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Apr. 12th, 2008 08:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
acts_of_gordRoom 117, Sea Shell Motel
Espanola, NM
"-handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy-"
The phone rang. A swat, a grab, the act of sitting up from where he'd been stretched out on the motel bed-
"Freeman here."
"Gordon, my boy!" He exhaled; it was Dr. Kleiner's voice. "And here I thought you'd have been out hitting the trails on that bicycle of yours. You did bring it with you, didn't you?"
Gordon's gaze flickered across the room to where he'd propped up the Mongol. "I wanted to wait for the news," was his only answer. He tried to keep most of the you do have an answer for me, don't you? vibe out of his voice.
On the other end of the line, Dr. Kleiner chuckled. "Ever the practical one," his voice said. "Well, all righty, then. I won't keep you waiting any longer. You're hired- over Magnusson's objections, of course, but you are hired. You'll be starting at Black Mesa as a research associate in two weeks' time. I'll e-mail you the information on moving into the complex- that's more or less mandatory, of course, it's only the very most senior staff who don't have to live here."
It'd come up in the interview, so Gordon only nodded and murmured something assenting.
"Excellent. I am looking forward to working with you again, Gordon. I always thought you showed incredible potential."
Gordon's lips twitched in something like a smile. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."
"Right, then! See you in two weeks' time."
The phone made a quiet click! in its cradle. The radio got picked up from the floor and resettled on the nightstand. And the Oak Ridge Boys got the honor of drowning out Gordon Freeman's whoop of unadulterated glee.
Espanola, NM
"-handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy-"
The phone rang. A swat, a grab, the act of sitting up from where he'd been stretched out on the motel bed-
"Freeman here."
"Gordon, my boy!" He exhaled; it was Dr. Kleiner's voice. "And here I thought you'd have been out hitting the trails on that bicycle of yours. You did bring it with you, didn't you?"
Gordon's gaze flickered across the room to where he'd propped up the Mongol. "I wanted to wait for the news," was his only answer. He tried to keep most of the you do have an answer for me, don't you? vibe out of his voice.
On the other end of the line, Dr. Kleiner chuckled. "Ever the practical one," his voice said. "Well, all righty, then. I won't keep you waiting any longer. You're hired- over Magnusson's objections, of course, but you are hired. You'll be starting at Black Mesa as a research associate in two weeks' time. I'll e-mail you the information on moving into the complex- that's more or less mandatory, of course, it's only the very most senior staff who don't have to live here."
It'd come up in the interview, so Gordon only nodded and murmured something assenting.
"Excellent. I am looking forward to working with you again, Gordon. I always thought you showed incredible potential."
Gordon's lips twitched in something like a smile. "Thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."
"Right, then! See you in two weeks' time."
The phone made a quiet click! in its cradle. The radio got picked up from the floor and resettled on the nightstand. And the Oak Ridge Boys got the honor of drowning out Gordon Freeman's whoop of unadulterated glee.
