Claire sat there listening to this rather calm version of an argument go on until one of the regular agents up front couldn't take it anymore. With great annoyance, he barked out "Sudden. Tense. Depth. Before. Straight. Departure. Creator. Melt. Quiet. Flame."
All of the Numbers' faces immediately went slack, even the one who was in the middle of speaking. They spoke in unison and their voices were so similar it sounded like only one person was speaking. "Default activated. Ready to receive orders."
That was the creepiest thing Claire had ever seen. All she could do was stare in horror as the implications set in.
"Ugh, they were driving me crazy!" the man who shouted complained.
"You're gonna have to tell Raven what you did. Using the words on all of them at once wasn't the best idea," someone else clucked.
