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nine.
LISTENING TO The Handler butter up her and Five was not the way Maria intended on spending her day — in fact, she would much rather be doing the odd antics she had previously done with Five, prior to re-joining the Handler. Although, it was more The Handler sweet talking Five; Maria, in all seriousness, was only there because Five saw it fit. She knew that Five knew more about this apocalypse than she did. If Five thought it a wise decision to go with the Handler, then she would be by his side. She'd like to consider him a close friend.
"I'd like to discuss the logistics of my families safety at your earliest convenience," Five asked loudly amongst the hustle and bustle of the Commission building as The Handler removed her big overcoat. "As well as this body replacement."
At this, Maria frowned. She quite liked her young body; but if Five liked his older body, it'd look quite odd for the pair to be seen together. Not that it mattered.
"Such chutzpah," The Handler complimented, making Maria roll her brown eyes for the millionth time. "It's refreshing, I'll admit. Slow down, Five, all in good time. In fact, now that you've agreed to work with us, we've got all the time in the world.
"The Commission works in support of a delicate balance between the time line of events and mandkind's free will. The briefcase in no longer part of your kit — Free your mind," The Handler placed her arm around Five's shoulders as the three walks through the Commission building. "You're management now. One of us."
The Handler lead them upstairs and down a decent sized hallway. Workers were pushing carts and strutting beside them, going about their business. Maria remembered how it cold it was at the Commission; she shrunk into her overcoat slightly. "All the people on this floor are case managers — each one responsible for one major event at a time."
The Handler stopped in front of an open door, allowing Maria and Five to peer through. The room was incredibly long, in fact, Maria wasn't sure where it ended. In three rows going down the length of the room were lines of desk, where the Case Managers typed furiously at their typewriters. Maria grimaced; if this is what they were doing, she wasn't in anyway happy about it. The last thing she ever wanted was an office job.
"So many of them," Five stated, his eyes trailing over the rows of people.
"Impressive, isn't it?" The Handler hummed. "Being part of something so grand."
The three stood their for a moment, admiring the room, before the Handler began walking down the hall again.
"Come along — whenever someone chooses the wrong path and the time line is changed, the Commission gets a report from field agents on the ground. These field agents are sorted and assigned to a case manager. They determine if anyone needs to be. . . removed from the equation to assure that their event happens as it should."
