Mercy [Buzzfeed Unsolved]

8. Smouldering Insight

On Monday morning, the entire office was tense.

Everything seemed to be functioning normally, but Shane could see every wary eye glancing at the clock and the unusual restlessness of each officer. Only whispers were heard throughout the office, and only if absolutely necessary. Even Adam kept on frowning at his own computer screen. Chief Bennett had been holed up in his office the entire morning, and Shane hadn't gotten one look at him yet - even though he had gotten to the office as early as possible.

Shane was probably doing the least amount of work out of everyone. Even Ryan busied himself, still sorting through various case files scattered across an unused table. He watched him work for a while, mindlessly studying his features and how his face shifted as he read. Somehow this kept Shane mesmerized, temporarily distracting him from the impending terrors that were undoubtedly going to happen in Mercy.

His chair was definitely blocking some of the walking space in the office, but Steven still managed to bump into it despite it being in plain sight. Not to mention that Shane of all people was sitting in the aforementioned chair; he's just the type of sight that's hard to miss. Even though his mind took a while to catch up, Shane managed to catch some of the papers that Steven had been holding.

"Oh god," Steven sighed, crouching to pick up whatever else fell onto the floor. "Thanks, Shane."

"It's no problem," he replied, sitting up straighter, "Are you good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Steven waved him off hastily, almost brushing off all the papers in his arms onto the floor again.

"Do you need any help?"

"Not particularly."

"It doesn't just have to be with carrying papers."

"Then in that case, definitely not."

Shane peered at him, making Steven squirm in his spot but also trapping him where he was. "I know it seems like 'justice' is supposed to happen today, but nothing bad's happened yet. You don't have to be so tense." A few thoughts flitted over Steven's face before he spoke again.

"I'm surprised you're not more tense."

"Oh, trust me, I am. But does it have something to do with Andrew, maybe?"

He grimaced at first, but then it melted into something more like worry. "I was with him this morning before I got to the office. You know he's at the prison right now, right?"

"No..." Shane raised his eyebrows, somewhat curious but not concerned. "He's done business there a lot though, right?"

"Yeah, I know, but I'm just..."

"We don't even have that large of a penitentiary sector in the prison, and it's only a portion of the prison too. Plus it's our job as officers to deal with criminals, Steven."

"I know..." Steven sighed. He dumped everything he was carrying on a free corner on Shane's desk before frustratedly running his hands through his hair. "But when I was with Andrew this morning, he was... he wasn't as laid back as he usually is. He almost seemed... on edge, or something, I dunno." His expression was pained, and although Shane didn't want to be concerned over such a small over-analyzation, he immediately felt an urge to comfort his coworker. "I can tell he was trying really hard not to show it but... Shane, I can just read him, you know? I hate that he was hiding it from me, but I'm really worried about him."

"You think he'll be targeted?" Shane asked, gently laying a hand on Steven's arm in an attempt to comfort him.

"I don't know what to think anymore."