Ebert looked like he was thinking. And from the consternation on his face, it was apparent that that was not only of the daily requirements of his job. He scratched his chin with one dirty fingernail and tried not to look into their eyes. Instead he fixed his gaze very firmly on the id tags that were still hanging around their necks as if he was trying to convince himself that that sign of authority meant that he should follow their orders absolutely. His watery gray eyes did not look up as he spoke. "Umm...Sir, what should I say to the other janitors? I mean - why am I rounding them up exactly?"

EV held back a groan of frustration. What a lovely time for people to start actually questioning authority. It was a perfectly legitimate question, but that could not stop her from answering a little coldly. "Obviously we need to track down who exactly is responsible for this little cleaner mix up in the Senator's office. If one of our own makes a mistake, do you really expect us to keep him on much longer?"

She spoke the last sentence icily and clearly, her second meaning unmistakable. If she had had visible eyes, they would have been staring hard at the janitor. As it was, she could only emphasize the words by directing her antennae in his direction. It seemed to do the trick somewhat. The man showed a visible tremor than calmed himself and nodded his head.

"Th-that seems reasonable ma'am. I'll use the page system then - it's easily accessible through the closet. Won't take me but a moment."

EV let a little bit of approval seep into her words now. It was difficult to express emotion when you don't have much of a face, but she had never had the need for emotion before now. Learning on the fly made her voice acting a little rough, but the janitor was a little on the shaky side anyway and eager to read any hints she could give off. "Very good - I'll place the responsibility for finding out whose fault it was in your hands. You seem to have a good head for leadership and an established rapport with Senator Budil already. Who knows, maybe this will be what it takes for promotion."

The man finally raised his head to look at them with a hopeful smile. He nodded vigorously and headed off towards the janitor's closet they had just emerged from, a little more energy evident in his step. It was only when he had crossed half the distance between them and the door that EV remembered the other guests they had left behind in the closet.