London Bridge is falling down... *Belinda / OPEN*

[Jackson Nickleby]

Jackson was in his office and he was not happy. There were only two real reasons he would be spending his time there as opposed to being out and about on the construction sites. The first was if some new plans had been delivered from the City Reconstruction Council. That was always a pleasure. The pure elegance of Danviel's designs always made him smile. He loved being a part of translating that vision into reality. Construction work had to be the best job in the world.

Today however he was here for the second reason. Something had gone wrong. Jackson glared again in exasperation at the request that had come back from one of the project managers, a request to 'cut some of the steel structural supports to size'. Just what the hell was the man playing at? The plans were perfect, the plans were always perfect and Jackson had inspected the supports himself before they were sent to the site. Those pieces should slot together like a hand into a glove.

According to the report however the horizontals were too long and the bolt holes were misaligned. The whole main building was on hold because they couldn't figure how to get the floors in. “No no no no NO!” Jackson had no idea where they had found this project manager but he knew where he was going – out on his ear. Of course that was going to leave them short of structural engineers again but anything was better than this idiocy. “Cut to size...” he muttered disgustedly to himself.

Suddenly his expression brightened and he reached for the file he had been meaning to re-examine when the shit has started flying. “Jodi!” he called out to the clerk who handled most of the paperwork once he had signed it. “Send someone out on site to fetch Belinda Teirnan in here, and don't have anyone tell the B6 site that I'm coming out to check on this report myself this morning.”

[knightrathvan]

Only four more hours, she thought and swiped a dirty gloved hand over her forehead. The grit made her wince slightly, but she shrugged it off. Work this week had been fast paced and left little time to day dream about long cold showers. She had done nothing but dream about Adam and his smile that pretty much won her over. Belinda could not wait for Saturday. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and flipped the lid of her helmet down. No time for daydreaming when there was work to be done. She could almost hear her father whispering that in her ear and smiled as she got back to welding the re-bar into place.

The concrete load would be coming in the morning and the crew was busy with getting all the supports into place. She had the task of double checking and ensuring that all the welds were correct. It was a slow task but one she enjoyed nonetheless. The sparks of her acetylene torch bounced off her protective jacket and face shield. Once finished she moved to the next, finding no faults she moved on. One after another she went down the row. Sometimes she had to add a little more, sometimes not.

Three quarters of the way down she took a few minutes again for a breather and a few sips of water. It was hot enough with the sun beating down upon her back. Being encased in a thick leather jacket made it even hotter. Chris came over and tapped her on the shoulder just as she was getting ready to spark up the torch again.

"Hey Boss needs you in his office. Jodi just contacted the site and said you were to head over." He told her and chuckled as her jaw dropped. "Yea, I don't know what is going on. I'm just the messenger. The one your not allowed to shoot."

"Ha ha, real funny Chris. Damn what could Nickleby want with me. Are you sure he wants me at the office?" She asked puzzled that she'd be called in. Not that she was going to argue, though it was kind of strange. He was the lead General Contractor an all. The boss of all the worker bees so to say.

"Yes, Jodi said Belinda Teirnan. Unless you know of another Belinda." He quipped and turned getting back to his own task.

With a sigh she packed up her gear and took care to shut all the valves tight. No unnecessary accidents were going to be on her if they happened. She was rather anal about safety. Once she had everything put back in her on site locker. Belinda stopped in the rest room and grimaced at her dirt smudged face. With a few quick swipes of a paper towel, there at least she was not filthy.

It only took a few short minutes on her bicycle to get down to the main site and Nickleby's office. She placed her bike next to the steps and made her way into the cooler building. Jodi looked up from her desk and gave a little wave. Jodie had been doing office work even when her father was around. "I'll let him know your here." She told her and went to his door and knocked.

[Jackson Nickleby]

Jackson had been pacing impatiently since he had passed the message on to Jodi for what he wanted. He had read and re-read the personnel file and still couldn't see the reason for Teirnan's current placing. Jackson hadn't been Foreman for very long, just a few short weeks, and had felt no compulsion so far to mess with any of the hirings and assignments so long as they worked. Just lately though he had been finding more and more things that he wasn't happy with.

