Noel drags his gaze, slowly, to me. Day continues to stand off to the side, hands folded neatly, likely planning on spectating the conversation and cutting in when necessary. I don't care if she stays here, I'd honestly prefer it. Maybe she'll be able to see how unreasonable he is with me. I'd love a second opinion.

"About?" Is Noel's response, and I cut to the chase instantly. I've yet to tell anyone about what I saw last night at the police station, aside from Lacy, since yesterday was technically my day off. Today? Today, I'm raising hell.

"Zero," my tone already sounds fed up, and I watch Noel quirk an eyebrow at me, probably lost. Dayanara seems just as confused, so I continue.

"I went to the police station last night to investigate Three's escape, and in the maintenance hall, I found this." I already have the picture I took pulled up on my phone. It was a pain in the ass to get since I couldn't use the flash, I had to use my eyes since the number wasn't visible otherwise.

I hold my phone up, right in front of Noel's face. He pauses, giving me an unimpressed look, before he reaches forward and takes the device out of my hand. I feel the cloth of his gloves brush against my skin as he does so, and I shiver, which was probably unrelated.

Noel stares down at the picture for a solid ten seconds before finally speaking. "A zero."

"A zero," I affirm, reaching forward and taking my phone back so i have Noel's undivided attention again. Day continues to stand off to the side, watching the conversation unfold. "The boss disintegrated the wall and then put it back together, and he carved this into it in invisible ink. We finally have a name for the boss: Zero."

"How do you know it's the boss?" Noel asks me simply, leaning back against his desk and crossing his arms, looking at me in expectation. I frown. I don't really want to give him an entire verbal recap of everything that leads me to believe this is our guy.

"I can send you the reports."

"Either way, a name means nothing." Noel says dismissively. I clench my jaw, narrowing my eyes on the infuriating man. He meets my gaze levelly, entirely unfazed by my growing anger. "Have you looked into the escaped villain?"

What the hell kind of question is that? Three escaped a night ago, of course we aren't any closer, but at least I was able to find something. A name is fucking something.

"Not yet—this means something," I snap at him, eyes narrowing and beginning to forget there's someone else in the room. "A name is more than enough to get some leads."

"In some cases," Noel agrees. "Not a villain name, especially one you're only speculating. That could just as easily be a spatter of piss than a number."

Oh, this motherfucker. Did he not see the picture? "No, it was invisible ink. It was carved into the fucking wall. It was glowing like a goddamn flashlight, it was meant for me, piss doesn't do that."

"It's still speculation."

"Speculation is better than nothing–"

"Harlan."

I glance over at Day, finding her still in her spot a few feet away, looking at me with raised eyebrows. Her voice is steady and unsurprisingly reprimanding when the reminds me;

"He's our boss."

I bite back the sharp retort that's already halfway to my tongue. Day's tone isn't harsh, but it carries enough weight to remind me where I am, who I'm arguing with, and how much worse this can get if I push too far. Noel Wolfe may be insufferable, but he's still in charge.

For now.

Noel, ever the picture of calculated calm, tilts his head slightly, studying me like l'm some kind of particularly irritating insect. His yellow eyes gleam with the same mix of disinterest and superiority that's always made my skin crawl. 

"Thank you, Ms. Fletcher," he addresses her, but he doesn't look at her. His eyes are still trained solely on me, standing directly in front of him. "It would do you well to remember the chain of command, Mr. Hayes."

I grit my teeth, every muscle in my body tight. If there's one thing Noel Wolfe excels at, it's constantly making me feel like I'm two seconds away from losing it completely.

The bastard knows it too. His tone is calm, his posture composed, but there's a flicker of something behind his yellow eyes—a spark of satisfaction, like he's enjoying this.

Day shifts slightly, her arms still crossed, her expression unreadable. She glances between us, probably deciding whether or not to intervene. When I finally think of something to say, something that will likely get me in actual trouble, she must sense it. The words never leave my mouth, her hand grabbing hold of my wrist. "I think that's enough. Thank you for the briefing, Mr. Wolfe."

She begins to walk towards the door, me in tow, before something else occurs to me. More shit I need to get off my chest.

"And another thing—" I pull my arm out of Day's grasp, and she doesn't fight me.

All the woman does is sigh. "I'll wait outside."

I turn back around, finding Noel in the exact same spot. In front of his desk, leaning against the edge, with his arms crossed. His eyes trained on me, visibly hitting his limit, probably because of the disrespect. I don't care, though, because I have more shit to say.

I step forward, pointing an accusatory finger at the unflinching man. "You hired a doctor."

