Cloudless Night in Neon WInter

Cole stood still, scanning the imposing company building. It was starting to feel like Mr. Jenkins' killer was never going to be caught. It had been four weeks since he and Alyx had been attacked, and he could not think of any significant progress they had made. Cole still had no clue on who could have killed the assistant supervisor.

Cole's days were filled with interactions with the Resource Management employees, and the longer he spent with them, the more he felt that none of them could kill a person. There were other days when he felt as if they were all in on it, and were waiting for the perfect time to add another corpse to pile.

When he was not following Alyx around the company, Cole had basically become a glorified assistant to Resource Management. He was sent on all sorts of errands within the department, but Alyx thought the situation was beneficial because it allowed him to enter the different offices, and talk with the employees.

Most of what Cole learned felt like useless gossip that was more likely to get him a punch to the face, rather than any clues for the investigation. For example Sara had randomly told Cole that Jan's parents were dead, causing Cole to act strangely around Jan for days. Jan noticed and reassured Cole on his well-being, but Cole would not have been surprised if Jan had been upset about Sara spilling his personal tragedies. Cole had spent a lot of time with Jan before he had been given the codes to all of the offices, and he was glad their relationship did not suffer.

Another piece of information that Cole wished he didn't know was Sivil's insane beauty regime. The man spent hours before every work day doing a variety of strange actions to ensure his statuesque appearance. Sometimes Cole was the only one who saw Sivil on a day, but Sivil never paused his routine. The regime certainly paid dividends, but when Sivil had told Cole about some of the strange liquids he washed his face in, Cole had tried to forget the information.

Even with all of the random things that Cole heard, he had found a couple of hints that could help with the investigation. There was a rumor that Mr. Jenkins had been gunning for Ms. Hopkins' job. And, if Jam was to be believed, Jake was close to getting the position. Cole had tried to dig deeper into the rumor, but no one really wanted to talk about Jake Jenkins; his death had rattled them. Yet Cole had taken the piece of information as a win, and it assured him that Alyx was correct in putting him in his position.

Cole smiled slightly when he thought of Alyx, while they were not making any apparent progress at work, the two spent a lot of time together on their off days. Of course, the pair kept to all the most populated parts of the city, but they had spent many enjoyable nights in each other's company.

During workdays, Cole had started seeing less of Alyx, she had begun investigating a lead outside of the company building. She had not told Cole what she was looking into, and he could only guess that she was combing over the possibility that there really had been an intruder on the day of the murder.

Cole wasn't upset about being kept in the dark because Alyx only talked about the investigation at work, and work Alyx was distant and cold. There were no traces of the Alyx who had soothed him to sleep in the cab, no dashing smiles; it felt like he was talking to a robot wearing her skin. Sometimes she let her guard down for a moment, but that was rare, and never lasted long.

"Cole, how are you doing?" A cheerful voice filled his ears, and Cole looked down from the stretches of the building to see Sara Chekov waving at him. Cole smiled and walked towards her. She had replaced her work shirt with a tank top, signaling the strangeness that the day ahead promised.

Ms. Hopkins had called it a team building day, and Cole was quite curious what that would entail. There were very few people who seemed to like each other in resource management. Sara and Sinje were casual friends, and Jam seemed on good terms with everyone besides Sivil and Ms. Hopkins, but that was the extent of friendliness that Cole had uncovered.

As Cole joined Sara, she quickly began to unleash a torrent of words, talking about an article she had read about the dangers of procuring certain materials. Apparently some materials only came through shady channels that required manufacturers to engage with career criminals. Sara was just explaining how these materials were used in mainstream production, like vehicles, and computers, when Cole was saved by Ms. Hopkins.

"You two are the only ones?" After she received an affirmative reply, Ms. Hopkins sighed and muttered under breath. "Can't even be on time for a non productive day."

The three stood in silence, Sara unusually quiet. 'She must be afraid of getting reprimanded' Cole thought. Sara was not the most efficient employee, and she was always on her best behavior around Ms. Hopkins. Cole had gotten used to Ms. Hopkins brusque manner, and there was a hint of comfort in the way that she was demanding. He didn't have to guess what she wanted from him. 

A few minutes later, the rest of the department arrived, except for Jan who was not solely an employee of Resource Management. The department did not seem to notice his absence, but Cole was sad that Jan would not be there. The man had a way of making everything work out, something that was often necessary with Resource Management. 

After everyone arrived, Ms. Hopkins pointed out a large vehicle that the group swiftly entered. Cole sank into a plush seat, next to Jam, Sara had moved on to pester Sinje. 

"Do you know where we are going?" Cole asked Jam. "I am not sure. I will make certain you have fun though. These kinds of things always have a chance for us to relax and enjoy ourselves."

As usual, Jam was friendly and an easy conversation partner. Cole wondered if he would have had one of these days with his other department. It didn't seem likely, Mel had never mentioned anything of the sort, and Cole could not imagine the people he barely knew wanted to interact with others.

"Don't listen to him. These days are a waste of time. I don't know why we have to go. I much prefer keeping my routine and working." Sivil spoke up to contradict Jam. He was seated on the other side of Jam, who had graciously taken the middle seat of the back row.

"Don't worry about him Cole, he couldn't have fun if he wanted to." Jam smiled, showing he meant no ill will. Sivil scoffed. "I can have fun. I just don't like being forced to do something. My breaks are the best." Cole stopped himself from shaking his head, Sivil liked to one up Jam at every opportunity.

"How about you show me on our next break day?" Jam seemed genuinely interested in spending time with Sivil, even though the man could not stand him. "You would ruin it for me." Sivil snarled.

Luckily the vehicle stopped before the conversation could continue, and the group exited to a nondescript building. Like the company building it was not adorned with any lighting, but it was not nearly as imposing. A large door was evident on one side, and it had neighboring buildings that towered over it. The building looked like some sort of warehouse, and Cole wondered if their field trip was going to be focused on learning about manufacturing. He already knew enough about the subject thanks to his parents, so he hoped he was wrong.

Cole grimaced slightly, he had not had any contact with his family since the message his mom had sent. Cole had even been the one to reach out a couple weeks ago, but he had not gotten any response. 'They must be in the swells of a major project.' Cole thought to himself.

Jam patted Cole on his shoulder, noticing the expression and comforting him without saying a word. Cole mustered a smile and Ms. Hopkins led the group towards the entrance.

The large doors slid open when approached, and the group was quickly greeted by a small man wearing a tuxedo. 

"Welcome est–" Ms. Hopkins cut him off. "We have a reservation." The man looked startled for a second. He swiftly recovered. "Of course, right this way."

Cole wished that Ms. Hopkins had let the man finish what he had been saying. Maybe he was going to explain where they were, and what they would be doing. However, it seemed that Ms. Hopkins was still her controlling no nonsense self, even on an excursion out of the company.

The man led them down a hallway into a small room with large seams in the walls, suggesting that something had retracted into them. "Please choose your setting." Images flooded Cole's vision, causing his eyes to widen in shock. His companions had similar reactions, and Cole quickly gathered they were all being shown the same pictures.

He did not have long to observe, as the images flashed, allowing a single one to widen in his view. Apparently only one of them had to make a choice, and to no one's surprise, Ms. Hopkins had swiftly made a decision.