Cole shifted uncomfortably, he had an unfamiliar shape pressed against the small of his back. Cole reached for the spot, trying to shift the holster into a better position. He would not succeed, most of his discomfort came from carrying the deadly weapon. He had just woken up, and strapped on the weapon.
Of course, the holster that Alyx had given him was incredibly safe, keeping the gun from being switched on while it was holstered. However, Cole could not forget the melted corpse from a single trigger pull.
He had carried the gun before, but he was always aware of the weapon's presence. Cole turned his mind away from his burning focus on the small of his back, he had more important things to worry about. Sara Chekov was dead.
Cole grimaced as he pulled off his clothes from the night before. He had not bothered to take them off when he had returned home, it didn't feel important after seeing Sara for the last time.
Luckily, he had a clean uniform, and he got dressed swiftly, forgetting to remove his necklace in the process.
He had woken up early enough to make a home cooked meal, yet as he dug into the food, it tasted bland. Cole frowned, shaking some extra flavoring onto his breakfast. It did not help.
'I don't want to enjoy it.' Cole realized. The case was taking its toll on every aspect of his life, even the taste of food was getting ruined. Cole put his hands on his face, tilting his head towards the ceiling, he wanted to scream out his emotions.
Cole kept his mouth firmly shut, he didn't want to get a noise complaint, due to the rickety walls of his apartment.
After mechanically shoveling the rest of his meal into his mouth, Cole left his apartment, and made his way to work. If his job was anything else, he would have been disgruntled that he was forced to skip his day off, but he felt no annoyance on his trek to the company.
Once he had checked in with the receptionist, the elevator took Cole down to Resource Management.
Alyx was waiting for him when the doors opened. Her face was the picture of fatigue, with stark eye bags, and dull dry eyes, rimmed with the unshed tears of staying awake for too long. She looked more exhausted, to Cole, than ever before.
Cole wanted to pick her up, and carry her to a comfortable sofa to force her to rest. He quickly silenced the worries, Alyx could take care of herself, and she would not be pleased if he interfered with efficiency at work.
"What's the plan today?" Cole asked, realizing that he was still wearing his necklace, as his fingers nervously tugged at it.
"We are going to talk to a few employees, but first we need to get through security." Alyx gestured towards two figures looking at them expectantly. The security detail had rounded the corner when the elevator chimed, and Cole was surprised to see a familiar face.
Hulking over her companion was Mel, her impressive physique on full display. Cole had not thought about his old department in a long time, and it was shocking to see the metal veins that jutted out of her pale skin.
"Cole? It's been a while. This is where they are keeping you holed up. How are you doing? We miss you up on our floor." Mel's high pitched voice showed little care for the seriousness of the situation. "Hi Mel." Cole said weakly. "What are you doing down here?"
"I am a guard. The company offered me some extra pay to be an intimidating figure, alongside this guy." Mel pointed to her companion, uncaring that Cole had not bothered to answer any of her questions.
Cole looked at the man standing next to Mel. He could in no way compare to Mel's physique, which was enhanced by the fact that her sleeves were removed from her uniform. However, the man's uniform was stretched just enough, to hint at a well trained body, and he held himself with a casual arrogance, as if he had no doubt that he could subdue anyone standing in the hallway.
Cole was about to look away from the man, when he felt a burning gaze directed at his throat. Cole reached towards his neck, feeling his fingers brush his necklace. He quickly tucked it under his collar. The man looked away as soon as he noticed Cole's perplexity.
Cole felt a tinge of unease slither through his stomach, he couldn't put his finger on it, but something was off with the man.
Before he could think more about it, Mel drew his attention back to her, when she held out a hand. In her palm was a small device. "I obviously know who you are. Still, I need to follow protocol. Please confirm your identity with your finger."
Cole tapped the small device, and waited as Mel scanned through the wave of information that flashed in front of her eyes.
"My goodness you have a high level of clearance. What have you been doing these past months?" Mel barely paused before she spoke again. "Don't answer that question please. I am not supposed to know what is happening in this department."
Cole did not remember Mel being quite so chatty, she must have been bored. Cole stayed silent, stepping aside to let Alyx touch the device.
"Thank you miss. You must be the reason Cole has such high clearance." As Mel spoke to Alyx, Cole side eyed the other guard, trying to figure out why he felt so uncomfortable in his presence.
The man wore a normal company uniform, and Cole quickly noticed that the handle of a weapon was peeking out of his pocket. As soon as he saw the handle, Cole was sure that it was a gun. The man carried his weapon with much more confidence than Cole, who shifted uncomfortably as soon as he thought of his own gun. Maybe it had something to do with how Cole had come into possession of the piece.
"Alright both of you guys are good to go." Mel smiled at Cole and Alyx. "We should catch up some time soon. Okay Cole?"
"How about right now? Alyx, can you start without me? I want to talk to Mel about my old department, for a minute." Cole said quickly, before Alyx could hurry away.
"I suppose I could take my break right now. Can you handle things without me, Tom?" Mel looked a little surprised at Cole's request.
"Sure." Tom grunted, before casually leaning against a wall. His demeanor screamed that he felt like Mel was a useless addition to his duties.
"Thanks Tom." Mel said cheerily. Cole waited patiently during the short exchange. Alyx had already turned the corner, without showing a hint of protest at Cole's lack of interest in his work.
Cole swiftly dragged Mel to the break room. It was empty, a common experience in Resource Management.
"So what did you want to ask? Even Can misses you, I think." Mel seemed happy to take a break from her new position.
"How much do you know about Tom?" Cole ignored Mel's words, firmly stating his reason for talking to Mel.
"Not much. He is not from our department. The company is big so he could be from another department, but he hasn't told me much." Mel furroughed her brow.
"Actually I think that the manager, who offered me the position, said that I would be working with someone from outside of the company. They must have brought in Tom to beef up security. I wouldn't worry about him, if I were you, the company thoroughly vets all of its employees."
Cole stopped himself from exposing how much the company's vetting had failed. It seemed like Mel was not supposed to know about the murders that had taken place. He had no faith in the company's ability, and he decided to trust his gut, there was something wrong with Tom. The fact that he was hired from outside of the company only furthered that idea.
"Thanks Mel. Make sure not to get complacent. I don't want you to get hurt." Cole spoke seriously, stifling Mel's laugh, Eventually she nodded, understanding that Cole knew more about the situation than her.
"Alright. You stay safe as well. We can talk again later." Mel patted Cole on the shoulder, and he winced, sure that her heavy hand had bent his bones.
The two parted, and Cole was left to his thoughts. He hoped that Mel would pay attention in Resource Management, he had noticed that she did not carry a weapon, and he did not want the department to claim another life.
'What is so weird about my necklace.' Cole thought to himself. Yesterday, Alyx had mentioned that someone was staring at it, and it had happened again with Tom. Cole looked down at the jewelry.
It was a standard piece from his home city. While he had not seen many like it in his current city, Cole did not think the necklace was very unique.
With a shrug, he made his way to Alyx, they had a killer to catch.