Getter wasn't sure what he was expecting from the two operatives, but a double murder minutes after they arrived followed by one of them getting drunk with one of his subordinates wasn't something he could have seen coming. The B3 Lab was a crime scene and the obvious culprit was Bradley but who could have known that he was so unstable? The personnel file that lay open on the desk had his security picture pinned to it and he found that he couldn't look at it. The eyes were more inhuman than any he had ever seen and seemed to be staring back.
"I never thought that Owens could have been a threat to anybody," he said aloud even though neither of the operatives seemed to be listening. "He was always just a weird little mousy nerd. I had no idea he had it in him."
The two women drained their glasses as quickly as they could fill them but the Xeno stepped in and stopped his partner filling her third. As she walked away, Getter admired the woman in the coveralls (what was her name again? Did it even matter?) and considered the advantage of giving her a chance to earn a bonus for this paycheck. Of course, he had to find a way to keep his job first.
"I mean- he weighed maybe ninety-eight pounds soaking wet and both of my men would have made two of him," Getter continued. "How did he manage to do that? I mean, they'd make FOUR of him and he even wasn't a fighter! They should have been able to clean his clock like I told them to."
"What was the lab's purpose?" the Xeno asked, ignoring his commentary. It must have decided to ask the questions since his female partner was otherwise intent on draining everything liquid in sight.
"Mining equipment and XP remotes mostly," Getter answered. "Anything you'd need to mine where a living being can't go."
"Something like a robot then?" The woman asked. Getter was a little disappointed that she wasn't slurring her words. She was far too sober to be pliable.
"Yes. Built solely for mining," he answered, trying to turn on his best smile on the woman. "They're very resilient, hard-working, and they get the job done no matter how long it takes."
"Does this guy have any friends?" the woman continued, seemingly immune to his charm. She had to be a lesbian, he decided- there were no other possibilities. His mind briefly touched on how much it would actually take to get her drunk but more of her questions continued and disrupted his fantasies. "Know of anyone that might help him do this?"
"No, no one at all," he answered. "No one liked the little pervert and he mostly kept to himself. He didn't even eat in the cafeteria with the others. I can't understand how he managed it."
"Don't you have a current psyche profile on him? This one is a couple years old," the Xeno asked and all he could do was shake his head.
"No, I'm afraid not. I mostly get the 'need to know' stuff and it's a given that you'd have to be a little crazy to sign on for this."
"So why did you sign on?" the woman asked.
"The pay," Getter said. After all, it wasn't entirely a lie since he had no way to know about the fringe benefits until he got here.
"Is that the only reason?" the Xeno asked, leaning in with a growing smile. He wondered if it knew something and kept a poker face.
"Yeah. It's not for my health."
"You sure? Wouldn't this be a good place to have some fun?"
"Enough of that Jester," the woman piped up. "Now where is the security booth you mentioned?"
"This way," he motioned but stopped briefly, motioning towards the woman in the coveralls. He really didn't want to abandon her - for her own safety of course. "But what about her?"
"Leave her," the two ops said together.
Getter led them over the two halls to the booth, wincing as he tried to find the correct key. It took a few moments to sort to the right one and the fact that the Stormer and the woman were crowding him didn't help. When the door opened, both of the operatives pushed past him and he wasn't able to get inside. It was truly a "booth" and was made for only one person at a time.
"The hardware is smashed," the woman's voice said just before she reappeared. "It looks like your friend wants to play hard to get."
"I never thought he'd be capable of something like this."
"You already said that," she answered as she went back into the hall and began giving orders. They were mostly meant for the Stormer, but he listened also.
"We split up and go looking for him," she said as she checked her pistol again. "He shouldn't be too hard to find since there's only a few stragglers left."
"What are you going to do with me?" he asked.
The woman smiled in a way that would have looked more fitting on the Stormer and he felt a chill coming back.
"You'll stay in your office with the woman and wait for us to find him."
"Yes of course -but what do I do if he comes after me?" he pleaded. Normally Getter would have no fear of an employee, but Bradley Owen was obviously a dangerous psychopath.
"When we hear you screaming, we'll know where to find him. And by the way, if you lay as much as lay a hand on her, we'll have a third dismembered body. Got it?"
"Now that's just uncalled for!" he stammered but didn't get far. There was short burst of static and a familiar voice cut in where the SLA-mas tune ended. In the distance, the heavy airlock doors to the shuttle deck clamped shut and locked down.
"We interrupt this happy, sh*tty little corporate SLA-mas song with an important broadcast. Hello Getter, it's me. You've seen what we did to your gorillas haven't you? Well we're going to do worse to you. Oh and who's the cutie? Hi there honey!"
The operatives looked at each other and then started searching the area.
"Keep looking but you'll never find me. Ooooooh! Is that a 711 Xeno? God, you're sure one ugly motherfricker aren't you? So Jimbo, what're the hot chick and the muscle doing here? Are they here to arrest you for something maybe? Maybe a little 'general sedition, embezzlement, and gross mismanagement'? Have you been a bad boy? Santa wants to know."
The operatives continued looking, but the frustration was evident on their faces. Bradley must have seen it and cackled over the mike.
"Hey sweet cheeks! Up here, the camera! That's it, right here baby! Yeah, I' m watching you!"
The woman calmly blasted the security camera apart with a single shot. The voice on the intercom was seething when it came back on.
"YOU FRICKING BITCH!" the voice yelled. "I'LL BUTCHER EVERY ONE OF YOU, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY SLOW FOR YOU GETTER! I'M GOING TO GET YOU! I'M GOING TO PAY YOU BACK FOR EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING! IT'S GOING TO TAKE DAYS FOR YOU TO FRICKING DIE! YOU'RE GOING TO BEG ME-"
The voice died out in the immediate area as the Xeno reached up and removed the nearest speaker from the wall. The ranting continued from other speakers further along the way but it was easier to deal with when it wasn't blaring in his ears.
"Thanks," he muttered to the Xeno who looked at the human for direction. Her dark blue eyes turned back to him and she shoved him into the wall.
"We know he's got access to the security system and he has a serious grudge against you Getter," she said. "So two questions."
She drew the pause out for effect and then shook him for emphasis. He guessed that he probably outweighed her by a good forty pounds, but she was able to sling him around like a bag of trash. That would take good body control and for a brief moment, his mind went back to how it could benefit the bedroom experience. His head hitting the wall brought him back to the same page she was ons.
"First question. Where can he link to the cameras besides the main booth?"
Before he could answer, she shook him again and he saw a flash of stars for several seconds. Obviously he wasn't the only one having a bad day around here, not counting the recently departed that is.
"And two," she said, shaking him again. "What did you do to push him over the edge?"
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