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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,997 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli wasn’t feeling a lot of sympathy for Geraldine’s position. From the picture he was getting, she had let the situation come to this by mollycoddling Ethan. If she had shown this kind of spine earlier, maybe Randall wouldn’t have had to do her job for her.

Randall’s stepping in did calm him down, however. He frowned, but he didn’t raise another objection. He just gave Randall a nod, then started heading back of his own volition.

Jimmy had arrived on the scene now and was waiting in his path. He raised an eyebrow at him as he approached.

“Looks like we missed quite the show,” he said.

Eli directed his frown to Jimmy and kept walking.

Jimmy started walking in step with him. He raised his palms in mock surrender. “Too soon, I get it,” he said. “I just wanted to thank you for your help today, and let you know that I live four houses north from yours. Just in case you find that information interesting.”

Eli shook his head. “Didn’t you hear? I’m on house arrest.”

“Oh I heard,” Jimmy said. “You just don’t strike me as the kind of who can be put into a box.”

“Armed guards can sometimes put me in a box,” Eli replied.

Jimmy smiled at that. Eli looked over. It seemed like one of the more genuine smiles that he had seen on him. It wasn’t arrogant or mocking – it was amused.

“The patio door. Midnight,” he said suddenly. There was that arrogant smile again. “Your call.”

He turned and walked in a divergent direction, leaving Eli with that.

* * *

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Jeff muttered to himself as the crowd thinned.

The tension still hung thick in the air, but at least the threat of violence was no longer there. When the guns had come out for a second there, Jeff had been ready to hit the floor. He was grateful he was allowed to remain standing the whole time.

And Geraldine’s explanation made sense – it was better their group were out of the public eye for a minute anyway. They needed to give people time to process and calm down. He was hopeful that tomorrow afternoon the truth would come out and the people of Flint would embrace him again like they did today.

He fell in with Julie as he started to walk back. He gave her an impressed look.

“Damn, girl, you were cool as ice,” he said. “You know there was a gun pointed at your head for a second there, right?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"I hope not." Brandon confessed with a wry grin.

Could be the had to share a single bed. Willow was still so sore he knew, but seeing her walking around already was exciting, and very promising. He slipped his fingers between hers as they made their way towards their detainment. Brandon was starting to get tired of sleeping at the clinic but so long as Willow was there so would he be. The prospect of house arrest was significantly less troubling for him.

As they walked he noted the grime under Willow's nails, and that her hair was getting greasy. She smelled too. He wasn't averse to it, in fact it was the opposite. She smelled... earthy almost. There was a kind of allure in the way she smelled, like an animal scenting a mate. He wanted that scent all over him. He rubbed her hand tensely with his thumb as his mind raced. Was she thinking the same thing?

He had to say something or do something to take his mind of of it.

"So, the clothes. Did I do okay?" he inquired, that tension coming through in his voice.

...

"They weren't going to shoot. They've never shot anyone, I can tell. They wouldn't know what to do if I'd shot Ethan. They would have frozen." Julie whispered to Jeff so their escort couldn't hear.

Even so, it dawned on her how reckless she was before. She had to remember from now on that she wasn't just risking her own life when she did stuff like that. There was another life inside her, and part of that life was Kevin's. It was her duty to him and their child to put that life first. It was still frightening, but there was some comfort in that sense of purpose.

"You seemed to be really enjoying yourself today. Sucks that this happened. Did you meet anyone interesting?" she asked.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“Yeah, on all counts,” Jeff said.

He spared a look behind him as he walked, noticing Glenda and Emmett following behind them. They had both seemingly taken the house arrest with their usual but distinct brands of stoicism.

“There’s a girl at the end of Carnation there, lives with her family,” he continued as he marched. “She’s got purple eyes! Like violet colored. Seriously. Not even contacts.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"Seriously? That's really rare, I've got to see that. Only person I've heard of with violet eyes was Elizabeth Taylor. You know, if this epidemic is intercontinental then she might be the only person in the world with violet eyes. Freaky, huh?" Julie mused as they walked.

Ahead of them Brandon and Willow walked hands in hand. There was a stiffness to Brandon's stride, Julie could practically feel the desperation radiating off him. She had to suppress a giggle at that.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"You did fine."

Willow assured Brandon further by leaning her head on his shoulder. She quickly recoiled when she realized she still smelled terrible. Brandon was fresh and clean and she was grimy and dirty. She couldn't even kiss him with this filthy mouth right now.

