…Good Fun
By: Heidi L. Lane
April 1, 2003
“Are you sure?” Samantha asked looking sharply at the taller man.
“Yeah, see for yourself. It says they’re repaving and we have to move our cars,” Danny assured her, looking at the memo on his computer.
“These guys sure do love e-mail,” Vivian remarked, peering over his shoulder. “Beginning of April, barely Spring and they want to repave.”
“Well, after all the snow this winter, the drive could use a little work,” Danny pointed out. “Well, let’s go before they tow us or somethin’.” He stood and started to exit the office just as Martin was coming in. “Hey,” he called to the other man.
“Morning. Where are you off to?” Martin asked, grinning.
“We have to move our cars. They’re repaving the lot today.”
“Yeah? I guess it’s a good thing I don’t park in the lot seeing as how my parking tag application was conveniently lost… how many times, Danny?”
“All in good fun, Fitzy. The look on your face the first couple of times was funny, admit it.”
“It was funny the first time, maybe it was funny the second; but Danny, three times?” Martin held out both hands in an exasperated gesture. He turned towards Vivian and Samantha and asked, “You have to move your cars too?”
Samantha nodded and Vivian rolled her eyes and muttered, “Bureaucrats.” Samantha grinned in agreement and grabbed her coat and keys.
“Viv, can I ask you something,” Martin said before the older woman could fallow the others out the door.
“Sure, shoot,” she replied.
“What would you say if I told you I sent that memo out, early this morning, before I came in?” he asked grinning.
“I’d say that Danny had it coming, but if they happen to run into Jack on their way out and tell him he won’t find the prank at all funny. I’d also ask what Samantha had done to earn your ire.”
“Jack’s already here and Samantha… she left some gum for me yesterday,” Martin said, pointing to the supervisory agent’s office.
“So what?”
“It was the kind that has edible ink in it. Took me forever to bush it off my teeth.”
“In that case… it’s pretty funny. When are you gonna tell them?”
“Noonish, after everything else,” Martin replied, heading over to his desk.
“What everything else?” she called to him.
“You’ll see, it’ll be funnier if you don’t know what’s coming. Nothing destructive or dangerous, I promise.”
**
“Took me
forever to find a spot,” Danny said re-entering the office.
“Me too. And on the way back this bozo whistled at me,” Samantha replied. “I didn’t see you, Vivian. Didn’t you have to move your car?”
“My husband dropped me off today,” she replied, smiling at the two younger agents.
“That was nice of him,” Danny said sitting at his computer. He started to open a file and said, “What the heck?”
“Something wrong?” Martin called.
“All my files they’re gone. I had a report that I was working on. It’s due at noon,” the agent said, flustered.
“I guess you’ll have to rewrite it,” Samantha said sitting at her own desk and turning on her computer.
“I’ll never get it done by noon, it took most of yesterday to write it.”
“Maybe one of the techs can find it for you, it may still be on your hard-drive,” Vivian suggested.
“What in the world?” Samantha asked when her computer finished booting up.
“What?” Jack asked exiting his office.
“I don’t know it looks like a sheep or something. And it’s chewing on my icons.” Jack looked at her, a slightly bemused expression on his face. “On my computer,” she clarified.
“Oh, an e-sheep,” Martin said walking over to peer over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Samantha, it doesn’t do any harm. It’s sort of a cyber-pet/screensaver thing.”
“I think it’s cute,” Vivian remarked.
“I’m glad you do. How do I get it off?”
“Ask one of the technical support people,” Danny suggested, pointing at the young man now working on his computer.
“This it, agent?” he asked, pointing at the computer screen.
“Yeah, how’d you get it back?”
“It didn’t go anywhere, the file was just hidden. It has to do with how it was saved,” the youngster replied, he shrugged and explained, “They were all in a hidden folder.”
“How’d that happen?” Danny mused getting to work.
**
“I can’t
believe they closed the cafeteria,” Danny said sitting down. “What’ll we eat?”
“Thinking you’ll starve, Danny?” Martin asked.
“No… what were you planning?” he asked. Martin looked at him curiously, “I mean, to eat.”
“Look in the breakroom,” Martin suggested.
Danny shot him a confused glance and walked over to the room in question. He peered in and then turned back to Martin and said, “There’s a crockpot in there.”
“I know; I brought it.”
“What’s in it?”
“Soup,” Martin replied succinctly
“What kind?”
“Homemade.”
“Alright, a hungry man isn’t a picky one.” Danny entered the room and ladled some of the soup into one of the bowls resting on the counter. Coming back out he saw that Vivian was also eating a bowl of soup. “Didn’t know you could cook, Fitzy.”
“I’m a man of many hidden talents,” he replied, setting his own bowl a safe distance from his computer he asked, “Didn’t you have crackers in your desk drawer?”
“Yeah,” Danny answered, setting the bowl of soup down, “Here, he said opening the drawer and jumping back as several paper “snakes” jumped out. “Oldest trick in the book,” he groused, “Here you go, man, crackers.”
“Thanks,” Martin replied, breaking them into his soup.
“Can I have some?” Samantha asked, peering over the wall to Martin’s cubicle.
“Help yourself.”
“What kind of soup did you say this was?” Danny asked trying it, “and where’s the meat?”
“There isn’t any. It’s called gyspy vegetable. It’s a vegeterian dish.”
“Vegeterian?” Danny asked.
“With a few modifications. I couldn’t find vegetable broth so I used chicken. So it’s not actually vegeterian, but there’s no meat.”
“They make vegetable broth?” Samantha asked sitting at her desk with her own bowl.
“Needs something,” Danny remarked.
“Try this,” Martin suggested taking a bottle from his desk.
“What is it? Salt?” Danny asked, sprinkling some into his bowl and handing it to Samantha who did the same. Neither agent saw Martin shake his head at Vivian as she reached over to take the bottle.
“No it’s pepper,” he replied, standing up with his empty bowl and handing Samantha a carton of milk.
“Thanks,” she said before tasting her soup. Her eyes widened and she quickly set the bowl down and drank from the carton.
“Why Samantha, whatever is wrong?” Vivian asked just as Danny set his bowl down and began fanning his mouth.
“That’s very spicey soup!” she answered. Danny nodded, his eyes wide.
Martin nodded, “Cayanne pepper. April fools!”
Both agents looked at him, eyes wide and teary. Danny asked softly, “It was you?” Martin nodded once. “You sent the message about the parking lot?” Martin nodded again. “You played with our computers?” Again he nodded, grinning. “And the cafeteria?”
“What about it?” Jack asked, coming into the office with his own lunch. “They’re serving hamburgers or chili.”
“I can’t believe this, you got us…” Samantha started.
“Three times,” Danny continued.
“Each,” they said together.
“All in good fun.” Martin said, heading towards the breakroom. “If you want some soup to replace those bowls, there’s plenty.”
As soon as he left the room the two agents turned to Vivian and Danny said, “You knew.”
“The way you two teased him when he first got here, I figured a little payback was in order. He gives as good as he gets.”
“Better, we didn’t even suspect,” Samantha said grinning ruefully.
“Wait’ll next year,” Danny said.
“Why wait?” Jack said, pointing at the computer sitting on Danny’s desk. Samantha turned to look at her own computer’s screen, as both screens showed what looked like massive explosions. “Some screensaver, hm?” he continued as they watched the screens go through shades of yellow, orange and red.
“Martin!” both shouted. From within the breakroom they heard the younger agent chuckle as his last prank hit its targets.