Katrin stared in surprise at the superiors. The problem seemed so easy, so why had they decided to involve her? She could see why they would ask the maker of the system, even if it did seem a little riduculous, but there appeared to be no real reason for her to be there.
If they're trying to demote me... she thought angrily, then dismissed the idea. She was one of the best, and they couldn't afford to lose her. Even if a few people thought that she couldn't do so much as program a simple game just because she was a girl. The ones that she had worked with knew differently, and they were the ones that mattered. She gave a slight shake of her head, forcing her thoughts back to the meeting.
Mr. Johnson had stood up, and was saying ". . . well, I think that you understand what to do from this point. There are two passes here that will allow you to access the Mayor's system from the VR Room. Please report back to me when you are finished." He sat down, clearly dismissing them.
Katrin joined Jake and Mrs. Topal after they left the room. She overhead him asking what exactly the problem was.
"I don't remember all of the details," she replied, "but the major problem is that it has been crashing fairly often. Also, sometimes the moniter just fades out to black, then fades back in after about minute. There are other, smaller, details, but those are the main ones."
Jake nodded to that. "We'll go look at the system, and if we can't figure out what's wrong with it, we'll E-Page you and ask for more information"
Mrs Topal nodded, wished them luck, and left.
Katrin watched her leave, waiting for Jake to turn around to her. She didn't have to wait long.
"So, shall we take my car?" he asked her.
She shrugged. "One is as good as another, I guess. Lead the way."
They walked to the place where the car was parked. Katrin was trying to puzzle out the idea of why she had been assigned to this case, so didn't realize that Jake was trying to talk to her before he waved his hand in front of her face. She turned to look at him.
"So," he asked, "what are you in such deep thought about? I've tried to start a conversation with you, but you act as if you don't even know I'm here!"
She replied, "I'm trying to figure out why I was placed on this assignment. I mean, it would be fairly easy just for you, no? I can see them maybe partnering you up with a rookie, to teach him what to do, but I don't need to be taught."
He shrugged. "I'm not sure, maybe it's just a joe job to see how we'll like eachother..."
He stopped at one of the cars and unlocked the doors with some keys. Katrin gave the car a good look, then stared at him.
"Um," she asked him, "Is there any paticular reason you have such a worthless car? Or are you really that underpaid?"
"It's not worthless," he answered, "It's a classic 1997 Dodge Viper."
She sighed. "You didn't tell me that your car was a 'classic'. Next time, that is, if there's a next time, we'll take my car. This one has no comforts to it!" She wrinkled her nose.
...
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