Nine-to-Five 028 (Patreon)

Workforce Development III

~~~

“Impressive.”

“Really?!” Amanda cringed at how high-pitched her voice came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Do you mean it, ma’am?”.

“I wouldn’t have said so otherwise,” Ms. Martel replied as she looked over their proposal. She had a pair of reading glasses on, but Amanda had a feeling she did not need them. “I appreciate you took the trouble of typing it. You even used the correct format, which I was not aware anyone had taught you.”

“No one did, ma’am. I sometimes read the documents I have to scan while the machine does its job. That’s how I learned.” Amanda paused, then added, “They are very easy to understand.”

“If only everyone could say the same.” Ms. Martel put down the proposal and looked at her. “You typed this out yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“After you returned home for the day?”

Amanda nodded. “I was going to rest, but the idea wouldn’t leave me, so I thought I should type it all out.”

Despite all the exercise Gerald made them do, Amanda found she wasn’t all that tired yesterday. She’d made herself some coffee while she worked, but it hadn’t been necessary. Gerald had not been lying when he said they had more energy than ordinary people. It hadn’t been noticeable at first, but now Amanda was wondering if there would come a time when she wouldn’t need to sleep at all.

She made a mental note to ask Tim how many hours a day he slept.

“A good decision,” Ms. Martel said at last. “And a well-typed proposal, which is much harder to find than you’d think.”

“So,” Tim began. His body swayed lightly, going left to right and back and forth. Standing still, it seemed, was an impossibility for him. “Does that mean you’re going to say yes, ma’am?”

Amanda felt like shushing him but abstained. He was asking the exact same question she wanted to ask. He wasn’t being subtle about it, but it wasn’t like Amanda knew a subtle way to ask that question either.

“I see no issue giving you a salary,” Ms. Martel said. Tim whooped and pumped his fist. Amanda smiled a tiny smile.

“We’ll have to run it through our lawyers to make sure there are no issues with the legal aspect. Of course, your actual salary will be higher than what is reported, and we will need to make bank accounts for you, so you have a place to put the money.”

“Of course, ma’am,” Amanda said. Mr. Martel spoke as if all that should be obvious, so she figured she’d do the same. “What about…”

“You will not be going after Nathaniel Robards.”

“But he’s threatening her family!” Tim protested. “We can’t just let that go!”

“We are not letting anything go, Mr. Lewis,” Ms. Martel said, looking at him over her glasses. “We have already made substantial progress in our investigation.”

Amanda scoffed and crossed her arms. “And I suppose I don’t get to see that progress, do I?”

“Of course, you do. Why wouldn’t you?” Ms. Martel arched an eyebrow. “You are the one who requested this investigation, Ms. Collins. It would be awfully insensitive of me to tell you to take us at our word after all you have been through.”

As if Ms. Martel had been expecting this visit (she probably had), she pulled a thick binder out from her desk.

“This is everything we have gathered on Nathaniel Robards. For security reasons, you will not be allowed to take these files out of the building, but you are free to read them in Mr. Lewis’s apartment once the day is over.”

Amanda frowned. That settled it. There was definitely some sort of listening device in Tim’s room.

“To spare you from spending the rest of the day thinking about this, I will summarize some of our findings.” Somehow Ms. Martel managed to pause for just the right amount of time. Long enough to make them think, but not so much they started asking questions. “We have identified Nathaniel Robards’ address, place of work, and educational history. The finding of M Particles in his apartment marks him as a true Exceed.”

M Particles.

Amanda thinned her lips.

There was that term again. Mr. Cadogan had mentioned it when he was revealing everything, and the doctor had brought it up once or twice during their tests. It was a special particle that only Exceeds generated and could be said to be the key to their powers. The concept was simple enough to grasp.

The problem was Amanda had never heard of M Particles before coming to Regum. The concept hadn’t shown up once in her textbooks, nor had she ever heard about it from her mother. Exceed powers were just things that happened. There was little rhyme or reason to them.

And yet, Regum seemed to have figured out what no one else had. They were either wrong or insanely ahead of the curve.

Or…

Other people did know, and they were hiding it too.

Amanda didn’t know which alternative she liked the least.

“We are still not sure what his power is, though we believe it to be some form of biological manipulation.” Perhaps sensing Tim’s confusion, Ms. Martel added, “It means we think he can manipulate people’s bodies with his mind.”

“Oh. Good. Well, no. Obviously, not good, but you get what I mean.”

“We also have strong reason to believe he is related to the altercation you had in the train.”

“What?”

It wasn’t just Tim who spoke this time. Amanda’s voice echoed alongside his.

“As Ms. Collins knows, there was another Exceed in the train with us, Mr. Kevin King, the man who made it rain toads over the city a little over a month ago.”

“Hey, you didn’t mention that!” Tim said to Amanda.

“It slipped my mind, okay! There were other things to think about!”

“We believe the assailants were attempting to kidnap Mr. King using the information Mr. Robards obtained from Ms. Collins’ mother. We also believe this to be part of a larger plot to kidnap Exceeds.”

