The Gold of the Firepines

"The Mailman"

Here was your offer; she would let you go from there...and still you weren't really satisfied with it. It sounded like signing yourself into the devil's hands, especially knowing how she uses the guys.
You stood there motionless, your mind trying to think but buzzing like an old microwave.
Come on, you have to say something-!
You hated being put on the spot like this.

"Ma'am, if I may interject-"
"You've interjected enough today, Pauling...what more do you possibly have to add?" The Administrator groaned.

Ms. Pauling looked as though she was going to retract her words, but she followed through. "The mailman could be more beneficial if you allow them to keep their current connections; have access to news, be engaged locally, and being the only one that travels to and fro the base, besides myself. Their very ordinary job as a mailman in Teufort—such a small illogical town—is a perfect cover-up already."

"You want them to replace you?" The Administrator rose a brow.
"No!" Ms. Pauling snapped back quickly...and coughed to cover up just how quick the reply was. "I just mean to say they are already living the perfect cover up, and in that town they have no real connections besides postal work, but even then, they don't connect with anyone. Even those they see frequently."

Ouch...wait-
Had she been stalking you or was this just her bullshitting? Not that she was wrong, but...ouch. You could connect if you wanted to, you proved that with the RED team, did you not?

"Alright..." The Administrator's voice stopped your train of thoughts. "Mailman, you may hold your current outside connections temporarily to decrease initial suspicion—but you may form no more from this moment on, and I expect those you have now to fade. And if wind of any of MANN Co's operations are released in any fashion because of this, no matter how it is done, you will be eliminated immediately."

You heard her, you were still just...quiet.

"Do you understand?"
"Yes." You blurted out the words.
After all this back-and-forth bargaining that happened, you couldn't believe you were getting that from her. From death to...another job?

"From now on, you will be known as The Mailman." The Administrator said. "Drop your name; let no one else ever hear it. Your connections you once had shall slowly become no more, and you shall limit the social circle you know to me, Pauling, and those nine. You will follow my instructions and deliver what I ask to RED base, no questions asked."

You strained slightly. The old witch was your boss now so nothing more snarky could come from you. Not out loud at least.
"...Yes." You weren't going to say "ma'am" though. She couldn't make you.

"Good." Rather than stepping down off the box, she turned around, having successfully hidden her face the entire encounter.

"Oh, and Pauling..."
"Yes ma'am?" She replied quickly. You noticed how she jumped slightly at her name being called to her.
"Cross me like this again...and see what happens."
"...Yes ma'am."

Judging by how Ms. Pauling looked down after that, you suspected she didn't pull stunts like this often. Not that she could afford to. You didn't even think her capable of it...or she probably would have seen exactly "what happens" much sooner.

In the time you looked at Ms. Pauling and then looked back up, The Administrator was gone. You hadn't even heard anything! What was that lady?

"Well...welcome to RED team, Mailman." Ms. Pauling spoke lowly, not quite excited.
You weren't sure what emotion you should be feeling right now, but it wasn't quite "excitement" anyway.

You shuffled your weight between your feet a little waiting for...some more solid feeling to arise in you.

And one did-
"Medic! Soldier-!"
They got shot with that dart-gun-thingy The Administrator aimed at you! Who all was in the kitchen still? What was in the dart..!