Chapter three - Getting To Know You
Colleen smoothed her linen pants and prepared herself for the first group meeting of the session. She was a woman who truly enjoyed her work. Not only was she a firm believer in the team building concept and the successful career she had created promoting it, but she loved meeting new people and getting to know them - the more personally the better.
Colleen had an active sex drive and found that it was a rare week when she didn't establish a close and personal relationship with a least participant. Man or woman. Alone or together it didn't matter to Colleen - as long as it was someone different.
She greeted each of the 12 participants warmly as they entered the room - checking them out even as she pointed them towards the bar.
Of the 12, only two were actually FBI field agents, the rest consisted of a wide array of administrative posts - none of which had seen any real 'action'.
Colleen considered herself an expert on reading people and had an uncanny knack of matching people up. This not only helped her in her own personal quests, but had helped many a corporation build effective teams.
Colleen sat back and watched as the participants got themselves and drink and awkwardly began to mingle. She would help them break the ice soon enough, but she always enjoyed seeing how different people would react in this situation.
Some would concentrate solely on the stirring of their drink, some would down their drinks quickly trying to find the courage they lacked in their glasses and some would make the best of it and go around introducing themselves.
It appeared that most of the people in this group lacked the courage to introduce themselves. Colleen wasn't surprised that it was the two field agents - who had experience in speaking with strangers - that mingled with the most ease.
Colleen watched Mulder and Scully as they attempted to make small take with those people standing around them. She knew from their body language when they arrived that neither of them was very eager about excepting this assignment, but she could also tell that they were both trying to make the best of it.
She knew that even though they lacked the rank of some of the other participants, that they would emerge the leaders of the group. The question was whether or not she would put them together or keep them apart.
"Good evening everyone" Colleen said getting everyone's attention. "Why don't you all have a seat and we will get started"
There was some mumbling in the group as they all took a seat.
Colleen remained standing and walked around the room as she gave her standard welcoming speech.
She explained to them that basically for the next week they would be in total isolation. That after dinner tonight they would be asked to turn in all their computer, cell phones and any other means of communication they had with them.
The purpose of this, she explained, was to encourage them to interact with each other and rely on each other for entertainment.
There was also a ban on television and radio and the only music allowed was in the common room. This too was to keep people from hiding in their rooms.
Every night there would be a chance to play a variety of card or board games.
Then she explained to them her favorite rule. "Please remember that there is no rank here. We are all the same. The rules that govern your office do not apply here. We only ask that you respect each other and treat each other kindly. We also ask you to respect the privacy of your fellow participants. Anything that happens up here, stays up here."
Colleen looked at Mulder and gave him a wink. "It doesn't become talk around the water cooler. Do we all agree to these rules."
Everyone agreed and Colleen proceeded to sit down and begin the introductions.
"As you know, my name is Colleen and I am the founder of this organization" she paused and motioned for the man on her left to continue.
All the participants briefly stated their names and where they were from leaving out exactly what they did for the Bureau. Of the twelve people attending, four were from California, two from Washington DC, two from Chicago, two from Minnesota and two from Louisiana.
They had just finished their introductions when their waiter, who introduced himself as Chip, came into the room and told them it was time for them to eat.
They all entered the dining room with Colleen making sure she was sitting as close to Mulder as possible.
Chip watched as the 13 people dove into their food and began to eat. He looked at them carefully trying to decide just how to handle things. He knew he would have to wait until they surrendered all of their phones to him and he officially notified the phone company to terminate their service for the week.
He thought of the irony that he, in his little cabin a mile or so away, would be their only source of communication with the outside world. Too bad for them, that none of them would make it to his cabin in good enough shape to call anyone.
But who would be first? The plump man who came from Southern California who called himself Ray? The middle aged woman from Chicago named Sheila or the hot little redhead named Dana - he might do something special to her before he killed her.
Mulder enjoyed his dinner and the conversation with those around him but still felt a bit on edge. He looked at his fellow participants as he sipped his coffee later in the lounge.
They all seemed harmless enough - except for maybe Colleen who was making it quite clear about her intentions towards him - but he still felt something was wrong.