“Please, wait!” Amanda held up a hand. This was too much. “If that’s true, that means Robards is exhorting information out of my mother and giving it to kidnappers. That’s a serious crime. Why aren’t we going to the police with this?”

“For starters, the police are already aware of the existence of the kidnapping ring.”

“What?!”

Amanda winced. This time it was not just her who had shouted.

“We looked into it after the train. Mr. King’s presence was part of a deliberate plot by the police to draw the kidnappers.”

“So they know about Robards?” Amanda asked. “And they’re doing nothing?”

“It is doubtful they know about Robards,” Ms. Martel replied. “If they did, they would have already tried to capture him. They must have some other source of information.”

“Then why aren’t we telling them about Robards?!”

“It is not as easy as you make it sound, Ms. Collins. An anonymous tip will only go so far. If the police fail to handle the problem properly, something all too likely considering what happened on the train, they might end up alerting Robards and cause him to act recklessly. We also cannot risk exposing Regum in the process.”

“Okay, but what about us doing something?” Tim asked, pointing at himself and Amanda. “I’m noticing you’re not saying anything about that. I’m pretty sure you guys wouldn’t object to having that data. That lab coat guy sure wouldn’t.”

Ms. Martel stared at him.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure Regum wouldn’t object to having that data, ma’am.”

“A valid point, but recent events have made that more difficult. I take it you haven’t seen the news?” She asked. They both shook their heads. “Unfortunate. I understand people your age are not interested in such things, but you should make an effort to pay attention to them.”

“What news?” Amanda asked with not a little impatience. “Is this about the train?”

“Correct,” Ms. Martel replied. She pushed a button on her desk. A wide-screen TV came down from the ceiling. “This happened just this morning.”

The screen turned on to show a recording of the morning news. Amanda had seen her parents watching that channel a couple of times during the days when family breakfasts were more common. It showed Governor Jenkins on a podium in front of a crowd of reporters, though she doubted most people would be looking at him.

“Hey, that’s Disk!” Tim shouted, pointing at the screen. “And Osseous! And Slate!”

Disk, Osseous, and Slate. All three were heroes stationed at the local headquarters of CHEM which was located on the city’s outskirts. Due to its round, flat shape, the building was affectionately known as The Disk by the inhabitants of Port Stanley.

Disk, the hero, was a tall, redheaded man. His costume was a red and white bodysuit with a black visor that fully covered his face, leaving only his hair exposed. He was an experienced hero with many years of service, though he had not seen much action since he was moved to the Port Stanley area. Some wondered whether his placement at the Disk had been a bit of a joke at his expense.

Unlike Disk, Osseous was a relatively new face in the hero world. He was one of the Exceeds whose power had mutated his body. Multiple small, bone spikes protruded from his back and shoulders, making him look like a human hedgehog. His upper was bare, exposing his muscled, tanned skin. He wore bright yellow pants and no shoes. A voice in Amanda’s head that sounded like Sophie told her he was not going to win fashion contests anytime soon.

The two heroes stood beside the mayor while Slate’s bulky, armored form hung in the background like a giant gargoyle.

“Last Thursday, the criminal known as Jack Frost tried to take a train full of people hostage. However, his efforts were repelled, and tragedy was averted! As governor of this great state, I have never been prouder. Proud of our people and proud of our brave officers!”

Amanda’s eyebrow twitched. He wasn’t technically lying, but he was making it sound like he and the police were the ones responsible for nothing bad happening on the train.

“Last Thursday was a lesson to us all, and we will not allow our people to be placed in such danger again! That’s why I am proud to announce that from now on, our police department will be working with the brave men and women of CHEM! Together, they will bring Jack Frost and all those like him to justice!”

The governor gestured at heroes at his side with a wide sweeping gesture. Disk and Spike waved and smiled for the cameras. Slate stayed still. It occurred to Amanda whoever piloted it could be asleep, and no one would be able to tell.

“It is my hope this becomes an example for other states to follow, and-”

The screen went black as Ms. Martel cut the video. The TV went up into the ceiling once more.

“I don’t get it, ma’am.” Tim scratched his head. “Don’t a lot of other police departments already work closely with CHEM?”

“Yes, but if he says it loudly enough and gets enough people to repeat it, the mob will start believing it. People are depressingly easy to herd. That, however, is not the issue.”

“There are going to be heroes patrolling the city,” Amanda said.

“Correct.” Ms. Martel nodded at her. “You have been able to do much because the authorities lacked resources.” She looked at Tim as she said that. “Even Slate’s presence in the skies was somewhat controllable. That will no longer be the case. From now on, we all have to be careful of how we act.”

“So if we try to get Robards…”

“Unless we can capture him without anyone noticing, an unlikely task considering we are talking about an Exceed, we will be seen as the aggressors. If you persist in trying to pursue this, you might even go to jail.”

Silence. Neither Amanda nor Tim could figure out what to say after that declaration.

“If you understand that, then it is time you resume your duties. There is much work for you today.”