He had the A sites now just how he wanted them and the work was cracking on at a good pace. It looked like he would be taking some of the senior crew out again to celebrate the completion of the second stage of the foundations sometime next week. Jackson loved his work and was a firm believer that tangible rewards were the best way to get tangible results. When things went well he made sure everyone was as happy about it as he was.

Conversely when things didn't go well he wasn't shy about letting everyone know just how pissed off that made him. He'd completely blown his top here when they'd had the accident with the new welder and things had smartened up sharpish. No-one was ever going to make that mistake again. It looked like it was about time he started licking the other sites into the same shape, and with any luck Teirnan could be of considerable help with that.

He had the main blueprints for the B6 site laid out on the big planning table in the centre of the room. Whilst it was supposedly his office, in Jackson's mind the room really belonged to the plans and everything was arranged around the main table. He would wear a groove in the floor before he wore out the chair that sat like an afterthought beside his desk which itself occupied a fairly inconspicuous position over by the main window.

There were working plans in circulation on all the sites, every project supervisor had one specific to their little piece of 'the plan', but the master blueprints lived here with Jackson and were handled as reverently as if they were works of art. In the short time he had been waiting he had already double checked the plans, retrieved the working copy for B6, compiled the reports ready to go, and was itching to get back outside and actually do something.

The knock on his door came as a welcome relief. He was at the door in seconds, pulling it open and causing Jodi to jump back a little and laugh in mild surprise. He grinned at her, winking one of his baby-blue eyes which had her to stifling a girlish giggle. “Belinda Teirnan is here Mr. Nickleby.” she said with an attempt at propriety though she couldn't quite keep a straight face. “Great... send her right in.” Jackson chuckled and turned back to his planning table.

He looked over to the open door where Belinda stood hesitantly. “Well come on in then,” he called good naturedly, “...there's a couple of things here I want you to look at, starting with this.” He was waving his hand over the blueprint spread over the central table and then he pointed at a specific area, the B6 site. “Tell me what you see is wrong with that plan.”

[knightrathvan]

She held back a chuckle as she watched Jodi. The woman tried to act professional but was coming up a little short of the mark. She heard Mr. Nickleby tell her to come in and made her way into his office. She'd only been in here once before a long time ago when she first was hired on as part of the crew. It hadn't changed to much except that the plans were laid out for perusal.

Belinda was a bit taken a back at what he said. What ever could he need her opinion on in the master plans. "All right. I'll give it a try." She said a bit hesitantly. Her eyes drifted over the B6 site he had indicated and she moved closer. Out of habit her finger traced just above the lines and she tilted her head left then right a few times. Every thing seemed in order. She couldn't find anything out of place. The spec's were on complete and they added up which would mean, everything should fit together perfectly. She could not hide the frown and puzzled look as she glanced back at him.

"I do not see anything wrong with these plans. Everything should line up perfectly if it's been cut to these specifications. Which I know they are. We have already gotten them on site and they have been checked. I am sorry but, nothing is wrong with these plans. Is there?" She asked quiet puzzled as to why he would want her opinion on this matter.

[Jackson Nickleby]

Jackson grinned at her puzzled expression, clearly however he was pleased with her answer. “No, there's nothing wrong with the master plan. It's perfect just like always.” He laid out a working copy for B6 beside it, “...and so the fault is with this one?” he queried. He already knew the answer to that question too. The copy was entirely accurate but he wanted to see how long it would take Teirnan not just to see that, which he had no doubt she would, but to be sure enough to tell him so. He wanted to be sure she was up to this before he started rocking the boat at B6.

While the plans had her attention he reached for a few more pieces of the documentation he had gathered whilst he had been waiting for her to arrive. He laid them out along the edge of the planning table. The manufacturing specs, his own sign-off on the finished product when it was originally inspected and the second check sign-off from when it had arrived at the B6 site, signed by a Chris Howard. “So where is the fault then?” he raised a brow quizzically at her, but despite the barrage of clearly very serious questions there seemed to be a mischievous humour glinting in his blue eyes.

When he thought she had had enough time to take it all in he placed the last document, the 'cut to size' request from the project manager at the end of the row and just looked at her expectantly. It wasn't an easy choice he was giving her here. Every signature on every document represented someone who was senior to her, someone who could potentially make her life rather unpleasant if she were to point a finger of blame at them, and that was exactly what he was asking her to do.