He shook his head and forced himself to relax as Colleen started up the old jukebox the stood in the corner of the lounge. An old rock and roll standard started and she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor, encouraging the others to do the same.
It took another half hour or so, along with several nightcaps, to get everyone dancing on the floor. Dana surprised herself when George, a man who barely stood taller than her, grabbed her hand and whisked her out on the dance floor.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was having fun. That was until Colleen decided to try her hand at match making to liven up the evening a bit.
"Okay everyone. I am going to match you up with someone for your next dance and I want no complaints." Everyone groaned a bit worried about who would end up with who, but Colleen was an expert and quickly had put together couples who actually looked good together.
Colleen wanted Mulder for herself but couldn't help but wonder how he would be with the more serious Agent Scully. Who knew, if she played her cards right maybe she could get them both.
Mulder and Scully were the last two paired up and they looked at each other and smiled a bit.
Colleen walked over to the jukebox and immediately played another classic rock and roll song - only this one was very slow and very long.
All the couples paused a bit but then began to dance. Colleen looking on with satisfaction as she realized that she had once done a pretty good job of matching people up.
Mulder gallantly took Scully's hand and they slowly wound their way around the dance floor. For the longest time neither of them said a word - they were just enjoying the moment.
Mulder pulled Scully a bit closer and looked down at her just as she was looking up at her. He smiled.
"Dana, right?" she nodded. "I don't know about you, but this is not how I envisioned this to be."
"Me either. Now I know why they didn't want to send any married people up here."
"I would imagine they will change their routine a bit when Blevins does it"
Scully laughed picturing her boss swaying around the room with some stranger. "I imagine the onsite version of this is less personal"
They became silent again swaying gently with the music until it stopped and Colleen announced that it was time for bed.
"I think y'all have had enough fun for tonight. Breakfast is at 8 - dress to spend sometime outdoors. Oh and, don't forget to hand in your phones and computers to Chip before going to bed."
Chip sat quietly in the foyer accepting phones and computers until the last person had gone to bed. He chatted briefly with each of them and knew, without a doubt, who his first victim would be as he got in his car and drove to his cabin.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Author's note - would love any and all feedback and suggestions on how to proceed
Colleen smoothed her linen pants and prepared herself for the first group meeting of the session. She was a woman who truly enjoyed her work. Not only was she a firm believer in the team building concept and the successful career she had created promoting it, but she loved meeting new people and getting to know them - the more personally the better.
Colleen had an active sex drive and found that it was a rare week when she didn't establish a close and personal relationship with a least participant. Man or woman. Alone or together it didn't matter to Colleen - as long as it was someone different.
She greeted each of the 12 participants warmly as they entered the room - checking them out even as she pointed them towards the bar.
Of the 12, only two were actually FBI field agents, the rest consisted of a wide array of administrative posts - none of which had seen any real 'action'.
Colleen considered herself an expert on reading people and had an uncanny knack of matching people up. This not only helped her in her own personal quests, but had helped many a corporation build effective teams.
Colleen sat back and watched as the participants got themselves and drink and awkwardly began to mingle. She would help them break the ice soon enough, but she always enjoyed seeing how different people would react in this situation.
Some would concentrate solely on the stirring of their drink, some would down their drinks quickly trying to find the courage they lacked in their glasses and some would make the best of it and go around introducing themselves.
It appeared that most of the people in this group lacked the courage to introduce themselves. Colleen wasn't surprised that it was the two field agents - who had experience in speaking with strangers - that mingled with the most ease.
Colleen watched Mulder and Scully as they attempted to make small take with those people standing around them. She knew from their body language when they arrived that neither of them was very eager about excepting this assignment, but she could also tell that they were both trying to make the best of it.
She knew that even though they lacked the rank of some of the other participants, that they would emerge the leaders of the group. The question was whether or not she would put them together or keep them apart.
"Good evening everyone" Colleen said getting everyone's attention. "Why don't you all have a seat and we will get started"
There was some mumbling in the group as they all took a seat.
Colleen remained standing and walked around the room as she gave her standard welcoming speech.
She explained to them that basically for the next week they would be in total isolation. That after dinner tonight they would be asked to turn in all their computer, cell phones and any other means of communication they had with them.
