Lunch Break Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own "Despicable Me" or any of it's characters. They belong to Illumination Entertainment. I do, however, own my two OC's here. I'm receiving no profit for this work, I just wrote it for fun and laughs.

Don't forget to review! And a special thanks to DP-shrine-in-closet-girl! She did a stellar job as my beta.

Chapter 2

Never break eye contact. Never show weakness. Don't even blink. Never. Ever.

Not in front of him.

"So you see, Victoria, that's why I can only pay you 40 % of your original fee."

The man on Miss P.'s monitor didn't even bother to hide his smugness. Why hadn't she seen this coming? Never mix business with family. Why bother with archenemies when you had your own flesh and blood? She pushed her glasses farther up her nose.

"I don't see what the problem is. He landed safely."

"In Antarctica."

"Because he played with the navigation system."

"You should have put his inquisitive mind into consideration."

This was getting nowhere. An argument between these two Perkins was like getting caught in a never-ending loop-de-loop: it could last for days. Victoria didn't have that kind of time.

"Fine. But, the matter still stands that not all my equipment has been returned."

"Oh? Is sister angry because little brother won't give her back her toy?"

Way to rub it in, Dad. "That satellite is BlackList property. He can't just keep it as a souvenir."

"Try telling him that."

Miss P. rubbed her forehead irritably. "I've tried. He won't answer my calls, and he's blasted every retrieval squad I've sent his way."

The bloated man smirked. "Actually, I think a more-"

"Bossy-Bossss! You done with your meety-greety thing yet?"

Miss P. shrieked as her father's face was replaced by a Cheshire Cat-faced girl on the screen. Her frizzy hair smoked suspiciously.

"Z-Zoe!" Miss P. sometimes wondered if the universe liked playing games with her sanity. "We've been through this! You can't...your hair's on fire again."

"Ohhh..." Zoe nodded as if her boss had said something profound.

"So, what do we do if we don't want to burn to death?"

"Umm..." Zoe scratched her flaming head in deep thought. "Does it involve getting wet?"

"Actually, it does."

"Can it wait?"

"That's usually not how it works."

Zoe looked hurt. "But I just got done with the new explody-thing and if Bossy-Boss could come down here and see what a good job I did-"

"Zoe," Miss P. said dryly. "Bossy-Boss is busy. Bossy-Boss has become a pawn in the game of life." She found it hard to believe the person she was speaking to was old enough to vote. Funny thing about geniuses: sometimes the higher the IQ, the more prone they were to...quirks...

At least Zoe was happy with her answer. "Okey-dokey! I hope you win!" And her grinning face was suddenly replaced by a scowling middle-aged man.

"...What was that?"

"Just one of my engineers, Dad." Victoria waved the whole matter aside with a sweep of her hand. "She thinks it's fun to hack into my computer-"

"I find it upsetting that my own offspring can't keep her employees under control." Mr. Perkin's voice lowered an octave.

"How I run my company is none of your business." She said smoothly. "What is my business is that state-of-the-art, customized and very expensive satellite apparently hanging in my brother's living room!"

"What about it?

"We've been over this. That particular model was a special order from one of my highest-paying clients. We don't have the time or the funds to make another one before his deadline!" Victoria caught herself just in time. Never raise your voice in front of him. Stay calm. This man was already dealing with supervillians before she was even in diapers.

Mr. Perkins didn't seem bothered, however. "Well then, go get it."

"I believe that's what we were discussing."

"No," Mr. Perkins leaned closer on the monitor. "I mean, you go get it."

Miss P. froze, but her expression didn't change. "Excuse me?"

"I believe I have reimbursed you sufficiently, and might I add, generously for your cooperation. I have paid you back in full for time, equipment, and manpower involved."

Liar, Miss P. thought.

"I even paid off your phone bill-"

"Half my phone bill."

"As I said, I paid for that collect call Victor made to you while in orbit—and believe me, that was no small fee. Now if you truly have your heart set on retrieving that little piece of junk, I suggest you do it yourself."