[knightrathvan]

Belinda found herself frowning at the blue prints. Her brow furrowed in confusion as Nickleby admitted there was nothing wrong with the master plan. Why on earth would he want her looking over it again. Surly someone else was better suited to look at these plans, she thought.
As he placed the work copy of B6 in front of her; Billie's eyes scanned it once. Twice.
What was she supposed to see if anything. Doing a quick equation in her head she could not come up with anything wrong. "The only thing I can come up with Sir, is there has to be a mistake in communication. There is nothing wrong with these blue prints. Everything is to code, it meets all the requirements and is quiet perfectly planned out. It's going to be a hell of a place once we finish with it." she added with a befuddled look at him.

She moved over to the edge of the table and her eyes about popped out of their sockets. Understanding dawned clear as a brand new day. There was no fault here. Everything should have been fine. Chris Howard had signed off on the last page. Nothing needed to be cut. If it was cut it would set them back months. Her mouth formed a little oh, of shock. "There's no fault.. I went over the beams with him. I do not know why he said they need to be cut to size? That makes no sense what so ever. I suddenly feel as if this is going to be a very bad day for me. Isn't it?" She asked with uncertainty. Lord love a duck, her father would be spitting nickles about now. Had Nickleby pulled her in here to rat out Chris. She was not even aware he had put in this cut to size order. It was stupid. Nothing needed to be cut on site.

Her teeth worried the inside of her lip, as she looked at him. Somehow she could not help but feel as if this were some kind of a test. Being a bit more straightforward then most; Belinda hoped she had not just royally screwed herself. Teirnan's had worked construction for generations. Pa was always yammering about how she was the last of them and had to do her ancestors proud. She hoped that she had. What in the hell was Chris up to by putting in a cut to size order. It was stupid. Utterly useless. He was not that idiotic, or was he. Her eyes dropped to the papers once more and was thankful none of them bore her own signature. If heads were going to roll her's was not going to be one of them.

"You already figured out that everything was fine, didn't you? I'm just here to confirm this aren't I?" she asked hoping in her heart that she did the right thing.

[Jackson Nickleby]

Jackson grinned at Belinda's 'hell of a place' comment. He had been right in his estimations of her attitude, this wasn't just 'a job' to her either. He wished there were more of the crew who felt that way, people who were here because they believed that this was a job worth doing, building something important and being a part of the city's future. Jackson took pride in what they did for the city. Too many of those who signed up for the construction crews simply thought that skiving around a building site all day was an easy way to boost their credits. Well Jackson had already disabused the A site crews of that notion. He would rather have a crew that was short handed than one that was full but didn't get the job done. Whilst he was Foreman everyone was going to earn their credits.

He was a little taken aback at Belinda's suddenly worried expression, he had intended to put her on the spot not make her think he was looking for a scapegoat. He smiled a little apologetically. “Why would it be a bad day for you?” he chuckled, “...unless you were about to tell me how it's all part of your nefarious master plan and explain how you magically resized all the beams?” he gave her a wink and a reassuring smile. “To be honest, I haven't a clue what on earth could be going on over there at B6 to cause this, which is why I am heading over there now to find out. All this...” he indicated the papers as he scooped them back up into his folder, “...tells me is its a mess. I'm not looking for someone to blame for the mess Teirnan, I'm looking for someone to fix it.”

Before she had a chance to react to his last comment he dropped the final pieces of paperwork he wanted her to see on the table. The first was her own application from when she had signed up for the construction crew and the second was her current assignment, two grades lower than her skills indicated. “Sorry if the twenty questions routeen got you worried, this is the last one I promise. Can you explain exactly what is going on with those two to me?”

[knightrathvan]

Her mouth hung agape as he chuckled and spoke of a nafarious master plan. She must have looked like a cod fish standing there just opening and closing her mouth with no words coming out. Alright Belinda Teirnan shake the lead out he's only pulling your leg, she thought as she pulled her self together. "No. Don't have any plans like that up my sleeves." She managed after a few moments. He was looking to fix it and she didn't quiet under stand. Now was not the time to have an lack wit panic attack. He dropped yet more papers in front of her and she was almost afraid to look down at them.

