Patience
For four years he had been working for the NSA. For four long, stressful, carefully calculated years, Buddy Pine had done everything in his power to gain the trust of the agents who resided in the building in which SyndroCorp was now partnered. Each and every single step he took on that blue carpeted floor of the government agency was pre-meditated. Every word he spoke, every action he made, ever project he completed was all in hopes of reaching his ultimate goal.
Four. Long. Years.
He knew that it wasn't going to be an overnight task. No, he had to slowly and patiently gain the trust of the agency. He had to speak when spoken to, do as he was told, complete his projects on time - and do it all without losing his temper. Which, for Buddy, was a feet in itself, to say the least. He had to do all the bidding of others in order to, reach the point where they would soon be doing his bidding.
For the first year, they wouldn't allow him to go near any Supers. By the second year, he was only able to fit Supers with his inventions under strict government watch. By year three, they started allowing him to work one-on-one with Supers - creating individualized projects, be in a room alone with them, and even become a personal Agent for a small handful. He had slowly worked his way up, year after year, to finally reach the beginning stages of his ultimate plan for revenge.
And now, the NSA was finally allowing him the one thing he had wanted since the day he met them on Nomanisan Island -
He needed an Incredible.
They weren't going to let him near Mr. Incredible - he knew that. That was reaching for the stars, to say the least. No, Buddy Pine was smart. He couldn't just leap into standing face to face with him again. No, he would save him for last. He had to work with the one that the NSA would find least harmful - the one they could trust him with the most.
And who better than Little Miss Disappear?
"Based off your worth ethic and partnership over the years with the National Supers Agency, your request to work with Ms Violet Parr has been approved by the board," Agent Rick Dicker stated, tossing the manila folder onto Buddy's desk. The older man spoke in monotone, his gray eyes like daggers as he stared straight into the red head's icy blues. It was how he always looked at Buddy - with utmost scrutiny and judgement. "Under two conditions. One, I will be in the room the day you two meet and have your briefing. And two, myself and the rest of the board will have a conference with Ms Parr once every week. If she has even the most remote negative thing to say about you, if she accuses you of anything, or if you hurt her in the slightest, you will be removed as her agent, removed from the agency, and will face possible jail time to the utmost extent of the law."
Buddy wasn't at all surprised by the terms and conditions of his approval. He couldn't help but be somewhat stunned that there wasn't more to it than that, and a smile spread upon his lips at the realization that all his sucking up had paid off. "Thank you, sir. I'm willing to do anything to gain your full and complete trust, and I know this is the best way to do it," he explained, reaching out his hand to shake the other agent's.
Dicker, however, remained firm, his eyes simply gazing down to look at Pine's outstretched hand. "Have a good afternoon, Mr. Pine. I expect the latest blueprints for Project 387 on my desk by tonight."
That initial meeting had been a week ago. Buddy had continued with his calculated steps, keeping up with his facade to Rick Dicker and the rest of the NSA. And now, the two Agents sat across from one another, Buddy behind his desk, Dicker sitting in front of him, an empty chair to his right.
The air was still, the only sound resonating with Buddy the gentle beat of his heart, the subtle exhale of his breath as he continued his patience - waiting ever so silently for Violet Parr to walk through the office door.
