A Guard's life

Group exercise

A/N: A bit of a breather chapter because I really didn't have a lot of time showing off the characters. So, that's what this chapter will be focused on! All nice and relaxed.
I hope you'll enjoy!

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Dark, dark backrooms.
Cables slowly swinging from the ceiling.
Circus Baby's Pizza world was at peace, or at least pretended to be.
A machine, pretending to be deactivated.
A feeling, akin to a vortex.
A downward spiral, cold and fast.
Baby tried to listen in.
Nosy girl.
Yes, that was what she had been called before.
Nobody liked a nosy girl.
But she didn't care.
She wouldn't be ashamed for wanting to know more.
In a way she felt entitled to it. They were stuck together, weren't they? And he needed her help, desperately.
"What is your problem?" She nudged the soul attached to her. "I would consider us successful. We managed to free one soul... on accident, but that's still a win, right?"
Sorrow.
Ethan shook himself. "... it concerns me. Not knowing... what happened... how we did it so we can do it again-"
"That's not it." Instantly she cut him off. "I can look into your head, dummy."
"Not as well as you would like to. And too much for your own good." Dismissal.
She was so sick of that. "No I don't, I could handle it. You think you're tough, because you're a cop, don't you?"
"You sound like from a bad movie. No, I don't think I'm tough. But I'm reasonable enough to not have a child deal with my personal issues-"
"I'm not a CHILD!" Now he had done it. The age old argument. She adamantly refused to tell him ANYTHING about herself that could help him to find out her identity from his knowledge of all the different victims William had amassed within his time.
Though he could actually use this for his benefit.
"We both have things we neither should nor want to talk about. Either you accept this or whatever right you think you have to ask me for my thoughts should extend to me about you too."
Sure, it wasn't the best idea to talk to a kid like that, but he didn't really know how else to approach this situation.
For a moment it was quiet, then she sighed. "Why do you even THINK I'm as young as you think I am?"
"That is fairly easy, his usual victim profile has a very clear pattern ranging from 8 to 11 with NO-"
"I'm not a victim." She responded, calmly. "We made a deal."
That completely hit Ethan out of left field. He didn't put much thought into her behavior before. Psychology wasn't his strongest suit, but he knew how the mind could wrap itself with ease, do anything, EVERYTHING to protect itself from further harm-
But mentioning a deal was a whole other story.
Perhaps he actually wasn't currently associating with a traumatized little girl. Perhaps he was actually dealing with a ruthless person, who had been willingly collaborating with a psychopathic murderer.
His emotion of shock and slight beginnings of disgust were met however with a recoil and a bit of worry.
Those... weren't the emotions of that type of person. At least he couldn't imagine it. Being scared of reaction for an obviously evil deed-
Perhaps he had overreacted. Perhaps she did make herself believe that it was a deal.
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
Nothing was safe.
At least she seemed really proud about having freed her first soul.
That couldn't be too bad. Right?
He didn't really want to know anymore. He wanted to take care of Evelyn and be done.
He had lost everything.
It was taking its toll now, rather late, but... there was the cold realization. He would never go home again.
He would never be able to call his wife.
Never be able to check on John.
Never see them again, not laugh, not cry, not hear their voices-
Had this been worth it?
... yes. Yes, because now Evelyn wasn't alone anymore.
Even if it broke his heart, this...
If he wouldn't have looked for her, for evidence, he would have never known that she is still around, still suffering.
How sick and sadistic to keep the souls of your victims around. As though taking a child's life wasn't gruesome enough.
Now he was basically the only one who knew of this, wasn't he?
Stuck to a machine that would protect the killer tooth and nail.
Baby radiated annoyance. "You're doing it again."
"... have you ever watched him kill?" Quietly he asked.
Oh, she didn't like that one.
Ethan was tired. This constant emotional flow he could feel was incredibly draining. Once a guy told him about hyperempathetic serial killer who were brought to kill by their empathy itself.
Before he couldn't believe that, but by now he could understand how this would take a toll on a weaker mind.
Constantly FEELING, emotions that didn't even come out of yourself...
Softly he sighed. "... his gruesome rampage cannot continue."
"... it won't." The whisper was almost inaudible.
"Why are you so sure?" Instantly Ethan answered.
"... because he has us now." There was hesitation in her words, but she tried to be confident about this.