Almost. Taking a deep breath she did. It was her own contract and evaluation. She frowned. Everything was in order with her paper work. She hadn't fibbed on anything there. What the hell was he getting at. Her irish temper spiked. "Excuse me Mr. Nickleby but nothing is going on with my paper work. I do my job without fault and never give anyone reason to complain about my work. What are you getting at with all this exactly?" She asked her voice heated as her frustration rose. She was given a job she could do. Granted she could do a bit more and had the knowledge for more then what she was given. It wasn't something she gave much consideration. Belinda enjoyed her work and made sure it was perfect each and every day she did work. Did he think she couldn't do it? Was that where this was going. Her hands fistted at her sides as she looked him dead in the eye. "How about you just get right to the point and stop pussy footing around sir. I really don't want make you mad or sound ungrateful but I do not understand where this is all going or what it has to do with me." She concluded and tried to keep the bite of her temper from getting the best of her. Da would surly be upset if she got fired for popping off at the head contractor. But this was really making her uncomfortable.

She couldn't understand what Chris was about and that was starting to worry her. Had he given him some reason to doubt her abilities. Was he doing it to sabotage the site. As that last thought crossed her mind she prayed it wasn't so. All hell would break lose if he was trying to do something as stupid as that. They made a decent wage and were treated quiet well, better then most the other humans that lived in New Vegas any way.

[Jackson Nickleby]

Jackson was beginning to wonder if he had expected too much from Belinda Teirnan given the circumstances, but when that hot-headed temper started to slip he knew that he hadn't. Yeah, she would do alright. Hell needed raising and he just couldn't be everywhere at once. Jackson couldn't help but begin to laugh as her righteous indignation rose regarding her work. “Jeez Teirnan, what does a guy have to do to hand out a promotion around here?” he quipped at her.

He shook his head a little in exasperation. “I am desperately short of engineers all across the entire project. My managers are telling me that there just aren't any more and there you are tucked away doing grunt work on the B sites when I could have been using you to run an entire team here on A. I can't afford to be wasting skills like that; this project is too big and there's just too much to get done!”

Jackson took a deep breath and his grin gradually crept back into place. It wasn't often he would stay anything but cheerful for long, not unless it involved a genuine site disaster. “Now are you up for it or not? Do you have a particular reason to be hiding out over there?” he chuckled at her. “I need this job filled as of last week... and I can't even tell you exactly which job yet, because I don't know who I'm firing until I get to B6 and get to work.”

Without waiting for her answer he scooped her papers back into her personnel file and picked up his B6 folder. “Well? If you are in you need to pick your jaw up off the floor and let's get moving; that mess isn't going to fix itself. We have a job to do.”

[knightrathvan]

If it was humanly possible her jaw would have dropped down and hit the floor with a solid thud. Blinking rapidly, she tried desperately to wrap her brain around what Nickleby just said.. promotion, holy crap. The room suddenly felt to small or hot or something.

"Pro.. promot.. promotion." She managed to stutter, still agape in disbelief at what he'd said. She had not stuttered since she was a little kid. Belinda was mortified that she couldn't seem to say one simple word. Granted it was a hell of a word, well it held a lot of mean to her. Her father would be fit to be tied. She never thought she would get one at least not after pointing out that Chris was up to something. Nickleby went on. Her hand gripped the table edge to keep her anchored in reality.

Yes, she knew she was capable of more. She had just figured that they needed her to do the job they had assigned her to, or that maybe there were no openings. Quite frankly she never thought to question it at all. Well and Chris had said... Belinda's eyes widen as a realization sank in. Why that dirty rotten no good arrogant pig had totally submarined her. We need you to do this Belinda, you'll be alright handling this task for the crew.. Alright my freaking backside, she thought. Oh he was going to get his that was for sure. Karma was a hell of a thing when it came back around.

Her attention snapped back up to Nickleby as he asked her if she was capable of handling the job and she nodded slowly. "No reason to be hiding at all sir. Where ever you feel my skills would be best utilized would suit me just fine."

She gave him a slight smile as he scoped up the papers and told her to pick her jaw up off the floor. She was over her initial shock that was for sure and she was headed to a full blown good ol' Irish mad. Though she was sure she could keep it in check for the duration of the day. She knew just what she was going to do when she returned home.

