Harsh radiance burrows into cracks, dragging unnoticeable damage into the light. Employees should be placed under heavy scrutiny, to allow the company to understand and cope with their flaws. –Management Code 3224
Cole frowned to himself as Alyx stood in front of Sara's door, waiting for it to be opened. He didn't understand why he was so awkward around Alyx. It was not like he had never had any romantic experiences before he joined the company.
However, it felt different with Alyx; she was too unique. Or, he had become a coward. Cole rolled his eyes, hadn't he already decided to do nothing with his feelings?
Fortunately Sara's door opened before Cole had the chance to walk in circles, in his mind.
"Hiya Cole, and Alyx is here today. How are you two doing?" Sara's voice reminded Cole of a young bird greeting the sun, in its liveliness. It was hardly the sound of someone who had apparently been crying earlier that day.
"I am good, thank you. How are you doing Sara? I…" Cole's voice trailed off as he looked at Sara. It was impossible not to notice the angry red welt on the side of her face. It viciously clashed with Sara's cherubic face.
"I am quite alright." Sara barged on, ignoring the apprehension in Cole's question. Cole turned his head away from Sara, not sure how to react to the blatant cover up. As his attention turned away from Sara, it alighted on a strange crack in the wall next to her desk.
It looked as if something, with a sharp corner, had been thrown into the wall. Cole blinked, why was he looking at the barely perceivable mark on the wall, when Sara was obviously hurt?
"What happened to your cheek?" Alyx asked bluntly. Sara started speaking, stopping herself once, before trying to come up with an excuse.
"We already know that Ms. Hopkins caused it, we just want the details." Alyx interrupted. "If you are worried about us endangering your job or hers, we do not have any administrative power. We simply want to figure out if this is connected to Mr. Jenkins murder."
Even though Alyx's words were blunt, Cole felt there was some pity in them. Sara not filing a complaint against Ms. Hopkins pointed to the situation being complicated. Maybe Sara felt like bringing the situation to light would only cause her problems.
"It was my fault. Ms. Hopkins is a good person." Sara's words confirmed Cole's suspicion, and he wondered how Ms. Hopkins could exert so much dominance over Sara.
Cole felt an inkling of a thought in the back of his mind. From the time he had spent around Ms. Hopkins, she loved having power over others, which she clearly had over Sara. What if Mr. Jenkins was jeopardizing that relationship?
Cole frowned, while the theory easily pinned the blame on Ms. Hopkins, it could also be used to target Sara. 'She said that Mr. Jenkins did not like her work ethic. What if she was about to be fired? Ms. Hopkins would likely not fire her, but Mr. Jenkins had that power.'
Cole looked at Sara, disgusted that one of his first thoughts was to accuse a victim of abuse, of a murder. Clearly, Sara did not have the best working conditions, so there was little need to hang onto her job so desparately.
"Again, we are not looking to cast blame, we just want to know why it occurred." Alyx's voice held none of the thoughts that were racing through Cole's mind.
"I came up with an idea that Ms. Hopkins did not like." Sara's voice was subdued, almost a whisper.
Cole felt anger well up inside him at Sara's words. Ms. Hopkins could not deal with Sara having an idea? The woman really was monstrous, and he had no doubt that she had the potential to be a killer.
Cole took a deep breath, there was still no evidence that Ms. Hopkins had unlocked that potential and slain Mr. Jenkins.
"What was your idea?" Alyx asked. Before Sara could respond a message flashed before Cole's eyes prompting him to speak. "Please don't answer that question."
Sara looked at Alyx, then at Cole, and finally back to Alyx who just sighed, and waved it off.
Cole grimaced, it felt pertinent to know what idea Sara had presented to Ms. Hopkins, yet Mirai had instructed them not to pry.
'If we are going to solve the case, we need to understand what Resource Management does.' With that thought Cole realized that he would have to dig into the company's secrets. Even though he would never be given permission, he felt like they would help him finish the investigation quickly. And Cole was ready to be done with the case.
It was incredibly taxing on all aspects of his life, and he hoped that with the killer locked away, he might find the courage to pursue his affections for Alyx.
"I suppose there is not much we can ask you about." Alyx mused to Sara. "We will leave you alone. But, if you want to report Ms. Hopkins, I will help you." Alyx spoke with conviction, her sincerity taunting Cole's decision to keep his distance from the incredible woman.
Once they had left Sara's office, Cole asked about talking to Sally Hopkins. He didn't know how he would react, if he saw the supervisor after learning about her physical cruelty.
Alyx offered to talk to the woman on her own, but Cole refused. He was not worried about Alyx getting hurt, he had seen her take down trained assailants, but he had to do his job.
Once they were in Ms. Hopkins office, they stood before the supervisor as she spoke with poise. "I suppose you are here because of the incident with Sara Chekov."
"Why would you do such an awful thing?" Cole blurted out. He had grown to respect Ms. Hopkins' leadership ability, and felt betrayed that he ever felt that way.
Ms. Hopkins's face remained firm. "Is this the way you want to question me?" Ms. Hopkins asked Alyx, who tapped Cole on the shoulder. It was a small act, but Cole knew that it meant he had stepped out of line. Cole took a step back, taking cover behind Alyx's small frame.
"Thank you for controlling him. Now let me assure you that this incident has nothing to do with your case, and I will accept whatever punishment the company sees fit." There was no remorse in Ms. Hopkins' voice, and Cole clenched his fists. It was as if she was reading off of a script that supplied her with the most generic responses.
"We are not connected with the company's punishment system, and are not here to deliver any reprimand. Just tell us what happened." Alyx spoke clearly, with a slight hint of boredom.
"I simply lost my temper, when continually presented with an idea that I had previously shut down. It was exasperated by the fact that it was an employee that usually shows me a high level of respect." Ms. Hopkins did not mince her words.
They did not hide what she had done, instead confirming to Cole that Sara was an employee that she enjoyed working under her. Not because of competence, or personality. Ms. Hopkins liked working with Sara, because Sara was easy to push around.
"Okay. Is there anything else you would like to add?" Alyx asked, clearly wanting to exit the room.
"Just that you should look at my history with the company if you believe this incident shows enough malice to murder someone. I have a stellar track record at the company, and even though I lost my temper this time, you will find that it is a one off mistake."
Cole doubted that Ms. Hopkins was as perfect as her record would show. He felt confident that it was clean, because no one had dared to besmirch it. Just like Sara, Cole was sure that there were others who did not dare to file a report against their supervisor.
As they left the office, Cole was ready to pin Ms. Hopkins as the prime suspect. Jam's connection to Harbor, and Sinje's affair, paled against Ms. Hopkins actions. Cole had not seen Jam or SInje do anything wrong, but Ms. Hopkins had clearly struck Sara, and did not feel bad about it.
Alyx did not betray how she was feeling on her face, or with her body language, but from her questioning, Cole could tell that she did not like how Ms. Hopkins had acted. He also knew that she would not let that dislike cloud her judgment in the investigation.
'I should probably not allow myself to be biased.' Cole thought, even as he knew that he could not be so detached from his feelings. His struggles with talking to Alyx were a perfect example.
Soon after they returned to their floor, Alyx said her goodbyes, and went home early, urging Cole to do the same. She said that they needed to get good rest to come back refreshed and focused, after their day off.
Cole suspected that she just wanted to have extra time away from work. Nevertheless, he took Alyx's advice, forgetting his anger in a steaming bowl of noodles.