Colin's posts

Hal nodded in response.

"All right." he replied.

"Just... try and be aware of things like that." he told her.

"I'd rather not lose a good friend and agent." he said.

"Is there anything else?" he asked.

"Anything more you feel you should report or confide?"

"....." Hal was silent, before reaching forward, gently taking her hand, and placing his other hand atop hers.

"Roxie, we don't judge you here, either." he told her.

"We care about you." he said.

"Please try and remember that." he said further.

He was wondering if this was something that had been bubbling in her subconscious for a while, or if this was an effect of something at the mansion, or perhaps it was a combination of both.

Regardless, he didn't like hearing that one of his agents felt like they didn't belong at the Unit.

Ryker was silent as well for the majority of the trip, only speaking up after about 2 and a half hours.

"Almost there." he said.

"Ready to fish?" he asked.

"Because it hasn't starting raining yet. Looks like it might hold off for another couple hours."

Ryker sighed.

"No, I don't want you sick." he said.

"However, fish ARE more active in the rain." he reminded him.

"I DID bring rain gear as well, just so you know." he continued.

"In case it does rain, but you still want to go fishing."

Again, Hal scratched his chin slightly.

"Hmmm." he mumbled.

"I see." he said.

"How have you been feeling since taking the position?" he asked.

"Anything different, off, or out of sorts?" he asked further.

He highly doubted it, Roxie being what she was, but he had to make sure.

"He must be interfering with their memories." Hal responded, referring to the master of the estate.

"But perhaps he doesn't know what this Tannyll is, so whatever he's doing isn't affecting them." he reasoned further.

"I'll trust your judgement on this." he told her.

"But still. Be very careful." he said.

"Don't let your guard down." he continued.

"I don't want anything to happen to you."

Hal was taken aback for a moment.

"...I... excuse me?" he asked.

"A... Vitra?" he asked her.

"In THIS part of the world?" he asked further.

"That is certainly something unheard of." he commented, thinking about it.

"And you say he may be trustworthy?" he inquired.

"Sounds like a very paranoid and protective person." Hal responded.

"Then again, he's been known to be reclusive." he said further.

"Nobody's really sure how he's made his money, even." he then admitted.

"Just do what you can, and try not to arouse his suspicion." he told her.

"And trust NO-ONE." he then stressed.

"For all we know, everyone in that house is dirty."

"Hm." Hal mumbled again.

"I see." he said.

"Well, that DOES make sense that Azazel would be the one to contact." he admitted. "I'll make sure he's not assigned to anything major in the next 8 months, just in case." he told her.

"If you notice anything strange the further along time passes, be sure to let either myself or Azazel know." he then said.

"And be careful." he continued.

"This man might just be an average person, but we don't know what he's capable of."

"...it's clear he has something to hide." Hal commented.

"Nobody is THAT secretive without hiding something incriminating." he reasoned.

He then paused and scratched his chin for a few seconds.

"Well, keep trying to get information out of him." he told her.

"You're very persuasive. I'm sure you'll be able to get him to leak SOMETHING." he reasoned.

"And let me know if you need any sort of assistance or help."

"It's about 3 in the afternoon." Ryker replied.

"And yeah, there's books." he said.

"Check in the brown trunk under the bottom bunk bed." he told her.

"There should be a few in there. Around 15 or so." he continued.

"See if any of them are to your liking."

Hal brought his hands together, and rested them under his chin, as he processed the info.

"Hmmmm." he mumbled.

"That IS concerning." he said.

"And it's definitely enough to indicate that something is wrong in that estate." he continued. "However, I don't believe it's enough for us to get a warrant and search the place." he then said further.

"We'll need hard evidence that he's pulling something." he went on.

"But you're sure he doesn't suspect anything?" he asked.

"No indicators that your cover's been compromised?"

Hal just rolled his eyes.

"She is." he replied.

"She knows you're on a covert mission." he told her.

"Hell, she even knows WHAT the mission is." he then added.

"So don't worry. And she still doesn't know that the reason we even know each other in the first place is that you attempted to charm and seduce me on one of my lunch breaks." he added with a smirk.

"Regardless, how are things there?" he asked her.

"Any new developments or news to report?"

"Yeah, sure." Jake replied, buzzing her in.

"See ya." Roxie said, walking in.

"See ya." Jake replied.

"...strange..." he muttered when she left.

"That was Roxie. I KNOW it. That mana is definitely distinct." he went on.

"But... something seemed... different...?"