The New Normal – 11-4 – Interlude – Lorelei
At first, she was a little nervous about what she was doing here – in a room filled with investigators and professional analysts. She was none of these things, and her only skillset that set her apart from the men and women here was that she was a better trainer than all of them. But that didn't mean anything when the task was to dig through paperwork and look through the minute details.
However, that nervousness disappeared when she realised what her true purpose was – and that was ensure that their regions were truly working together, and that Sinnoh wasn't just taking advantage of their help.
Basically, her job was to be a symbol of Indigo's authority, to ensure that her team was being properly respected by the natives here. And considering the looks of approval that she got from her colleagues when she had settled a few early disputes between the two groups, she was confident that she was doing her job properly.
It obviously helped that she got along well with Lucian, who she found to be a very able administrator and someone who knew how to lead people. He was also a very good fit with the group of investigators and analysts here, as he had a very keen eye for detail. Honestly, it was a little surprising to her that he didn't simply take up the mantle of Champion when there was a vacancy available, as she found him eminently suitable for the position. She made a mental note to ask why in the future.
She supposed that was the reason that Cynthia trusted him so much to be her unofficial second-in-command.
The next day, they had received the findings that they had uncovered from John and Drake's raid of that base in Floaroma Town. Unfortunately, none of that was really able to help her or her team. So as Lorelei entered the meeting room, she had expected to have to knuckle down with another day of difficult work.
But as she walked into the room early in the morning, she found a scruffy looking member of her team parsing through the paperwork in front of him. No, scruffy was an understatement. The man looked like he hadn't even gone home. And considering the large bags under his eyes, he probably didn't even sleep either.
"…I appreciate the work, but it's important to rest up." She said to him, "It's no good pushing yourself so hard when you can't work the next day."
"Thank you, Ma'am, but I assure you I'm used to this." The man responded, "I used to do long stakeouts that could last over a few days at a time back when I was an investigator under the Indigo Police. This is nothing. And besides, I think I spotted something that doesn't quite add up here."
"Really? What did you find?" She stepped up and looked over his shoulder. She kept her excitement down though, they had already been through so many false leads over the past day that it was hard to get excited about them anymore.
"Look at how much Galactic Company is spending on their R Department." The man pointed out, "I know they're a tech company, but isn't this way too high?"
"What makes you think that?" A voice appeared from behind her, and she turned around to see Lucian walking in the room. They shared an acknowledging nod before they turned back to the man.
"You see, I've had to perform my share of audits and investigations into Silph Co and Devon Corp in the past." He revealed, "Both companies are tech companies with a large focus on developing their own technology, yet even they don't spend nearly as much into the R department as Galactic Company is reported to have."
"…Could that be because the scale of what Galactic Company is researching is just bigger? They do research about alternative energy generation, after all." Lucian said.
"That could be the case." The man agreed, she should really ask for his name, "But then that makes no financial sense whatsoever. Big companies have big operational costs and overheads. And ultimately, the goal of every company is to generate as much as profit as possible to fuel further expansion. If they're throwing this much money into R , they won't be able to expand or generate much profit."
"Could be that Cyrus is just that charitable of a person?" Lucian suggested, though that argument sounded weak even to her.
But what was more curious was the utter befuddlement and confusion on the man's face, "…Charitable? What part of Cyrus makes you think he's charitable?"
Lucian blinked, "Ah, do you not agree? Well I understand that you're new to Sinnoh, but Cyrus is actually a well-known philanthropist—"
"I'm sorry to cut you off sir, but respectfully, I heavily disagree with your analysis of Cyrus." The man interrupted, "The moment I saw him on screen, every instinct of mine was screaming at me that he was untrustworthy."
He tapped at the paperwork in front of him, "It's why I've spent longer than I usually would to carefully scan through these files. My gut has never lied to me, and I know for certain that Cyrus is up to something nefarious."
Lorelei was surprised at the certainty that he used to describe Cyrus. While she had never met the CEO herself, she had heard people talk about him, and they had nothing but praise for him. It was why they were looking into Galactic Company first in order to clear their name, because no one truly thought that Galactic Company was involved with anything shady.
This man was the only person she knew who doubted otherwise.
"…I'll reserve my judgment on that one, but I can appreciate the diligence, if nothing else." Lucian replied diplomatically, who was obviously still unsure about the man's claims, "So, back on topic, what do we have now? Or is it only the fact that Galactic Company might be spending a little too much money on their R department?"
"I understand that it might be difficult to believe, but please trust me." The man nodded firmly, "This amount of spending is not normal. And what makes me even more suspicious is that they've tried to shuffle the money around, as if they were trying to hide it. Therefore, I believe that Galactic Company have intentionally reported false figures so as to conceal where they have truly spent their money."
She could see Lucian hesitating, so it was time for her to step in to back up her colleague, "Lucian, this is our first lead – one that hasn't led us down a false end. We should be diligent and look into it as far as possible. Call in other experts to check their own opinions. Discuss it as a group. We should explore every avenue."
"…Yes, my apologies. You're right. I let my biases get ahead of me for a second there." Lucian turned to the man and bowed slightly, "I still have my doubts, but I agree that we should look into every minor detail. A lot is at stake here, so we'll have a proper discussion about your hypothesis and see if it goes anywhere."
"That's all I ask sir, thank you for trusting me." The man bowed in return.
"Actually, I never actually got your name." Lorelei added, "Sorry, I know I should keep a better track of everyone on my team."
He waved her off, "It's fine, no one expects you to remember us all on the first day. We were just glad you stood by and stood up for us when you needed to."
The man extended a hand, "And the name's Looker. It's a pleasure to work with you."
A.N. Progress is being made! And yes, I thought Looker deserved a small bit of time in the spotlight. He's an integral part in the games for uncovering Team Galactic, and I thought he deserved to do the same here. For all of his goofiness, the man is effective and competent when he needs to be.
And to anyone who wants to support me, please check out my p atreon at CartecTNN where you can read 8 advanced chapters! Thanks to those who have supported me already!