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Earl makes a face. You seize your opportunity. "Ahem! Indeed, my intelligent and beneficent retainer, Gil, would be <span class="mu-i">thrilled</span> to help with the breakage and entering into the manse. There's just a teensy problem! At this current moment, he is thoroughly <span class="mu-i">unbodied.</span> If a certain someone would only help him out, then this could be solved immediately. If <span class="mu-i">not,</span> I am afraid that—"
"Fucking look at me if you're going to talk at me," Pat snaps.
"Charlie, she's right. Passive-aggressiveness only brings things to a boil later on."
Richard's taken up a post nearish to Pat, leading you to conclude that there's way too many people for this one little room. Also, words of wisdom from the uncontested king of passive-aggressiveness. You roll your eyes and swivel around to look at Pat. "I'm just saying, it's really something that has to be done <span class="mu-i">sooner</span> versus later, and—"
"What does a jacker need a <span class="mu-i">body</span> for to open up a manse? Don't gullshit me." She narrows her eyes at you. "I'm not really in the <span class="mu-i">mood.</span>"
"You <span class="mu-i">owe</span> him. And who says he'll be in the mood to pitch in if he knows he's being deprived of a body? Maybe he'll just refuse. And then it'll be all your fault if we can't get in, and Madrigal can't punch Ellery in the face, and that's really not good employee behavior, I think—"
"Don't drag <span class="mu-i">me</span> into your shit," Madrigal says. "But also, yeah. It didn't fucking take that long for me, so I don't get the holdup. Are you custom-modeling him a dick?"
"That's not how it works. The goo models itself after the C.O.S.. But <span class="mu-i">okay.</span>" She spits out the word. "I am taking a damn aspirin, and I am getting <span class="mu-i">45</span> more minutes of sleep, and <span class="mu-i">then</span> I will look at it. Again, I've never done it on <span class="mu-i">bugs,</span> so don't expect a perfect outcome. Everything settled?"
45 minutes is longer than "right now," but you're not rolling in options for new bodies. "...Fine."
"Great." And she leaves.
-
You spend the next 45 minutes forced into further conversation, by dint of having nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. Fortunately, you've all moved out to the settee. Double-fortunately, Madrigal and Earl carry on most of it: you make occasional comments and throw glances at Richard, who has yet to crack.
When Pat emerges, she looks marginally less sour. "BK. Can we co-opt the bed?"
"Haha! Together?"
You dislike his tone there, and apparently Pat does too: "Shut up. We're sacking out for this, and I don't want knots when I get up."
Earl throws his arm across the back of the settee. "Sure! Why not? I'm not using it."
She nods curtly and beckons you to the bedroom, where she remains standing as you plop onto the bed. "Charlotte."
"<span class="mu-i">Pat,</span>" you say.
"I'd firstly like to make it clear what an <span class="mu-i">enormous</span> favor I am doing. I really should shoot you on sight. <span class="mu-i">Secondly,</span> this business requires you and your jacker buddy to enter my manse."
"Yuck."
(2/3)
