Of Doctors and Cats

[ThePopcornFairy]

"I don't put much stock in the mundane. Between that and the bizarre, I know which one I would prefer, but I also know which one I'm more likely to come across." Dr. Pendleton kept his hard frown trained on Mara, one hand gripping the wrench he still held, the other fingering its clawed end. "That sounds like quite a formidable amount of power. Bearing all that in mind, you must be pretty daft to think I would willingly offer my services to someone who would use it in such a manner, let alone someone who would resort to such underhanded tactics to get it."

He started lightly beating the wrench against his open palm. "I think I've heard enough. The answer is still no. I don't care what you think you can do to me. I'm not changing my mind."

[DanteMGalileo]

Oh well.

"A pity, Dr. Pendleton. I thought you were smarter than that," Mara said, dropping her purring but not her grin. Backing up slowly, her body seemed to merge with the wall, becoming a shadow again. "'Tis a pity. I suppose I'll have to pay you a visit in your sleep. And your daughter... oh, maybe she'll mourn, maybe she'll not care."

As she merged further into the wall, her head was the last thing to go. "I'd be careful of a man with green skin and wings. He's also after what I'm after. Make sure any birds are actual birds. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go tip off some of my pawns."

Mara full integrated into the wall, only to pause and manifest her tendrils and head again, the former holding a flat head. "Oh, I almost forgot to return this. Consider this your warning to reconsider my offer, doctor." And she once again became one with the walls, sulking off...

[ThePopcornFairy]

Dr. Pendleton didn't react to Mara insulting his intelligence. He didn't flinch when she teased him about his daughter. He said nothing of the winged green-skinned man. All he did was yank the screwdriver out of her tendril and watch her disappear with that same stern glare on his face.

Once he was alone, he set the tools in his hands on the table next to him and sat back down at his desk, dropping his head into his hand and letting out a long, exasperated sigh. Of course it wasn't enough that the pod was missing, and their other microchip was stolen, and the lab had been dealt damage that would take them days to repair. Of course there had to be multiple parties after the pod. He wasn't sure what to make of the man Mara had alluded to, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't make him nervous. Cora was still out there somewhere, and he was almost completely certain her thugs were the ones who had started this chain of madness and were still hunting for this work. And on top of that, he still had no idea if anyone among his own staff had sold him out to any of these thieves.

As for Mara... well, Dr. Pendleton knew better than to assume she was out of his hair. Clearly she had other plans to get her filthy paws on his technology, and the fact that a demon like that was after it at all was just the tip of an already enormous iceberg of frustrations. How was he supposed to deal with a threat like this, never mind an assortment of them?

Times like this made him wish the Phoenix Project hadn't fallen through. Maybe then he could've...

"Dr. Pendleton?"

He turned and found Wendell once again standing over him, the young technician twiddling his thumbs as he awkwardly looked the doctor over. "What happened?"

Letting out another sigh, Dr. Pendleton decided it was time to come clean. He had a load on his chest and he had to get rid of it somehow. "I told her no deal and she left with no issue. She'll be back, though. I can guarantee it."

"O-Oh..." Wendell placed a hand on his chest in clear discomfort, desperately hoping Dr. Pendleton was wrong.

"These people... Cora, the cat... Lord knows who else... they aren't going to leave us alone until they have those chips. Fixing the miniaturization chamber is one thing, but this won't end until we get them back." He scowled sharply at his monitor. "And once we have them... I want them destroyed. I want this machine scrapped and our schematics deleted. I want everything that has to do with this project shut down and buried."

Wendell slowly nodded. He seemed to understand what the boss was getting at, even if his dire tone unnerved him slightly and the idea of all their hard work being reduced to scrap was a bit upsetting.

"Contact Duval. Tell him to investigate the Trio of Three. There's a good chance Mr. Lowe is in their hands now. If he isn't, tell the search team to double down and find him by dawn. In the meantime, I want out satellite feed reestablished immediately."

"Yes, sir." With a brisk nod, Wendell turned and scurried away, once again leaving the doctor alone with his computer.

With that out of the way, Dr. Pendleton raised his head and shouted loudly enough for the whole lab to hear, "NO ONE LEAVES THIS FACILITY UNTIL OUR WORK HERE IS DONE!"

This declaration was met with a series of scattered groans and complaints.

"OH, HUSH! YOU'LL GET YOUR OVERTIME!" Any further gripes were promptly ignored as Dr. Pendleton returned to his thoughts.

He looked to the chamber; it was almost fixed. He checked his computer; the Proteus program was only 14% installed and moving slowly. Once both were operational again, all that was left to do was replace several more computers and get the right programs reinstalled on them. They would be back in business... or at least they would be if and up until they got the chips back.

Another project down the tubes. It was admittedly disheartening, yes, but deep down, Dr. Pendleton knew it had to be done. If there was one thing he was well experienced in, it was making sacrifices for the greater good.

And so while the repairs were finished and the search on the outside continued, he opened his word document again and got back to work on what could prove to be the most challenging aspect of this endeavor. He still had no idea how he was going to tackle this and do so tactfully, but at the very least, he had a better idea of where to begin.

There was an odd expression on Dr. Pendleton's face as he slowly began to type. One that almost seemed... mournful.

Lydia...