Chapter sixteen: The deal

Kyle looked up. He gasped lightly when Golden sat on the chair across from him, her dark eyes observing him silently.

"Golden!" he berated. "I'm an old man! You're going to give me a heart attack at this rate."

"You're middle-aged at most. Anyway, the others are outside."

Kyle nodded and rose. He wasn't looking forward to their reactions…but they needed to be told.

In the main dining room outside, the other animatronics waited. Their conversations ceased when he entered.

"'Sup, Griffy," Chica said. "Goldilocks said you had something for us?"

"Yes. I'd wanted to tell you this earlier, but the customers…"

"Of course," Freddy said. "Understandable."

Kyle gave a nod. "Well, then… I suppose I'm going to tell you what happened, now."

"We're waiting with bated breath," Chica said, spreading her hands dramatically.

"What do you mean 'happened'?" Freddy asked with a frown.

He gave them all a glance. His eyes, or perhaps his words, must've already conveyed something, because their gazes turned serious. Even Chica began to show hints of concern.

Kyle took a breath, held it, then said, "Douglas has resigned. He no longer works here."

Silence.

The animatronics just stared at him. Griffiths returned their gazes steadfastly, observing their reactions. For a moment, there was nothing.

When he gave no follow-up, their expressions slowly turned into those of disbelief. Denial. Dismay. Chica, Foxy and Brunette still held his gaze, as if waiting for him to say that he was just joking. Bonnie's eyes had widened. Mangle put her hands to her mouth. Freddy looked to the others, visibly disturbed.

"He quit…" Foxy said, still staring at him.

Kyle nodded. "To strike a deal. He said his father would call Mortar off, now."

Foxy slowly stepped towards him. "He quit…just like that?"

"He quit for our sake…" Bonnie whispered.

Kyle glanced at their dejected faces. "Now, it's not the end," he clarified in a level voice. "He may have left his position, but that doesn't mean he can't ever come back here—"

"Don't matter!" Foxy barked. "He's got this scumbag just…lordin' over him, tellin' him what to do?!"

"Ours is not to question his family matters," Kyle said calmly after a moment of silence. "I'll try to maintain contact with him—"

"Do somethin'!" she demanded. "Call the cops! Send lawyers after him or whatever! We're not lettin' that old man get away with this!"

"We are."

"Oh? That's all yer goin' to say, is it? Coward!" she spat. Ignoring Freddy's admonishments, she put a finger on Kyle's chest. "Ye're supposed to be lookin' out for 'im! And now ye're just lettin' this happen?!"

Kyle looked at her. He wasn't afraid, nor angry.

Finally Foxy growled something, turned and stormed off down the hallway.

Kyle watched her go. Then he turned to the others. Chica's wide, angry eyes stared off to the side. Bonnie was comforting a distraught Mangle, and Freddy looked down, her gaze dark. Mari, Brunette and the golden ones looked just as downcast.

"She's got a point, you know," Chica said, looking up at him with accusing eyes.

"And what would you have me do?" Griffiths said quietly. "Lecture a father on how to handle his family matters?"

She huffed, then rose and left. Freddy opened her mouth to protest, but Kyle shook his head at her.

Silence dominated the moment. He sighed quietly. They may not take the news very well, but they would eventually find solace in the fact that Douglas could still come back, even if he were just a visitor. Right now, it was as though the former guard would be gone forever, but that feeling was just temporary.

Kyle nodded to himself. They just needed to wait. They'd meet Douglas again, perhaps sooner than they'd expect. Of course, before Douglas, they had to deal with the cycle of running guards. Kyle hesitated at the idea of hiring a replacement. The animatronics themselves might just do an adequate job by themselves.

His gaze met Golden's. Kyle gestured for her to come over, and she suddenly appeared before him. He withheld a grimace. Even when expecting it, her surreal powers tended to make him jump a little.

"You're our main link to Douglas now," Kyle said, keeping his voice down. "Make sure the others know that."

Leaving the others behind her, Foxy stomped down the corridor. Douglas had left. He had left. That man he called a father had blackmailed him into leaving. What kind of a man would do that? Guilt-tripping his son, sending crazy detectives to shoot innocent people because he didn't like Douglas working at a restaurant?

Parts and Service.

She froze. The sign had caught her eye. She'd looked without thinking.

They were behind that door. Her…old friends.

Foxy hesitated. Chica's predecessor was still intact, yet refused to come out. Maybe she didn't know she could.

Maybe someone should tell her…

Foxy hissed, turning away from the door. They wouldn't be happy to see her anyway. The one who left them, the one who survived. They'd resent her even though it wasn't her choice.

Just like she did with Douglas.

She started towards the security office, her pace little more than a trudge. Earlier today, she'd found herself wishing that he'd choose college over the restaurant—that he'd choose his future over hers. Now he had. Of course he had! He'd taken action, like he said he would.

Heck, maybe she wasn't that different from Nicholas, either. She recalled her response to Douglas visiting Blake, and her argument with Mari. Where was the line between protective and overbearing? Maybe Douglas finally realized that too.

She realized her anger had gone, replaced with hesitation. Uncertainty. She thought things were fine when Douglas made the decision to stay, but it wasn't meant to be, it seemed. It felt like such a long time ago, before she knew about her hidden past. Things were so much simpler back then.

Finally she trudged away.

… What? Douglas had quit?

Paul slowly put the phone down. He sat on his chair, his forcedly calm breath barely restraining the frustration of not knowing. He still wasn't sure if Douglas' decision to stay at the restaurant was a result of someone forcing him, or because the animatronics were harmless.

He stared intently at the whiteboard. The notes, the pictures, the speculation… Nicholas wasn't paying him any longer, now that Douglas had finally resigned. Paul's investigations must've scared him.

If ever he'd seen a sign to continue his efforts…

He scanned over his notes one more time. If Douglas was this scared of him, possibly more scared than the person who was forcing him, what could the restaurant be hiding? What did he not want Paul to know? Oh, Paul had plenty of theories on that, but still no outright proof.

He had to find out. Money or not, he wasn't going to let another mystery go unsolved.