A month flies by before you dare to realize the time. These days, Simon's time was spent almost entirely on paperwork. The bureau was not all about Hollow World expeditions, and they needed to place borders surrounding the replica world.
This is why most of his days were spent inside a meeting room with his squadmates. It was stressful with the deadlines set upon them.
In fact, this is where he was at the moment. They occasionally descended back into the replica world to report if any changes had occurred, but no such thing happened.
The borders and cameras across all the continents and countries had finally been established on this day. These measures were protocols, something the bureau used to track information.
However, it was very late into the night. A crescent moon appeared across the starlit horizon, a slit of moonlight dripping into the room.
The air carried the beautiful scent of grass and flowers, mingling with the smell of paper and ink.
The only person in the room with him was Silas, but this would change soon. Silas would leave every day without finishing his work; it had become routine.
This forced Simon to complete it for him; he did not want to be seen as incompetent because of his squadmates. A heavy exhale left his mouth as he thought about this. He had spent too many late nights here.
No matter how he felt, this was his job, and he could not do anything about it. He walked up to Silas, who was napping, his drool forming a small puddle on the table. He lightly tapped his shoulder, waking him up.
"Hmmm?..."
"You know you can leave? What's the point in staying if you aren't going to do your work?"
Silas could only lift his head slightly to glance at him. He showed a complex look on his face before grabbing his fur coat and leaving the room.
Simon could not begin to describe it, just shaking his head and further opening a window.
He took a deep inhale of the fresh air. Oh, how he loved the night. What he did not love were the late-night shifts.
(Such a contradiction. But what is the meaning of humanity without them?)
Simon turned around and began to walk back to his seat. He grabbed the pile of work that was stacked up for Silas and shoved it on his own stack.
As Simon sat down, the door behind him gently opened. He turned around to see Evelyn, who was carrying a cup of coffee.
"Haha! So you are awake? I've got your schedule all figured out!"
Even at this time, her voice did not lose one ounce of its vigor. She slid the coffee onto the table next to Simon before sitting down, oddly close to him.
"Thank you."
Simon didn't say much besides this; he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Evelyn turned her head at this. He was usually a bit more talkative, even if not a lot.
As Simon sipped the coffee, he began to write at the same time. He was ambidextrous, although his left hand was slightly weaker than his right. Thus, his neat handwriting had a slight droop to it.
Evelyn saw this, immediately grabbing half of the stack for herself. Simon was looking at her, surprised at this, raising an eyebrow. Evelyn looked back with the same confused look, however.
"What? You won't be done for another three hours, I might as well help Li'l Ol' Si!"
Simon didn't fight back; he was grateful for this. A small smirk forced itself on his face before he continued to do his paperwork.
These papers were used for sorting cases that other squads were managing and confirming if the research was correct. This was one of many jobs they had in the Research and Analysis Division.
The room was filled with the light scratches of pen against paper, and paper against wood. There was a peaceful silence between Simon and Evelyn that both of them refused to break.
Simon looked to his left, seeing Evelyn working much faster than he had expected. For someone whose office was oddly messy, her handwriting was dense and neat.
She really was a chaotic beauty. Simon shifted to his own work, focusing on the task at hand. Another file mysteriously slid his way. He grabbed the file, turning to Evelyn.
"What's this?"
However, it was not Evelyn that had handed him the file — it was Alina. Both Simon and Evelyn jolted back at this; neither of them heard her walk through the door.
"Eep! Alina! What are you doing here!"
Alina didn't respond, just leaving the room without a word. Evelyn was used to this somehow, but Simon was not.
Evelyn reached her hand out for the file, only to be stopped once she read what was written on it:
"If you touch this, Evelyn, I'll kill you."
That didn't sound like a joke... Evelyn got the message, sliding it closer to Simon. He opened the file, his eyes narrowing as the contents hit his eyes.
These were the unaltered documents from Elliot's arrest. The pages were dense, transcripts, ritual breakdowns, and witness logs. He swiftly began to skim through them.
Elliot hadn't denied any of his actions.
In fact, he explained them without a shred of remorse.
But rather with defiance.
"Oh?" Simon muttered.
What he read next began to make him question exactly what he was defying.
The page was a long list of questions and responses he was asked.
This is the conversation:
"So, Elliot. Why did you do it?"
"They said I was incompetent, that it was useless to try. So I showed them, showed them that it could work."
"And do you believe that? If given the chance with the correct input, would you attempt it again?"
"Yes. But not on this building, on them, wherever they are now."
(A dog that doesn't know his owner or his place.)
With Evelyn watching him, he held back a chuckle. No wonder Project Icarus had called him incompetent. Elliot clearly went against orders, so what use was he?
On top of this, he had just admitted to taking revenge on them. What reason did they have to keep him?
Simon closed the file, finishing his paperwork and heading in for the night. However, one thought plagued his mind throughout the rest of the night.
(A disobedient dog will not listen, collar or not. When it is not put in its place, it will continue to push its luck and authority.)
(It will continue to bite the hand that feeds it, and the hand that condemns it, so force is needed to make it obey before it is far beyond saving. Elliot is the worst of them all...)
...For he bites both hands.