"You know I can't do that."

"Can't, or won't?"

Mr. Perkins looked steadily at his oldest offspring for a moment. It was an expression he use when he was about to be unpleasant with a client. Miss P. was very familiar with it.

"Victoria, I'll level with you. Victor has been, shall we say...uncooperative with me since his homecoming."

"Come to his senses, has he?"

Mr. Perkins ignored her. He was used to her sarcasm. "Like someone else I could name, I've invested much time and effort into that boy. He can't just shirk his responsibilities-"

"What responsibilities? Considering what he's been through, I think he deserves to be a little 'uncooperative.'"

Had this man already forgotten his son had almost died last week? Victoria couldn't forget even if she wanted to. Years upon years of nothing and suddenly little brother gives her a shout out from the moon. She still wasn't over the shock.

"And you're saying you want me to come down and make him behave?"

"Am I?"

There were times, some of which Victoria was too young to remember, when her father tried similar tactics. It was old then, and it was old now. She exhaled through her nose in exasperation and adjusted her glasses.

"Dad...I think by now Victor is old enough to take care of himself."

Mr, Perkins seemed more amused than offended. It was strange, but that frightened Miss P. more than if he'd wrapped his fingers around her throat.

But instead, he just chucked. "Whatever gave you that idea?" And he held up an apple. "I was merely stating that, like you and your satellite, I too hate the notion that I put so much capital into a project...only to see it-"

"Dad, the apple thing stopped working on me when I was six."

Mr. Perkins stopped in mid-squeeze. "Either way, I'd say I'm done here."

Victoria was ready for this. She presented an apple of her own, and with almost wild relish, tore into it like she hadn't eaten in a week. She grinned sarcastically while juice dribbled down her chin.

"Lovely to see you again, sir."

Mr. Perkins' eyes narrowed. "Likewise, Victoria."

The moment he was off the screen, Miss P. was doubled over a wastebasket, retching like she'd been poisoned.

"Eccchhh! Why did I have to swallow? Whyyy?"

She had to get out of her office. She scraped her tongue, then a few tooth brushing sessions and and several bottles of mouthwash later, Miss P. was standing out in the foyer.

The salty smell of the ocean from the open windows always calmed her down. Just a few minutes. Just a few minutes of this and she could get back to business as usual.

"And if you'll follow me, let's all go to the lobby—to get ourselves some treats!"

Oh, crap. Was it Friday already?

"I kid, of course, but it's here that BlackList shows much of it's sunny-sided disposition to it's exclusive clientele."

'Sunny-sided?' Miss P. face-palmed behind the pillar she was currently eavesdropping behind. Oh, Kevin, whoever put you down for tour guide duty was going to feel the business end of some customized brass knuckles...or discover what life was like as the new handler to the Genetics Lab's failed experiments...whichever she felt like doing later.

She risked a peek around her hiding place at Friday's new interns. Hmm...typical bunch. Mostly grad students and kids fresh out of high school. She could also see some older people mixed in-most likely laid-off technicians and inventors in need of a new trade. The American economy was starting to crack down on even the scientific community. Those who found their way here...well, who cares who they worked for or what they did as long as they had a job?

"And, if you'll come this way-"

No, no! Don't bring them over here! It's amazing how quickly one can learn to tip-toe and sprint at the same time when you're Mr. Perkins' offspring. Victoria's long legs propelled her across the room, down the hall, and through several secret passageways before she allowed herself to exhale.

XXXXXXXXX

At least the ocean was good company.

The CEO of BlackList Unlimited relaxed on a large, smooth boulder, far below the outcropping which supported part of her massive company. The waves lapped at her bare feet and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. She tilted her head back. The moon, despite being synonymous with nighttime, always seemed to be visible during the day, too. It was beautiful...Had Victor thought the Earth was beautiful, from his lonely little perch up there, looking back?

Victoria's eyebrows creased. No. She didn't want to think about that. She wanted to enjoy herself. She tilted her head back further.

