Claudia stood outside the door of the office, impatiently tapping her foot and looking down at her wristwatch. The team she had been awaiting ought to have arrived back by now according to the phone call she'd received not long ago. Averting her gaze she looked down the long driveway leading to the office, hoping to see one of the Scarlett Saviors designated cars appear in sight. While it was unusual for someone to drive up to the office front doors over the parking lot which sat closer to the entrance, Claudia expected the team to do so to make up for their tardiness. Even arriving a minute late was inexcusable with the money involved in the entire operation.

Following what seemed like an eternity, Claudia would see a pair approaching, not driving, but walking down the long road towards the office doors. Crossing her arms and tapping her foot even harder, she sternly watched as the two walked towards her for what seemed like 5 minutes, absolutely fuming for every second they wasted. Behind her, the receptionist's desk had risen from the floor, as had the chairs in the lobby. Rhythmically, they rose and fell as if they were dumbbells in the hands of a bodybuilder. This use of her Jewel Power was much like a stress ball in her fists, and Claudia could feel her rage dampen moment by moment. But not by much.

By the time the two agents were finally in earshot, one being a short monkey and the other a taller zebra, Claudia had calmed herself down and kept her professional persona preserved perfectly.

"What took you two?" She asked in a stern voice, her foot tapping so quick and hard that it was kicking up a dust cloud.

"Little lady wanted to stop for lunch," the zebra said, handing Claudia a folder full of papers. Claudia accepted the documents and stared a hole in the monkey next to him, who in turned stared daggers into the Zebra for snitching her out.

"Everything went so smoothly, felt a little reward couldn't have hurt anybody," she said, reaching into her pocket to fish out the meal's receipt and placing it on top of the folder. "I used my money for it, so if you could get that to accounting, that'd be great."

The reception desk inside the office was suddenly and quickly crushed into a wooden ball and thrown on the floor with a bang loud enough to be heard from outside. The Zebra looked blankly over Claudia's shoulder while the monkey could only laugh at her frustration. "I'm kidding!" she said, holding her stomach with one hand and picking up the receipt with the other. "I'm kidding. It was on me, honest."

Claudia sternly watched as the monkey crumpled up her receipt and pocketed it with a wide, cheeky grin. "Okay. Okay," She said, taking a pair of deep breaths. She had to change the subject before things got worse. "The mission. Was there any trouble? Did you meet any resistance?"

The monkey straightened herself up and looked to Claudia with a smirk. "No ma'am. No one can stand up to me, Claudia. Especially not a bunch of Jewel greenhorns. You know that."

The zebra opened his mouth to interject, but Claudia cut in. "That's not what I meant, Holly. What I'm asking if there were any civilians, without Jewels, that tried to cause you two any trouble?"

The zebra opened his mouth to answer, but Holly cut in first. "No ma'am!" she said, even prouder and louder than before. "Anybody who even got close got eaten up by Eli in a snap." Pointing a thumb at the zebra beside her, she snapped her fingers to illustrate her point. "We make a good team, me and him."

The zebra looked to both of them, waiting for either to speak up before trying to talk again. "We were in and out in under an hour," he said, undoing the zipper on his coat and showing his bare torso underneath. "Everyone present and accounted for." Slowly, a number of small faces pressed against his skin from the inside, their twisted grimaces and quiet moans perceived by the women before him. More and more faces pushed against his body, trying to escape their flesh prison, but to no avail. No matter how hard they pushed or how hard they moaned, as soon as the zebra called Eli got a hold of them, there was no escape. Both Holly and Claudia stared at his stomach and the demonstration of his jewel power in effect. No matter how many times they saw it, they couldn't help but stare.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Right," Claudia said, clapping her hands. "Eli. You are free to bring them to the appropriate housing." Zipping his coat back up, Eli gave a quick nod before walking away to the 'appropriate housing' for people caught on missions, bejeweled and otherwise. "As for you, Holly, I have a task for you."

"Another one?" Holly asked, flummoxed at not even getting the chance to rest first. "I just got back. Can I get it tomorrow?"

"I need it addressed as quickly as possible" Claudia said, opening the folder and scanning the first couple of pages. "Maybe not a task, but more of a favor. Can you do me a favor?"

"Hmmm," Holly thought, looking into Claudia's violet eyes. "I'm gonna need some details first before I agree to anything."

Closing the folder, Claudia nodded at Holly and smiled. "Good. It's about Claire. Rob and I had her try and intercept Dave and his cohort, but they slipped through her fingers."

Before Claudia could get another word out, Holly burst into laughter at her cohorts' apparent ineptitude. She had to slap her knee and wipe a tear from her eye before she could regain her composure. "Heh heh, sorry. Sorry." She sniffed and exhaled loudly. "Please go on."

Claudia was back to staring daggers at Holly. "They slipped through her fingers," she said slamming the folder shut, "but you may be able to intercept them at Chamomile. It isn't a long drive, so I'd like you to go now. "

Holly sucked air through her teeth. "Yeaaaaaaaah" she started, looking away from Claudia and her request. "You know I'd love to, but I worked up a hell of sweat on today's job. I think I need a shower, and at least a 3-hour nap before I operate anything like a car." An extended yawn broke through, and she raised her arms in an exaggerated stretch. "I can probably get there by lunchtime tomorrow if that's fine with you."

"I know about you bringing in outside food." Claudia snapped in return, prompting Holly to drop her stretch and enter a confrontational pose. "Strictly prohibited, you know. As one of our elites, you are kept on a strict dietary plan to keep your body fit and strong. If Rob knew about your sneaking ways, I'm sure he'd be quite unhappy. And we don't want Rob to be unhappy, do we?" Claudia took a step towards Holly and brought her face inches away from the monkey. Nervously, Holly swallowed hard and broke her stare first, staring at a patch of grass outside of the office doors. "But," Claudia said, turning away from Holly and opening the front office doors, "if you take care of the Claire situation, I may be able to look away from all this flagrant rule-breaking for a short time. Am I understood, Holly?"

Holly's eyes lit up at the prospect of bringing in all the outside food she wanted. The image of her sitting in at a meeting eating delicious hamburgers while everyone else had to subside of runny eggs and bland oatmeal made her salivate. "Did I say a 3-hour nap? I meant 3 minutes" Holly said, giggling excitedly and stepping away from the office. "I'll get those boys before you know it, boss!"

"See that you do," Claudia said, entering the office and letting the door slowly close behind her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Holly jump in the air with both fists extended before sprinting back up the road from where she came. Turning her gaze to the crushed desk in front of her, Claudia locked her eyes on the ball of wood and focused intently. The crushed desk, like under the manipulation of two powerful invisible hands, was bent back into a vaguely oblong shape and set back on the remnants of its legs. Claudia gently placed the folder on the partially repaired desk, and when it did not immediately slide off, she nodded in a satisfied manner before making a beeline for the elevator on the far side of the room.

"I want photocopies sent to myself, Rob, and the accounting bureau. The sooner we shift these Jewels, the sooner we can get that desk repaired."