"I have no further questions."
Whew, she gave up. Henry wiped his brow. That was close, I figured she'd keep picking at him until he blew up and spattered all over the room. Hurriedly he said, "You're excused, Randy. Please tell Ian to come in before you leave."
Randy shared in the relief felt by the chair of the panel. He ran lightly up the stairs to the witness room. "You're on next, Ian." He was surprised when Ian fairly catapulted out of the room, grabbing his arm as he passed and nearly hurled them both down the stairs. "What in hell is the damned hurry?"
Safely away from the second floor, Ian steered Randy into an alcove from where he could see the stairs. "That Mark! Honestly, Randy, he's been driving me crazy. Talks a blue streak all the time. Ask him the date and he'll discourse for hours on end before he gets to the point. Holding any kind of a conversation with him is as impossible as stopping a hurricane by shouting at it.
"I kept trying to get away. Once, I said I had to take a piss and the son of a bitch came along with me, whizzing away in the next urinal, without missing a word. I tell you, the man should be muzzled."
"Well, it looks as if he isn't going to follow you into the hearing room, Ian. Calm down. They're waiting for you in there."
"Yeah, in a minute. Tell me first, Randy, how was it? Anything I should watch out for?"
"Nada." Randy had regained his usual swagger. "Not a thing, old bean. Between us, we'll give the bitch the old one two...."
"We're waiting for you, Ian." Henry said from the doorway of the hearing room.
"Oh, right. I'm coming right along. Just had to get things straight about who takes the review session today since I could be tied up here," blubbered Ian, apologetically. As he reached the door, he turned and looked back up the stairs apprehensively. Seeing no one, he breathed a sigh of relief and entered the hearing room.