"I like them." She assured him with words instead.

* * * * *

Once back at their estates (Randall still had a difficult time referring to them as homes), their weapons were confiscated by the four guards that would be keeping watch on them and stored in the small shack next door. Randall recalled someone mentioning that it was basically a small house that had been refashioned into a makeshift armory for the town; so presumably their weapons would be safe. A few played off the ineptitude of the guards in this situation and smuggled a few guns in anyway. The rules for house arrest, as they were explained, were rather simple; everyone would be crammed into one of the houses to make everything more simple for the already limited guards and no one was allowed out of the house until Geraldine designated otherwise.

"I don't see you that mad very often." Glenda inquired. "Not since you chewed out Jeff so bad he stopped talking for a couple of days."

The sun had dipped below the horizon and the outdoors were dark; the clock on the wall read 9:15. Randall sat across from her at the table. In the living room nearby, Willow and Kelsey were going toe to toe in some sort of fighting game on the TV. An exaggerated groan or cheer would come from them on occasion, usually an indication of who had gotten the last kill. Willow was still dressed the same, but had taken her first shower a few hours prior; her hair and face looked far more refreshed than they had when he first saw her walking.

"Yeah, you're right." Randall let out a long sigh. "I don't have any regret over it though. When I heard about what he'd done, I just... I just lost it. I might have gone about it more rationally if I hadn't already been jilted after what I saw at the gate though."

"What did happen at the west gate?" The taciturn woman leaned back in her chair.

"I didn't tell you about that, did I? Everyone was so focused on the Ethan and Annie thing that I guess I forgot you weren't actually here for that part. It was... a clusterfuck by any other word. The guards panicking when a horde showed up was bad enough, but then some of them damaged the infrastructure of the wall in a panic, and friendly fire took out one of the forward guards; she was then left to die by her companions. If it hadn't been for Annie and I running out there, she would be dead right now, without a doubt."

Randall shook his head at the thought. It was a depressing show. He had faith that this community was a good place, a strong place. And that incident wiped that thought from his mind. He knew Geraldine was competent, but most of these people were not survivors, no matter how much they tried to be.

"Guess you and Annie really did spend a lot of time together today." Glenda mused with a strangely wistful smile.

"Ye-ha!" Kelsey bellowed. "Finally got you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Beginner's luck." Willow downplayed the achievement. "I got you next game."

Randall smiled at the sight. Despite the shortcomings of this place, he would miss this feeling. Spending a warm night in a powered house. Hearing everybody have fun. Hearing his daughter have fun. It was the most reassuring feeling in the world.

"You don't sound too happy about that?" Randall finally responded.

"I need to go talk to Maxwell."

Glenda rose from her chair and left the room as abruptly as her change of subject. Randall remained at the table, unable to do anything but watch as she left. For some reason, he felt a heaviness in his stomach. Was she mad at him?
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Jeff sat cross-legged on the floor next to the couch, watching Kelsey and Willow play video games. He smiled. House arrest or not, they still had power, running water, and each other. This was kind of nice, actually.

“I got the winner after that,” Jeff said.

There was a knock on the door, which startled Jeff a bit. They weren’t expected for this show trial until tomorrow at noon. Eli – who was sitting at a nearby chair, looking preoccupied with nothing in particular until now – was the first to get up. He waved Randall down, indicating he had it.

Earlier, when everyone was surrendering their weapons, Jeff saw Eli hand over his assault rifle but not the fancy pistol he kept on his belt. Jeff didn’t say anything about it. Neither did anyone else.

Jeff craned his neck to follow Eli’s walk to the door. He noted Emmett was nowhere to be seen once again. He had been hanging out in the corner of the room for a while earlier, watching mostly in silence, engaging in limited conversation only when approached. He had retreated somewhere upstairs after a little bit.

Eli opened the door, revealing the form of Dr. Annie. When Jeff first saw her the night they arrived, he thought she was a woman of sharp edges – and she was. She also had a dark beauty that was clearer now under the houselights, visible even through her bruised jaw and the split on her lip.

“Hello,” she greeted, sounding a little meek. In his limited interactions with her so far, Jeff had found her to be pretty confident. Her role in today’s events must have made her just a little self-conscious.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
From his angle, Randall couldn't see who was at the door. Only a handful of people would even bother trying to talk to them at this hour; Marcus, Candice, Annie, and Geraldine were the names that came to mind. And Randall hoped it wasn't that last one. That would have made it a business visit and he wasn't really in the mood to deal with more politics right now. He just wanted to relax a little. Enjoy his house arrest.

