(requested by mathmaticalknight; continuing from this)
“Hey, Exu, could you take this to Medical?” The Doctor handed his Sankta assistant a file folder. “Field tests from the last mission; have to add some names to the list.”
“Oh, dang. Don’t worry, Leader, I’ll be back before you can say-”
He kissed her cheek. “Apple pie.”
“Ha ha.” She kissed him back. “You’re adorable. Try to stay that way ‘til I come back.”
“No promises!” He called as she flew out the door and on her mission.
Medical wasn’t too far from the Doctor’s office - Exusiai was sure that if he hadn’t stalled her, she could have been that just that quickly. She pressed the button on the door, like she usually did, and said “Delivery for Medical?”
“Administrator recognized.” The door opened. “Welcome.”
“Thanks. Good morning, Myrrh; here to take some documents to the back.” The Sankta ignored the strange glance she got from Warfarin as she walked in.
The Vulpo nodded. “Go ahead, Miss Exusiai.”
“Great!” She continued on her way.
“Myrrh.” The Sarkaz, who’d been about to leave, had stopped when Exu had come in. “That door only opens for authorized personnel.”
The medic nodded. “Yes, Dr. Warfarin.”
“So how, then, did a courier get that clearance?”
“I thought the Doctor had her put in the system,” Myrrh shrugged. “She comes by with documents pretty regularly.”
Warfarin’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, but through that door?”
“Hmm.” Well, she had planned to eat with Aak, but this mystery needed an answer. “I will be late coming back from lunch.”
Myrrh made a note of that, as well as the fact it was strange for the Sarkaz to willfully stay out of Medical for any amount of time without her boyfriend. “Very well. Enjoy your meal.”
“Oh, we’ll see about that.” With that, she self-deployed to Admin with just a little haste; after all, she did still want to eat with her Cuddlekins.
Meanwhile, Exusiai walked to the back room where the documents were kept. “One for Records,” the Sankta said at the door.
“Administrator recognized.” As per the norm, the door opened. “Welcome.”
“These doors are always so polite. Now, let’s see, this is G, so it should be in that cabinet-”
Another voice opened the door and tutted. “Miss Exusiai, you shouldn’t be back here,” Folinic declared.
“Eh?” Exusiai cocked her head as she slid the cabinet open. “Why not?”
“This is a restricted area. Only Medics with the proper training and clearances have authorization. Who let you in?”
The Sankta pointed to herself. “I did. The door opened when I asked it to.”
“...What? No, that can’t be right.” She hit the button to open the door from the inside. “Show me.”
“Sure. Two for Records,” Exu said once the door was closed again.
It complied, as expected. “Administrator recog-”
“Administrator?! Bullshit!” Folinic shook her head. “No, this can’t be right. I’m not even an Administrator!”
The Feline sighed. “I’ll put those documents away for you. Don’t come back here without someone with authorization, okay?”
“But I have authorization,” the Sankta observed, “so I should-”
“What you have is a bug in the system,” Folinic replied, “which will be rectified soon.”
Exusiai pouted. “Come on, Folinic, I know you’re her student, but do you have to be such a tight-ass?”
“...I have five doses of contact paralytic on my person. Care to find out how many it takes to shut you up?”
“Alright, alright, sheesh.” She turned to leave out the door she entered through. “I’ll leave you to it-”
She set a hand on her shoulder. “Wrong way.”
“I came in that way, I’m leaving through it too.” Exu flapped her wings, and before the Feline could stop her, she was through the now-open door.
“Miss Folinic?” Myrrh peeked down the hall from the reception desk. “She had access-”
Folinic shook her head. “Like I said to her, it’s a fluke. Admin will need to fix the issue.”
“Doctor! Folinic is a bitch!” Those were the first words out of the Sankta’s mouth as she returned to his office-
“-We’ll take care of it.” The Doctor looked up at his dear messenger with a smile. “Hey, Exu. Sorry about that; didn’t realize the voice recognition software was off.”
Exusiai blinked. “Off? You mean I didn’t have access after all?”
“It appears our voices are similar enough to fool the system; I was able to slip into Penguin Logistics’ back room, for example.”
“...Doctor, I’m sorry.” A rifle materialized in her hands. “I have to eliminate her. She’s seen the back room.”
The Sarkaz blinked. “Well, that was not the outcome I expected.”
“Exu, darling, put the gun down; I know what’s back there, too. Besides, Warfarin knows not to dish secrets she shouldn’t have access to, right?”
“How else would I be able to progress my field?” She licked her lips, which seemed to wipe away her lipstick. “I’ll be taking my leave.”
Exu glared at her. “And why should I let you?”
“Because I’m treating your precious Doctor’s rare blood condition; if you want his death on your conscience-”
“Just go.” She switched on the safety and pointed the gun away. “Before I change my mind.”
Once she’d left, the Doctor sighed. “And this is why we need a security overhaul. Rope managed to get into Savage’s room the other day for the same reason.”
“...She didn’t need to be so mean about it,” Exusiai sighed, flying over to him and into his arms.
“Yeah, Folinic really is learning from the best on that front.” He kissed her forehead. “Let’s take a break. How about some pie?”
The Sankta shook her head. “I’d rather sit here and cuddle.”
“Really? Wow, she really did a number on you, then.” Still, he didn’t mind carrying her to the couch and lying down with her. He just hoped she didn’t notice the bite marks on his neck; they were still kind of fresh, after all...
