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"Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" --It's A Wonderful Life
At the moment, Tess Mercer would kill for a massage and a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, she's well aware neither is going happen anytime soon; there is simply too much work to be done. A meeting with Edge Monday morning, the youth literacy program proposal needs to be finished for Thursday and then there's the pages-long list of materials the Major will be expecting her to start looking for.
And when her assistant enters the study, she knows it isn't going to get any better. “The report from Strykers, ma'am,” he says, dropping a file folder onto her desk.
“Good.” More work to go over, and this is somewhat high priority. “And the labs? The room has been dismantled?”
Her assistant nods and fishes a palm drive out of his suit pocket, handing it over to his employer. “Marcus took care of it himself. That's the only copy of his research.”
That makes Tess smile. Marcus was a good boy. “How was he feeling about his … vacation?”
“He took it like a champ.”
“That's my boy,” Tess sighs, stepping away from her desk toward the wall unit that more generally served as various sized vaults. “Where are we on locating Dr. Groll?”
There's a slight hesitation. “Still looking. I'll inform you the minute we have any leads.”
Tess glances at him. “That had better be soon,” she replies sharply. “I don't pay you to fail.”
“No, ma'am.”
“You can go.” She waves him off and leave he does. Once she's alone again, Tess chooses a hidden vault and stores the palm drive inside. Such a small thing, yet it means so much. They're all such little things, but together, they'll take Tess where she wants to go.
Because Tess knows that just one change can make a big difference, even if she's just a little thing herself.
At the moment, Tess Mercer would kill for a massage and a good night's sleep. Unfortunately, she's well aware neither is going happen anytime soon; there is simply too much work to be done. A meeting with Edge Monday morning, the youth literacy program proposal needs to be finished for Thursday and then there's the pages-long list of materials the Major will be expecting her to start looking for.
And when her assistant enters the study, she knows it isn't going to get any better. “The report from Strykers, ma'am,” he says, dropping a file folder onto her desk.
“Good.” More work to go over, and this is somewhat high priority. “And the labs? The room has been dismantled?”
Her assistant nods and fishes a palm drive out of his suit pocket, handing it over to his employer. “Marcus took care of it himself. That's the only copy of his research.”
That makes Tess smile. Marcus was a good boy. “How was he feeling about his … vacation?”
“He took it like a champ.”
“That's my boy,” Tess sighs, stepping away from her desk toward the wall unit that more generally served as various sized vaults. “Where are we on locating Dr. Groll?”
There's a slight hesitation. “Still looking. I'll inform you the minute we have any leads.”
Tess glances at him. “That had better be soon,” she replies sharply. “I don't pay you to fail.”
“No, ma'am.”
“You can go.” She waves him off and leave he does. Once she's alone again, Tess chooses a hidden vault and stores the palm drive inside. Such a small thing, yet it means so much. They're all such little things, but together, they'll take Tess where she wants to go.
Because Tess knows that just one change can make a big difference, even if she's just a little thing herself.
