Colin MacGregor

Colin slumped down in the Conference room chair and sulked. I dinnae know why we're here, the mission went fine, and if I did ge' a bi' tetchy wi' Kate, I had good reason.

Michelle sat in the chair next to him, her usual exuberance flattened by the circumstances facing them.

The official term for this briefing was 'Incident Learning Process', but most agents Colin had talked to just called it a pain in the ass. Unlike the typical debriefing, the ILP was only used when the Powers-that-Be deemed a mission had concluded in failure or with serious breaches of procedure.

Colin drummed his fingers noiselessly on the cool mahogany of the eight person conference table, and studied the room's content for the 76th time.

Ceiling mounted LCD projector, laptop stand, whiteboard and markers, and eight chairs. Not even the token piece of artwork that found its way into the other meeting rooms livened up the decor.

The door swung open at last, and in walked Kate Dennison. Colin sighed to himself. Should ha'e known.

"Agent Chan. Agent MacGregor. Thank you both for your prompt attendance this morning."

"Now, would you like to tell me just what you thought you were doing on that particular mission?" Kate sat down at the head of the table, clasped her hands together, and looked from one to the other.

"I though' i' sorted ou' rather well, actually," Colin offered hesitantly. "We achieved the stated goals."

"We improvised, and things worked out for the best, but..." She looked at Colin, clearly flustered. "We should never have let Agent Williams see Colin."

"Aye, well, tha' would ha'e been ideal, bu' I dinnae know wha' else we could ha'e done." Colin scowled. "If I had nae flushed the other 'rider out, who knows wha' may ha'e happened tae him?" He looked imploringly at Kate. "I jus' wanted tae help him."

Kate paused a moment, then sighed. "I know you did, but you violated one of our most basic procedures. PLEs are never to be seen by living, non-Orpheus personnel. It jeopardizes the entire company. And to allow yourself to be seen by the FBI..." She clucked. "We don't have the best of relations with them to begin with.

"The hostile shot at Michelle. There's a very clear difference." Kate was glaring again. "And what if the agent had somehow recognized you, Colin? Been assigned to your case and knew your face? How could we possibly explain that?"

That stopped Colin short. "I' very nearly was someone who was assigned to me case", he said slowly.

Michelle stepped in, then. "Colin was careful, though, he never fully materialized, and it's really hard to recognize him in a partial like that."

"Williams' boss was Carver. Who's gotten a promotion, I found ou'." Colin's anger rushed back and he leapt to his feet. "Though, tis nay like he would ha'e recognized me e'en if he saw me. The man's nay got the sense tha' God gave your average rock. And they feckin' well promoted him, dinnae they?"

"Colin," Michelle looked at him with wide, nervous eyes as she stood up as well. "Calm down, there's nothing you can do about him."

"Tha's why I bluidy well dinnae wan' tae calm down!" Colin was nearly hysterical, the rage he'd been suppressing since learning that Carver had botched the investigation suddenly roaring through him. "I wan' tae do somethin' abou' i'!"

"Agent MacGregor!" Kate was standing as well, now, though she looked more concerned than angry.

"I jus' wan' tae be able tae do something!" To punctuate his anger, Colin slammed his hands down on the table, and to his great surprise, smashed it into splintered halves.

As he stood there gaping at his hands, the rage began to drain away. "And why dinnae anyone tell me I could do tha'? Tha' would ha'e been bluidy useful."

Michelle was staring wide-eyed at him, no longer simply nervous, but on the verge of terror. Her mouth was moving slowly, but no words came out. The sight of her being frightened of him smothered the last flickers of his tanturm and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets as he moved towards her.

"Michelle!" he called after her, but she didn't stop. "Damn i'. I'm after guessin' this means another ILP, Kate?"

Much to his relief, Agent Dennison actually cracked the hint of a smile. "No, but certainly some more training sessions. That was a rather impressive display of what the scientists have dubbed 'juggernaut'. Once you can learn to harness it, it will be a tremendous asset. In the meantime, however, do be careful. These tables are expensive."

Kate glanced down at the ruined table and saw the conference phone cracked and broken amidst the wreckage. With a frown of immense disapproval, she pulled her cellphone from the pocket of her charcoal grey suit jacket and dialed. "Yes, purchasing? We're going to need a new conference table and phone for Room 7. A small incident with an untrained juggernaut. Yes, I know how much they cost, but I'm sure you'll find some way to account for it. I have every confidence in you. Thank you."

She ended the call and quickly dialed another number. "Marcus? Kate. Fine, thanks. Look, I need you to do me a favor and find Agent Chan. She's just had a bit of a nasty shock, and may need some advice and assistance. Afterwards, I think your favorite pupil is going to need some time in the training room with a skilled juggernaut."

She closed the phone with a snap and returned it to her pocket. "Well, at least the chairs are still salvageable. So, why not have a seat and we'll finish the debriefing?"

"Agent MacGregor, if you think that is the most desperate thing an agent has ever attempted in order to avoid this highly important procedure, you are quite mistaken. Now, what do you think you should have done in the situation?"

Colin blinked a few times, then looked down at the splinters before resuming his seat. "Er, had Michelle call for assistance, avoided engaging the PLE?"

"That likely would have been for the best. By your reports, the Agent was fighting for control, and may have resolved the situation on his own. In such a case, the memories of the possesion would quickly fade and be rationalized away."

"Aye, bu' I could see tha' the o'er rider was too powerful for him. I knew Williams would nay be able tae throw him ou'."

"And so you decided that you could, and rushed in without consulting your partner or your superiors?" Kate steepled her fingers as she looked at him, elbows resting on her knees.

"Well, when ye pu' i' like tha', it sounds much worse. At the time, i' seemed the bes' idea." Colin sighed. "I dinnae e'en think abou' calling ye, I jus' assumed..."

"And that is what I'm trying to get through to you, Agent MacGregor. We have the policies in place because they work. As long as you remember to follow them, you should be able to avoid these ILP proceedings in the future."

"Good, that's all I ask." Kate stood back up and gingerly picked her way around the table, balancing in her two inch heels. "And do be sure and find Marcus for that training."

After one final glance at the mess, she looked up and glared at him. "The sooner, the better, I'd say."

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Last Updated: January 2, 2004 by Blake Sorensen

February 13, 2003