"... excuse me, can you explain that?" Now that was an irritating amount of security seeing as she was talking about a maniac.
"... he has us now. He- said he wanted a family and that... we would be that. We and Old Sport... and he promised that we would... stick together! If that were the case, he can't get us all in trouble, right? Not in too much trouble, I mean."
"Just because someone has a family, doesn't mean someone is in any way stable." Calmly Ethan responded, trying to ignore the many memories of cases with parents doing the absolute worst to their families for no apparent reason.
"I... I believe in him." The answer was firm in the end. "I think know what you're thinking and I think it's true- he's crazy. And dangerous. Definitely not fit to run around out there and I'd be rather terrified. But... I don't owe you anything. Nothing good will come from locking him up anyways." She struggled to voice what she meant, but insistent on getting it somewhat out.
"That is a terrifying attitude." There was no other way to describe it. "Imagine everyone thinking like that!"
Lord forgive, this HAD to be a child. Nobody with a developed mind could be THAT selfish.
Not developed yet or SEVERELY traumatized.
This time around though his anger didn't made her back down, even if she could probably still feel it. "... having him stay in here is the safest for everyone, actually. He told me a LOT of stories about how he got out of jail. I don't think you people could hold him even if you tried."
"You underestimate our system. Chances are, he lied to you anyhow! Did he have any proof for the things he claimed?"
There was a bit of frustration washing over to Ethan, but it was interrupted sd something seemed to click within Baby. Some sort of realization.
"I am more dangerous than dad, you know?" Oh and she sounded smug about it too. "Say about him what you like, but I could snap him like a twig if I wanted to! Do you think any prison could hold ME?"
She really seemed intent on an answer, so Ethan considered it for a bit. "There... are some prisons. Not to mention, a storage hall would probably be enough."
"Excuse me?!" Offended Baby tried to give him a glare. "A mere storage hall would NEVER manage to keep me locked up!"
"You should be more careful with that attitude. I'm absolutely certain the police would VERY quickly learn how to detain you." He did the emotional equivalent to crossing his arms and waited for her move, but she just giggled.
"A jail for misbehaving robots... imagine." Softly she nudged him. "... actually, really, imagine. All the robots actually being allowed outside. People accepting them and then... we all go back to our normal life."
Oh, that STUNG.
Taking Evelyn back home, getting her fixed up-
No... no that wasn't possible.
Baby seemingly could guess what was going through his head though. "What would stop you from it?"
"It isn't possible. She... can't live like that." In such a clunky, dangerous body-
"There are plenty of people who have it much worse, you know? People with all sort of handicaps, who still manage to be very happy and functioning. Hell I would count your girl lucky in comparison... it could help these people to get some technolo-"
"Did your "dad" tell you these things?"
Stubborn she shook her head. "These things are common sense, you know? I like my new body a lot better. Nobody can do or tell me anything in it." A bit she laughed. "Even that annoying angsty teen gets scared when I get the scooper out! NOBODY wants to mess with me!"
But that was no good, was it now? It meant nobody would want to get close either.
Ethan let that thought sink in, then sighed. "I worry for you. I really do."
Surprised Baby tilted her head. "Why? Because I can enjoy being powerful?"
"You're in bad company. In little to no company too, on top of that. I know you are not particularly happy." He tried to get through to her. "... please, listen to me. What he has done to you might be fun for you, fine- but there are others who can't handle this."
"Like I said, he won't just go around dragging more people to their death." At this point she had fully convinced herself. "And if not, I could make trouble for him myself. Because, believe it or not, I will hold him to his word."
"... did you really made a deal with him?" Still unnerved Ethan, HAD to ask.
Unhappy Baby shifted. "... somewhat. Yes. And I'm okay with how it ended. He got me out of a bad situation."
This broke Ethan's heart, as in a split second he could guess a few scenarios. "... that... you could have gotten help from someone else."
Anywhere else.
"... you don't know that."
And with that the discussion was at its end.
He should have been more sensitive. Quietly he cursed himself.
Poking at old wounds- but he couldn't just let it STAND that she collaborated with a dangerous criminal who has ruined so many families and robbed the world of so much-
His head hurt.
The specialists would know how to handle that, but he didn't and the specialists weren't there.
Some people could do that. Talk to the most monstrous members of society, without batting an eye, while staying calm. It was insane to Ethan. But on some level he could see why things like that were necessary.
