Isaac was halfway through proofreading the latest section of his report when he felt a familiar presence approach him from behind. He let out a tired sigh but kept working.
The presence came closer until it loomed over him, casting a pale shadow over his desk.
He continued working, determined to ignore her for as long as possible.
“Ah-hem!”
Isaac finished the paragraph he was on then turned—slowly but deliberately—in his chair. He looked up at a slender woman slightly shorter than himself with hair and skin tone that closely matched his own, which wasn’t surprising, since they were fraternal twins. The main difference was in her eyes, which though they shared his dark coloration, were filled with zest and enthusiasm. In contrast, Isaac’s eyes were focused and intense, always ready to tear through a problem piece by piece. His twin sister’s eyes laughed at the world with every glance.
“Yes, Nina?” Isaac said, not unpleasantly, but still with a tone that declared I have work to do. Can this wait until later?
“Hey. How’s my little brother doing?”
“Fine, but busy. Trying to finish up this Fridge murder report before I head home. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Heard you’re shipping out.”
“You heard right.” He paused as a means to invite her to expound on her intrusion, but when she failed to fill the silence, he added, “Why do you ask?”
“Heard you’re flying off to Luna.”
“Correct again. It’s almost like our schedules are posted in a central database any detective”—he gestured to her with an open palm—“or forensics specialist can access.”
Susan snorted out a laugh but didn’t look up from her work.
“Smartass,” Nina said, but she smiled when she did. “It’s the Weltall Tournament, isn’t it? You two have been invited to attend?”
“We have. And?”
“Can I come along?”
“Uhh . . .” Isaac blinked in surprise. “I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“Please!”
“It’s not really my decision to make.” He turned back to his desk. “Cephalie?”
The miniaturized avatar of his integrated companion appeared on the desk.
“Did we receive any spare tickets?” Isaac asked her.
“Nope. Just the two, plus I’m allowed to tag along since I’m your IC.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Cephalie vanished as Isaac turned back to his sister.
“Sorry.” He shrugged an apology. “Can’t help you, sis.”
“But this is going to be the first time Admin and SysGov players compete together! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see history in the making! Once it’s gone, it’s gone!”
“Nina, our society has time machines. The past is never truly out of reach.”
“It might as well be, what with Gordian Division keeping a lid on time travel nowadays. When’s the last time you saw them approve a temporal search warrant?”
“Can’t seem to recall.”
“Exactly! Besides, you know what I mean.”
“Yes, I suppose I do.”
“This would also be a perfect opportunity for me to meet some other people from the Admin.” She clasped her hands together as if praying or begging. Or both. “Please!”
“I don’t know what to say. We only have the two tickets.”
“Then ask Raviv for another. Can’t hurt to try.”
“The tickets didn’t come from Raviv,” Isaac pointed out.
“Then who gave them to you?”
“DTI Director Jonas Shigeki,” Susan filled in, looking up from her work. “He supplied the tickets.”
“Can you ask him for another?”
“Uhh, no,” Susan said with finality. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s an under-director and I’m, well . . . I’m just another agent.”
“I think you’re a little more than that, Susan,” Isaac countered.
“The point is he’s way higher up in the food chain than me. It’s best if I don’t bug him.”
“Wait a second,” Isaac began, a thought occurring to him. “Isn’t he the director you send your status reports to? The ones on how the exchange program is working out?”
“Yeah, he’s the one.”
“Then don’t you already have an open dialogue with him?”
“A one-way dialogue,” Susan stressed. “Sent in the form of reports.”
“Is it typical for a DTI agent to file reports straight to directors?”
“Well, no.” Susan grimaced. “Actually, it’s almost unheard of.”
“I see,” Isaac said, the gears of his mind turning.
“But that doesn’t mean anything in this case. The whole exchange program is something of a new thing.”
“Which Jonas Shigeki personally picked you for.”
“Ye-e-es,” Susan admitted guardedly.
“Which suggests if you were to ask him for something, he’d probably listen.”
“I can’t just ask him for a handout.”
“But you wouldn’t be,” Isaac corrected, then patted Nina on the arm. “You’d be doing your part to promote . . . I don’t know.” He swirled his free hand through the air as he thought up a phrase. “You’d be promoting positive transdimensional relations.”
“Ooh!” Nina’s face lit up with hope. “I like that one. That could work!”
“I don’t know . . .” Susan replied, clearly not enthusiastic about this.
“Have you ever asked him for something before?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then he already knows you don’t make frivolous requests.”
“But this would be a frivolous request!” Susan stressed.
“Come on, Susan.” Nina rounded their desks and came alongside the Admin agent. “Help me out here.”
“I don’t think you two fully realize what you’re asking,” Susan explained. “My superiors are strict. A request like this is going to be scrutinized in more ways than you can possibly imagine. Even if I do send it, there’s no way it’s getting approved.” She shook her head. “No point in even trying.”
“Susan.” Nina put her arm around the other woman’s shoulders. “Do you consider me a friend?”
“Umm . . . well, yeah. Of course, I do.”
“And who was it, when you first started working in Themis Division, who invited you over for fun and games?”
“That would be the two of you.”
“And who let you join in on our Solar Descent sessions? Who helped you set up your first character and gave you tips for making your build extra tanky?”
“Are you really going to guilt me into sending this message?” Susan asked, her brow creased with worry.
“Please!”
“Might as well give it a shot, Susan,” Isaac said. “At the very least it’ll stop her from whining about it.”
“I . . .” Susan glanced to Nina, then to Isaac, then back to his sister. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you!” Nina gave Susan a tight hug.
“Though, I’m telling you, it’s going to get rejected.”
“Still worth a shot,” Isaac said. “And besides, what’s the harm in trying?”
Susan frowned at him.
