The signing itself took less time than Willow had expected.
She had anticipated a pause, some internal resistance that would need to be managed, a moment where permanence announced itself loudly enough to require acknowledgment. Instead, the process unfolded with quiet efficiency, pages turned and aligned, signatures placed where they belonged, initials added with steady hands. There was no ceremony to it, no theatrical weight, only the unmistakable sense that the decision had already been made elsewhere and was now simply being executed.
The agent moved through the documents with practiced ease, explaining only what required explanation and skipping what did not. Willow appreciated that restraint. Zane noticed it too, the way competence recognized competence and did not feel the need to perform for it.
