Short on Time

Chapter 51

"Sumptuous day," HR greeted us making me laugh. "Oh, no, on this Earth, I believe you say..."

"Good morning," I reminded HR.

"Good morning. And it is, isn't it? I mean the music on your Earth, well, it strikes a chord, no pun intended," HR said offering us a platter of food. "Please, help yourself.I find a crew works best when it's well-fed and well-rested."

"Are those coffees for us too?" Iris asked.

"Yes indeed, Miss West," HR said beginning to hand them out. "I took the liberty of reading through your ledgers last night. A lot of information to absorb, but let's see how I did. Skim milk chai latte."

"Okay," Iris said smiling. 

"Okay.And an iced Americano with two no, three shots of espresso," HR said.

"Boom," Wally said happily.

"That happened, Walter."

"Wally."

"Wally. Now, for my fleet-of-foot friend oh, you'd best stick to decaf."

"Probably for the best, yeah," Barry said.

"My dear Ginger, a half white half caramel breve with an extra shot," HR said handing it to me. 

"Ever the sweet tooth," Barry muttered in my ear.

"Only with fancy drinks," I said.

"San Francisco.I have prepared a French roast with a touch of creamer," HR said handing it to Cisco.

"Thank you so much," I said.

"You're welcome," HR said smiling. "Did you know, on my Earth, coffee crop was wiped out by blight? I mean, that's one more reason to stay on this Earth, for the coffee alone."

"Yeah, though that's if you stay," Cisco reminded.

"If I stay," HR agreed. "Time is of the essence. Here's what I propose, a series of team-building exercises. Now, I've hidden a series of clues all around the facility. What I propose is, we break into two groups, all right, and you can pick a partner... you're..."

"Okay, okay. I have to stop you, H.R. I am not feeling this," Cisco said.

"It's the roast, isn't it? I should have gone with a dark," HR said.

"No, it's not the roast. The roast is fine. Our trust isn't something that you can just build with games," Cisco said. "Okay? This is something that goes back three years.It's something that's been forged in fire, sometimes literally, so maybe you should just step back and observe, see what we do here, how we operate. Did you get that?"

"Excellent note. I'm gonna run with that," HR said.

"Where's Caitlin, by the way?" Barry asked. 

"Yes. So she was here," HR said.

"She was?"

"All right, yeah, you know, we talked, and she knocked back a triple-shot latte, and she left you a message, so I'm gonna... Uh, I yeah, let me just play it for you. This is not the same as my Earth's. This is different," HR said and then Cisco just pressed the space key. "There it is."

"Hey, it's me," Caitlin's voice said. "I've got some things I need to take care of. I shouldn't be gone more than a few days. See if you can get along without me. Make sure Cisco doesn't touch my pizza pockets."

We all looked at Cisco as he looked at the pizza pocket in his hand, "wasn't labeled."

"Okay, you know what, guys? I got to go to work. I'm running late," Barry said.