Author's Note: This is a baby chapter. Sorry. Focusing on my rewrites. But I couldn't get this idea out of my head, especially with all the funny home videos coming out these days. :) Enjoy!
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell pinched the bridge of his nose and then groaned. Dammit. He'd touched his face again.
He reached for the aloe-infused hand sanitizer on Landry's desk and pumped the clear liquid onto his fingers, rubbing the liquid until it evaporated off both hands.
"Sergeant, what in the name of all things holy led you to believe that videotaping a social distancing flash mob in the gate room was anything short than a gross violation of your standing orders?"
The gate technician grimaced. "Standing orders, sir?"
He waved toward the briefing room. "Keep the Gate a secret."
"Right."
Mitchell glared at him. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Well, it's not like it was going on the internet or anything. We just wanted the people on furlough and working from home to know we were thinking of them. You know, when they get back."
Mitchell raised the cell phone. "Yeah, and what happens if you lose your cell phone, huh?"
The gate tech's smile wavered. "Right."
He had to hand it to the guy. Watching six airmen in uniform performing a coordinated interpretive dance to "Into the Unknown" had been an experience Mitchell wouldn't soon forget. Even more impressive had been how they'd remained six feet apart at all times.
He'd never have imagined that Walter could sing.
"It's my official recommendation that you delete that video from your phone."
Walter's crestfallen face was almost more than Mitchell could bear. "Of course, if it got backed up on the computer's mainframe before it got deleted. . ."
Walter's disappointment faded as he caught the double-meaning. "Thank you."
"Dismissed."
Mitchell watched him go, hoping that he'd get a chance to talk to the General about sharing the video as it had been intended. It really would be a shame if those gate techs had spent all that time trying to put the thing together only to have it purged from the system because it wasn't essential.
He checked his watch. April Fool's Day. That explained a lot.
Although, come to think of it, was the video a prank or—?
He pressed the heels of his palms to his forehead. He'd let Landry unravel that mess tomorrow.
Dammit.
He squirted another dab of hand sanitizer on his hands and rubbed them together. When would this quarantine be over?
