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 Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 2:45 pm
Once returning to the HQ from the raid disaster, Seth had been called in to report to his superiors about what had happened.
That had been about an hour ago, and now Seth had holed himself up in his compact office in the technology division of the building. It was small and located right next to the main computer room. It was the place he usually did his desk work and coding.
The elite had stomped in there earlier and slammed the door, while the few that had been sitting nearby looked on in silence. Nobody had dared to approach the door since.
Today was not a good day, and all the programmers on duty were on pins and needles.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 2:55 pm
If there was one amongst the techie group that seemed unaffected by the elite agent's sour mood, it was Agent 1337. He noted rather casually with a large grin how the others in the computer room looked like they had a handful of tacks in their shoes. In all honesty, he knew why Seth was in a bad mood. Anybody who had been on that failure of a mission would have known.
Heck, the long bandage wrapped around his right forearm was hint enough that 1337 should have known better. At least it wasn't a serious injury. Thank goodness for small favors.
"Alright dumb asses!" the visored man eventually announced to the whole room. "Gonna see what stick got lodged up Seth's a**! Don't wait up!" With a rather carefree laugh, the jumpsuit wearing Rocket walked up to Seth's office door, swung the door open and let himself in as if it was any other day. Either 1337 had balls, or 1337 had no brains.
"Hey Seth! How's it shakin'?" A big grin greeted his superior.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:42 pm
The others in the room just stared as 1337 entered the "dragon's lair". Several of them looked as if they didn't expect him to return alive. While others got up to scoot closer and listen in. This should be good.
Seth had parked himself behind his desk and in front of the computer. The office itself was rather plain and without decoration. It was obvious it served for function only. He was logged into the database when 1337 waltzed in.
A pair of blue eyes looked up from over a computer monitor, and narrowed dangerously at the agent. His hands folded in front of his face as he had been reading whatever was on the screen. He hadn't wanted to see anyone right now, and least of all anyone from the botched raid.
"What the hell do you want?!" The elite snapped, lifting up his head to glower fully at the intruder. Seth's left cheek was also still red from where a female executive had slapped him earlier for a particularly snarky comment.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:00 pm
Most other agents would have probably already peed their pants from that one look. Perhaps there was something wrong in 1337's brain, for instead, he just stood there with that usual grin. He had obviously noticed the lack of personalization to the office space, but anybody who knew Seth knew he wasn't the sort to liven up a room with pretty wallpaper and photographs of his loved ones.
Though it would have been amusing to see the room plastered with photographs of TRP.
In contrast to his superior's serious and cold tone, 1337 spoke up as if there wasn't a problem in the world. "Oh, the boys and I wanted to see if widdle baby Seth was doing okay."
Yes, he just tied in all the other Rockets in the other room with his actions. Wasn't that very considerate of him? Obviously, he wasn't serious and laughed after his comment. If he wasn't dead after dealing with Seth, the other techies might have been after him.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:33 pm
"b*****d!" came a muffled shout from the other room as 1337 made his comment.
At about the same time, Seth suddenly stood up to the point that his chair nearly fell over. His palms coming down flat on his desk with a thud. A near murderous, seething glare now pointed at 1337.
"I don't have time to listen to your stupidity! The fact that I am breathing the same air with a failure such as you repulses me! If you don't have anything useful to say then get the hell out!"
Seth's voice was now a roar.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:46 pm
Seth used Roar!
1337 was unaffected!
In fact, the dark haired computer hacker started to laugh some more. Part of it had to do with the obvious eavesdroppers. The other part had to do with Seth's reaction. God, it was so fun to mess with people. Rather than turn tail and run off, 1337 made himself a bit more comfortable by leaning his a** against Seth's desk.
Yes, 1337 was daring to touch Seth's work area.
With his butt.
"Well, last I checked, I ain't a failure!" he said with a confident grin. Without a second thought, he brought up an obviously sore subject. "I did what I was supposed to on our mission! I can't help if the Organization has a snitch hiding under our roof."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:57 pm
Despite a broken collarbone and a gaping wound in his shoulder, Hayes was still capable of coding. Granted it took longer, having only one hand to type with, but it was one of the tech's more fulfilling non-physical hobbies that he just happened to get paid for.
That hand was carrying a can of soda as he (carefully) shouldered the door open to the main computer room, Switch trailing along at his feet.
To find the entire room swiveled in their chairs towards Seth's office door, staring like bystanders of what is about to become a twenty-two car pileup.
"I don't have time to listen to your stupidity! The fact that I am breathing the same air with a failure such as you repulses me! If you don't have anything useful to say then get the hell out!"
His animal sixth sense warning him of disaster, Switch turned tail and bolted. Hayes, having no such sense, eased himself through the door once the ringing in his ears was gone. "1337?" he guessed.
As one, they nodded.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:59 pm
Seth's brows furrowed at this, and he was obviously ignoring the eavesdroppers.
As soon as 1337 leaned against his desk, Seth reaches forward and grabbed him by the collar.
"Look punk. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but that mission affected all of us. You're just as much as a failure as the rest. Do you know why I let -you- hack into that database? Because it was the easy part. You're a pretender with fancy equipment who couldn't code his way out of a paper bag! The difference between you and me is that I have authority and you are an expendable underling."
Blue eyes were full of malice and the elite snarled every other word.