"I'm in. Just lead the way." she said. Boy was her father going to love hearing about this she thought as she followed him out the door to the constructions site.

[Jackson Nickleby]

Jackson grinned as Belinda finally got over her shock. Her whole demeanour had changed as she let that passionate nature he had hoped to see peek out. She was standing taller and straighter than before even if she didn't realise it, and her voice held more surety than when she had walked into the office. He hoped that she could keep her mad on because she was going to need it. With a mess this big it was guaranteed someone was going to get ugly about it when the shit came down.

Someone had certainly done a number on her to keep her from realising her potential out on the site. Jackson had also read her father's docket and she had been on the fast track to becoming a structural engineer up until recently when she just seemed to fade into the background. He had been concerned that she had just lost her spark when her father had retired but her work record didn't seem to say that. No, there was definitely something wrong over at B6 and Jackson was determined to put a stop to it right now.

He laughed then, giving her a good natured slap on her shoulder. Jackson was a confident man and not adverse to casual physical contact with either gender. He did however have strict lines during work regardless of how he chose to fraternise with the crew after hours. “Come on then pardner, let's saddle up...” he quipped as they headed out to the bicycle stands. Jackson would generally jog most places if they were at all close but with Belinda in tow and given his determination to get this resolved asap it would be quicker and simpler to cycle over to B6.

The short trip was pleasant after being stuck in the office so long and Jackson was thoroughly enjoying the feel of the breeze on his face. Too soon it was over and they were pulling into the B6 site to rack up their bicycle's and get back to work. He saw someone go racing off across the site as they were spotted arriving; his inspection wasn't that much of a surprise it seemed, but then again they hadn't really left him much choice had they? Whoever that was, he was heading for his credits docking for safety violation if Jackson caught up with him later.

Still, there was no need to jump straight into worst of it; they could run a couple of spot inspections as they made their way over to the main building, it would give Teirnan a chance to find her feet and Jackson wanted to see exactly who was going to come running to head him off before he arrived at the 'scene of the crime'. Not that there was much they could do but try and pass the buck around; the construction, or lack of it, couldn't lie. “You're the native guide Teirnan,” he chuckled, “this is your home turf so lead the way...”

[Danviel Koenig]

Danviel couldn't sleep. He had slept with Jackson the night before and the suns influence just didn't effect him the way it used to. He felt a heavy fatigue but his brain would not turn off.

He missed Jacksons presence as he tossed and turned and tried to let his mind turn off. After a couple hours, he decided it was not going to happen.

Danviel got up and took a shower and brushed his teeth until they gleamed a brilliant white. It was still hours before sunset but he felt invigorated at the thought of taking dinner to his Jax.

He would have to stop at the Pit Stop to pick up Jackson's favorite sweet treats but he should be able to make it there in time for Jax to take a meal break.

Danviel carefully put on his black jeans, black long sleeved tshirt, black button down shirt with the collar turned up then wrapped a black scarf around his neck, completely covering the skin.

This was going to be more than just a few minutes in the sunlight so he needed to remain well covered while out in it.

He styled his hair prefectly by messing it up and pushing it into place until it looked fantastic. He then selected a pair of dark stylish shades that made him look like a rockstar.

Danviel put on his black leather jacket before he left the flat without locking the door. With the security at the place, he never needed to lock his door. He liked having that security now that he had Jackson to look after. Jackson could look after himself but there were always those who discriminated against humans with Vampire companions.

For Danviel, that meant he could never keep him too safe. The sun was high and it was hot. The heat didn't bother him and he was covered well enough that the sun would not begin to bother him for at least an hour or two.

He walked to the tiny parking area and got into his little electric car that only Vampires were allowed to have but not many did and drove down the road toward the Pit Stop.

He could have run but driving gave him less exposure to the sun with his dark tinted windows designed to block out UV rays and in case of an emergency, the entire car would seal out all light and notify the VSF emergency services of a Vampire in distress. He grinned as he made his way along; he couldnt wait to see Jackson.