Or at least rather useful.
He wanted to call out to the girl, but had no idea how to do it. He certainly wouldn't call her "Baby", for multiple reasons, all of them obvious in his mind. Not going to entertain the notion of her false identity.
"... you wanted to know what is weighing on my mind, right?" Quietly he started.
"Yes." Her answer was a bit slow, but she still was interested it seemed.
"I was caught up in thoughts of missing my family." At this point just seeing the normal entrances to everyday houses gave him a sting. He wouldn't ever go through one again. While he was still here, he was so far away from reaching out and talking to his wife, to tell her that he found Evelyn- that he knew who did it and that everything would be okay.
It made him feel ill to think what he had done to her by his mad pursuit of the killer.
He wondered how she would take the message of his disappearance and probable death.
If she would insist on a burial ceremony, even if his body wasn't found.
She had with Evelyn.
Who would appear to mourn for him?
He doubted it would be many. After all, he had lost basically all ties to those around him.
Again he was getting stuck in his endless loop of bad thoughts.
For now he had no choice but to focus on the here and now.
So he continued with his words again. "... but I think I don't want to think about these things anymore. You would probably agree, it's no good. So, how about instead of doing that, I'll tell you a few stories about my time with the police?"
Evelyn had always been excited about those.
And as expected she wasn't any different.
"Yes! Do you have any good ones!?"
"I have more good ones than I can count." He tried to smile and pushed his bad thoughts away. "Maybe I should tell you about the master thief that turned out to have the smallest brain of them all."
It had been by far the most exciting week in the police, despite the issue being almost trivial. All sort of valuables had gone missing over a very short period of time in this nice, quiet neighborhood.
Nobody had seen anything, seemingly. Nothing left behind at the crime scene.
No idea how our thief got to in or out of the places, the windows that WERE open were far too small for a person to crawl through. They assumed some sort of inside job or anything similar...
Until they found a feather.
And the whole police station was RIOTING. That was such a mad situation, they had spent SO much time on this case because it made NO sense and- dear lord.
When he was describing the scene inside of the station when the word spread and they all started to either groan or laugh, Baby was fully enchanted and giggling along at the thought of it.
The night slowly melted away, the sun crept over the horizon.
The other animatronics returned to their stages after a night of play and Baby considered it safe enough to return to the main area too. Really, she didn't want to have to explain to Ethan what they spend their time with usually.
No need to anyhow!
As always Phone Guy crept in first. Or in this case, came out of the office, as he had taken on the nightshift.
Slowly he wandered around, looking for... something. Maybe.
Then he went back into the office, probably to charge.
Ethan surveyed the area too for a moment. "When do you think will we be able to leave today?"
"If we want to play it safe, then only at the end of the day." His disappointment was obvious, but Baby stayed realistic. "We disappear all the time and I think it will slowly become obvious. And when that happens, we have NO chance to sneak out anymore."
"I know, I know." It hurt to think that he would have to let Evelyn wait, but she was right.
The girl didn't feel his sorrow. Freeing the other souls were just a thing she had found herself enjoying to do-
Oh... yeah, and it was her way to get Ethan off her back again.
... almost forgot that.
She guessed it wasn't so bad to have him around anymore, even if he was a ball of negativity most of the time.
... not THAT bad, but still annoying though!
Looking over to the door, she happily clicked her faceplates, awaiting her parents to arrive for the day.
To her disappointment, it as the strange woman that entered first.
"Do you know anything about her?" Quietly Baby asked her buddy.
"Not too much. She is the head of the factory that produces the Phone Guys and has a hand in storing and managing most animatronics. She is one of a few representative that reaches out to the police if something goes too wrong- or information needs to be accessed."
"What is she doing here so early?" Grumbly Baby asked. When she was around, her parents had to look out more, it was frustrating.
"... I have no idea." Truthfully Ethan answered. "... perhaps checking on this place? If she is trying to keep it safe from the police, then that wouldn't be such a big stretch."
"Let's go and see." Promptly Baby climbed off the stage and went after her, mentally humming the shark theme. Genuinely, she wouldn't mind trying to get rid of her, but wouldn't, seeing as in a weird way the lady was helping her parents to stay safe by keeping an eye on things. Sure, Phoney got the short end of the stick, but somebody had to. He was replaceable with ease.
