{M} People Like Us {Numbers & Natora}

[Natora]

As they rose through the center of the building Kelly looked over at Etmere and smiled gently. "There will be a lunch break after the video and then you will have the time to do that, yes," she answered him. As they arrived to the A6th floor she walked out. "And as a welcome to the company, they have a lunch for you," she told them and led them through a series of bright typical office hallways. The only thing atypical about the floor was that rather than having solid walls, all the walls were made of glass. Meetings were going on everywhere with the walls frosted from about knee to chin height.

The office that they were destined to finish their training in was near the back of the building with a view of a small park that was between the four main buildings on the block. It was nice to see some green space around when they were in the middle of a large city. "Sit wherever you like," she invited them. She went around the large table that sat eight to a projector that she could turn on and start working the computer. The clicking of the mouse was efficient as she went through file after file until she got to the training videos. Opening the only one that mattered she looked over and asked, "Joseph, would you turn the lights off, please?"

Soon after they were in relative dimness and a video started up on a projection screen at the front. The video went from the founding fathers and life before the institute was created. It showed great scenes of destruction and chaos, obviously implying that once testing began on the Marked the violence lessened greatly. It continued to a few of the theories that were originally studied - super human strength, other unique abilities, advanced healing - and explained how most of those had been disproven. It continued to explain how they had taken hundreds of dangerous Marked people off the streets and brought them to testing centres to better understand their unique chemistry and biology. It finished off by talking about the current theories they were trying to work through: alien hosts, alien communication, advanced healing, adaptations. The entire presentation took about 45 minutes.

When it ended Kelly turned the lights back on in the room and looked around to them all. "If there are no other questions, we can move on to lunch," she offered.

This time it was Grindel's chance to speak up. "Is the company doing anything about the rumours that there is a community of Marked hidden somewhere outside the city?" he asked curiously.

Kelly nodded slowly and answered the question more calculatedly than she had the others. It was clear that this was delicate territory he was treading on. "We have been looking into the possibility, yes. The transportation teams have been trying to do some ground work on that front," she answered.

[Numbers]

When they arrived on what could only be described as the conference floor, he could feel the end slowly getting closer. Upon reaching their room he chose to walk over to the window overlooking the small park. A small amount of green in a world of grey. Certainly not what he would call even a small amount of nature compared to the lady. She had probably never really been in nature. To these people, nature had pretty much been abandoned. The world choosing to live together in cities now with only small amounts of people living outside the cities to help harvest resources for the cities.

He moved over to the desk and sat down at the table watching the video that streamed and explained information that he couldn't disagree with more. At a certain point, he closed his eyes and only began to slightly listen to what the video was saying. More so listening to know when the video ended. When it finally ended he reopened his eyes again and listened to the question that someone else asked as well as listening to the answer that Kelly gave to them. His people knew that they were being searched for and as such were constantly on the move. Staying in places never longer than a few weeks in order to make sure sightings of them happened rarely.

"So next is lunch? If the company is gonna be giving us lunch this time, is it wise to assume that we need to bring our own lunch the other days? Or is there simply a cafeteria where we can buy lunch from. If there is a cafeteria with food we can buy does that mean we have a food allowance of how much food the company is willing to waive for us since we work here?"

[Natora]

Kelly was surprised at the burst of questions coming from Etmere. Had something upset him? She was used to him asking plenty of helpful questions by now but to have him ask a continual onslaught of questions was odd and out of place. At least as out of place as one could be after only knowing someone for a few hours. Of course she did answer him regardless. "Lunch is only being provided today, yes. It is set up in a different conference room and then we can bring it back here to eat. This is where you will all be finishing your training for the rest of the day. On a normal basis the cafeteria does serve at a cost. There is no discount to anyone as only those with access to the building also have access to the cafeteria. If you bring your own food from home there are also zappers to warm them for you."

It was as efficient of an answer as she could give with his questions. "Now if you'll all follow me," she said and walked out towards one of the other conference rooms at the end of the hall. Lunch today was a soup, wraps, sandwiches, all rich with vegetables and meat. There was a separate section of food for vegetarians if the need arose. At the end of the food there was juices, coffee, tea, and water. Nothing but the best. There was enough food there to feed at least triple the amount of people that had attended. "This is all for you so feel free to eat as much as you like," she said to them and stood back.