The purpose of this, she explained, was to encourage them to interact with each other and rely on each other for entertainment.
There was also a ban on television and radio and the only music allowed was in the common room. This too was to keep people from hiding in their rooms.
Every night there would be a chance to play a variety of card or board games.
Then she explained to them her favorite rule. "Please remember that there is no rank here. We are all the same. The rules that govern your office do not apply here. We only ask that you respect each other and treat each other kindly. We also ask you to respect the privacy of your fellow participants. Anything that happens up here, stays up here."
Colleen looked at Mulder and gave him a wink. "It doesn't become talk around the water cooler. Do we all agree to these rules."
Everyone agreed and Colleen proceeded to sit down and begin the introductions.
"As you know, my name is Colleen and I am the founder of this organization" she paused and motioned for the man on her left to continue.
All the participants briefly stated their names and where they were from leaving out exactly what they did for the Bureau. Of the twelve people attending, four were from California, two from Washington DC, two from Chicago, two from Minnesota and two from Louisiana.
They had just finished their introductions when their waiter, who introduced himself as Chip, came into the room and told them it was time for them to eat.
They all entered the dining room with Colleen making sure she was sitting as close to Mulder as possible.
Chip watched as the 13 people dove into their food and began to eat. He looked at them carefully trying to decide just how to handle things. He knew he would have to wait until they surrendered all of their phones to him and he officially notified the phone company to terminate their service for the week.
He thought of the irony that he, in his little cabin a mile or so away, would be their only source of communication with the outside world. Too bad for them, that none of them would make it to his cabin in good enough shape to call anyone.
But who would be first? The plump man who came from Southern California who called himself Ray? The middle aged woman from Chicago named Sheila or the hot little redhead named Dana - he might do something special to her before he killed her.
Mulder enjoyed his dinner and the conversation with those around him but still felt a bit on edge. He looked at his fellow participants as he sipped his coffee later in the lounge.
They all seemed harmless enough - except for maybe Colleen who was making it quite clear about her intentions towards him - but he still felt something was wrong.
He shook his head and forced himself to relax as Colleen started up the old jukebox the stood in the corner of the lounge. An old rock and roll standard started and she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dance floor, encouraging the others to do the same.
It took another half hour or so, along with several nightcaps, to get everyone dancing on the floor. Dana surprised herself when George, a man who barely stood taller than her, grabbed her hand and whisked her out on the dance floor.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was having fun. That was until Colleen decided to try her hand at match making to liven up the evening a bit.
"Okay everyone. I am going to match you up with someone for your next dance and I want no complaints." Everyone groaned a bit worried about who would end up with who, but Colleen was an expert and quickly had put together couples who actually looked good together.
Colleen wanted Mulder for herself but couldn't help but wonder how he would be with the more serious Agent Scully. Who knew, if she played her cards right maybe she could get them both.
Mulder and Scully were the last two paired up and they looked at each other and smiled a bit.
Colleen walked over to the jukebox and immediately played another classic rock and roll song - only this one was very slow and very long.
All the couples paused a bit but then began to dance. Colleen looking on with satisfaction as she realized that she had once done a pretty good job of matching people up.
Mulder gallantly took Scully's hand and they slowly wound their way around the dance floor. For the longest time neither of them said a word - they were just enjoying the moment.
Mulder pulled Scully a bit closer and looked down at her just as she was looking up at her. He smiled.
"Dana, right?" she nodded. "I don't know about you, but this is not how I envisioned this to be."
"Me either. Now I know why they didn't want to send any married people up here."
"I would imagine they will change their routine a bit when Blevins does it"
Scully laughed picturing her boss swaying around the room with some stranger. "I imagine the onsite version of this is less personal"
They became silent again swaying gently with the music until it stopped and Colleen announced that it was time for bed.
"I think y'all have had enough fun for tonight. Breakfast is at 8 - dress to spend sometime outdoors. Oh and, don't forget to hand in your phones and computers to Chip before going to bed."
Chip sat quietly in the foyer accepting phones and computers until the last person had gone to bed. He chatted briefly with each of them and knew, without a doubt, who his first victim would be as he got in his car and drove to his cabin.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Author's note - would love any and all feedback and suggestions on how to proceed