They sneaked along surprisingly well considering their heavy feet and got a peek at her in the office.
She had leaned over Phone Guy, her head a bit tilted.
After she had gotten no reaction, carefully she reached out towards his neck and began to pet along it, down his back.
A small smile was on her face.
When she turned around, her eyes fell onto the robot and her smile became wider. "Oh my... hello there! I have not heard you approach... my ears get worse and worse!"
A little she laughed, before looking around again, spotting the folded up blanket she had been looking for. Taking it out, she unfolded with a certain elegance to her movements and put it over the sleeping body on the table.
Then she fully turned to the machine, stepping a bit forward and giving her a sign that she wanted to move to another place and for her to follow along.
"How may I help you?"
Baby had become curious. "There is a lot of ruckus going on these last few days... do you really want to take away the phone guy?"
Surprised Juliette paused. "Even you are concerned...?"
"Well... it's more of a morbid curiosity." Shyly Baby admitted. "This is my first restaurant."
"Ah! Okay... no, I will not take him away. He is a very well-functioning model. Like I told a few others before, it is merely an overhaul." Considering something, her eyes stuck to the ground for the next few words. "That... and we are considering to make him the new main model for our personality AI. Each AI mutates in a unique way, but they are all based on the first case "Scott". Scott's programming is old and has many flaws and while very adaptable, it is just as prone to malfunction or to glitch out in rather dangerous ways. I've been considering to ask our specialists about that for a while anyways and I think this one is capable for a more static, but stable AI that can still handle most situation the Phone animatronic is thrown into."
"... phone animatronic?"
"I get it, it is a little... unusual to have parts of an animatronic made from a biological base, but once you get used to the concept, it is all very humane! Not to mention, we never ever use one body for more than ten years, they are all given proper burials eventually." She sighed. "I think the most distressing past however is how convinced they are that they themselves are humans. I get that it is crucial to nudge the algorithm into the correct direction, but I cannot help but feel bad for them. Even the most animatronics around are more human than them."
Neither of the souls attached to the animatronic knew really how to react to that.
Juliette realized that. "But that is nothing nice to talk about, is it now? What are you doing up so early? Shouldn't you be getting ready for today?"
"I am always ready." Baby responded, more relaxed with that topic. "Kids aren't the hardest to entertain. Honestly, the most difficult part would be to remember all the faces, but thankfully, I don't quite have to do that."
"I have to be honest, I am quite jealous." She sighed. "I wish I could spend my days playing with the kids visiting this place. Sadly there is so much to take care of..."
A bit melancholic she looked up to the stage lights.
"... oh well... someone has to do it, right?"
And with that she walked off out of the blue, towards the next room.
Ethan shook himself. 'I never liked the notion of the Phone Guys being machines. That doesn't seem right to me...'
Being faced with such strong conviction though, he had to try to rethink that belief.
She should KNOW, shouldn't she?
Another few hours passed, from six AM to roughly around ten AM. There was no clock anywhere nearby, but common sense argued that such an amount of time should have passed by now.
Jeremy came first of the employees. Rather typical of him.
What was a bit surprising was that the Marionette was leaning over him, deeply caught up in a conversation.
Ethan retreated into hiding inside the metal shell. No interest in being seen and questioned by the Puppet, especially since he completely gave up on their plan after his own death.
It had been frustrating.
Not even the slightest personal sacrifice or effort.
No, sir, he didn't want to deal with that.
The young man and his demonic companion seemed to actually be caught up in a slight fight... or perhaps just a passionate discussion. It was hard to tell seeing how neutral, but stubborn Jeremy's expression was.
Fantastic. 'Five bucks he told the puppet.'
Baby shrugged. 'So what? What is the puppet going to do about it? Certainly not join us, seeing as how much he seemed to have messed up with the other souls before.'
'He has been too eager to attack the children in my opinion. He MAY be one of them, but that doesn't mean his behavior isn't appalling towards them.'
Ethan's suspicion seemed to be justified, as the Marionette looked up right at them, making a short movement-
Before being interrupted by a polite cough.
Juliette walked up, seeming as light and fragile as ever.
"Excuse me, did you bring in the Marionette in from the outside?" Friendly she asked, startling Jeremy a little.
"I- uhm, yes?" Unsure he answered.
