Anomaly

(POV – Emily Parker)

After the new information Arthur had uncovered, Emily decided not to waste any time. She and Laura immediately headed for the communications room responsible for maintaining contact with the High Council. Emily's primary objective was simple: get the new information out as quickly as possible. The sooner the Council knew what was happening, the more time they would have to take the necessary measures.

But there was another matter she needed to deal with. Emily also intended to request authorization to deploy previously approved anomalies alongside agents from the organization itself. She knew perfectly well that the proposal probably wouldn't be met with enthusiasm by everyone.

Not every agent trusted anomalies. In fact, some of them could barely stand being around one without showing obvious discomfort. To many people, anomalies were still unpredictable threats, regardless of how many times they had demonstrated cooperation. Emily could understand that fear.

Even so, considering what she knew about the situation awaiting them, she'd rather deal with resistance from her own agents than simply send them to what was practically certain death. She had a very clear idea of what everyone would be facing.

And if there was a way to improve their chances of survival, even if it meant resorting to something as controversial as authorized anomalies, Emily was willing to do it. Deep down, however, there was an even more personal reason behind her insistence.

If at all possible, Emily would rather not have to carry the responsibility of sending agents to their deaths because of an order she had given. There was already enough weight on her shoulders. She didn't need to add more. If she could avoid it, Emily would rather not carry that kind of guilt with her when the time came to close her eyes and sleep.

Just as expected, Emily requested a meeting, and only a few minutes later, projections of the High Council members' faces began appearing on the monitors around the room. Once everyone was present, Emily got straight to the point and began explaining the situation as simply and objectively as possible.

She presented the graph that had caught her attention, highlighting the region's abnormally stable temperature, and then moved on to Arthur's findings. She didn't leave out any of the more concerning details, especially those that could indicate the presence of something much larger hidden within the area.

Emily knew the High Council well. She knew they could be stubborn in many ways, and, more importantly, that they rarely approved large-scale operations without first being certain that the resources were actually necessary. So, if she couldn't convince them of how serious the situation was, she'd probably have to conduct the entire operation with limited resources.

And that would be, by far, the worst-case scenario. Limited resources meant fewer personnel, fewer specialized pieces of equipment, and, most importantly, no guarantee that they would receive suitable anomalies to deal with whatever was waiting for them.

Emily didn't exactly have much faith in the High Council, but even she couldn't believe they would be so blind as to ignore how bad the situation was becoming. She took a deep breath before continuing. All she had to do now was make them see it, too.

Or at least, that was what Emily had thought until a few seconds ago... Because apparently, she had greatly overestimated the High Council's willingness to act: "Even with all your... evidence, Ms. Emily, we cannot simply authorize the use of an anomaly within the city" As with the last few times Emily had contacted the Council, the voice was male, yet completely devoid of emotion. Its intonation was almost robotic.

Nothing new. The High Council wasn't exactly known for appearing in public or becoming directly involved in the organization's operations. In fact, considering they were the true people behind the entire project and, ultimately, its most powerful decision-makers, it was almost ironic that they were the ones who interacted with it the least.

Emily took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to sigh: "If possible, we should avoid drawing attention to ourselves or creating situations that could damage the organization and, consequently, our public image. As we've discussed before, the use of anomalies should be reserved for truly extreme situations"

The voice paused briefly before continuing in the same impersonal tone: "I agree with your assessment that the temperature is something we should monitor closely. However, the current situation does not appear extreme enough to justify the use of an anomaly. Furthermore, as you yourself pointed out in your report, the temperature remains stable" Another brief pause: "Therefore, we still have time to work on a conventional solution"

Emily felt her eye twitch. Her desire to tell every member of the High Council exactly where they could shove their decision increased considerably, but thankfully, she managed to restrain herself. Barely. The idea of throwing a few hard truths in the faces of those suit-wearing bureaucrats was... tempting.

Very tempting, actually. Emily could already imagine the looks on their faces as they listened to exactly what she thought of their decision. The problem was that she was also fully aware of the consequences. Emily doubted they'd go as far as removing her from her position.

After all, despite everything, she still had far too many results in her favor. However, it was entirely plausible that they could decide to send her off to some remote facility, God only knew where, under the pretense of a "necessary reassignment" And bureaucracy was a pain in the ass.

Emily definitely wasn't willing to spend months filling out forms, answering administrative interrogations, and trying to justify every one of her decisions to a bunch of people who had probably never even set foot inside a containment facility. She took a deep breath. A very deep breath.