Noel doesn't seem to understand, giving me the idea that I genuinely never crossed his mind when making that decision. The thought just pisses me off more. His tone is even when he replies. "Well yes, but Dr. Cross is uniquely qualified. He's a lot more than—"

"You read my file," my voice is low, but there's also a rawness to it I chalk up to my nightmare putting me on edge. "You know what that means to me."

Noel falters, his eyebrows pinching together fractionally. It's not like I think the world revolves around me or something, and maybe I am overreacting because the guy just gives me a bad feeling for some reason. However, it doesn't change the fact that I refuse to work alongside a goddamn doctor.

No, not refuse. I just can't, I can't be near any kind of medical setting, including medical personnel. I just can't.

"Dr. Cross is here to support the team, in any way he can. He's here to help—"

"They all say they're here to fucking help." I snap, and the finger I was pointing at him began to dig into his chest at some point, though I'm not sure when. I didn't even realize I was touching him.

Noel stares down at me for a moment. Irritatingly, but unsurprisingly, he doesn't even acknowledge that. "It would do you well to give others their personal space."

Wow, seriously? That's what he's worried about? I'm having the worst week of my life at the moment, and he's practically the sole cause of it. I'm venting out my frustrations to him and even allowing myself to be slightly vulnerable (okay, not really) in order to get across to him how much I can't work with a fucking doctor.

Yet, his concern is the fact that I'm right in front of him, finger digging into his chest and glaring up into the coldest shade of yellow I've ever seen. His issue is our proximity, unable to take even the smallest look at himself.

One look at the resolute expression on his face and I know he's serious. He wants me out of his space. He wants me to take a step back. I wonder if that's just a thing for him. His space. If so, at least I finally have a way to get to him. More than anything, I want to get even closer. I want to see how far I can push him before he moves me himself.

I don't, though. Maybe next time, but right now I just feel too... disturbed. Noel better keep that motherfucker away from me. I take a step back, dropping my finger from his chest, and narrow my eyes. He's immediately talking.

"Thank you," his tone is far too unkind to be an appropriate pair with words of gratitude. "Now, if you're finished–"

"I'm not finished." I growl, and Noel purses his lips. Even if I'm not, I get the sense that he is quite done with this conversation, himself. "You want to dismiss everything I say? Fine. You want to run everything your father built into the ground? Whatever. I can even put up with your lack of interest in the numbered."

Then, rendering the distance I put between us useless, I take a step forward, leaning as close to his face as I can without physically touching him. I can tell it bothers him, and I'm so glad I finally found a way to do so, even if it is subtle and not super fun for me, either.

"But keep doctors away from me."

Noel quirks an eyebrow, looking my face up and down. I just narrow my eyes, hoping he can tell how serious I am about this. I'm only a few inches from his face, eyes unmoving from his despite the fact I find eye contact with this guy strangely unsettling.

"All doctors?" Noel questions, quirking an eyebrow, eyes flickering with something I don't like one bit. I just give him one solid nod, and the man tilts his head a bit.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, considering my PHD in psychology."

I can't help it—it's like some sort of primal instinct, a reflex. A survival instinct, even, a fear so engraved in my very being that resisting is out of the question entirely. I jump away from him like he burned me, giving him the space he's been asking for despite not making the conscious decision to.

That explains a fucking lot. He was never suspicious, like I first assumed. Nope, he's just rich and smart. He's just a doctor, I should've known. Not just any doctor, but the worst kind. A psychologist. He was never Mr. Wolfe, he was Dr. Wolfe. I just never did any research on him, a mistake I won't make again. I'm going to find out everything I can about this fucking guy.

Noel never fazed me before, not really, but this new information turns everything on its head. I can't help the slight sensation of fear I feel, and it pisses me off. I hate this about myself. I hate my weakness: all things medical. It drives me crazy.

The only good doctor was Carly, and nobody is Carly.

"If that's an issue," the way a small grin makes its way onto Noel's face, razor sharp teeth peeking through and making my stomach flip. "Feel free to give me your badge."

I'm instantly taken back to our first conversation, when I saw the vision and recommended he quit. Back when my feelings toward him were just an annoying dislike, not true hatred. Even if I say I hate everyone, it does take a real reason for that sentiment to genuinely ring true.

This did it.

I hate Noel Wolfe, and that will never go away.

I narrow my eyes, but I can't hide the shakiness of my hands. I shove them in my pockets, unable to help the way I continue to put more distance between us.

"Rot in hell," I growl, but I can't control the shake to my voice. Noel moves on easily, rolling his eyes and beginning to turn away from me.

"You're dismissed."

I slam the door behind me as hard as I can, wishing this was still just a nightmare.