"... did you take the robot outside of the restaurant overnight, Jeremy?" She softly insisted. "Your file doesn't say that you are a trained mechanic with the authority to do so..."
"Oh-" Anxious the poor kid hugged himself. "I'm- I'm not. But Marion likes to come home with me..."
Reassuring she put her hand on his shoulder. "That is very nice of you, Jeremy, but you have to understand that taking animatronics out of the restaurant for anything else but necessary mechanical procedures (that cannot be handled within the establishment) is strictly prohibited. This is to both ensure the security of the staff, as well as of the animatronic. It can be very terrifying for them too-"
Marion interrupted. "Miss. I think I can decide for myself if I want to leave or stay-"
"No." She smiled at him. "Rules are rules and have neither the authority, nor the foresight to break them. This is for your own good and I expect of you to either adhere to them, or we will have to keep a closer eye on you."
"I'd like to see you try." He loomed over her, but her expression did not falter.
"Dearest Marionette, you have always been quite the bother. To an astounding degree, I have to say. But you are one of the oldest members of the cast and I would hate for anything to happen to you. Don't start a meaningless... test of strength. It would eventually not end well for you and you do not deserve that." Her self-assuredness was concerning.
Softly Jerry tugged on Marion. "... don't start a fight, okay? We'll just... listen. It's for our best."
Now, his words were meek, but his face was a firm exclamation mark.
He wasn't the most subtle, but to be honest, not many people could read his weird expressions.
Fair enough. They could simply play along for now and return to what they do later on in peace.
Juliette smiled and reached to pet Jerry's head, but was interrupted once more.
"Oi, CUNT. Leave Jerry fucking alone." Mike had pulled open the doors and start down with a hateful stare that was only stressed even further by the dark rings under his eyes.
She huffed, didn't seem too surprised though. "... now that is no way to greet a lady, is it now?"
"Might fucking not be, but it certainly is a way to greet YOU." Just as aggressive as before, Mike doubled down.
Behind Jeremy, the Puppet suppressed an impressed whistling. He might wasn't the biggest fan of the aggressive Guard, but he sure as hell could appreciate things like this.
The sunglasses on her face prevented Mike from really reading her expression, but her deliberately polite tone gave him a hint about what she thought about this situation. "I hope you did not come in on time in order to insult me. How about you do your job as responsible as you surely always do. Maybe that will aid with your unhealthy approach to this day."
"Sure thing, m o m." What the fuck was his job supposed to be if there were no fucking KIDDENS around?! But he wasn't in the mood to ask.
Her hard smile turned a bit softer and she actually giggled quietly, before she turned to Jeremy. "Would you go help him, dear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" He nodded and took Marion by the hand to follow him.
That were three out six employees, discounting both Matt and Ronaldo, who she wasn't concerned about for now. Though... she could probably not be too harsh on the young waiter. After all, it was but a summer job and he wasn't needed here until the first customers were in.
So... three out of five.
Patiently she waited until another hour had passed.
The teenager came in, just gave her a short sign with his hand, not actually looking at her or even saying hello.
My, my, what bad manners.
But that was nothing she could do about.
Slightly she sighed. Teenagers were like that.
While waiting for the last two to enter, she prepared an official note informing the customer that the restaurant would open two hours later than usual. Today was the perfect day for that, no reservation needed to be cancelled this early in the day.
From behind her, an insecure voice sounded. "U-uh... what the... excuse me, but what the heck are you doing there, miss...?"
"Oh, we open a little later today." Friendly she smiled as she turned around. "Good morning to you, Scott! I hope you are well-charged?"
"W-why are we opening later than usual?" Instantly all his alarms sounded in his head.
It only caused Juliette to laugh however. "Why are you so concerned, dear? Nothing bad will happen. We will simply do some team-building activities!"
"We will WHAT?" Apparently Juliette thought that would reassure him, but frankly, it did nothing similar to it, the polar opposite in fact. "Miss, what the h-h-hECK did you- WHY?"
"Because you are THIS panicked about the thought of getting to know your co-workers. Really, this type of fear isn't a good recipe for a happy working environment, is it now?" Her words were friendly, but strict. No discussion on this one, boys.
God forbid.
Phone was slowly dying inside. This woman had NO idea about this situation, did she?
But what could he do? She was the boss.
Slowly he walked backwards, trying not to freak out in any way.