The sun felt...heavenly. Miss P. removed her thick glasses, and feeling perfectly at ease for the moment, let her hair down. If anyone from Blacklist had come across her just now, they'd see a completely different woman. But, no one else was down here, and the sea kept her secrets.

"Hey! Bossy-Boss! That you?"

Gee thanks, ocean. What did I ever do to you?

Miss P. quickly put herself back in order and searched for the voice's owner. She saw an odd, darkish mass of color bobbing gleefully in the water a few yards off the coastline. It waved and splashed around wildly like the world's most uncoordinated fish. For lack of a better response, Miss P. waved back.

She watched as Zoe kicked and flailed towards her in a sad attempt at a doggy paddle. The engineer stumbled a little when she reached shore, but managed to right herself enough to slosh over to her mildly stunned boss.

"Hi!"

"What were you doing?"

"You said get all wet." She plopped down on the boulder next to Miss P., who raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"...you didn't jump out the window again, did you?"

"Nopes! I was very careful! I made sure I was on the cliff face first!"

""Ugghh...Zoe..." Victoria wiped an errant strand of seaweed out of the girl's eyes. "One of these days you're not going to jump far enough, and it won't be pretty."

Zoe curiously cocked her head to the side. The soot on her face had run in odd streaks down her cheeks. With her drippy hair and soggy miss-matched clothes, the engineer reminded Miss P. of a melted oil painting.

"You know, sometimes you remind me of someone else I know who's about your age..."

"Really?" Zoe's face blossomed into a huge grin. "Lots and lots and lots like me?"

"Well..." Miss P. pinched of some space between her thumb and forefinger. "Maybe a little...heaven forbid he's matured any since I was away."

She looked up at the daytime moon again. "...or maybe someday, you'll jump too far."

"Ummm...isn't that a good thing?"

Victoria frowned. "Depends on how far...and how fast."

"Bossy-Boss?" Zoe eyed her with concern. "You look sick."

"Do I?" The older woman looked down, deep in thought. "Zoe, do you know how long it's been since I've been stateside?"

"...Is this a trick question?"

Miss P. looked at her concerned companion. "Never mind. I was thinking out loud."

"Ohh..." Zoe rocked uncomfortably from side to side. She stuck a finger in her mouth and chewed it anxiously. "Bossy-Boss isn't making any sense! I think Bossy-Boss needs a vacation."

Miss P. regarded the little tech with wide eyes for a moment. "Why Zoe, that's the wisest thing I've ever heard you say!"

"Huhh...?" Zoe's finger popped out of her mouth. "I'm wise?"

"Today you are."

"That's nice."

"Isn't it, though?" Victoria was already on her feet. She adjusted her glasses and made sure her suit and hair were in proper order. When she was satisfied, she turned to Zoe.

"I need to go back up there. There are some arrangements I need to make. Care to come with me?"

"Okay!" Zoe was pleased to see her boss back to normal. She let Miss P. help her to her feet and the plodded merrily along in the sand beside her. Grinning, she glanced over to her employer.

Crisp and stoic, Miss P. strode along the beach while obviously deep in thought. Zoe marveled at this. Anytime she'd ever tried to do stuff like walking while calculating quantum mechanics, she usually forgot which foot to put in front of the other.

Miss P. must have noticed Zoe watching her, because she turned to the little engineer with an assignment.

"I'm going to need some un-circulated, high profile anti-tracking devices. Think you can whip something up?"

"You betcha!"

"An encrypted cell phone, a few maps of the stateside coastal region, I'll also have to help myself to one of the company's disposable jets..." She paused. "...I need you to find someone for me. I don't have an address. It's possible his location is well hidden."

"Umm, Boss?"

"Mmm?"

"Can we look at my explody-thing first?"

To tell the truth, Victoria had completely forgotten about that. "Sure. Why not? Far be it for me to miss you destroy what's left of the lab."

"Yay!"

The waves continued to lap gently at the shore as they walked, while a daytime moon watched silently over head.