"That's right. I'm not going to be back until next Thursday. I'm going to have my phone, but I'm not going to be available. If anything comes up, ask the executives to take care of it. That's what they're here for, after all."
"Yes, yes. I understand. We'll manage just fine without you."

"Thank you, Elder Presence. I appreciate it."
"When was the last time you took a vacation?"

"Hmm. I wouldn't really count this as a vacation, but... they made me take a week off at my last job at least twice a year. That feels like a lifetime ago."
"You've been working like a slave. I don't think there's anyone in the world who could do as much as you in half as much time. Don't worry about us. Just rest up and enjoy yourself. I hear Orca Island is great this time of year."

"I'm sure the Pit Razors are going to treat me like a princess. Hehe! After all the business I've brought them, they owe me big time."
"No doubt. They're probably going to let you get first pick on their new graduates too."

"Yeah, yeah. You know, they aren't exactly the kind of people to offer gifts. But we've got money to burn... I'll keep an eye out for people with interesting skillsets. Hehe."
"Well, I hope you enjoy yourself. We'll see you next week, okay?"
"Goodbye, sir. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone! Hehe!"

Miss Planner received an unusual invitation from the Pit Razors. They held a battle royale for their graduating class of assassins once a year, partially as a means of advertisement and partially as a way to keep their standards high. The Razors received a lot of free publicity from the Chosen Ones' industry conference and had every intention of returning the favor. The assassins they produced and sold were some of the most talented in the Pit, and they promised their invitees that this year's show would be especially interesting.

The best way to separate Miss Planner from her work was with something equally exciting and useful. She took her responsibilities far too seriously to waste any time on personal enjoyment for the sake of it, but she still enjoyed a good bit of fun in her life, the same as anyone. She was secretly thrilled at the idea of finding new Chosen Ones to hire through the Pit Razor's big event, and a week on a fancy cruise ship to boot seemed like a pretty sweet deal.

Before beginning her long weekend, Miss Planner made sure everyone she was keeping an eye on had something to do. Black Smoke and Black Wolf were keeping themselves distracted hunting down the Animal Brotherhood, Donovan was learning the ropes from Elder Presence, Erica was getting a personal lesson in leadership from Mr. Maxwell, the remaining analysts were helping Gordon with his Temple project, and Elder Drifter was going to spend the entire week at Spiritland with his Keepers.

Miss Planner left the Tower at noon and treated herself to a rare day of leisure. She went shopping and bought a beautiful black cocktail dress (which she didn't find nearly as beautiful as her prototype Soul Shell), found two new pairs of loafers, visited the spa, got a manicure/pedicure, ate a fancy lunch (which she didn't nearly enjoy as much as the steak dinner she was accustomed to eating every Friday at the Tower), and then returned to her apartment just before 7 PM.

"I'm home!"

Her pet Feeder trapped in the body of a mannequin (as of yet unnamed) stood to greet her but fell to the ground immediately in an embarrassing display of weakness. His head slumped lifelessly to one side. Miss Planner sighed and helped it back to the couch with a loving smile on her face.

"Oh dear... you're still not coordinated enough to start walking yet. We'll do some exercises tonight, okay? You'll get used to controlling your new body in no time."

The mannequin rattled its head enthusiastically.

"You're just so cute! I wish I could take you with me to Orca Island! But I know Milly is going to take good care of you. She hasn't failed me yet. You remember Milly, right? Do you want to hear a secret about her?"

The mannequin looked at Miss Planner curiously.

"She's a puppet too, just like you! When you're able to move around on your own, I'll make you look pretty like her! Just like I told you I was going to do! What do you think? Exciting, right?"

The mannequin nodded furiously. He couldn't wait for the day when he could walk.

"We're going to have a lot of fun together. Oohh.. you're just so adorable! I'm going to put on some music, okay? I need to pack. They said they'd have everything I need on the cruise ship, but this is a group of people who keep their best talent in cages, so who knows what kind of treatment they'll have in store for their guests. Hehe!"