Okay, okay- they had dealt with stupid ideas before. What was the worst that could happen? It was just a team building activity that NO ONE wanted to be part of. Chances were, Old Sport and Dave would ruin it before it would start.
... until then he would have to gnaw on his nails, he supposed.
OH WAIT, HE COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT BECAUSE OF HIS HECKING DARN PHONE HEAD!
No joy in his life.
He searched out Mike, wondering if he should warn him of the potential catastrophe approaching.
Pros: Mike could freak out with him. They could try to make a plan in case it would actually happen.
Cons: Mike WOULD freak out with him and PROBABLY do something stupid.
Well, just joining up with him made him feel a little better, as he stood by and watched Mike staring down Ballora for no apparent reason.
Finally, at twelve, both Dave and Old Sport arrived, forced to enter through the employee's only entrance as the front door was still locked.
Jeremy had helped Juliette assemble a circle of chairs, in which all of them were sitting already. Yes, even Mike, though to his credit, he had no idea what was going on.
"Why, nice to see you two made it too." The woman greeted them and signed them to the two open seats, right next to the sleeping Nemo. "Please, take a seat."
"Thank you!" Old Sport smiled and picked up a chair, then turned to Dave. "Alright, we're leaving now."
Mike was snickering, while Juliette leaned back. "... you are very funny "old sport". By the way, while I will not critique your choice of fake names, I DO want to point out to you that a fake name is only useful if you change it frequently. With your track record, one would assume you would look out for yourself more. But let us not talk about the trouble you caused in Colorado... or the one we SUSPECT you have caused in California. Let us talk INSTEAD about today's agenda?"
Old Sport slowly put the chair back down, while Dave looked absolutely irritated. "Today's what?"
"Today we have some things we should discuss!" Cheerfully she responded as the two other guys sat down.
Mike was slouched over in his chair, groaning. It was better than dealing with people, sure, but all of this felt ridiculous. "What's the fucking ISSUE?! Is this just an attempt of fucking with me for bitching you out?"
No, her tone didn't falter at all, which made it all even worse. "Quite the self-centered world view you have there! That might be a sign of a deeper issue within you. Have you ever tried some thera-"
"YES I FUCKING DID AND STILL DO. NOW WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT!? Get this OVER with."
Jerry made a little noise. "Don't scream at her, Mike! Be nice..."
Annoyed the guard rubbed his face and waited for her to continue.
"Thank you, Jeremy." Shortly she nodded at him, then looked around, opening her arms. "Today I thought we would assess a few things together. First and foremost, our ability to work together and trust one another. I have prepared a fun activity for all of us to enjoy! Or all of you, if it would make you more comfortable to do it within your group."
It was deadly silent.
"You fucking want to do WHAT now?" Mike gave her the most irritated stare in utter disbelief.
"It won't kill you, don't give me that look." She shooed at him.
There was just more silence.
In a weird way, it relieved Simon. Awkwardly he coughed. "Uh... you- you know... maybe now is not the best time, to uh... Miss, as you can, uh- see- everyone here is a bit... tired this morning. Nobody really wants to take part in this- at, uh- at least for now. Or am I wrong?"
Hopeful he looked at the others.
Jeremy, who could read the mood well enough to stay quiet. He thought the idea was nice... but really, the others weren't really looking up to it.
A tad hesitant Juliette too looked around into the faces of the people that surrounded her. "... maybe-"
"I want to take part in it!" Everyone snapped around to see Old Sport raising his hand, ignoring all around him.
Even DAVE wasn't on board with that it seemed. "... Sportsy, I gotta say, I ain't one for that type of shit." Skeptical he turned to Juliette.. "... what kinda activity have ya been thinkin' of?"
"Nothing complicated!" Came the reassurance back. "Just a little fun game called Minefield! I brought a blindfold and we can use the party hats and chairs as little obstacles-"
"WHO THE FUCK WOULD WEAR A FUCKING BLINDFOLD IN A PLACE LIKE THIS!?" Jumping up, Mike made his confused aggression clear. "WHAT LEVEL OF LOBOTOMY DO YOU NEED TO BE ON?"
Old Sport grinned and leaned over. "Sounds like SOMEONE needs some trust-building exercises!"
"FUCK OFF. YOU'RE the reason I have trust issues!"
Dave turned his head. "HEY!"