Once the six of them had food they were able to walk back to the training room to eat lunch. It was very good, from a deli that was just down the street. Kelly had had the opportunity to order and this one she had chosen because it was one of her favourite places to go and fairly expensive. When she had finished eating and noticed Etmere had as well, she walked up to where he was sitting and looked to him. "Would you like me to show you where the office is to register your vehicle now?" she asked. "There's still a half hour of lunch left."

[Numbers]

Upon following for food he chose lighter stuff compared to everyone else. Taking only a light sandwich with some small meat and cheese on it. As well as taking some hot black tea. Upon back in the conference room he quickly ate the food then constantly sipped from the hot tea that he had. Almost like someone who had much higher class and money than he actually did. After he finished the woman who was guiding them came up to him and ask him a question personally.

He quickly drank the rest of his tea before standing up with a stretch. "That would be great. My bike will get me to work quicker than the bus will." As he followed her this gave him the better chance to talk to her. "So now that we're alone I can't help but wonder if you have questions for me. After all, we're two people working similar jobs. Both scientists, working to better humanity through our work. Considering you're the one to give us the tour must make you pretty important, spend a lot of time working, not a lot of time outside of work I'm guessing."

[Natora]

Once he stood, Kelly led them back to the elevators. There were always stairs but with the amount of floor changing that Kelly typically did, it made no sense to take the stairs, not to mention her favourite shoes were small heels. When they were alone he was no different than when they were in a crowd. He still had questions and his curiosity amused Kelly greatly. There were many positive things to be said about people who were curious. First of all, they made great scientists.

"I am curious to know where you graduated from. I only finished my masters a couple of years ago and so knew many of the undergraduates but I don't recognize you," she told him honestly. They stepped into the elevator together and she pushed the button for A4. "And I don't typically spend a lot of time outside of work because as of yet I have no reason to. My career is going well so I am committed to doing all that I can to improve our working knowledge. Do you have plenty of time outside work typically?" she asked him in an almost testing manner. There were only so many people who could claim to be married to their jobs and at the moment, Kelly was.

[Numbers]

"I make sure to give myself time that isn't work. All work and no play makes for a very tense and unhappy person after all." Naturally, he omitted the fact that having time to himself away from the job meant he could have his mark displayed since no one would see him. "Also need time to perform general maintenance on the bike every day to make sure it stays in tip-top shape. The only family I have I don't have the ability to see or talk to you. As for where I went to school, well I wouldn't worry about it. I can assure you my credentials are real and impressive. Afterall, how would I get a job at a company like this one? Only take the best of the best, which is only more obvious considering you're the one showing us around. Here for a few years and already they value you quite a lot. Must be extremely good at your job." He said without so much as ever casting a glance at her.

Instead, he watched the elevator doors and the changing number at the top as they moved to different floors. He didn't want to get friendly with her, get to know her, or anything similar to it. She was his enemy, someone who was helping to imprison and kill his people. Yet, he knew that he had to work with her anyways. To make her his friend would only serve to help him in the company in ways that he knew he couldn't image of yet. "Anyways, no reason to spend time outside of work? What about the family? Friends? A lover?" He said with an almost amused smirk at the last part as he said, lover.

[Natora]

His actions were strange. He was only speaking to the wall, never turning towards her. It almost felt cold. Intimidated maybe? There was something about it that she knew would need to warm up if he was ever to succeed here. Perhaps he was being so separate because he wanted to steel himself for the testing floor. It was entirely possibly but he was steeling himself against the wrong person. He spoke in way that showed his confidence. She would never admit it but it seemed rather impressive. A college so secret that he couldn't even mention it. Intriguing. She wondered absently if he would ever trust her enough to reveal the truth.

"Family I see on Sundays, friends are hard to come by most days when you don't spend your out of office time drinking, and I just finished a relationship a few months ago because they couldn't maintain a stimulating conversation," she answered efficiently. His choice of the word lover instead of 'partner' or 'boyfriend' was odd. She saw his smirk and it had amused her enough not to bother him with a comment.

The doors opened to the A2 floor which looked like a typical office space with cubicles. Most people had food out and were laughing and chatting with each other as it was lunch time. She led him through a series of halls of cubicles until they came upon a larger man sitting and enjoying a pizza sub. "Hi Jerry," she greeted in her normal cheerful tone. "This is Etmere Zurbank, a new fellow scientist," she introduced. "He was looking for a parking pass for a motorbike," she said to him.

Jerry sat up and put his sub down, looking a little unhappy at the thought of having to do that. He opened his computer and went to a certain file before opening up a document. "He's lucky he's with you, Kelly. Lunch time is precious," he said simply.

