Samantha Duncan quickly zapped Carrie Brierton with her Restoration Gun, while Jeffries and Ryan zapped a few of the Punks and Seafarers. Just as Sallow was about to zap Samantha, he was zapped by Carrie's Restoration Gun, and restored to being a normal looking person wearing normal work clothes.
Jeffries, meanwhile, zapped Ryan with his Restoration Gun, returning Ryan to his normal slender geek appearance. Ryan zapped Larry Eastbrook, who returned to his normal self.
Milt Smukmeyer was about to zap someone with his Punk Gun when Carrie spoke up.
"Enough already!" Carrie shouted. "This is pointless. Look, we have Restoration Guns with us. That means whatever you do to us, we can undo. Are we just going to stay here zapping each other until one side gives in? We've got more important things to do!"
"She's right." Samantha said. "You don't know what's been happening upstairs. It's been chaotic the last few hours, and picking fights with us is NOT helping. We should be on the same side."
"Look, that punk rock woman with the blonde mohawk said we should finally form a resistance movement against McMillan and the rest of the Board." Teresa Talton said. "She was loud, but what she said made a lot of sense to us."
"Jerri..." Ryan muttered, knowing right away who Teresa was talking about.
"She made quite a pitch to me." said Sallow, now in his more normal speaking voice. "She told me that Dankworth had been walking all over me way too much and it was about time I finally stood up to that bully. She left behind a few of those things she called Transformation Guns before going off on her own."
"The thing is, she wasn't wrong." Milt Smukmeyer said. "Everyone in this room knows it, whether they've been zapped or not."
"Yes. We all know it." Ryan said. "It's just that there have to be better ways. But things are already changing. If you'll just listen to us, we'll tell you what's going on up stairs."
"We don't even know yet." Larry said. "So tell us."
Samantha turned to Doug Sallow. "Okay, are you ready to hear us out now? It's a long story."
Samantha knew Doug Sallow was normally a fair person, who was willing to hear everyone out. While his inability to stand up to Mr. Dankworth had been frustrating, he was still reasonable and willing to listen to others' suggestions or feedback. He wasn't one of those self-absorbed 'get ahead' people, like Martin Stragey, Clay Dankworth, or Sallow's predecessor Denise Brewster (who was currently heading MTI's Pittsburgh branch). He was just as annoyed by their behavior as most of the others in Research and Development.
There was a pause as she and her friends waited for Sallow's response.
