{"id":1203,"date":"2022-03-28T20:16:31","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T01:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/?page_id=1203"},"modified":"2022-03-28T20:16:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T01:16:31","slug":"part1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/00carter\/episodes\/episode14\/part1\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Episode 14: \u00a0In the Wink of an Eye<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Part 1<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lancy loved Tuesdays. At 0814 each week, he strolled through the halls of HimTak HQ dressed in his Tuesday best (today\u2019s wardrobe featured a stylish yellow plaid suit with a plum button-down beneath it) while carrying a coffee tray with three piping hot coffees.<\/p>\n

Now, unlike Lancy, pretty much everyone else detested Tuesdays; they sent the whole building into a frenzy. Especially the rule that everyone — from his fellow secretaries up to K himself — had to be on the premises at 0800 (unless they were on a mission, of course).<\/p>\n

But not Lancy; he just loved Tuesdays. Back when he first started at HimTak, he also dreaded his time with Grasshopper on Tuesdays\u2026 until he met a local flyboy at a quaint diner in the nearby town of Rachel. Each week, they met at their rendezvous point where HimTak\u2019s HQ intersected with the base. Unfortunately, their coffee dates often left Lancy late for 0800. Luckily, he struck a deal with the security guards: if he brought a coffee to share and made it back by 0810, they looked the other way. So Tuesdays quickly became venti mocha cappuccino plus one request day. Then it became venti mocha cappuccino\/venti pike plus one day. Then it became venti mocha cappuccino\/venti pike\/Instagram-worthy coffee plus one day. Thankfully, his coffee cutie didn\u2019t mind the extra orders, and their trysts continued. After dropping off today\u2019s request (a simple skinny hazelnut caffe latte) when he returned at 0810, he carried on with his morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cLancy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, Lancy!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you, Lancy?\u201d<\/p>\n

He loved the excited twitters of everyone he passed. Normally, he would stop and ask each employee for updates about their days, families, or hobbies. But on Tuesdays, he had a strict schedule, so he simply waved and said hello as he passed.<\/p>\n

At precisely 0822, Lancy made it to the second event on his schedule: the secretary meeting. After instituting venti mocha cappuccino day, Lancy\u2019s second order of business had been creating the Secretaries Club — and presiding over it, of course.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, everyone!\u201d he exclaimed when he entered the break room, or as he liked to call it, the cantina. Though the agents barely ate there, it was the hottest place to be when you were at HQ. Anyone who was anyone went there in their downtime. As several heads turned in his direction, he beamed, basking in the glow of the attention. They were usually all there for at least ten minutes before that, but Lancy would never apologize for being late to his own meeting.<\/p>\n

A hurried mousy woman with a large haphazard bun of dark hair pushed past him, clutching what seemed like several reams of paperwork with a boring coffee precariously balanced on top. Lancy frowned as he stared after her. Gwen\u2019s just no fun at all,<\/em> he thought. K always kept the poor busy woman rushing somewhere, so she never had time for the Secretaries Club or much of anything besides work. But that\u2019s probably why her hair was so big; it was full of secrets. If only she\u2019d let me tidy up her hair,<\/em> Lancy lamented, since hairdressers learned all the best secrets, and she definitely needed one.<\/p>\n

\u201cLancy! You finally brought me one of your good coffees!\u201d a high-pitched voice squeaked as a hand reached for one of the coffees on the tray.<\/p>\n

After shielding the coffees, Lancy dodged away, carefully masked as a graceful pirouette into a seat beside him. \u201cSorry, Serena, just the usuals today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Lancy!\u201d<\/p>\n

Grasshopper\u2019s newest secretary hardly matched the man (and barely looked like a Serena with the big bow headband in her blonde hair), but they never did. While her gossip game was on point (since, like many of Grasshopper\u2019s secretaries, she found anything to do besides her job), she was too selfish to be a good friend. Obviously, since she rudely tried to take one of Lancy\u2019s coffees. She\u2019d actually originally been assigned to Pearl, but of course, Pearl wouldn\u2019t put up with her perky best besties act.<\/p>\n

