The room Arlen used wasn't an interrogation room in the formal sense. It was a small administrative space meant for internal handling, with no observation glass and no recording indicators active. The console between them displayed a release workflow already half-complete, Xavier's name sitting at the top with a clean exit route mapped out beneath it.
"This is how it goes," Arlen said, resting one hand on the console. "Quiet processing. Identity scrub. You leave under a different registry. No delays."
Xavier looked at the screen without commenting. "Rin leaves with me."
Arlen didn't react immediately. She scrolled once, then stopped. "The authorization is for you."
"He came in flagged alongside me," Xavier replied. "Same intake window. Same movement logs. Same watch notes. Keeping him here creates more paperwork than letting him go."
"That's not my concern," Arlen said. "Liability is."
"He's already attached to me," Xavier said. "That doesn't change if he stays."