[knightrathvan]

Belinda's Irish temper was simmering at a low boil at the moment, though she smiled and nodded as Jackson laughed and patted her back. He was a decent sort. Her father had spoken highly of him and his position the last time they had, had Sunday dinner. She was a month over due to get with her parents. Life got in the way as well as a certain tall drink of man that she had met with a few times. Adam. Getting on her bike she allowed herself a moment to think of the last time they had made time for each other. She really wanted to bring him to her parents the next time she went.

Thoughts of her boyfriend calmed her anger a little as they rode their bikes towards the construction site. As it loomed though all thoughts of him faded and her mad came back up to a rolling boil. Garret took off at a sprint and she seethed. That little weasel. He had to be in Chris's back pocket this whole while. A quick glance at Jackson and she knew he'd seen the sprinter too. Well then. Time to get the show on the road.

"Home is where you hang your hard hat." She muttered in agreement. Feeling more confident then she had in months she lead him up to an area that had been put on hold. Chris had said they were waiting for the parts. Now she was fairly certain it was just a delay on his part. She was curious as to why this area had been halted.

"This section is waiting on cut re-bar and beams. No one's been in it for about 2 months." She told Jaskson with a grimace. Stepping under the rope that kept everyone out she moved deeper into the shaded skeleton of the building. It was nearly 70 percent complete. It made little sense to her at the time she was told to start work on the other section and this one was to be left alone. It didn't take a genius to figure something was up. After what Jackson had pointed out earlier. Belinda was suspicious of what was really going on.

Rounding a corner she cussed hard and fast. There laying half covered with a tarp was re-bar and beams. Son of a bitch. He really was out to sabotage the site. She turned to Jackson. "Well.. seems that a delivery has been made and this section will be finished by the end of the week after all." She told him with a sad shake of her head. This was looking really bad for Chris and whomever else he had working with him. Belinda wished suddenly that she had questioned the order a little harder. But, one didn't go against their supervisor it just wasn't done.

[Jackson Nickleby]

Despite everything that had contributed to the unfortunate need for him to be conducting the current inspection Jackson was still grinning as he followed Teirnan through the site. It raised his spirits immensely to see the determination and confidence that his soon to be new engineer was now radiating as she strode across the site. Things would be back on track here soon enough now he was certain.

He was a little puzzled as she showed him to the cordoned off section and explained what had been said regarding it. He had no recollections of any shipping delays to this site, nor any progress reports mentioning it at all. There was nothing on the schedule that should be at this level of completion. Two months? That was around the time he had taken over as Foreman and he wondered if something had slipped through the cracks in the interim.

He got his answer soon enough as Teirnan began to cuss like a trooper. He pulled back the tarp to reveal not just one but two delivery shipments. The more delicate internal structures had begun to corrode, clearly they had been here for several of the elemental's rain cycles. Jackson gave a hiss of anger at the wasted materials, pulling the damaged delivery tag from it to check the signature and add it to the folder he carried.

He was muttering angrily to himself now, this whole thing was yet another mess that he hadn't even been aware of. Just enough had been signed and just enough not for the whole thing to be 'lost in paperwork' during the change of Foreman. It was clever and it was deliberate. Considerably cleverer than the idiotic request that he had come to investigate. He rubbed the back of his neck in exasperation.

“I'm going to need a site-wide status report before I can even begin to sort this out...” he groaned. That meant more delays, more paperwork... and more time away from Danviel. He was really going to need Teirnan's help to take up the slack here. He looked back at her and gave her a tired smile. “You sure you still want this job?” he asked jokingly as they made their way back out, though he had no real doubt about what her answer was going to be. She seemed as proud to be a part of the project as he was.

They were not intercepted at all as they crossed the remainder of the distance to the foundations of the main building, something that Jackson found a little surprising considering what was at stake and the lookout he had spotted earlier. It wasn't an official break time but most of the labourers seemed to be missing from the area and he caught the tail end of an argument between the site manager and his chief engineer, only one of whom looked surprised to see him walking up.

...overstepped... forge my signature... drawing attention... ruin everything... has to go... didn't sign up for this... your job... leave her out of it... too late...