"I could write you up right now for insubordination. If you leave now that is. Or I could throw you in the brig for a few days if you want to keep this up. Although I would really like to put a few more holes in you right now. Its your choice."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:18 pm
If Seth was expecting any sort of change in 1337's expression, he was going to be sorely disappointed. Even by the collar and with the proximity being closer than most people would consider comfortable, he still had that obnoxious grin on his face.
"Hey, if you're in denial about my talent, then so be it. I ain't about to go bursting your little bubble. I am curious, what company do you think made my tech? Since it is apparently just 'fancy equipment' and nothing more."
Maybe that would have been a reasonable challenge to anybody but Seth, but to make matters worse, he then just added "I'm just guessing you're ridiculously pent up right now." Even as close as he was to the beast's face, he laughed.
Any remaining eavesdroppers must have been wondering if 1337 had a death wish.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:19 pm
It was easy enough to hear what was going on in there; the door was wide open and Seth wasn't making any attempt to be subtle about managing the department's problem child. Hayes glanced over his shoulder to make sure the outer door was closed, and seeing it hadn't quite swung to, kicked it shut with his foot and moved, unhurried but perhaps a little quieter and more stiffly than normal, for an empty computer terminal.
It was sleeping; he set his soda down next to the keyboard, tapped the mouse to wake it, and withdrew a flash drive from his pocket while a login screen appeared and adjusted itself into focus. The Rocket wasn't in uniform, just a button-up shirt and khakis, on account of the doctors' orders to move his right side as little as possible. An agent's pullover tops were a no, or more accurately an 'ow.'
The blond looked toward the confrontation again for a moment. The corner of his mouth pulled back in a sympathetic half-smile.
"If he dies," Hayes said vaguely to the room while he tapped in his ID and password, "dibs on his stuff."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:41 pm
So. That's how he wanted to play things, eh?
Seth shoved 1337 back and let go, snorting irritably, but his glare hadn't diminished in the slightest.
"I've seen more talent from a Slowpoke. And that's why I'm confiscating your equipment. All of it. That..." He pointed at the stuff 1337 was wearing. "And everything in your room. All of it. You'll only be allowed standard issue Rocket equipment. Including that tar you call hot sauce. Also, I'll be giving you all of the division's assignments today. You'll be required to code it ALL in ******** and it -will- be done by tomorrow. We'll see if you really have any talent without that crap of yours. If its not done, you'll be demoted. Now get out before I have you removed!"
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:04 pm
For having just been told all this, it seemed strange that there was still a grin upon his face. It seemed that someone still had a sense of humor, despite being told of his punishment.
"I take it that since this is a criminal organization, there is no HR department I can talk to. Or workman's comp!" 1337 laughed really hard at such a notion. Team Rocket didn't play by the rules of watching out for their underlings. It was a life long commitment. You didn't get out alive if you changed your mind.
His joke aside, 1337 simply nodded his head. However, it wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed to be going. "...alright... when you can remove my equipment from me, let me know..." He pulled off his gloves, setting them down on Seth's desk next to each other. Obviously, he only took some things seriously, for he turned around and headed for the door, still wearing his visor.
"Guess I should get outta here so I can get started..." He could do the coding. He could do it on a standard issue computer, as requested. He could even abandon the gloves which essentially made his visor useless as a tool. However, it seemed obvious that Seth was going to have to pry the visor off 1337's cold dead body if 1337 had any say in the matter.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:11 pm
It was strange to let one arm just dangle at his side, but, well. Hayes flexed the fingers on that side while he plugged in his flash drive with his good hand, and after a moment's thought, worked the mouse out of its USB port and moved it and the mousepad around to the left side.
He kept an ear to the goings-on - it'd be stupid not to - but he didn't have to be conspicuous about it. For all intents and purposes the Rocket was focused on his computer screen, bringing up a program editor through a series of folders.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:20 pm
Oh no. This wasn't going to be done at 1337's greatest convenience.
"HEY!" Seth shouted as the agent started to walk off. "Get the HELL back here! All of it! NOW!" That included the visor and the little vial of hot sauce he carried with him.
In the next instant, a Luxray appeared and quickly lept past 1337 and in front of the exit in the next room. The electric Pokemon growling and sparking.
Seth then stepped out from behind his desk. "Hand them over to Hayes. He'll be keeping an eye on you until your room is cleared. And ditch the jumpsuit too. I want to see you in a regular uniform for a change."
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:37 pm
All of it in <******** was never meant to be a real, workable language. Quite the opposite - whereas some languages could perform complex functions at a command, ******** put all of the burden on the coder to deal with a program's details, byte by byte. And as the saying goes, therein the devil lies.
It took 111 commands to write a simple 'Hello world!'. Coding nonstop, the entire department's work would take weeks. To do it in a night was impossible.
Some of the less in-the-know techs were muttering as 1337 sauntered out of the room. "Man, that's harsh." "That's Seth." Others, though - those who had been with the department longer, those who had read more widely, the really dedicated ones who knew more than just the standard programming languages - had a look on their face as if they'd just heard 1337 had to dig a hole through a mountain by the next morning.
With a safety pin.
At the sound of his name, Hayes looked up. It was an easy, relaxed movement, as if he hadn't been listening in at all and oh hey who's calling me?
As the Luxray jumped past 1337 the blond shut down the program he'd just started up, removed his flash drive and slipped it into his pocket again. Pity about the soda; he'd have to leave it there for now.
He gave 1337 an apologetic smile and moved toward him, one hand out. "C'mon, man," he requested of his sometimes-partner in coding, ever pleasant.
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