Cut You A Piece

8

It had been several weeks since the two were working together and the doctor had a logbook that he kept to keep track of Stone and his emotions. Despite the doctor not liking emotions himself did not mean he did not know how to read and understand them. As he recorded the logs, there was a constant within the agents' actions. He would often seem to drift off into thought which led to a sad expression on his face. The doctor could only guess what the agent could be thinking of, but it was hard without any context as to what the agent would be sad about. He wasn't the best when it came to thinking what others would think so, it was hard for the doctor to unlock that type of conclusion. 

Stone entered the lab without knocking causing the doctor to get startled by the sudden entrance. He immediately put the logbook up and pulled up some digital images of blueprints, hoping the agent did not see what he was doing seconds before the unannounced entrance." Stone! How many times have I told you to knock when you enter!" The doctor shouted in embarrassment and nervousness. The agent flinched a bit by the shouting and said," Sorry, sir. I was just bringing you a latte, but if you're too busy I'll take my leave with them." The doctor saw the flinch and kept that in mind to record later within the logbook. The doctor walked over to the agent and said," No, no you're fine." He took the latte and said," Besides... you make the best lattes, it would be a shame to let it go to waste." Stone's facial features lit up with a soft smile and saying," Thank you, sir." With that, the agent went to leave when the doctor abruptly shouted the agents' name.

" Stone..." The words slipped from the doctor's mouth too late to be caught. Stone turned with a curious look." Yes, sir what do you need?" The agent asked hoping he wasn't in trouble." Wo... Would you like to stay and watch me work?" The doctor asked. This was a hesitant decision, but it was the best way for the doctor to keep watch of the agents' emotional streak. The agents' eyes lit up and said," It would be a pleasure, sir. The doctor sat back down in his seat and the agent went up beside him to watch. The agent was silent as he let the doctor work. Although to others it would seem strange, this was normal and it even showed affection between the two. This was one of the biggest privileges the doctor was able to do. After some time, it was time to eat.  The doctor sat back in his chair and stretched his arms out feeling a  bit worn from the work. The agent had left 30 minutes earlier to go get them some food so it was just the doctor in his lab. The doctor decided that while he waited for the doctor, he would fill out the logbook from what he observed earlier.  The agent seemed to be at peace when he watched the doctor work. There were slight spurts of deep thoughts but the agent seemed to quickly recover from them.

The agent soon came back with some Chinese food and laid them on the lab table as the doctor swiftly put the logbook away. Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't quick enough and Stone got to see the journal be put away. The agent pulled a chair over and said," What is that logbook for, sir?" The doctor was alarmed by what the agent had stated and began to work on stimulating a response." It's for a personal experiment that I am working on." The doctor stated. The response was correct despite how vague it was and it wasn't technically lying to the agent. The agent simply nodded not willing to dig down that rabbit hole with the doctor. The two sat there and at the food silently leaving a strange vibe in the air. It took some time before one of them spoke and it was surprising who spoke first. The doctor cleared his through and said," So, agent Stone, how has the transition been? From being home for several months to getting back to working alongside me?" The doctor felt embarrassed by the weak attempt at small talk and cursed himself in his mind. The agent didn't seem to notice the embarrassment and said," It's been..Interesting to say the least. I'm honestly glad that I could come back and do this job again, sir. I've been working for you for years... a change of scenery would not be easy for me to adjust to." The doctor felt his pulse race by what the agent had stated. 

The two then had some nice small talk, something he hasn't done since the two had gotten back. They both felt relief and joy from being able to talk to one another after such a long week of awkwardness between the two. Unfortunately, it was time to get back to work. The doctor went back to working on the invention while Stone took the take out food and went to throw it all away. As Stone went to throw the takeout away, he heard some other agents throw slanders about the doctor infuriating him. The agent threw away the food and headed over to the disrespectful agents." That doctor is insane i tell you. He's gotten even more so since he came back from that damn Mushroom planet or whatever." The first agent stated. The second one laughed as they said," Hey maybe those mushrooms made him loopy or something!" The two laughed and began to continue their disrespectful conversion of the doctor. The agent walked over and asked," What's so funny agents?" The two agents looked over seeming to be unfazed by the presence of the right-hand man." What? We're having a conversation here." Said the first agent." Well, it seems to me that you two are creating a terrible error of speaking down of the doctor in such a laid back fashion." Stone said with a look of murder in his eyes. The two agents began to feel afraid of the agent." So, what? It's true! That damn doctor is insane and a menace to society!" Shouted the first agent sternly. Stone glared at that agent as he said," Menace? He's built over half of our countries security system and has even helped advance our medicine as well as our technology. He could have gone anywhere, he could have even taken over our planet if he wanted to, but no. He decided to work for our government and our people. You should be considered to have him on your side compared to him being on the enemies because if he was, you both would be dead right now or slaving under him." With that, the two agents apologized for their behavior and quickly ran off. Stone sighed and whispered," Degenerates." Before walking off to join the doctor in his lab.