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 Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 12:34 pm
Toby grinned. "That face? The face of a young, eager entrepreneur before the reality of corporate life settles in? The face of a darling little brown-noser? Sure. I'm jaded because I'm experienced." Nevermind that Nick was almost or more than twice his age.
His expression slid down, then. He looked grave, then sad, then devastated. He slapped his hand over his eyes. "God, I want my partner back."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 12:46 pm
"Hey! I've been working for the FBPI since before you were born!" Nick immediately protested. Then he grinned, "You can act overworked, it wouldn't be a lie."
Oh... "Your alien,": he said. "Why didn't you bring him?" he asked. "I would've liked to meet him, the notes we have on him only go so far."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 12:52 pm
"Then why so I outrank you?!" Toby asked with a laugh, before his face fell. Then he sighed. "Amen to that."
After his face fell and Nick seemed to worry, Toby pulled his hand away and grinned cheekily. "Gotcha!" His face returned to a sort of disinterested normal. "Nah, I do miss him. We've worked together for 7 years or so? In all that time I haven't worked without him more than twice, and never across the ocean. He's an asset. It's rough. I'm glad he gets to bond with the baby, though."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 1:05 pm
"I like my job," Nick smiled and gave a shrug. He stared, and after a moment, he grinned. "You got me," he agreed. Toby would have no trouble, he was a natural.
"Next time, bring him," he suggested. "Your baby or his?" He hadn't heard if the alien had put in for adoption--that would be interesting, though.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 1:11 pm
"My baby," Toby said. "I don't know if Dari wants kids or not. He's getting married soon. We just adopted my son a few months ago. A little shapeshifter. The last time we went out, Lori's husband and Dari's fiancee were in charge, but Cody seemed... upset by the thought of doing it again."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 1:17 pm
Oh! He hadn't heard about a shifter-baby, this was news. "Congratulations," he said, and gave Toby a quick smile before returning his attention to the road. "We should be there in...fifteen minutes? He tapped the car's gps with a finger. "Unhappy, eh? Your kid's that bad?"
He was teasing. Infants could be a piece of work. Especially when their parents weren't near to comfort them.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 1:20 pm
Toby chuckled. "No. Cody just can't do babies. I can only barely do teenagers, so I get it. If you want to meet Dari, I'm sure we could do a video call. Do you have a beacon? I mean, he has a normal phone too."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 1:22 pm
"And Cody's the new werewolf?" Nick wasn't taking notes, as his hands were on the wheel, but he did seem to be mentally keeping track. He side glanced Toby.
"We can facetime him on our break, if you wanted? Two young interns on their new-fangled gadgets."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 4:55 pm
"He is," Toby said with a nod. Then he chuckled again, this time more darkly. "You want to Facetime an obvious alien about his time on Earth? Is that what interns do?"
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 4:58 pm
“Doesn’t he have that other form? Whatsitcalled?” Nick frowned in thought. “Anyway, he can show me the properties of his biology when we get back to headquarters.”
“So, you married the selkie?”
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 5:01 pm
"...human? Are you going to ask him about spaghetti? Not many interesting topics are safe, when it comes to aliens. I think HQ is a much better idea."
He just watched out the window a while then, and nodded.
"Mm-hm! Well. Half-selkie, but selkie."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 5:09 pm
...Well, that would put a damper on conversation. “You’re right,” he said. “Sorry, always enthusiastic about a new entity, here or there.” He paused. “I heard about that,” he admitted, “I was surprised you managed to find a nonhuman halfie, they’re always so dull. How did you figure it out?”
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 5:19 pm
"No wonder you and Lori get along so well," Toby mused. "When we learned Maia was half-human, he lost his mind. She got sick, which isn't supposed to happen, so one blood-draw later, we realized we had a half-selkie. She was raised in the ocean, though. As far as I'm concerned, she's a selkie."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 5:27 pm
“Fascinating.” A half selkie with selkie dominant genes was certainly ground breaking, Nick could imagine Lori’s excitement. “She is,” he said.
It was only a minute or two later that he turned to the left, passing a small, brightly colored cafe that seemed like it thrives on the business provided by overworked employees, and into a contrasting gray parking lot. The tall, gray building nearly blended into it, except for the wide windows at assumedly each office.
Nick parked. “Dull place,” he said, dusting his sleeve off and climbing out of the car.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 6:02 pm
"I work in a windowless bunker you can't even see from outside," Toby said as he got out of the car and squinted up at the building. He frowned. "Somehow, this is worse."
Was the feeling of dread one of a new experience? Or was it fae magic? Did he have some sort of sixth sense about these things, or was this place just really that miserable? "No wonder everyone's so unhappy."
Toby heaved a sigh, only half put-on, forced a smile that didn't look quite right, and tapped Nick on the arm three times. A pre-planned signal. The game was on.
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