[hr][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjgwLjgwYTlkMS5RVzVrY21WaElGQmhjM1JsY201aFkycywuMAAA/ruthie.regular.png[/img]

[code]Regal Square, Prince-Edfield|[/code]
[sub][@Mr Allen J][/sub][hr][hr]

"Ahhhh, don't sweat it," Francis said, merely shrugging. "I don't mind the little things - I ain't like the others... just be careful with them."

"I appreciate that." Andrea replied as she softly smiled.

"And don't worry about the chairmen," Francis reassured her, before his smile turned upside down, and he looked off to the side. Andrea saw this and nodded in understanding. [i]'They just have a lot to deal with.'[/i] She thought to herself. Francis shrugged and finished what he said, "they... just have a lot to deal with. Trust me." 

Andrea was grateful for Francis' understanding. He seemed to be more down to earth and reasonable than some of the agents working with DOVE or RAVEN; not to suggest that most of them weren't reasonable, but took to such a degree of professionalism - which she could respect - and bureaucracy, that she felt could blind them to alternatives or possibilities. Her head was not so far up into the clouds as some of her colleagues might believe. [i]'I just know things they don't. I can't hold that against them.'[/i]

Then it hit him; she was that intern all his coworkers complained about! Normally, he stayed out of the affairs of DOVE, but he has a few DOVEs on his team. They didn't like that Andrea person whom went after Happiness instead of just dealing with what her bosses tell her. Those kinds of hotshots aren't that well liked, especially in an organization they work for.

"Oh!" Francis exclaimed. Andrea raised an eyebrow. So something about her struck a chord in him. Scratching the back of his head, the man continued, "In fact, I have heard of ya', some of my coworkers think you're a huge pain in the ass... hehe..."

"Oh..." Andrea muttered. "Is that right?"

She knew that her fixation on Happiness was cause for some frustration in her supervisor, they might've been out of earshot when she was at home, but those feelings stick with a person. She always figured that her vendetta was a topic of conversation, but hearing it actually being said was an entirely different matter. She felt Francis' words pierce her chest and her eyes fell to her feet. 

"You're up in arms about that drug... right?"

"Yeah." Andrea confirmed. While she felt rather somber in this, ah, [i]moment of sobriety,[/i] she also felt her share of frustration. How could she not? She was thrown under the bus by her superiors - not much of a practice in good faith. Still, she understood why they might feel that way. It didn't change that they were wrong in ignoring the problem. Francis seemed different. The man stood differently, he was thinking in an odd pattern - and he was going somewhere with this. She didn't want to pry too hard; she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him explain himself before brandishing the key. She was thereby left wondering if he had taken her side - but a persuasive nudge in the right direction would help her make sure.

"Are you with them?" Andrea asked, her ordinarily soft voice carrying a little more bite this time. "Because if so, I'm sorry, but I've already filled today's quota for [i]dissenting opinions.[/i]"

She made sure to stress the last two words spoken in her effort to be as diplomatic as possible in her "rejection" of Francis' input. Though goading, there was still genuine frustration dogging her over this issue. She really wasn't looking for criticism anymore, but she wasn't looking for yes-men either. She just wanted the case resolved. She felt personally invested in this, and she knows for a fact that nobody in the organization had looked into the Happiness drug as much as she has. She had more to go on than any of the rest - she just wanted someone to help her uncover the truth. If what she sensed from Francis was true, he may yet help her.

She sighed to relieve some of the tension that she had built up, and was beginning to pick at her nails a little more intensely.