Earl parked cautiously and climbed out of his car. Randy clambered out on the other side, straightening slowly, squinting in the sunlight. Earl glanced down. He was clutching a crumpled napkin from a really bad fast-food mexican place, on which he had written a very imporant address. He checked the address on the napkin against the address he was at and nodded at his brother.

“Looks like this is the place. I guess we’d better head on up.”

“I-I don’t like the look of this place, Earl. It reminds me of a toaster. And you know how I feel about toasters,” Randy mumbled unhappily.

Earl shrugged and shook his head. “Nothing we can do about it, Randy. She’s on my list. And the sooner we cross her off, the sooner we can head on home.”

Randy nodded in resignation and approached the building with the utmost caution, glancing around at regular intervals to make sure the coast was still clear.

***

Pam was engrossed in a deathmatch sudoku duel (identical puzzles, fastest time wins) with Jim when a couple of  rumpled-looking guys walked into the office. She sent a warning glance Jim’s way, knowing he’d attempt to use this time to cement his sudoku victory, and he conveniently managed to miss the look. But she saw the sides of his mouth turn up. She cursed inwardly in defeat and plastered a smile on her face.

“Can I help you?”

The two men strode forward. The man in front was mostly normal looking. Kind of scruffy, but probably nice-looking underneath the facial hair. The one behind him, though, seemed incredibly nervous for a grown man. Skittish, almost. It was kind of cute, considering how big he was. It gave him that sort of teddy bear quality that women love. Pam unconsciously softened her smile for him, and he visibly relaxed.

The first one cleared his throat and approached the desk. “Yeah. Hi. I’m, uh, looking for…” He dug into one of his pockets and withdrew a napkin. He squinted at it for a few seconds. “Pam Beedy?”

Pam straightened immediately, a slight frown replacing the smile. She wondered for a moment if these were friends of Roy’s, and winced at the thought. But she was moderately sure that she’d never met either of them before. She glanced over at Jim quickly, registering his slightly disapproving interest with amusement.

She let out a resigned sigh before answering. “I’m Pam Beesly.”

The man brightened considerably at her words. “Oh! Great. Well, my name is Earl. This here’s my brother, Randy.” He glanced at his brother as he gestured towards him. Bending his head, he whispered to his brother. “Randy, stop pokin’ at that plant. It ain’t real.” He straightened, clapped his hands together, and addressed Pam once more. “Sorry, he’s just a little suspicious.”

Pam’s eyebrows jumped slightly with interest. “Of what?”

“Oh, lots of things. Birds, toasters, pop rocks, fancy suits, Kermit the Frog. And also a couple of old ladies who live down the street from the motel. He thinks they’re spies.”

“No,” Randy corrected him quietly. “I think they’re being watched by spies. That’s why they’re always talkin’ in those extra-loud voices. To fool the tiny little microscopes.”

“Microphones,” Earl replied.

“That’s what I said.”

Earl rolled his eyes and smiled at Pam in an adorably self-deprecating way. He obviously loved his brother, despite his many…quirks. And Pam found it endearing. She stood up and leaned over the counter to shake Earl’s hand, glancing quickly towards Michael’s office to make sure he was still distracted from their present company. His office door was shut, the blinds closed, and she could hear him laughing uncomfortably. Good. He wasn’t using that whiney tone yet, which meant he’d probably be on that call for another ten minutes or so.

Pam shook Earl’s hand and smiled warmly at Randy, who smiled back quickly but remained behind the plant, before offering them coffee.

“No, thanks. Not much of a coffee drinker myself,” Earl replied. He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his feet. Then his face brightened. “You got any beer?”

Pam smiled awkwardly and shook her head. “Sorry. We have grape soda, though.”

Randy emerged quickly from his foliage, grabbing Earl’s arm in one huge hand. “Can I have a grape soda, Earl? I like the way it fizzes in my nose.”

Earl smiled and patted his brother’s hand. “Sure. Why not? I s’pose we’ve got some talkin’ to do anyway.”

Pam cocked her head slightly to the side, intrigued, and set her phone to automatic voicemail. Then she walked around the reception desk and led the two men back towards the break room. Jim waited until he saw them each choose a soda from the vending machine and sit down at the small table before casually following after them.