Please don't be Geraldine right now.

"Who is it?" Randall gave into his impatience.

He was sure they had been talking, but he couldn't really hear anything over the sound of Kelsey and Willow beating each other up in that game.

"Hah! Got you again!" Kelsey cheered, throwing her arms into the air in a victory pose.

"No way!" Willow was incredulous, but nevertheless passed Jeff the controller with a warning; "Watch out for that move spam. It's tough to counter."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Jeff looked away from the door and back to the TV when the controller was suddenly passed to him.

“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing,” he teased. “Me? I was a high school star in this game. I went to college on a sponsorship from this game. I was a first round draft pick for this – oh, that is cheap.”

The round started, and Kelsey’s spamming got in a few good hits. He shut up and started playing in earnest.

* * *

“Hi,” Eli said back to the good doctor. “Come in.”

A tiny part of him was annoyed with her for dragging Randall into her problems and having the whole group pay the price as a result. The bruise and cut on her face that part hard to embrace, though. Now that he had pretty much the whole story, he had to admit that she was the victim here and he might have even gone further if he had been in Randall’s place.

“It’s Annie,” Eli answered Randall’s query as he closed the door behind her, frowning at the guards he could see before it shut.

“I’m just here to check on Willow,” Annie said. “And to apologize for all this. I know it’s not fair for all of you to be blamed for what happened, when most of you had nothing to do with it.”

“Thanks, Doc,,” Jeff said, coining maybe his most obvious nickname yet. “But it’s really not so – hey! You are a cheater, you know that? Sorry, not you, Doc, I was talking to this cheater on the couch here.”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon watched Jeff and Kelsey play intently. In one hand he had a sketch pad he found in the office and in the other a pencil. There wasn't ever an opportunity to do this of late, but in lieu of doing something useful he figured he should do something he just liked to do . Anything to keep his mind off Willow for a time.

He rendered the scene as faithfully as he could, he wasn't concerned with the details of their hands or clothes or the controls they held. It was their faces, he was always good with the faces. Brandon was academically average, but art class was without a doubt a good subject for him.

One of the many ways he'd found to make money was selling his sketches. Rendering what he saw and seeing people's reactions to it was really satisfying. People took a lot of joy in being drawn, he felt it was lots of reasons. A camera captures you perfectly, but it doesn't interpret what it sees. A person sees with their mind and heart as much as their eyes, so the finished product isn't what you look like but how another sees you. A lot of the time people were pleasantly surprised by what they saw.

That was satisfying, but the most rewarding stuff he did was drawing what he wanted to see. That was where this picture was special. Jeff was sitting nearby but he wasn't playing with Kelsey. Mac was.

...

Julie sat in the kitchen idly stirring a cup of soup. She worried, a little numbly, about what might happen tomorrow. As much clout as Ethan had she knew he was screwed. He wasn't essential enough excuse conspiracy to commit murder. Even if he argued that Annie's husband was a drain on resources, nobody could be heartless or ungrateful enough to buy that. What Julie worried about was if their group would still be welcome there. As much as she preferred to stay on the move she had to admit that Flint was the best chance she and her baby had.

Her baby. She chuckled at the thought for the first time. She was going to have a baby.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Whatever it takes to win!"

Kelsey brutally continued her limited-move assault, not even paying that much attention to Annie as she entered. Her focus was entirely on winning the game.

"It's really not that big of a deal. No offense, but I like it better in here than the clinic anyway, you know?" Willow ran a hand through her now smooth and shiny pink hair. "I haven't felt this clean in over a month! I'll take house arrest any day of the week, thank you."

Randall smirked at the support for Annie. He was genuinely glad most of them were okay with it. Of course, after everything they had been through, house arrest hardly seemed like that bad of a punishment. At least to Randall. It meant he could sleep in tomorrow and not have to worry about more work. Maybe it was different for him since he was the one that had punched out Ethan. Punching him in the face repeatedly was definitely worth the price of admission.

"You got nothing to apologize for." Randall told Annie frankly. "If you still feel bad after that though, we got a few drinks still. Might take the edge off after a hard day."

* * * * *

It took a few tries, but Glenda eventually tracked down Maxwell. He was sitting by himself in a corner of the dining room by the kitchen; he seemed to have the room to himself for now. His signature notebook was unfolded across his lap and he was writing fervently into it. He looked a little more shaken up than he usually did. He didn't even see Glenda approach and pull the notebook out from in front of him.