Actually, Pearl didn\u2019t put up with any of the secretaries or interns she\u2019d been assigned. Sometimes it took longer, but they all eventually ended up in one of two places: reassigned to another high-ranking staff member or wiped of their memories and away from HimTak. Lancy liked to think he would have been the exception, but he still felt grateful to have started with Grasshopper\u2026 just in case. The current model — a clumsy girl named Tara — was nothing to write home about. She definitely wouldn\u2019t last long; Lancy hoped she would end up somewhere nice after having her memories wiped, but you never really knew what happened to people once they left HimTak, and Las Vegas offered several unique careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told you no, Serena. Hopefully, you don\u2019t argue with 004 like that.\u201d An attractive woman with sleeves of tattoos peeking out from under the long, sheer sleeves of her black shirt sat beside Lancy. He\u2019d originally been a little scared of her because of her intensity (more than he\u2019d like to admit), but underneath her hardcore outfits, tattoos, and piercings, she was a big softy — just the type that Jay liked. Billie was only the second secretary he\u2019d had the entire time Lancy had worked for HimTak.<\/p>\n

While Serena continued to pout, several other secretaries sat at Lancy\u2019s table. Other than Gwen, the only other notable missing secretary belonged to the mysterious 007. Honestly, she was more of a mystery than he was; the only thing Lancy remembered about her was that her name rhymed and sounded a bit ridiculous.<\/p>\n

Lancy leaned on the table. \u201cNow, more importantly\u2026\u201d He paused as a wide grin formed on his face. \u201cWho has new, hot gossip to share?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cArchie, you should say hi to everyone,\u201d Serena cooed as she squeezed the arm of the young red-haired medical assistant beside her.<\/p>\n

Definitely too selfish to be a good friend,<\/em> Lancy thought. He simply couldn\u2019t believe that Archie had been wandering around HimTak with Red, that he didn\u2019t know, and that somehow Serena did. Nevermind that Red hadn\u2019t told him in the first place. He grumbled, quietly enough that no one else could hear.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, I assist Red Jewel in her medical work.\u201d Archie gave a small wave as he spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you find out about her?\u201d Serena squealed again.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe reads in her spare time?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lancy frowned, thinking that he wasn\u2019t very informative. Maybe Red hadn\u2019t mentioned Archie because the most interesting thing about him was that he existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow often does she have to use it? Just when her car breaks?\u201d a male voice interrupted.<\/p>\n

Rather than the hopelessly lost look on Archie\u2019s face, Lancy only felt sorry for its owner. Diamond, while the best friend anyone could have, had a terrible habit of requesting secretaries for colorful eye candy. The newest model, Chris — a beefy, chiseled manly man — definitely fit the description. Unfortunately, several crayons in his box had gone missing. It was really too bad; Lancy would have enjoyed it if Diamond would let him take Chris\u2019 best crayons out of his box to play.<\/p>\n

Another male secretary patted Chris\u2019 arm, then handed him a bagel and gave Archie a meaningful look. While Emerald enjoyed the sensitive gentleman aesthetic, the suit, man bun, and groomed beard of her secretary, Phineas, didn\u2019t seem to fit in. Still, in this motley crew, Phineas was a mainstay like Billie (or Lancy himself), whether he seemed like an Emerald choice or not.<\/p>\n

Serena stared at Chris longingly, then turned to the blonde beside Lancy. \u201cWho are you?\u201d she asked with a wrinkled nose.<\/p>\n

The shy, but sweet, blonde girl sitting beside Lancy glanced at the floor and mumbled her name. After Shazam\u2019s untimely accident, HimTak had his secretary\u2019s memory erased and sent her on her way — a typical practice stipulated in all of their employment contracts. So, a new 00 meant a new secretary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Kate,\u201d Lancy announced proudly. \u201cVitruvian\u2019s secretary.\u201d He couldn\u2019t help but smirk at the seething look on Serena\u2019s face at the news, but before she could say anything, he continued talking. \u201cEveryone, be a doll and show her around! Anything else to share before we head to our meetings?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone see this new app?\u201d Chris pulled out his phone and pressed a purple icon. After a minute of scrolling, he played a short video for them where he either flexed or put on glasses and said smart-sounding words like \u201cmitochondria.\u201d Each time he flexed or spoke, he winked. He pulled up a second short video of him winking at Diamond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you winking in all of them?\u201d Archie frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s called Wink. You post videos of you winking.\u201d Chris smiled proudly.<\/p>\n