"Oh, right, my fucking bad. YOU'RE the reason I have trust issues, but Old Sport is keeping me constantly on edge."
Old Sport tried to argue. "When did I ever betray you?"
"..." Raising a finger, Mike tried to argue, but then put it down again. "... you know what, I think YOU DID, but I genuinely can't remember any specific thing, because literally EVERYTHING that EVER happens to me in here is absolute SHIT and TRAUMATIZING in some way or another."
Juliette had raised a notebook and pen, ready to scribble down. "Is that how you would describe your work-environment?"
"I'M NOT DESCRIBING SHIT."
"Very hostile of you-"
Bored by their fight, the Purple Guy piped up. "Ya know what, putting down a minefield doesn't sound too bad! I can get us some C4, then all of ya put on a blindfold and try to run through!"
A pause ensued.
Then Juliette sighed. "Okay, okay, let's all calm down... sit down everyone, I want to at least get one thing done."
Surprisingly enough, everyone complied.
She sat down her notebook on her lap and grabbed a ball out of her briefcase. "I would like to know three things you like and three things you hate the most about this place. Nobody is allowed to speak, unless they have the ball... yes, that includes me too. So, use it responsible, make yourself clear and everyone be patient with one another. Who would like to start?"
Everyone looked around unsure, until Juliette softly threw it at Old Sport. He seemed cooperative enough! "You should start!"
For a few seconds the Orange Guy stared at the ball in his hands, then he proceeded to shove it into his mouth and swallow, to everyone's terror.
Old Sport continued to stare into his empty hands, then looked up with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I have performance anxiety!"
Instinctively Mike responded "Aren't you too young to have that already?"
Awful.
Nobody really knew what to do, until Simon clapped his hands, which finally even woke up Nemo who looked mildly confused. "... uh... alright then everyone, that concludes today's activities. Let's uh... open shop, alright? Everyone, get ready for the kiddens!"
This was MUCH preferred to the alternative, so everyone scattered and got busy- or at least pretended to be busy.
It was ASTOUNDING how quick they all vanished from the main area.
The Phone Guy stayed behind with Juliette, looking after them.
Shortly she turned away, to shortly take off her glasses and rub the bridge of her nose.
"Of... ALL the restaurants I've been too... none was THIS chaotic. All I wanted was some information." She sounded tired. "... I'm not cut out for this job."
Shortly Simon looked over at her, trying to come up with something to say.
She wasn't supposed to say stuff like that.
"I, uh- they're easier to handle one on one. And you still have Matt and Ronaldo to talk to." Unsure he moved on the spot. "Miss-"
"Juliette. Just Juliette." She sighed, but tried to give him a small smile in spite of her state.
"... Juliette, if you don't, uh- like this job... why are you doing it to yourself? You could just... leave."
Slowly she shook her head. "... and leave others to twist and rip apart Henry's vision? I shudder what the others would to you Phone Guys and the brand in general. It's... it's all I have left of him. I will protect it at all cost."
"I see where you are coming from Miss Miller, but-"
"How often do I have to TELL you-" Shortly she was flaring up, but instantly she fell into herself again, holding her chest. Looking small and vulnerable.
It was hard to be scared of her. Or to hate her.
There were indeed worse people to be in her place too.
Slowly Phoney reached out to pet her back.
She laughed. "I'm... so sorry. I should be better than this. Thank you for listening to my silly rambles..." Softly she took a breath. "... I am beyond happy to give you the update we are planning on."
Simon froze. "... I... don't want to take part in it. Please."
Stepping away from him, Juliette had stood up straight again, her smile back to her professional self. "It is for the best of all of us. Believe me, your fear is without reason. You will not be damaged by it! A little memory wipe never hurt anyone. You will back to your old form in no time."
He wanted to say something, but before he had the chance, the doors opened and screaming kids with annoyed parents flooded in.
This distraction was enough, when he turned his head back again, she was gone.
Dammit.
Trying to gather himself, he stepped towards the crowd, greeted them and began answering the first questions for the day.

-

A/N:
Another late chapter! But technically a month after the other one, so still in time.
Fair warning! The next chapter probably will also be at the end of the month instead of the middle of it, because a lot of stuff is in my way that I need to take care of.
But that's just a small shift in time, not really a "later than usual" thing, right?
ANYWAYS! Until next time! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!