Nine-to-Five 034 (Patreon)

Interlude: Director Williams

~~~

“Of course, governor. We’ll notify you as soon as it is done… Yes, governor... The city’s safety is our top priority… I agree, governor… Good night to you too, governor.”

CHEM Regional Director Sadie Williams had seen better days. Her hair was frazzled, there were dark bags under her eyes, and her back ached from having to sit around answering calls all day. She was even starting to see flashing lights, a sure sign she was about to have an ocular migraine. She had already popped two pills, but those weren’t going to act up nearly fast enough to spare her from the pain.

She sighed and fell bonelessly over her desk. To think she had been naive enough to think Jack Frost’s attempted train hijacking had been a disaster. She knew better now. That wasn’t a disaster.

This!

This was a disaster!

A no-name Exceed had suddenly displayed powers far beyond what he had ever shown before and submerged the whole city in snow. Not content with that, Frost had created a giant glacier to crush them with. Had it not been for Alpha Defender, the city would have been destroyed. Not completely, but enough that there wouldn’t have been a difference as far as public opinion was concerned. Thousands, if not millions, would have died crushed under the ice. It would have been a national tragedy, easily outshining anything those loons from the Circle had ever done.

But things hadn’t gotten to that point.

The heroes had done their job. Jack Frost had been stopped, the city had been saved, and now the public could bask in its renewed trust in superheroes. Alpha was set to receive the keys to the city. There would be a charity gala and maybe even a parade once they got rid of all the snow. Some people were already talking about a movie. That was… good. Great. Amazing.

It was hell. It was hell, and she was living in it.

Frost should have been an easy win. Between Slate, Osseus, Disk, and the backup provided by the police, Frost should have never been an issue. But he had been, and now they were all trying to pretend everything was perfect. For the public, at least. Behind closed doors, she had lost count of how many shouting matches she had been in.

No matter how hard they spun this, everyone knew a crazy Exceed had come damn close to killing an entire city. That was what really mattered. There was already talk about creating new protocols to ensure this never happened. Reactive nonsense, of course, but the mood was just right for it to gain traction.

Another group of people, one which she was very much a part of, was more interested in finding out just how Jack Frost had increased his powers. An investigation into that matter had already been launched. Then there was a matter of the trial.

Oh, the trial! Sadie groaned. That was going to be another circus!

Usually, they did their best to keep Exceed trials out of the public eye, but how were they expected to do that with this one? The people wanted and needed to see Jack Frost punished for his actions. While some believed they should skip the trial entirely, there were others, some in high enough positions to make their opinions heard, that believed they should make it the first fully televised Exceed trial.

It’d be a circus.

Just putting Jack Frost on the stand would be a logistical nightmare. Exceeds were not like other criminals. You couldn’t disarm them because they were the weapons, and putting their usual anti-Exceed measures on international television sounded like a recipe for disaster.

Sadie lifted her head up just enough to let it fall on her keyboard once more. The piles of paper on her desk loomed menacingly over her, but all she could think was that they’d be doing her a favor by burying her.

Her computer rang. There was a video call coming.

Williams cursed in six different languages, took a deep breath, and tried to smooth over her hair and clothes before answering.

Donovan’s face appeared on her screen.

“You look terrible.”

The worst part was he sounded and looked genuinely worried for her, a sure sign the world had gone mad.

“Shut it.”

“I mean it,” he said, and damn it, it really did look like he meant it. “Have you eaten today? Have you slept? When was the last time you-”

“Enough!” She said, slamming her hands on her desk. “I do not need you to ask me about my sleep schedule. Sleep and food are for people with time. We have none. If you want to grandpa someone, do it to your granddaughter. I am busy. Either tell me something good, or I’ll hang up. I am expecting an important call today.” One that was long overdue. “I won’t have you clogging up my line without a good reason.”

“Very well,” he said. “You’ll be happy to know there were no deaths. A few homeless people needed to be taken to the hospital, but most had the sense to hide in the subway while the worst passed. Disk and Slate have been doing a great job helping with the relief efforts.”

Hearing praise for Exceeds so easily leave his mouth made her want to throw in some sort of I-told-you-so. However, she was too tired to think of a clever line, and she knew arguing with Donovan would worsen her headache.

Life was too unfair sometimes.

“You did not call me just to tell me my men did a good job. Get to the point.”

“I am going to assume you have read the reports. It’d be too pitiful if you looked like you do without having done something so basic.”

Ah, there it was. That was more like Donovan. Good. Him being nice to her felt weird.

“Those armored criminals…”

Williams winced. Her headache suddenly intensified. Right. There was that particular annoyance too. She had almost forgotten about it with how hard the spotlight focused on Jack Frost. However, while that Exceed had been safely captured, there had been two others sighted during the mess. One of them had fought Disk. The other had been reported fighting yet another Exceed.

She dearly hoped the eye-witnesses were wrong about that. The idea of so many non-registered Exceeds running around during an emergency was absolutely ludicrous!

