<strong>The Hawk</strong><br/><br/>After the commander had taken the redhead out, Hawkes lit up a cigarette and sat back in his chair. For the first time in the morning, he had some time to reflect on the entire episode, now that he was alone and everyone had got their orders. He was not a man to ever regret having done anything, and so it was this time as well. But though he basked in the satisfaction having silenced the girl's protests - in fact, all the girls' protests - he realized the situation was still far too volatile. He thought it was safe to assume the skipper would never say a word against him again, after a day spent in hell under water. But the others may not fit well into their new settings. And then there was the crew - Macheath could only exercise so much control, and Harden had shown he was after all, human, when searching the girls closely. He may have to perhaps arrange for a tour of the premises for himself later in the day.<br/><br/>But right now, he had to bring Eloise in and make her comfortable - as comfortable as she could get, given all that she'd witnessed him doing - in her new position as his assistant. He got up and checked himself in the mirror on the cabinet door, straightened his uniform and combed his hair. He even put a mint in his mouth. He'd decided to get back to his icy cool demeanor now that violence had served its purpose. This girl seemed better behaved than the others, and he hoped some time spent with him would lead her to convince her friends about how he meant well.<br/><br/>The door buzzed, and Harden, after announcing the girl's entry, left.<strong> "Ah, Miss Monot, do come in. Shall I call you Eloise?" </strong>He asked in an almost rhetorical manner with a smile, not the sarcastic one she'd have seen earlier, but one hinting of friendliness. He showed her to a chair,<strong>"Please take a seat."</strong>Walking around the table, he sat in the chair opposite her, and asked,<strong>"Would you like something to eat? Or some juice maybe? I hope Harden offered you something."</strong><br/><br/>Then he bent forward to keep his arms on the table, and said,<strong>"I hope we can put this morning's unpleasant incidents out of our mind, and try to start things afresh. Your friends have already been assigned to their workstations and partners." </strong>After a few seconds, he asked,<strong>"Do you know why I chose you to be assigned to me, Eloise? It's because I saw you, and I saw someone who's smart, who's ahead of the curve. Who's seeing what the others haven't yet opened their eyes to. You saw there was no point in going on with the arguments and threats before your friends did. You'll learn and adapt much faster to new settings than any of your friends. And you'll excel at it."</strong><br/><br/>He sat back in his chair.<strong>"But before we begin, I'd like to know a little more about you please."</strong><br/><br/>