But before Jackson could react to the snatches of conversation, something entirely more significant to him captured his attention. “You have got to be kidding me..” Jackson breathed the words, disbelief dripping from every one. If he wasn't looking straight at it with his own eyes he would never have believed something so monumentally stupid was even possible. He turned slowly around through 360 degrees his eyes widening all the while. He took a deep breath and counted to five, then carried on to ten. It wasn't helping. He looked at the two men and spoke very coldly and very, very slowly. “Take. It. All. Down.”

“WHAT!?” the two men roared practically in unison. Whatever they had been expecting Jackson to say to them regarding the main building, that obviously wasn't it. “Have you any idea what it took to get those up in the first place?” the project manager shouted, “Like hell am I tearing it down again! It can be made to fit.” the engineer bellowed.

“I didn't say TEAR it down, I said TAKE it down! Carefully! Piece by god-damned piece!” Jackson was suddenly yelling furiously, and the raised voices were by now undoubtedly carrying across the whole of the work-site. “There's nothing wrong with any of it.... except that you have put every single one of the outer verticals in up-side-fucking-down!!”

[knightrathvan]

She stood for a moment her hands clenched into fist's at her sides. All of this had gone on after her father retired. He would be furious to find out that people he trusted and worked with had so maliciously set out to undermine the construction site. Taking a deep breath she nodded as Nickleby spoke of site wide status reports. She took in the tired smile and nodded. "Yes I'm sure I still want this job.'' She assured him and took a look around once more before looking back at him. "I can get that report done as soon as I get started on it."

They headed across the area to the main foundation and the faint sounds of an augment grew louder as they neared. She couldn't keep her eyes from widening in shock as she heard each snippet. Leave her out of it... just what the hell did that mean. Were they doing this right under her nose. Why on earth would they do such a thing. Life was not that hard here in New Vegas. Hell the construction crews were treated quiet well in fact, much like anyone in a productive trade. The vamps were not abusive at least she'd never seen in first hand anyway.

Her eyes swung from side to side taking things in and they landed on the beams just as Jackson spoke with such disbelief. Oh my God. She saw exactly what he was seeing. They had kept her from it with the all the rechecking they kept assigning her to do. This was so blatantly obvious it was beyond a simple mistake it was done intentionally. There was no doubt in her mind that it was done to further impede the construction of this building. "Son of a motherless..." her own words trailed off as her attention refocused on Nickelby.

Her heart just about stopped and she was one hundred percent glad she was not going to be on the receiving end of this. She could only watch the show play out each word the production manager uttered; he nailed another nail into his own coffin. The engineer a good friend of her fathers glanced at her, she caught a look in his eye that she would never forget. Shame laced with regret. Her father would be sick to know of this. These were men he worked with, trained and supervised himself. Men that had helped her father teach her the trade as well. Her stomach knotted tightly. This was going to end badly.

Belinda flinched visibly as Jackson started yelling his ire was impressive to behold. He was right though, they had installed the pieces upside down. Each and everyone of those carefully cut out pieces were never going to fit as they were. More workers started to gather around the fringes of the area as the yelling drew them in like moths to a flame. She glanced at all of them and wondered how many were in on this.

The mutterings grew to a dull roar in her ears. Teirnan.. what she doing with the head boss? What is he doing here. Sits in his office all day behind some desk. He should just go back to it. Spinning around she glanced in the direction that last comment had come from. Had they never seen Nickelby scaling the scaffolding. He was damn good at his job even if he came out of no where one day. He was given the job; He had earned his position as head of construction. How could these men and women be so bitter? She wondered as she looked around her. How could she have been so blind to the discontent bothered her as well.

Probably spread her legs to get up in the field...

Her jaw dropped down in utter shock and disbelief, she knew that voice. Knew who said it. Her whole body flamed with embarrassment.

"YOU SORRY SACK OF PIG SHIT! HOW DARE YOU!" She screamed as she marched right up to Joey and stood toe to toe with him. Her face flaming hot, her eyes blazing with fury. She was beyond herself in a moment as he raked her over with a lewd sneer. That was all it took. Her arm cocked back and she let lose a right hook that clipped him under the chin and sent him stumbling backwards against the crowd.

Holy shit! Did you see that... She nailed him..

Belinda spun her eyes going over the gathered crew. "If any of you think for one second like him... you best better start rethinking right now.'' she spit out hotly.