“They are probably the ones who fought Frost on the train. He was looking for them, after all.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“You are right. We don’t. However, the possibility is there. It is certainly more comforting than believing there are yet more Exceeds in the city we did not know about.” Donovan’s frown deepened. “If they are the same, that means one of them is the one who wounded my officer.”

“What do you want me to do about it? Our men already know to try to bring them into custody. If you are thinking about putting out a public warning on them, you can forget it. The people don’t need to know about this.”

“I am not asking you to organize a public manhunt.” Donovan rolled his eyes. “Nor do you need to remind me of how important it is for the public to remain calm. I am pointing out these people are far from harmless.”

“You did read Disk’s report, right? One of them is a kid.”

Disk said so, so it was almost guaranteed to be the case. The man had impeccable instincts.

“Young doesn’t mean harmless,” Donovan pointed out. “Frost was looking for them, but instead of going to him, they took advantage of a crisis to, if we take the eye-witness reports at face value, kidnap an Exceed we knew nothing about. One of them was even capable enough to stop Disk from ever getting close to the scene.”

“Would you have preferred if they went after Frost?”

"No. That they stayed out of the way helped. I am merely pointing out where their priorities lie. Has Frost said anything about them?"

Director Williams shook her head. "No, he's still unconscious."

And wasn't that another wrench through into their plans? They needed him conscious for the trial.

"I see." He paused for a moment. "You might consider following his example. Seriously, when was the last time you-"

She shut down the call.

"Annoying old man," she muttered. Still, he had a point, annoying as that was. Those "knights" could be dangerous. They needed to be approached carefully. Now, if only she could find out...

Her computer rang again.

She took a deep breath, then another one when she saw it wasn't Donovan.

This was the call she had been waiting for.

She had been waiting for it ever since the damn train hijacking.

"Finally!" she said, hitting the answer button. "Do you have any idea of how long I have been waiting for you to call?"

"Apologies," replied Matilda Martel. "As I am sure you understand, things have been busy."

She leaned closer, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"You look terrible. When was the last time you slept?"

“Oh! I am not going through this whole conversation again! I already got it from Donovan, so zip it!” She took a deep breath. “Now, tell me what happened on that damn train!”

Matilda Martel was a spy they had sent to Regum years ago. The company’s rise after Arthur Cadogan took over had been too dramatic to ignore. While they had no evidence, it was all too easy to suspect Exceed activity was involved, and if not, it was only a matter of time. Large companies often found ways to hire Exceed security personnel. That Regum had the gall to establish their main headquarters mere miles away from the Disk only made it easier to justify.

Years had passed since Martel infiltrated Regum. She had even gotten herself promoted to head of HR, but they were not any closer to uncovering any wrongdoings. Sure, Regum wasn’t squeaky clean. No company was. However, there was no indication they had any Exceed in their payroll beyond the one they sent undercover.

"I am afraid you will find yourself disappointed with my report. I have already sent it through the usual channels, but I will summarize it since you do not seem to be in a patient mood. As you suspected, I was on the train that day."

"Why were you there?"

"I often visit our Romi Town branch by train. It is a part of my duties at Regum," Martel replied, unflappable as always. "A look at my previous reports should prove this. When the criminals attacked, I defended myself as was proper. That is why some of them have incomplete memories of what happened that day."

“Your power cost us a lot of potential intel! Did you at least see the other two Exceeds fighting Frost?”

“I never made any contact with Frost or other Exceeds on that train. That would have required me to risk exposing myself.”

Williams took a deep breath and tried to hold in her temper.

“Why do we even keep you there if you are going to turn up nothing?!”

She failed.

“Because Regum is the largest pharmaceutical company in the world,” Martel replied as if it should have been obvious. “My work might not have yielded the results you expected, but it has yielded positive results, director. Knowing of Regum’s breakthroughs before they are made public has allowed us to repurpose them for Exceed-related purposes.”

“Is that why it took you this long to contact us after the train?” Williams asked. “You were busy with… breakthroughs?”

“I was worried that using my power had called undue attention to myself. I needed to be absolutely sure no one at Regum was watching. This emergency provided a good opportunity to contact you. Now, if that is all, I believe I shall retire myself from this conversation. Have a good night.”

~~~

As Director Williams cut off the call in a huff, Matilda Martel allowed herself a small smile.

“She is suspicious,” Arthur Cadogan said. The CEO of Regum had been in her office for the entirety of the call.

“Not enough for it to matter,” she replied. “CHEM has been suspicious of Regum from the start, and they have repeatedly found nothing.”

She had made sure of it. Matilda Martel might have entered Regum as a government spy, but only one person held her loyalty now.

Said person was currently lost in thought. He had been doing that a lot lately.

“You are distracted,” she noted. “Was seeing the strongest hero in the world in action that surprising?”

“It was more than surprising.”

Arthur favored her with a rare smile.

“It was inspiring.”

~~~

AN: 

I had less time to look over this I'd have liked, so please let me know if you spot any spelling mistakes.