Kelly gave him a satisfied smile and shrugged. "Your favourite desserts are going to be served upstairs at the end of lunch. Come grab one to make up for it," she said to him.

"Now we're talkin'," he said, his fingers moving a little faster with the new motivation. He rattled off a list of questions about the vehicle, make, model, license plate, and then asked questions about his employee number and station which Kelly answered for him. Five minutes later they were able to head back to the elevator with a small key fob in Etmere's hand.

"Easy peasy," she said simply as she called the elevator back. "So you mentioned that you weren't able to see or talk to your family. Why not?" she asked curiously.

[Numbers]

Etmere observed the man who was asking him the questions and made sure to remember the answers to the questions that Kelly answered for him. As he answered some of the questions, his attention was still elsewhere as he was looking around at the area around him. Constantly observing his surroundings and making notes inside his head to remember details that he considered important to his undercover operation. Stairs, emergency exits, doors that had key card locks on them, everything he would need to know in an emergency. Finally, it was all done and Kelly started moving back to the elevator.

He quickly followed her to make sure he was paying attention and came upon a new question from her. His family. Truth be told his parents and sister were all still alive. They were a whole family of marked people and lived with the other marked people outside of the city. Though, as a request for him taking such dangerous missions for the marked people, his superior moved them farther away from the city into areas that were considered to hold no danger of being found due to the distance they were from civilization. "Life. They don't live in this city. I didn't live in this city until recently. I came from another city to the south. Since they're always working as well it simply means that the time to talk never comes across. Never free time to write each other a letter. Which is fine, I came to a different city because it meant I didn't have to deal with people who know me. Easier to get the things done that matter most when you don't have people constantly trying to take up your time." The elevator doors then opened up and he pressed the button for the floor they were on before.

He leaned his back against the wall of the elevator, staring at the doors again. "Couldn't hold an intellectually stimulating conversation. Guess that means he wasn't a scientist. Though every person has needs, someone to call their own. I guess you would have to be a scientist just to understand what your partner was talking about. Does the company allow employees to be with each other in such a way?" A question that he was actually curious about. Workings as an agent of the marked, you could get close to other agents, as long as the unmarked assumed you were getting together like a normal person and not because you both hold the same dangerous secret.

[Natora]

Kelly gave a half smile as he stole her button pushing role. At least he had a decent memory. Those always proved useful. He hadn't even found it necessary to ask to confirm which floor it was. "I'm sorry that you don't get to talk to your family much," she commented. As much as her family and her could disagree on a lot of things they still enjoyed being together. No matter what was to happen, she couldn't imagine spending a tonne of time without talking to her family.

Even with a small mention, though, that topic dropped and he brought up a new question about romance in the office without looking at her again. Obviously he felt little need to get in close with her no matter how influential he thought her to potentially be. "That is a matter that will be highlighted in the next session of training. For a quick answer, they frown on relationships within the same department for obvious reasons. Relationships between departments they have no concerns over. Just because they frown on it, though, doesn't mean it can't or hasn't happened. There's a married couple in accounting, for example," she said before the ding in the elevator announce their return.

"And even the "stimulating" conversations in that relationship were merely about likes and dislikes. He had lied about his education background," she informed her new colleague before stepping off the elevator. "Men see a successful woman and either want a piece of her success or run away, I've found," she said. "I was considering getting a dog in the next few months if I can't find a meaningful relationship to spend my affection on." She stepped off the elevator and started heading back to the training room.

[Numbers]

"Funny, the same thing could be said about women and successful men. Why not try your luck with someone in the company then who is in relatively the same kind of position as you. Then they should be smart enough for you to hold a conversation and shouldn't care too much about how successful you are since they are doing relatively the same thing as you are." He thought for a moment on what he said before deciding to add something else as they were just about to enter the room where the rest of the new people. "Though I guess that means everytime you got a promotion you would have to upgrade to a new guy. That, or find a guy who could care less about your success." He said with another amused smile before walking in to see the rest of the people.

He sat back down in the chair that was originally given to him to sit in and he leaned back, throwing his feet to rest on top of the meeting table. He pulled out the key fob for the garage floor to look at it before shoving it back into his pocket to look at the rest of the people. Now that they were in the group again, he felt like their ability to talk about what it is they were talking about before ended. It felt more like a private conversation between two coworkers than a conversation to be shared among everyone you work with.