Five Reasons

Last week's 300-word writing challenge title was "Five Reasons"...and it was actually a 450-word writing challenge.

“How many?”
“I’ve got two.”
“Me too. Damn, I was hoping you’d have three.”
“Yeah, well. What have you got?”
“OK, well, I know he—“
“Keep your bloody voice down!”
“Sorry…I know he hoards Company supplies, and I also know that he expressed clear and emotional disapproval when Catesby was Reorientated.”
“You have evidence?”
“Of course. I audiorec everything he says. You?”
“I’ve got him using Company e-ware for Offsite-related undertakings – I have digipics – and he told me last week that he thought that the Leader’s new TrueThought initiative was ‘unfair, unethical and unworkable’. It’s all there, on the cube.”
“Good.”
“They’re all good, but we still need one more. Did Rokewood come back with anything?”
“No.”
“Wintour?”
“No.”
”Damn. Listen, come here. It’s absolutely imperative that we get him out of our workcell asap, or the Colleagues will start to tar us with the same brush as him. I’ve seen the way they look at him. He’s being watched, which means we’re all being watched. Look, I’ve been a Company man my whole life, I’m not about to let him get me Reorientated. Not so close to retirement.”
“Can’t we make do with just four?”
“No. By order of the Leader. No Reorientations without five Good Reasons, he said, and I’m not going to risk getting a Good Reason against my name just for not following procedure.”
“Shame.”
“That’s how it is.”
“Listen, we won’t see him again, will we? If we do get him Reorientated.”
“When did you ever see a Reorient come back?”
”I suppose. It’s just that I feel a little…”
”Guilty? Don’t. He’s a parasite, he just takes, takes from the Company without giving anything in return.”
“What about his wife, though? What will—“
“His wife? What about my wife? What about your wife? You want Mary’s foodreq reduced because she’s married to a deviant?
“But I’m not a deviant.”
“You will be if he drags us all down with him. I’m damned if I’m going to let his behaviour taint hard working Colleagues like you and me.”
“I suppose.“
“Listen, try not to worry about it. If he did the right thing then nothing would happen to him, would it?"
”I suppose.”
“Good lad. Damn, is that the time? I swear offtimes were longer when I was your age.”
“We’d better log back in.”
“Talking of work, where is he? Isn’t he supposed to be at the workcell by now? His station’s unoccupied.”
“He’s late.”
“Hold on…say that again.”
“’He’s late.’ Why?”
“For the audiorec. We just got number five.”

Next week, for those who are interested, the word count is 250 and the title is "Jackson's Rock".