It's late."
"Is it safe to sleep?" Angie asked. He shrugged.
"We need it. There's no indication this isn't any more than a cruel joke."
"That's obstructing out security system," Mac added. "This is serious. The commission's going to kill me."
"What was that meeting you wanted to have with us about anyway?" Mac sighed.
"Oh, nothing."
"No, come on," Oscar urged. She looked at her hands.
"Uh, well I was going to start off by giving you a talk on relationships and the codes of employment here, but," she sighed. "I don't think I'm in the mood any more."
"Tell us anyway Mac, if you want to," he replied. "We should probably hear it. It'd be good for us." Danni shot him a look but he shook his head. Mac wasn't herself at the moment. Probably in relative pain, tired, worried – hell they all were! Who cared what was said? And then it would be said, and wouldn't need to be again. Danni folded her arms over her chest, leaning back in her chair. She was starting to show, and it unnerved her slightly. Not that anyone seemed to mind – yet. Mac scratched her head.
"Do you really want me to do it?" They nodded. "Well...I know I'm not a model employee of this place, and I'm not going to say you shouldn't experiment." She looked over at Pete in particular. "It's how things like that work. Experimentation with different people, see this and that. But...If you want to be serious about it, add responsibility, loyalty," she rolled her eyes, "*love* even...Then you come to me and you must, and we'll sort something out. I don't want you to feel like you have to take a back door or something." She looked at Danni. "I don't want you to feel ashamed." She looked back down again. "I know what feeling ashamed about something like that is like," she looked back up. "And you shouldn't have to. Got it?" They nodded. "There you go, that was that."
"We're not in trouble?" Angie asked.
"Should you be Angie?" She laughed.
"No!"
"Mm-hmm...There's more." She looked up at them. "As of tomorrow, this unit is under review."
"Again?" Pete exclaimed. That hadn't been so painful. She was trying to understand. He knew how hard it was for her, how upset she had been to find out, how thoroughly it destroyed 'them.'
"It's been three years. But good news, no Susan Abbott this time." Oscar let a sigh of relief escape his lips and Angie laughed. Danni didn't mind that she had no idea what they were talking about. She was used to it. Mac smirked. "I'm conducting the main part of the review."
"What?" Angie asked. Mac nodded.
"They're trying a new concept. All four of you are going to complete a survey, a psych evaluation, write a report of your time spent here, the last year. What sort of things you've been up to, how you've dealt with the things the question mentioned – I'm not sure, I haven't seen them yet – You'll each have an interview. My part is that I'll be writing a formal report on each of your participation, skill level, improvement, team functions, a whole lot of pathetic words that I have to analyse about each of you."
"Uh, Mac..." Danni started. "Mm, do we get to see these?"
"You're only going to see the ones I complete if I wish you to." They nodded slowly. "Of course that is my personal opinion, but I promise you, I will be objective, unbiased."
"Good to hear it," Pete murmured. She managed a smile, although dealing with these two lately was becoming increasingly difficult.
"My recommendations, however, you may read, I will inform you of them myself. Before I write that I need all of your reports so that I may look over them. The details should be arriving here tomorrow morning by courier."
"And what are the results going to be?" Danni asked. Mac shrugged.
"Haven't written it yet." She looked around. "Church is right you guys better get some sleep."
"You guys?" Pete stated.
"I'm going to do some work in my office. I'll stay there the night. Not enough beds otherwise."
"Still one too many people."
"We'll do shifts?" Oscar suggested. Mac nodded. "Who wants to go first? There's uh, five hours till daylight. An hour each?"
"Hour and a half. Don't want to be up too early!" Pete replied, chuckling. Oscar nodded.
"All right, an hour to an hour and a half."
"I'll go first," Danni stated. "I'd rather get the sleep in a chunk later than be woken up in the middle of it." Mac nodded, no one seemed to have any objection.
"I'll go after you then Danni," Oscar added, and they quickly worked out the order before heading in their separate directions.
TBC