Santa Command—Control Room 8
December 25th
0022 hours
Phil focused on number crunching, trying to gain lost seconds here and there. If Santa skipped one toy every three houses, he had a good chance of making up that time by 0530, which was when the Santa program ended.
Phil was so busy, in fact, that he had put Tracy out of his mind. She was sleeping the night away in a dressing room, the only part of Santa Command she would ever see. The Inklings had worked their magic on her injuries, and when the time came to take her home, she would be good as new. Until then, Beth, who maintained the children's wish lists, was watching the video feed of the girl from her office. Once Tracy woke up, Beth would talk to her and convince her she'd been to Santa's house. Then, Beth would make Tracy promise never to tell another living soul. He figured this would be done through a pinky swear. That's what little girls did, didn't they?
He had done the right thing. He didn't need to worry. Walt didn't need to worry. Phil's plan was solid. He was an expert in predicting how kids would react in different situations. Tracy would be no exception.