~~~

Ms. Martel hadn’t been exaggerating. There had been a lot of work that needed to be done that day, and for once, Tim was subject to the same boring office stuff Amanda was. No longer was he cleaning out dusty rooms or moving stuff. The day had been all about scanning documents, making coffee, and delivering packages to other floors.

He guessed that now that he was being trained, there was no need to have him doing physical activity all the time.

Or something.

Still, he wasn’t tired by the end of it. Tim wasn’t sure if that was possible anymore. Instead, he was... something. Probably one of those words he didn’t know.

Maybe he needed one of those word-of-the-day calendars.

“Are you really going to keep reading that?”

Amanda barely hummed her answer. Her eyes kept going over the contents of the huge binder Ms. Martel had given her. She had been doing that for a while now.

“I mean, we already have the cliff’s notes version, don’t we?” Tim asked. He was resting upside down on his couch, his head grazing against the floor of his apartment. “Do you really need to read the whole thing? Aren’t your parents going to be worried if you stay here too long?”

“I am not going to be satisfied with a cliff’s notes version,” Amanda said. “This is the man threatening my family. I want to know everything there is to know about him.”

“Okay. Fair.”

“Also, I already called home. I told them I was going to stay later today.”

“Once again, fair.”

Amanda frowned and finally looked up. “You don’t… I could take the binder and read inside if you want me to.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Tim said. “Reading at the table is more comfortable. Plus, I haven’t made my bed in several days, so you don’t want to be near it. Go ahead. Read.”

“...Thanks.”

The clock ticked on the wall as the minutes passed and the sun began setting. Throughout it all, Tim remained in the same position, completely at ease with himself. The same, however, could not be said for Amanda, whose face grew redder the more she read.

“This doesn’t make any sense!”

Amanda stood up and was about to slam her hands against the table but thought better of it.

“What doesn’t?”

“Him!” She said, gesturing at the report. “Did you know he has kids? Two of them! He mentioned it before, but I thought he was lying! He was married once, but his wife died. He has no record of criminal activity. He’s given to charity a few times. He has a boring office job. He’s just so… normal! He’s just so normal, but he threatened to kill me to get my mother to do what he wanted! He’s just out there! Walking! Living his stupid boring life! And it! Doesn’t! Make! Sense!”

Her voice grew into a scream by the end. Amanda was left panting heavily and resting her hands against the table.

“Why does he get to live without being afraid?”

“Does he?”

Amanda sighed as she slumped down onto the chair. “You heard what Ms. Martel said. We can’t go after him.”

“That’s technically not what she said. She said we can’t go after him unless we can do it so flawlessly no one even notices we did it.” He flashed her a grin. “Give it time. We’ll get there.”

Amanda smiled back, but her heart wasn’t in it. She didn’t want to wait. Now that Tim had put the idea in her head, she wanted to fix this as soon as possible. She didn’t need time. She needed an opportunity!

She would get it.

Next Monday, as if someone had been listening to her pleas, the city woke up to snow-filled streets.

~~~

AN:

Amanda files her requests for misbehavior in triplicate.