(no subject)
"Ten months."
Blue shot Rusty a nasty look and continued the daily trek to their office without replying. Rusty shook her head as she lengthened her stride to match her friend and business partner.
"You've never waited ten months to administer the test before."
The hydraulics in Blue's arm hissed as she clenched her fist. "The plans will be where I left them."
"You still owe me one hundred dollars from the last time."
"Ian's different. He's been locking up for about two months now without a problem."
Rusty snorted. "Ian's pretty."
Blue stopped and tilted her head to meet her eyes. "Are you saying I'm shallow enough to put our company in danger for a pretty face?" Rusty bit her lip, realizing she'd pushed too far. When Blue took that mild tone even hardened gangsters ran for cover.
"Ian has the best damn brain on the island and a knack for design that rivals my own. That makes him a valuable asset."
"If we can trust him."
Blue nodded, and continued towards their office. "Agreed."
They made the rest of the trip in tense silence. Rusty was worried. Ian's skill with the sentient ores of their island was as good as Blue's, and they usually agreed to be shaped to his will with no fuss, but it also made him dangerous. No one else at Machine Inc. had the ability to reverse-engineer their designs, and he wouldn't be the first spy that their business rivals had tried to place within their ranks. He was also damn hard to dislike.
That made the empty desk where Blue had left the experimental design for the lighter artificial arm even harder to face. Rusty didn't even have the heart to say "I told you so."
Blue's face was set as she strode towards Ian's former workroom. "He might have left clues where..." She stopped short at the sound of the snores from the direction of the worktable. Ian's massive frame was sleeping at the table, the precious plans cradled protectively in the crook of his arm.
"He stayed here on guard all night?" Rusty whispered.
Blue gently shoved her out of the room, her grey eyes shimmering with triumph.
"Hush, you'll wake our new President of Research and Development." Her smile turned predatory. "I'll take my five hundred dollars now."
Blue shot Rusty a nasty look and continued the daily trek to their office without replying. Rusty shook her head as she lengthened her stride to match her friend and business partner.
"You've never waited ten months to administer the test before."
The hydraulics in Blue's arm hissed as she clenched her fist. "The plans will be where I left them."
"You still owe me one hundred dollars from the last time."
"Ian's different. He's been locking up for about two months now without a problem."
Rusty snorted. "Ian's pretty."
Blue stopped and tilted her head to meet her eyes. "Are you saying I'm shallow enough to put our company in danger for a pretty face?" Rusty bit her lip, realizing she'd pushed too far. When Blue took that mild tone even hardened gangsters ran for cover.
"Ian has the best damn brain on the island and a knack for design that rivals my own. That makes him a valuable asset."
"If we can trust him."
Blue nodded, and continued towards their office. "Agreed."
They made the rest of the trip in tense silence. Rusty was worried. Ian's skill with the sentient ores of their island was as good as Blue's, and they usually agreed to be shaped to his will with no fuss, but it also made him dangerous. No one else at Machine Inc. had the ability to reverse-engineer their designs, and he wouldn't be the first spy that their business rivals had tried to place within their ranks. He was also damn hard to dislike.
That made the empty desk where Blue had left the experimental design for the lighter artificial arm even harder to face. Rusty didn't even have the heart to say "I told you so."
Blue's face was set as she strode towards Ian's former workroom. "He might have left clues where..." She stopped short at the sound of the snores from the direction of the worktable. Ian's massive frame was sleeping at the table, the precious plans cradled protectively in the crook of his arm.
"He stayed here on guard all night?" Rusty whispered.
Blue gently shoved her out of the room, her grey eyes shimmering with triumph.
"Hush, you'll wake our new President of Research and Development." Her smile turned predatory. "I'll take my five hundred dollars now."