Aradia silently edged herself to the back of the room, cool as her complexion may be, nothing could prepare her for the words that were about to be spewed out. As much as she hated to admit it, Aradia did flinch a little when Bill had thrown the mug across the room, only to be caught by the psychic powers Bill tried so hard to deny. Well, Aradia didn't know for sure that it was his psychic powers that stopped it, but it did make more sense than an invisible pink dragon named Kissy. The lack of evidence for Kissy drove Aradia mad. Locating spells, radars, crossing your eyes like when looking at those magic eye puzzles, nothing seemed to work. Aradia was ready to dive into a mental rant before Bill's harsh and steely tone brought her back into reality. 

[color=gray][b]"‘Could have just retreated and kept an eye on’im until we knew what to do, but that’s not how it went. Ain’t that right, Agent Coventry?”[/b][/color]

Aradia felt that need to rebel swell inside her, the temptation to roll her eyes or tease him was maddening, but for once, Aradia kept her mouth shut. Right now she was more willing to face an alien invasion than Hadley's wrath. Aradia simply nodded, face stony and still, the slightest move could set Hadley off again, and exciting as that prospect may sound to her, Aradia wasn't ready to lose her job over it. 

She zoned out a bit after that and let Hadley drone on, best to just let him talk and release some of that pent-up anger, even though the urge to call him out as being a demented old man seemed more and more fun the longer he talked. Aradia only caught snippets of the briefing, something about a party and Madame Fred or whatever. It was late and the witch just wanted to call it a night, she was also the confident her dear old coworkers would fill her in later. After what felt like hours, finally he seemed to have stopped talking. Aradia wasted no time and stepped towards the door, eager for a relaxing bath and a quick snooze. 

[color=gray][b]“Agent Conventry stick around.”[/b][/color]

A chill ran down Aradia's spine as she heard those words. Reluctantly, she turned to face the man. [color=9932cc]"Of course, Mr Hadely,"[/color] she replied in the most unassuming tone she could manage while her mind wailed with the mantra [i]"Please don't fire me, please don't fire me, please don't fire me..."[/i]

She side stepped aside, opening the way for the others to escape before Hadley opened his mouth again. A feeling of dread seeped into Aradia's confidence, but she fought hard to keep her expression neutral. Deep inside, she was ready to defend her actions. What else was she to do? Let the thing go to brainwash even more people? A 100 retorts, arguments, and shut-downs were bubbling beneath her skin, ready to burst the second Hadley dared to say that F-word. But would it work to change his mind? Was he about to fire her? She prepared for the worst. Throwing one last longing glance at her team-mates, she turned and faced Bill head on. Making sure her posture was relaxed yet serious.

[color=9932cc]"Look,"[/color] she sighed, those 100's of arguments already slipping out of her mind, [color=9932cc]"I did what seemed right at the moment and I know things didn't go to well, but, look at it like this. The alien is out of our hair for the moment!"[/color]

A little light of hope sparked in Aradia as she looked back at Hadley, hoping to see a softened expression. Right now she wouldn't be surprised if Kissy just blasted her with the fury of hell.