"Hey!" He protested and reached an arm out for it. "Give me that back! What are you even doing here?"

"I got tired of talking to Randall. Wanted a change of pace, so I figured I would talk to you." Glenda shrugged indifferently and placed the notebook down on the table.

"That's... kind of odd, actually." Maxwell frowned. "Why me?"

"Good question." Glenda shrugged. "Everyone else is busy I guess. Willow and Brandon are basically joined at the hip these days and Randall is only thinking about Annie right now."

"Wait, wait, wait... are you...?" Maxwell leaned forward and arched an eyebrow at Glenda. "Are you jealous?"

"No." Glenda denied flatly.

"You totally are!" Maxwell laughed. "It's written all over your sagging face!"

He stopped laughing only when Glenda leaned forward and grabbed him by his shirt.

"What's been with you recently?" Glenda was glaring daggers at him. "You've been more antisocial and sharper with your jabs than usual. You were never easy to get along with, but you're really pushing it now."

"Okay, I admit, I can be a little abrasive at times!" Maxwell lifted his hands in the air and justified himself. "Completely unintentional... I just... have a lot to take in right now, okay? Just because I don't tell everyone about it doesn't mean it isn't there! I am sorry if I caused you any unintentional harm, I just thought... I thought it was ironic! That is why I was laughing!"

Glenda grimaced. She was still annoyed at his laughing at her, but she released him anyway.

"Look, I am not really an expert on this sort of thing, but aren't you the decisive one? Doesn't Randall rely on you when he needs a decision made and someone to stick with it? Maybe you should follow your own advice; make a decision and carry through with it. Stop worrying about the little things cause we could all be dead tomorrow."

Maxwell paused after he said the last part. But only for a moment.

"I-I mean, you know... not likely, of course. But definitely a possibility. Because things, random things... can happen. And nobody expects them. Such is the world these days, right? I thought you were supposed to be good at that sort of thing. What happened to the Glenda that doesn't afraid of anything?"

Glenda looked down on him. She was absorbed in her own thoughts for a few lingering moments, bordering into the awkward silence. After that, she picked Maxwell's notebook up off the table and flipped it open.

"What have you been writing in here anyway?"

"WAIT! NO! DON'T!" Maxwell pleaded.

The handwriting was scratchy and distinctive, but legible. She started at the top of the page.

"Gor'thak the Barbarian leaped off Rex's back and looked down at the sole survivor of the dinosaur ambush. His prize. The naked and supple body of the chieftain's daughters sent shivers down his spine. Her watermelon-sized breasts were covered in a thin layer of seductive sweat that gently reflected the light of the full moon. Her wide eyes looked up at him. She wanted him in the same way he wanted her. He leaned down and traced the contours of her full body with his hand, where he paid special attention to her breasts. The sight of her so passively looking up at him from the ground and the feel of her soft, smooth skin against his sent a throbbing to his loins. His twelve inch member grew erect; her eyes widened lustfully at its magnificence as he-"

"NOPE! DONE!" Glenda threw the notebook back at Maxwell. "THANK YOU FOR THE PEP TALK!"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie smiled and nodded, grateful that most of the group had taken the situation in stride.

“Thank you for the offer,” she said. “I’d like to, but I should probably get home to Connor. He was a bit… shaken up after learning a lot of what happened.”

She remembered his face earlier today, as she explained her injuries to him as best she could. He was shocked and scared. The idea of someone trying to kill his father – never mind his mother – was almost alien to him. It reminded her that she hadn’t prepared him enough. After the events of today, it was clearer than ever that she had to do a better job.

“Willow,” she turned and addressed her patient, approaching her. “Shall I?”

She listened to her breathing – it seemed alright, considering. She reminded her to do her coughing and breathing exercises, and presented her two bottles of pills, with enough painkillers and antibiotics to last her a week.

“The incision may ache for a while yet, especially with exertion,” she advised, and not for the first time. “Don’t lift anything heavy and don’t push yourself too hard. You’re going to tire quickly at first. It will likely take a couple weeks to return to your previous level of stamina.”

She ended by giving her an encouraging smile, however.

“You’re doing great, though,” she said. “It’s impressive.”

