Secretary-Constable Vivienne Bell let out a yawn as she retrieved the last report of the night from her review basket. It was a crack in her otherwise controlled façade, but she forgave herself the indulgence given the unusual stress of the day; after all, she had reviewed the debrief reports for Operation Lightsout that morning. Hopefully this next report would help take her mind off of that disaster.
Observation Report 01, she read. Subject: Murmuration. Adjusting her spectacles, Vivienne made her way through the document, cross-referencing it with other reports on the subject, as necessary. Being a preliminary report, it did not take her long to finish doing so. Still, she hesitated, her fountain pen hovering briefly over the page, before signing off on the report.
Most of the other constables thought Vivienne took her job too seriously. Even the ones that saw past her severe presentation - crisply ironed blouse and skirt, copper hair in a tight bun, speech always professional, always measured - were fond of telling her to relax.
You'll work yourself to death, Agent Rhimes had scolded her once. Let your aides review some of the bigger reports. Rust and Ruin, it's only paperwork, Vivi.
Still, as long as her colleagues dismissed the work she did, they would not suspect that she had a secondary task as Secretary-Constable. A highly trained detective, Vivienne did not simply review the reports sent in by field agents; she reviewed the field agents themselves.
Vivienne shivered as she filed away the observation report to the proper folder. Corruption was always an issue among the Elendel Constabulary, but after the confirmation that an undercover member of the Octet was present in her Octant, she would need to remain on full alert.
With that in mind, Vivienne left a note on her desk for one of her aides to run a backround check on that recent transfer from Wyllion.
Just in case.
Alvron