I've got a 2-for-1 special! ========== Gary couldn't say how long it took him to find this spot. It was a small park with a picnic table under a maple tree, it was quiet, and he was the only one there. Perfect. He'd set his laptop on the table and unwrapped a 6-inch submarine sandwich before placing it beside the computer. Next he did something rarely done by Gatchageeks at Gatchamania.net -- he removed his helmet and set it on the bench beside him. Gary took a deep breath, relishing the moment of peace. He picked up his sandwich and... ...Heard a loud snort from his helmet. He recognized the fluffy tail with a black tip he could see through the blue visor. There was another snort. He set the sandwich back onto the table and then lifted his Eagle helmet to reveal Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa, the Fennec who seemed to be devoted to vexing one of the most visible Gatchageeks. Ahmet glared at Gary before letting out the loudest snort yet. "My helmet doesn't stink." Each word had icicles on it. The little fox had a violent sneeze. "Look, I wash my hair every day. It just looks greasy." He set the helmet on the other side of the bench. "Hey, Gary!" a feminine voice called from somewhere behind him. "Hey, G'nessa." Gary replied without turning toward her. The newly arrived Gatchageek wore the standard golf shirt, khaki slacks, and black shoes of an IT worker as well as the winged cape and helmet of the Swan. "Taking a lunch break, huh?" "Yeah. What are you doing? I thought it was your shift to keep Spectra's hackers busy." "I got them tied up with a game of tic-tac-toe." G'nessa replied. "I swear, we ought to call 'em 'lackers' instead of 'hackers'." They both chuckled at this, and then the chuckling faded into an awkward silence. "So," G'nessa said as she awkwardly looked at the ground, "have you started working on your Halloween costume yet?" "Well, I decided to start a little bit later than normal, so this year I'm working on it for only nine months." Gary opened up his laptop and went to a site displaying a dozen cups on its page. "Right now I'm having trouble choosing a chalice." G'nessa leaned in, peering over Gary's shoulder. "Given I don't know what you're going as...I think you can rule out the one in the top right corner -- it just looks like cheap plastic." "Right." "I think the one that looks like a crystal skull with sapphire eyes is a good possibility..." A small moan interrupted the chain of thought. G'nessa looked over and saw Ahmet on his side, several stems around his head. She let out a horrified gasp. "Gary, you've been giving this little thing peppers ?!" "Give, nothing !" Gary cried in protest, "That little rat stole them from my sandwich!" She carefully scooped the Fennec fox off the bench and cradled him like a baby. "You poor thing!" In one tiny moment, as G'nessa was lifting him off the bench, Ahmet looked Gary straight in the face and gave him a raspberry. As soon as G'nessa had his head supported, Ahmet looked up at her and let out a tiny whimper. "Oh, I know, sweetheart." she said to him, "It's a diseased soul that feeds a precious thing like you such harsh stuff!" She turned and started to walk away from the picnic table. Gary's mouth hung open as he watched. "Hey!" he finally shouted after them, "Fennecs in the wild munch on scorpions like popcorn!"

LOL

Yup, G'nessa played right into Ahmet's little paws and poor Gary was the one who got blamed!