Richard Moreau was beside himself, and despite how tired he was, STILL was, here he was, up at nine in the god-forsaken morning, throwing important business papers and paraphernalia into one box after the other. His home office was seldom used, mind you, so really it wouldn’t have taken that long for him to get his documents in order and send them on their way to his office at Sugar Shanty. He really only used this room for storage and tax documents, so, it wasn’t that much work he’d have to put forth to get it done.

No, what grinded his gears was the fact that he was doing this, while he was still recovering from a hellish night, encountering not one, but TWO Mirror Wraiths, a matter he would have to discuss with Remarque the next time he saw that smarmy Pit Viper, had spent half the night looking for his beloved pet, only to have some crazy Negaverse Captain appear in his condo, dog safely in her clutches, and forced to agree to her silly little terms! Add to that, the fact that she had slept on his bed, woke him, energy deprived little him, to work on clearing out this room for her benefit, and then, didn’t even bother helping him.

THAT was what drove Richard to the point of grumbling aloud, grabbing stacks of paper and practically hurling them haphazardly into the open box without looking them over and seeing which ones to keep or which ones to document went into whichever box, something very uncharacteristic of the borderline neurotic and OCD-tendencied candy store owner. Perhaps that’s why Baldwin was keeping his distance, laying with his head on the ground and looking up at his frustrated master, wanting to help but knowing that he could not chase out the scary lady no more than Richard could. Baldwin was simply too well natured for that, and a single bite could land the dog on death row.

Captain Mica planned this out perfectly, and what else could poor Richard do but her bidding? Box after box, he became more awake, and more open to Baldwin about his feelings, knowing that she could have been nearby, listening to him, but no longer caring. “She’s going to drive me crazy, Baldwin. I know it. She’s going to first drain me for every cent I have, like the damn leech that I suspect her to be. Then, she’s going to lord me around in the Negaverse, though maybe not if we end up on different branches. I pray to God that she picks Spec-Ops, or Intelligence. She seems fitting to both- just so long as she stays the hell away from ME!”

Baldwin gave a huff, and that was his only warning before someone poked their head in, turquoise eyes alight and the twisted grin on her face would have been enough to send shivers down his spine. Nyasa Freeman, aka Mica, aka, woman that would proceed to domineer his LIFE, said nothing, and she didn’t have to. Richard gave an indignant sigh before getting back to work, and the moment she left, he whispered to his fellow prison mate. “This will be temporary. I promise you, Baldwin... even if it kills me.”

(Word Count: 546)