Cloudless Night in Neon WInter

Cole sighed, was he even necessary? It seemed he was just a vessel for Mirai to check on Alyx. Was he there just because of some company protocol? In Sally Hopkins' office, Cole had done nothing at all. He sighed once again, maybe it was for the best that he was not too involved with the case.

Jan had rejoined the duo soon after they left the office, and was currently opening the door across from Ms. Hopkins. "You are sure you don't want me to ping her?" Jan looked at Alyx who simply shook her head and brushed him aside.

The office was the same as Ms. Hopkins', though possibly a hint smaller. Spartan, with a single desk, and a small sofa. The walls were uniform with the corridor walls, with that same dusty peeling wallpaper. The room's occupant did not greet them like Ms. Hopkins, and instead seemingly did not notice their presence until the door clicked shut.

Sara Chekov jumped in fright as her office door closed with a soft thump, and a faint blush colored her cheeks as she remained seated behind her desk, rapidly blinking her eyes. 

"I am Alyx, and this is the company observer Cole." Alyx stepped forward and Cole noted that Sally did not offer her hand to shake, or even stand up to greet Alyx.

"I am Sara Chekov, Baseline Worker." Sara's eyes were slightly glazed as she gave a mechanical response. "How can I help you today?"

"We are investigating the murder of Jake Jenkins, and would like to ask you some questions." Sara gasped, before regaining her focus. "Next time please ping me before you barge into my office."

Cole frowned slightly, Sara had seemed shocked when she heard the news, but why had she started talking about them entering abruptly. It was as if she was buying some time to come up with a response. Cole took a closer look at the woman.

Sara Chekov had a soft appearance; every part of her had an inviting roundness. As she stood wiping a hand behind her back, gesturing for Alyx to sit with her other, Cole inspected her uniform. It was amazing how the same uniform could look so different on separate people. Where Ms. Hopkins managed to make the uniform refined and professional, Sara gave it a messy feel. Her shirt was too large, and it hung untucked, over the waist of her pants, which had slight discolorations, and wrinkles. Her collar was not straightened and some of the buttons were either undone, or jammed into the wrong holes. Sara's face was round, slightly cherubic in nature, with a flat nose, and dimpled cheeks. Her eyes were a faint pink, and her purple hair was pulled into a messy bun.

Cole got the sense that she was not the most effective worker, but Alyx did not blink as she took the offered seat. "We just have a few simple questions for you, Ms. Chekov." Cole wondered if the 'we' meant he was to make some queries of his own, probably not.

"Please call me Sara." Sara hesitated for a second. "You must have just met Ms. Hopkins, she is the only one in the department that makes people use her last name."

"Even Mr. Jenkins? I know he held a position of power." Alyx looked sharply at Sara. "Yes Jake was fine with us using his first name. He wasn't a stickler for the rules, though he did have a hardon for making sure we were working at top efficiency." Sara seemingly couldn't stop herself from saying too much and her face flushed as she realized what she had said.

Alyx waved off her attempt at an apology and asked her next question. "Please walk us through your day yesterday, starting from when you arrived."

"I got here at 6 on the dot–" Alyx interrupted. "The truth please, I don't care if you were late." Sara grimaced and muttered a quick apology. "I got here at 6:03 am and rushed to my office. I was surprised that Mr. Jenkins didn't send me a message, since I was late, but I guess that makes sense."

Cole realized that he had in fact been late yesterday, maybe there was some good fortune in the murder. Cole scoffed at the thought, but quickly turned towards Sara. Was she thinking something similar?

"I think I took my lunch around 12." Sara scrunched up her face, she did not have the same steel trap for details as Ms. Hopkins. "After lunch, I worked until 5:55 pm, then I went home." Apparently Sara had left five minutes early, but Cole didn't blame her. Resource Management had a long day.

"Did you have any bathroom breaks, or interactions with your coworkers?" Alyx rubbed one of her eyes, trying to chase tiredness away. "I am sure I went to the bathroom sometime." Sara blinked nervously. "And I did have an in person meeting with Sinje at 2." 

"Can you tell me what a baseline worker does?" Cole knew he would have to interrupt, and sure enough Mirai instructed him to speak up. "Please keep it general." Cole did his best not to have the same dull tone as Alyx, and Sara appeared to have noticed, as she gave him a quick smile.

"Without going into the details, Sinje and I basically implement the ideas and run simulations of potential improvements. We aren't involved in actual production." Sara looked at Cole, almost like a child asking a parent if they had done a good job. Cole just smiled awkwardly, wondering what in the world Resource Management made.

"Why would someone want to kill Jake?" Alyx's next question cut through the air like a whip. "I-I… I don't know. Everyone liked Jake, even if he was a bit too efficiency focused. It must have been someone who broke into the company."

Cole had considered the possibility. Maybe someone had stolen a keycard and gotten into the company. Only a card of a Resource Management employee would take someone to their floor, so Cole decided to look out for the possibility of a missing card. Each employee was only given one, meaning that if one of the people on the list was not at work, it was possible that their card had been stolen. This was a large deficit in the archaic keycard system that Cole had noticed on his first day.

/It was one of the names on the list. Our receptionists confirmed that no one else entered Resource Management, besides you in the last 200 days./ Mirai's words belayed the intense scrutiny that the company placed on all aspects of the building, but Cole still hoped he would not talk to a killer that day.

While Cole read Mirai's message, Alyx had been sitting in silence, and it appeared just a few moments of quiet was enough to make Sara burst. As if she could not help herself, Sara spoke up. 

"Ok Jake, didn't like me, but I could never hurt anyone. I still can't believe that he is actually dead. At first I thought all of this was just a dumb company test or a fucked up joke." Tears welled in Sara's eyes, and Cole thought that the killer would not have said so much. Unless Sara was acting, the back of his mind spoke up, it was likely that they would learn this information from the other employees. Or maybe she was simply not an experienced killer and guilt was making her talk.

Alyx awkwardly patted Sara on the shoulder. The action was done quickly and gingerly, as Alyx stood up. "We will leave you to get back to work." Sara covered her face with her hands, and for a second Cole imagined a devious smile hidden behind her fingers.

Cole followed Alyx out of the room, building a profile of what he had learned about Sara Chekov. She was a woman who could not keep herself from talking. Possibly emotional, but he did not think it strange that a person would break down after learning their coworker had been killed. She had some strife with Mr. Jenkins, probably due to her work ethic, if what she had been doing before they arrived was any indicator. Was that enough motive for murder. Maybe Mr. Jenkins was going to fire her. 

That did not seem like a good enough reason to Cole, besides Ms. Hopkins seemed just as likely to fire a lazy employee.

Alyx did not seem at all shaken up by Sara's tears, and she quickly called over Jan to enter the next office. Cole wanted to ask her about how the questioning was going, but decided against it. Alyx was simply too imposing.

In the next office they entered, there was a tall woman facing the door, as if she was expecting them. "Sara let me know you were probably coming. Please don't be mad at her, she has issues keeping anything to herself. My name is Sinje by the way." Alyx shrugged and sat down without being offered a seat.