Chapter 11

Two weeks passed, and when Nico entered the office, figuring she could get some work done, she was surprised to see Roy was waiting for her by her cubicle.

"My office. Now."

Unsure how to react fully, she nodded and followed him into his office.

"Take a seat."

Nico obeyed and looked to the wall. She couldn't believe it was only almost three months since she had come in for an interview. Back then, all she had wanted was to be a programmer at Encom. But now_

"Nico, it's starting to get frustrating."

She turned to him and listened.

"You're barely here to work anymore. And when you are here, you're unfocused! How are you supposed to do your job if you're not fully here to do it?"

Nico bit her lip. In her obsession, (the only word that could describe her priority of the Grid) she had forgotten she had a job to do.

"I know. I really am sorry_"

Roy waved her silent. His elbows were propped on his desk, and he ran his hands over his face, pushing up his glasses with a sigh. After a moment, he removed his hands and looked to her.

"Listen, I know you are sorry. But what takes priority over your job?"

She wanted to tell him, she really did. But something inside her stopped herself, so she managed to say, "Personal project. Hard to talk about."

He watched her for a moment. Then he sighed, shaking his head, "Alright. But please, put it aside until after you clock out."

But by now Nico wasn't paying attention, so she just nodded.

He watched her for another moment, then said, "You can leave."

She nodded and stood. She opened the door and left his office. She glanced back to see he wasn't paying attention or looking out the window. So, she continued past her desk, and out the door. As she left, she didn't notice the familiar dark haired man watch her for another moment, before entering Roy's office.


"Captain!"

Beck turned to see Nico coming towards him. He smiled and as she grew closer, whispered, "It's in. They made their decision."

"What is it?"

He showed her an envelope. "I haven't opened it yet. Let's get back to the apartment and find out."

Beck and Paige sat on the couch while Nico sat on the chair and Beck tore open the envelope. He folded out the letter and read it silently.

"Well?" Nico tried to see it from her spot in the chair, "What does it say?"

Beck grinned and handed it over, "We did it! We've got approval to go!"

Instantly, a smile appeared on Nico's face as she took the letter, "When do we go?"

"Five cycles time. We'll also take a couple council members, including David, as our 'diplomatic team'."

Nico almost laughed at Beck's expression at his last words.

"Paige, you're on here, too!" Nico said suddenly, having looked over the list.

"I am?" She moved over next to Nico and looked at the list. Sure enough, her name was on there.

"Congratulations, diplomat." Beck joked, standing next to her.

"Oh hush." She gently pushed him back onto the couch before plopping down next to him, "It's just good to know they trust me."

"And why wouldn't they? You've proved yourself time and time again that you're liable. Plus, you're amazing."

"Flattering, coming from my boyfriend."

Nico laughed and shook her head, "Enough flirting, you two. We should plan."


Nico woke on the couch, but she wasn't sure why she had woken. That is, until she heard the footsteps that crossed from the bedroom, the living room, and into the study. Confused, Nico pushed back her blanket and quietly walked into the study to see Beck sitting at the desk, head in his hands.

"Hey." She said quietly.

He looked up. He relaxed when he realized who it was, "Hey. Sorry if I woke you."
"It's fine. Where's Paige?"

"Still asleep. I thought I shouldn't wake her."

"Another nightmare?"

He gave her a look, "Another?"

"I um….the last time I was here, I heard you wake from a nightmare. Do they happen often?"
After a long moment, he sighed and nodded, "Yeah. It happens to Paige sometimes, but not as often. Thankfully."

"But it happens often to you."

He shrugged, staying quiet. He looked back to the blank desktop that he was sitting at. After a moment, he sighed, "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Did you go to a doctor?"

"Loads of times. They tell me its trauma, but I don't know how to 'get over it', as they say."

She sighed and sat on the edge of the desk, looking down.

"I wish I could tell you how, but I know nothing about that. I can't say I've been traumatized at any point, even during Sex Ed in High School."

Beck smiled slightly. He got the humor of the joke, even if he didn't fully understand the context of vocabulary of a User.

But then she was serious, "But…I'm sorry you have nightmares. Maybe it will help if you talk about them."

She saw him pull himself into a shell. Not something he did often, but she recognized from the other times she had even come close to approaching the subject of his past. His personal past.

"No," He said after a moment of silently shaking his head, "No I'm not ready for that."

She sighed and stood, "Alright. You can tell me, in your own time."

He nodded.

"Hey," He looked up as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Get some sleep, okay?"

He looked down for a moment, then back up, "Okay."

"Alright. Goodnight."

He returned the farewell and she went to sleep, mind spinning in circles about Beck.


"Are you certain we need to bring him, or either of them, into this?"

"Well obviously, you have a problem with this one employee actually staying at work."

"I know," Roy sighed, "But bringing either of them into this into it may not be worth it_"

"What choice do we have? This is getting out of control before both of our very own eyes. And we need to do something about it."