With that, she folded up her stethoscope and turned to leave. Impulsively, she stopped by Randall, putting a hand on his good shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said meaningfully.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow tucked the pills into one of the pockets of her jacket and gave Annie a cheeky smile. She had been smiling a lot since she woke up. Randall wasn't sure if it was the second lease on life, the walls of the community, or if it had something to do with how chummy she'd been getting with Brandon recently. He suspected it was all of the above. It was good to see though. She had always been so apathetic back at Mount Kisco. She was like a new person now. Nobody will recognize her when they get back.

When Annie put a hand on his shoulder, he acknowledged her with a nod and a smile. He appreciated the show of support.

"Thank me tomorrow. After we see Geraldine's verdict." Randall told her.

He was fairly sure that Ethan would be found guilty after all this. He had to be. But it was hard to have absolute faith in anything. That was his problem with the cure too; he didn't have absolute faith. He just forced himself to believe it on the outside to blot out the pain that was eating away at him on the inside. In the unlikely event that Ethan was found innocent of the charges, then all of this will have been for nothing. Well, almost nothing.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
After letting Annie in, Eli went ahead and left the room. He’d been putting it off all day, but now that he was trapped in a house with her, he needed to get it out of the way.

“Hey,” he said, finding Julie alone in the kitchen.

He hoped he wasn’t being too presumptive when he took a seat at the table on the other side of her.

“Sorry for running off yesterday,” he jumped right into the apology. “I been meaning to tell you that for a little bit.”

* * *

Jeff kept playing throughout Annie’s visit, glancing over occasionally to see how Willow was processing the information. ‘Well’, it seemed. When Annie finally took off, Jeff finished up the current round and put down the controller.

“Okay, okay, I concede,” he told Kelsey. “But it was close, so don’t get cocky.”

She had won four out of seven matches. He would have happily asked for another, but now that Randall had an opening, Jeff wanted to have a word. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but it needed to happen and soon.

He left the controller on the couch as he made his way over to Randall.

“Hey boss,” he said, folding his hands on the table. He took a deep breath to psyche himself up. “You got a minute?”
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Julie was snapped from her contemplating as Eli entered. He sat down across from her with a contrite look on his face. Strangely he was apologizing. Julie raised an eyebrow quizzically. She hadn't given it a second thought except to chastise herself.

"Ah... no that's okay, you asked about Kevin and I ended up saying way more than you needed to know. I offloaded on you. You're not a crutch for me and my baggage." she excused him with a sort of apology of her own.

She would have wanted to bail if somebody had unloaded that much on her.

...

Brandon finished up his sketch. He was satisfied he got Keksey accurately but he wasn't sure if he got Mac right. He was drawing from memory and he rwally didn't have a strong image of the man in his mind. He was confident that anyone who saw it would recognize him though, even if he got some of the details wrong. At least he felt he captured Mac's general mien.
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Is that so?
As Jeff put down the controller, Kelsey looked expectantly up at Willow. She was still ready for more games. And for the first time in a long time, Willow wasn't. She was up 4-2 against Kelsey right now, she might be wanting a taste of that revenge now that she found a strategy that worked.

"Sorry, Kels. I gotta take a break. Need to do those breathing exercises." Willow rubbed Kelsey's hair affectionately. "Maybe Glenda will play a few games with you?"

"Oookay." Kelsey mocked a frown.

Willow wasn't going to fall for that trick. As Kelsey got up to look for a new challenger, she sat on the couch. She inhaled deeply and slowly. Then exhaled. She repeated it a few times. She needed the breathing exercise, but she was actually doing it to calm her nerves.

Okay, ready. She told herself after a few repetitions.

She pulled herself up to her feet again and headed immediately for Brandon. She tried to avoid direct eye contact as she got close to him. She inhaled deeply once again. Her heart was pounding like a drum. It was too late to coward out now. And even if it was, she wouldn't want to.

"So... uhh... Brandon?" Her start was slow and hesitant; she spoke under her breath to avoid having her voice travel too far. "I know I am... not quite in the best shape of my life or anything... but did you, maybe... want to go upstairs... and uhh... find a room?"

She squeezed out an genuine, but embarrassed, smile.

* * * * *

Jeff's question seemed a little... heavy. He hadn't even said anything yet, but Randall could tell something was on his mind. Whatever Jeff wanted to discuss, it was probably going to be serious. Randall took a deep breath and motioned to one of the chairs.

"Yeah, sure. What's on your mind, Jeff?"

A quick glance around the room revealed there were quite a few people.

"Or... did you want somewhere with a little more air for this?"
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