Cole looked away from Alyx, he didn't know what to say. It was the first day since Alyx had returned from her rest, and she was as stoic as ever. Once he understood why he could not shake her from his head, Cole had felt a rush of embarrassment course through his body.
Cole hoped that Mirai had not realized the source of his sudden awkwardness, when he left her office abruptly. While Mirai had opened up to him about one of her tattoos, she was still his boss, the manager.
"What's wrong with you?" Alyx's flat voice made Cole jump. When he had turned away, Alyx had walked up to him, and she was only a step away.
"Nothing. What would be wrong?" Cole swiftly stepped away from Alyx, who remained still, her expression unreadable.
"Let's debrief our trip to Harbor." Alyx was acting as she usually did at work, and Cole wondered what she would say on their off day. The two had spent many of their breaks together, and Cole doubted he could maintain a conversation with her outside of work.
As he was trying to think of a plan, Cole realized that Alyx was staring at him. She had just asked him something. Cole blinked, trying not to stare at Alyx's face. "NOW is not the best time." Cole did not control his volume, and the first few words were shouted out.
Before Alyx could respond, Cole rushed towards his office, leaving the woman standing quietly by herself. As he walked away, Cole turned his head slightly, allowing him to observe Alyx.
She lifted her arm, sniffing herself as if to check if her stench had driven Cole away, and after a brief pause, Cole heard mumble something to herself. Not everything was clear, but Cole was certain he caught a few words. "...he didn't even ask how I am doing… I should have told him about Harbor sooner…"
Cole wanted to turn around and comfort Alyx, to tell how much he had been worrying about her. Instead, Cole entered his office, ensuring that his door was closed, before sinking to the floor. He had been missing Alyx for the past two days, and as soon as he saw her again, he had already ruined any goodwill that was between them.
How was it that his epiphany had cast him away from Alyx. Cole closed his eyes, he had many things to consider. 'Do I want to pursue my feelings?' The question raced through his head. It needed answering, he could not continue souring his connection with Alyx.
Cole sighed, he missed getting advice from his family. 'I think I should ignore my feelings for Alyx. It could ruin the case, and get me fired.' Cole did not like the resolution that came to his head, and he quickly searched for another option.
*Knock.* There was a single rap on his door. Cole jumped to his feet. Alyx had never felt the need to knock on his door before, and he could not help but feel sad.
"We have work to do Cole, come on, I need the company liaison." Alyx's voice was muffled by the door, Cole's office did not have the same technology as Resource Management's rooms.
Cole took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders before leaving his office. At the very least he would maintain his professionalism. "What's going on?" Cole asked, certain that his face was a mask of calm.
"I just got pinged by Sivil Casper, saying he wants to report an incident. He said it could be important to the case." Alyx's response was lengthy, and Cole winced internally when he realized that his actions had caused Alyx to doubt herself. She would usually have said only a few words, and her response meant that she was not comfortable being her usual self, around Cole.
The elevator ride down to Resource Management was quiet. Cole tried to break the silence a few times, always ending up stopping himself before he could say anything. The atmosphere was stifling, and Cole felt like he was stepping into the freshest air chamber as he exited the elevator.
Sivil's door was open, and Alyx swiftly led Cole through the opening, gesturing for Cole to shut the door behind him.
Sivil sat behind his desk, the picture of smugness. His stony features shone with arrogance as he looked at Alyx and Cole.
"Details, now." Alyx said tersely. Cole frowned. She was more comfortable around Sivil than him.
"I may have been a bit presumptuous accusing Jam last time we talked." Sivil's words clashed with Cole's thoughts. When Sivil had first leveled his accusation, Cole had thought he was clueless, but after his experience with Harbor, Cole was more pliable to the idea that Jam was the killer.
"While you two have been doing fuck all, I have broken open the case." Sivil continued. "The killer is Sally Hopkins." Not the least bit cowed by his previous accusation, Sivil stood up confidently.
"Why?" Alyx only said a single word.
"I overheard Sara on a call with someone. We were both in the break room, and Sara seemed very upset. Since I am a great coworker, I followed Sara once she left the room, and saw her walking into Sally's office." Sivil paused, as if to tempt Cole into telling him that following someone was not the best way of comforting them.
Cole said nothing, it would have been hypocritical, after how he had so rapidly discouraged Alyx.
"Of course I had to wait for her to leave, and when Sara left there were tears in her eyes." Sivil took a breath, clearly enjoying the attention of Cole and Alyx. "And there was a fresh bruise on her cheek."
Alyx remained silent, knowing that Sivil would continue without her needing to ask. Sure enough, Sivil smirked triumphantly, before explaining himself. "That shows her violent capabilities, and that she can't control her anger. Everyone knows that Sally did not like Jake's ambition; she must have let her anger out to stop him from endangering her position."
"That's it?" Alyx made no indication that Sivil's findings were important, but Cole was reeling. He had known that Ms. Hopkins was strict and overbearing, yet he had never believed she would be violent with her underlings.
"That is more than enough to point the finger at Ms. Hopkins." Sivil shrunk back slightly. Cole took note that the man reverted to the more formal way of addressing Ms. Hopkins, when Alyx did not immediately agree with his suspicion.
"Even he thinks I found something important." Sivil protested, pointing at Cole. Alyx did not respond, she simply glanced at Cole, turning away in an instance. Both men in the room felt a current of anguish sweep through their bodies.
"We are done here." Alyx said, turning away from Sivil. "Are you going to confront Ms. Hopkins? Will I be credited?" Sivil interrupted.
"Shouldn't suspicion be placed on the one who keeps blaming others. Is there not an old saying about the culprit acting as the accuser?" Alyx's words were a crack in her stoicism as she let a hint of annoyance appear.
Sivil sputtered indignantly at Alyx's words. His face flushed as he tried to think of a retort. In the end he never said anything, pretending to return to work as Cole and Alyx left his office.
"Are we going to question Ms. Hopkins?" Cole asked, once they were alone in the hallway.
"Not yet. I want to talk to Sara first." Alyx was about to explain her reasoning when Cole interrupted her.
"You don't need to over explain every little detail." His words did not properly convey his intentions, and Cole bit his lip. He had come off as harsh and condescending.
"Alright." Cole's body released its tension as he saw a faint smile gracing Alyx's lips. She had understood the meaning behind his awkward diction.
With newfound confidence, Cole turned his mind towards Sara Chekov. Her office was not far from Sivil's, and he wanted to go over his thoughts on the woman.
Sara liked to talk. That was the first thing that most people would notice. However, behind her chattiness was an observant person who had been the reason that Cole and Alyx, had learned about Mr. Jenkins' infidelity with Sinje.
Sara also appeared to be an employee who did not put much effort into her work. From her repeated tardiness, and questionable actions at work, Cole held the view that she barely hung onto her job.
Cole pursed his lips. From their initial interview, he learned that Mr. Jenkins was not happy with Sara's work ethic, but was Ms. Hopkins? He had never thought there was a strained relationship between Sara and her superior.
Sara diligently followed any instructions that Ms. Hopkins gave her, and there was a certain wariness that stilled her usually loud mouth around the supervisor.
'I guess we are about to find out. I wouldn't put it past Sivil to fabricate the entire conflict.' Cole thought to himself. At that moment, Cole was not worried about how he appeared to Alyx, his sole focus was on the investigation.