And, yet, the paperwork kept coming.
Dot sat at her desk, stamping document after document, making marks and scribbles where marks and scribbles were due.
It had been five hours since the Caster had made her demands and the EPF was still doing all of the necessary duties that went with transferring over power. Or, more specifically, three people were left completing all those necessary elements; all of the standard protocol agents had been called to a meeting with the Director, leaving senior agents Dot, Gary, and Jet Pack Guy on the job.
Dot sighed and looked at the vacant table next to her desk. There had once been four senior agents. That was until Rookie snapped and changed everything...
Dot quickly emerged from her thoughts. Gary was saying something. "...it appears my Bubble Gum Dispenser 6000 has malfunctioned...I suppose I should fix it before I forget." He addressed Jet Pack Guy now. "Where do you keep your tool chest? It appears I've lost mine again."
"In the supply closet, of course," Jet Pack Guy responsed and the two exited the room, leaving Dot alone with her thoughts.
If Rookie was here now, he'd make some witty joke to lighten the mood. But she had to stop thinking about that. Rookie was never coming back to work here ever again. She needed to move on.
Dot returned to her files, willing herself to stop thinking about him and focus on the task at hand. It didn't work. At one point she swore she saw Rookie out of the corner of her eye standing nearby.
The funny thing was: she did.
Dot looked up and was startled to see her former coworker standing feet away. "Hello, Dot," he said, with a slight edge to his voice. "Long time, no see."
Dot tried to remain calm. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying not to give away her concern and surprise.
Rookie tilted his head. "Hmm...is it a crime to pay a visit to an old friend? I expected a warmer welcome. When did you become so chilly? Or, is that a defense mechanism to mask your heightened emotions?"
Dot said nothing as the two stared at each other for several moments.
Rookie eventually broke the silence. "Well, it's clear you're not in the mood for chitchat, so, I'll cut to the chase." He paused for effect and then continued on. "My rebellious organization has regrouped. And, believe me, it was a tough journey getting people back into the cause after your little Lighthouse party trick. However, here we are, ready to take the reigns and restore order to this peculiar little island."
"There's a lot that goes into a revolution that you might not realize. One key element that needs to be added to the pot is confusion, and, boy do we have that. We enlisted the help of the Caster - who thinks she's the boss in this partnership - to create fear by holding Rockhopper hostage and demanding rule. However, while she thinks that's the end of the story, she's unfortunately mistaken. We're going to capture her and remove her from the picture and then - now that the island is perplexed, scared, and on its last leg - we're going to swoop in and restore order by force."
Rookie took a breath and then stared into her eyes. "I hope you enjoy the show," he said, and turned away.
Dot, feeling a sudden burst of boldness, spoke up. "Why tell just me this? Why tell any of us at all?"
Rookie swerved around in the doorway to the hall. "Well, I quite enjoyed the little game we played last time. I feel that this time, it might be even more fun because there are still puzzle pieces that I haven't given you. I'm curious to see if you can piece them all together. You're a smart girl; I'm sure you can visualize them and put the whole picture together. In fact, I think there are a couple that can already fit together." He turned around and continued to walk away.
However, Rookie wasn't done yet. He yelled something back to her: "Sometimes we have to make our own luck."
Dot sat in her chair, dazed. It had been quite the experience, seeing him all over again. But something didn't feel right about the whole thing. The puzzle piece part felt like an extreme taunt. What could be put together now?
Sometimes we have to make our own luck.
Dot's head bolted around the room. Had Rookie planted a diversion? Her mind raced as she took every detail in. And then she saw it: Gary's toolbox, messily hidden on a shelf where he would have never put it. Gary and Jet Pack Guy were supposed to leave the room. It was all apart of the plan. Rookie would have known that Gary was constantly misplacing his toolbox and that he had a broken knickknack to fix daily. But to make sure Jet Pack Guy would leave the room with Gary, the plan would involve getting everyone else out of the room so there were no other people with toolboxes to ask...
Dot raced to the video monitor and viewed the board room feed. A hundred agents were stuffed inside, some clawing at the doors, others battering the windows with objects. They had been locked in. That meeting had been part of the plan, too.
Out of the room Dot went, racing to unlock the board room, find Gary and Jet Pack Guy, capture Rookie, something...anything! Dot tore through the hallways, and found Gary and Jet Pack Guy in one of them. They both expressed alarm at her look of urgency.
At that moment, the other part of that luck came into play.
Every light in the building went out. There were shouts from outside the HQ.
It had begun.
To Be Continued
Rookie makes me think of Moriarty a lot at this point, you know. Just waiting for him to have a Staying Alive ring tone. Can we make that a thing?
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh. A LOT.
DeleteAh ah ah ah staying alive, staying alive!
Delete