She drew in a calmness she hadn’t even realized she still possessed, and after a few seconds, she finally spoke. Her voice came out far more controlled than she actually felt inside: “Considering how determined you all seem to be about this decision... can I at least assume you have a better proposal?” Emily paused briefly before adding: “I mean, if you’re really this set on going down this path, I’d imagine you’ve thought of some kind of alternative. Right?”

She kept her expression neutral as she waited for an answer. Honestly, Emily didn’t believe for a second that they had a better proposal. Still, she had decided to ask. Maybe, by some miracle, these suit-wearing idiots had finally managed to come up with something useful.

“We do” another voice replied, also male and equally robotic. Emily raised an eyebrow. For a brief moment, she remained silent, waiting for an explanation. Some detail that would prove the High Council had actually paid attention to what she had just said: “Find some way to locate the possible epicenter where this new anomaly emerged and send a team there. Equip them with clothing and gear capable of withstanding extreme cold, and the moment the anomaly appears, eliminate it”

There was a brief pause: “Actually... we can take advantage of this period while the weather appears to be stable and set an ambush. Have the team lie in wait and monitor the area. The moment the anomaly leaves its nest, or wherever else it may be hiding, attack” Emily didn’t respond immediately. She simply waited for them to finish, staring at the monitors in front of her: “We don’t need to wait for it to establish itself or for the situation to deteriorate. If we have an opportunity to eliminate it before that happens, we should take it”

The voices on the other side fell silent for several seconds. Emily could almost picture the members of the Council exchanging glances, probably discussing among themselves something that should have already been decided. In the end, however, her earlier suspicion proved correct.

They really hadn’t read her reports all the way through. Or, if they had, apparently they hadn’t understood a single word. Emily pressed her lips together, holding back her irritation. Complete idiots. For the first time, she seriously began considering whether explaining the situation to a wall might actually be easier.

Laura seemed to be having much the same thoughts as Emily. She was practically covering her face with one hand, though Emily could still see the exasperated, exhausted expression peeking through her fingers. Emily took a deep breath before trying again: “Gentlemen... this seems a little... reckless” She hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing her words: “It’s dangerous. Very dangerous. If we make even one wrong move, the team we send could die before they even have a chance to figure out what hit them. So maybe we should consider...”

Emily barely managed to finish before one of the Council members interrupted her: “Miss Emily, there’s no need for concern. This method has already proven effective on numerous occasions in the past” Emily pressed her lips together but remained silent as the man continued, his tone carrying the same bureaucratic certainty that seemed to make any further discussion pointless: “There is no reason to worry. After all, that is precisely what the protective equipment was designed for. It exists to deal with situations like this”

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t think...” Emily began.

“Miss Emily” The voice interrupted her again, this time more firmly: “Equip the unit and send them out. That is all”

Several seconds of silence followed. Emily stared at the monitors, waiting, perhaps hoping for some miracle that would make someone on the Council reconsider. No one did. One after another, the monitors began shutting down.

One. Two. Three. Until the final screen went completely dark, leaving Emily alone in the room with Laura. Emily remained motionless for several seconds, staring at the faint reflection of her own face in the dead monitor.

Then she let out a long sigh. Laura sighed as well, finally lowering her hand from her face. The two of them remained silent for a few more moments. Finally, Emily rubbed both hands over her face and muttered, a mixture of exhaustion, irritation, and resignation in her voice: “I really hate the bureaucratic side of my job” Laura let out a small, breathy laugh beside her.

“What do we do now?” Laura asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Emily sighed and shrugged, as if the situation were so absurd that it wasn’t even worth getting angry over: “What can we do? We’re going to have to do what those idiots want”

For a few seconds, she remained silent, staring at the monitors in front of her. Then, little by little, a faintly ironic smile appeared on her face: “However...” she murmured, leaning against the desk: “If, by some chance, an anomaly happens to get out of its containment cell...”

Laura raised an eyebrow. Emily turned toward her, and the smile on her lips became slightly more pronounced: “Preferably one the Council already knows we have absolutely no control over” she continued, with an innocence that fooled absolutely no one: “They won’t be able to hold that against us afterward, right?”

Laura blinked once. Then again. For a moment, she simply stared at Emily, as though trying to decide whether this was a brilliant idea or completely insane. Then, slowly, an equally ironic smile appeared on her face.