Who: Will, open as appropriate When: Thursday, 3rd September, not long after lunch Where: Will's office What: Ruminations and Catalysts
With everything that had been going on lately, Will had let himself get a little behind in one or two tasks.
One of them was buying a birthday present for Noel. Not that he'd be around for a great deal of it since he was on night duty next week along with team 4 (minus Noah for the first bit for obvious reasons) since Aidan and Marti wouldn't be back in time. Will could probably have insisted on it, but he didn't really have the heart for it, having seen the two of them at what was very likely their physically weakest for a long time. So no, they were fine.
Another was having a proper chat with Aric's new discovery. Riley seemed like a good kid, and Will had grown to trust Aric's instincts since they rarely if ever seemed totally wrong, but if the girl was going to be staying then Will really wanted to get to know her. She'd eventually need assessing anyway to see what powers, if any, she actually had, and how strong they were. Again, he was perfectly happy to believe Aric, but certain steps did have to be taken. She might need to spend some time in the school room, whether she wanted to or not. It was actually a fairly good way of introducing her as gently as possible to the mad house actually, so Will hoped she wouldn't be too stubborn about it. Time would tell.
Then there was Ritchie. Will had been intending contacting him for some time actually, to see if he'd be interested in becoming the resident technology boffin for the Journal. The guy was a nutcase, but then he wasn't the only one around here, and it wasn't as though anyone else disliked him. Actually, it was quite the reverse.
That could be sorted fairly quickly. Will turned to his keyboard and started to type an email. He hoped Ritchie was still at the same address:
"Ritchie,
I'd be grateful if you could contact me with a view to calling in for a chat sometime.
I'll be honest with you. We're short-staffed at the moment due to relocations, both voluntary and otherwise, and I'm sure you can appreciate our wish to replace certain key staff members with people we know and can trust. It saves a LOT of time, not to mention explanation.
Of course, if you're not interested then that's perfectly understandable. I'd appreciate it if you'd give it some consideration though."
He read the email through then sent it. Worst that could happen - besides more of his staff being put out of commission by a tentacle-wielding Demon or eaten by Wolves over the coming Moon - would be for Ritchie to say no.
He wondered if, when he got time to breathe properly again, Marti would let him, Noel and Viola take their places in her home upstate with Desdemona. Or, failing that, just move the whole damn operation up there. Practicalities aside, Will liked that idea. In fact, he liked a lot of his own ideas, but that one was particularly appealing right now.