Phineas patted his shoulder. \u201cI think it\u2019s called Wink because they\u2019re short.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you see mine, Chris?\u201d Serena cooed and showed a short video of her peeking around a shower curtain and singing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like a sweet duet with your cat.\u201d Billie winked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she sounds nice,\u201d Kate whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh look, she talks. Go back to your hole, mouse.\u201d Serena rolled her eyes. \u201cLancy, stop talking shop and tell us about Styx\u2019s S.M.I.L.E. ranking already. He spends enough time with Nick. And it\u2019s not like any of this other news is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Lancy\u2019s turn to seeth; Serena was the absolute worst. \u201cStop rolling your eyes, Serena, you\u2019ll get wrinkles.\u201d Then he smiled broadly at the others. \u201cSee you all in the halls!\u201d And with that, he stood with a flourish, grabbed his coffee tray, and looped his arm in Kate\u2019s before skipping away from the cantina.<\/p>\n

While Lancy appreciated Serena\u2019s interest in how he ranked his men (their sexiness, manliness, impulsiveness, likeability, and the feelings of ecstasy they gave him), he did not appreciate her putting down anyone else, especially a new employee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Kate mumbled quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let Serena get to you, hun. She\u2019s just jealous,\u201d Lancy reassured her as he dropped her off at her desk (the one in front of Shazam\u2019s old office and Vitruvian\u2019s current office), then bid her \u201cadieu\u201d with a quick pat on her hand at 0837.<\/p>\n

Just steps away, Lancy set the coffee tray on top of his desk, his cozy sanctuary at HQ. Unlike many of the other secretaries who kept random knick-knacks and tchotchkes on their desks, Lancy preferred a simple elegance. First, he fluffed the sunflowers in the cube vase on his desk. Then, he artfully arranged the colorful pens and pencils in his tall, cylindrical pencil cup. Finally, he opened the drawers and began pulling files from within it, and fastened each section with bright rainbow paper clips. After setting them on the desk, he pulled the venti pike from the tray, then sauntered into his boss\u2019 office.<\/p>\n

Of course Lancy wanted everything to be perfect for Nick\u2019s arrival, but he also had a secret he\u2019d kept hidden from the eyes and ears around HimTak. Each Tuesday, at exactly 0844, he set the steaming coffee cup on his boss\u2019 desk, then pulled open the bottom right drawer. Beneath the non-descript files that his boss clearly never looked at (the first one of the chunk featured a hastily scrawled 01\/02\/2007<\/em> on it, for instance), the drawer featured a false bottom. After removing that false bottom, the drawer contained only six increasingly mysterious items that Lancy had memorized by heart: a PlayStation, a pistol, a signed Backalley Boys CD, a stuffed pink crocodile about the size of his forearm with several bare patches in its fur and a missing eye, a green journal with dates and what appeared to be song lyrics (one entry from just after Nick went back to fieldwork detailed exactly the kind of bad boy that Lancy hoped his boss would be, could be, and should be), and, finally, a photograph of a younger Nick at the beach with two equally blond-haired and blue-eyed children about his age.<\/p>\n

Though Lancy had spent several days analyzing these items, they weren\u2019t the reason he sat under his boss\u2019 desk at 0844 each Tuesday. Beneath all of those items, the drawer had a second false bottom. And this was where Lancy kept his own mysterious journal decorated with Lisa Frank rainbow kittens.<\/p>\n

After he pulled it out, Lancy flipped to a page held by a bright pink ribbon, wrote the date, and bulleted a list of the topics discussed in today\u2019s secretary meeting. In all caps, he noted that Archie seemed like he had a secret and that he needed to find a way to get Gwen into his salon. In a square at the bottom, he wrote the coffees he had purchased that day. Next, he reviewed his notes from the last meeting and checked off the items he had already completed: getting Billie a new bottle of black nail polish and updating the S.M.I.L.E. ranking list.<\/p>\n

He quickly flipped to the hand-constructed pocket in the back of the notebook and pulled out two pieces of paper. He unfolded the first, a secret he held near and dear to his heart. He brushed his finger along the word D.I.V.A.S. at the top. Possibly more important than ranking the attractive men of HimTak, Lancy also liked to keep a ranking system for his friends, frenemies, and even enemies. But unlike his men, he preferred different qualities in his friends. Of course, they needed to be stylish and audacious, two of his own best qualities. And because Lancy loved living his life with zeal, his friends needed to be equally vivacious. Naturally, gossip was an important part of his day-to-day, so being informative was prized. And last, but not least, he liked his friends to be devoted just like he was to them.<\/p>\n

Some D.I.V.A.S. of note included:<\/p>\n