[i]’Don’t tell the gods I left a mess, I can’t undo what has been done.’[/i] Fingers drummed against the shoddy metal desk beneath them, chipped and chewed nails clacking idly. The equally chipped wooden clipboard beside them moved slightly from the vibrations, or maybe just from how flimsy the desk was beneath it. [i]’What if I’m the only hero left? You better fire off your gun.’[/i] Finally the hand stopped and a heavy sigh fluttered the ends of the paper, before the other hand brought its pen around and began to fill out the boxes on the lower half of the page. The top was already filled out. Name, age, sex - all the easy information. Even the marks and wounds section was mostly filled out. [i]’We are the heroes of our time… but we’re dancing with the demons in our minds. Hero-o-oes!’[/i] Probable cause of death. Now that was a bit more tricky, since no one should be looking too closely… “Mr. Henry!” The earbud was pulled out of the gaunt man’s ear by the wire, causing him to jump. He cursed as his knee hit the bottom of the desk, knocking half the contents over - including his phone, which clattered to the floor, ripping the other earbud out. At the moment he didn’t care about that, since Sean was shooting to his feet in a ramrod straight posture, eyes wide and panicked. “Uh, Mister Anderson! Uh, I was just, filling out some paperwork-” The much more put-together man before him just narrowed his eyes, and Sean could almost see the ban on any electronic devices already being passed down to the morgue. Sean didn’t dare turn his gaze away, but as the seconds ticked by he couldn’t help but swallow nervously, adam’s apple bobbing visibly. “Oh, your earbuds broke.” Sean’s eyes shot over to the other person in the room he didn’t have the nerve to look at before, not with the Head of HR having caught him in such a position. It was a very tall redheaded woman, dressed… nicely? He guessed? It wasn’t workplace appropriate, but she wasn’t crying and covered in smudged make up so he had no idea why she was in the morgue. But more importantly she was holding his phone in one hand, earbuds in the other - frowning as she looked at the end of said earbuds, the metal of the jack snapped clean off and no where to be found. Sean couldn’t help but groan, raising his hands to run down his face. He had [i]just[/i] bought that - crap, did he get the warranty? “Here, I’ll pay for it.” “Miss Kasimir, that’s not necessary. He shouldn’t have been-” “No, I insist.” The woman flashed Sean a small smile, handing him the phone before reaching into her purse. Before his mouth could reconnect to his brain to say something - anything - she had pulled out a wallet and he nearly choked on his own spit seeing the contents. Who walks around with [i]that[/i] much money on them? Who even walks around with money anymore?! “After all, if I wasn’t getting the tour we wouldn’t have interrupted.” She laughed as she held out a hundred dollar bill as if it was nothing. As if that was an appropriate replacement for his shitty dollar store earbuds. Sean made a very intelligent ‘uh’ and took the bill. “... Tour?” He finally managed to say, prompting Mister Anderson to sigh deeply. “Miss Kasimir is touring [i]her[/i] hospital on a good will project.” “Yes! I wanted to check out the morgue first, I know it’s not a very glamorous job but what you do is important.” “Uh, thanks.” Sean rubbed one arm with the other, having stored both his phone and the money into a pocket. Her hospital, huh? And he was caught listening to music. The haggard man glanced around, wondering why they [i]had[/i] to pick when his boss was gone. He would be much better suited to this. “I guess I can show you some of what I do?” “That’d be wonderful!” Sean merely nodded, turning and gesturing to them to follow him. He moved passed the initial office and towards where the stiffs were kept - the compartment doors lining the wall. “So, uh, this is where they’re all kept until they’re ready for transport. Once we’re, you know, done with them. And the family decides where they go. Uh, or the government, in some cases? We mark them with tags on the toes with all the info-” He reached up, grasping onto the handle of one of the compartments. “Wait, wait, wait-” Sean stopped, turning to look to his two guests. Anderson was hanging back, but the Kasimir broad was close and didn’t seem to be doing too good. “All these compartments have… dead bodies in them?” The man paused, before laughing weakly. “Uh, yeah. It’s a morgue.” She didn’t look too good after that, taking a step back. “Yeah, yeah of course! I just wasn’t expecting … so many. Um. And they’re like…?” He waited, but she didn’t seem to be keen on finishing her sentence. Finally Anderson cleared his throat and stepped up. “Perhaps we can come back later, when Ivan is back? He’s in charge, after all.” The woman looked relieved, nodding rapidly. “Yes, that’s a good idea. Thank you anyway, Mister…?” Sean blinked, then started as he realized she was asking for his name. “Sean.” Anderson cleared his throat and glared pointedly. “Uh, Sean Henry.” “Wonderful to meet you, Sean. I’ll see you at a later time then!” Considering how quickly she retreated, Sean doubted it. He escorted the two back to the doors of the morgue, breathing a sigh of relief once they were gone. He flopped back into his desk, groaning. What a fucking day. After a moment Sean pulled his earbuds out, frowning at the end of the jack. No more music today for him. … Aw shit, was the end stuck in his phone? [hr] “Thank you again for your time today, Mister Anderson. I really appreciate it.” “Not a problem Miss Kasimir. If you ever desire another tour, or need help with your project, please feel free to contact myself or Wilson again.” “Of course! I’ll let you get back to your work now, though!” The door of the limo was closed behind her as Zoey slid into the back seat. Instantly her muscles relaxed, and in a flurry she ripped open of her laptops stored in the limo. It had been a couple hours since the beginning of her tour in the morgue, and by now she should have a plethora of information. The phone connected to her home computer, feeding a copy of all the information contained within Sean Henry’s, via a little metal prong jammed into the earphone jack. The actual tip of the earbuds was discarded a few floors up and halfway across the hospital. The little device was costly, but worth it in this moment as Sean’s history opened to her. Most of note was the history of his phone’s GPS. Zoey knew where he lived already, and this address wasn’t it. A quick search of the internet revealed the location - a ceramics factory. Strange. A frown crossed Zoey’s face, and she quickly opened a new tab. A brief stalk through Sean’s socials didn’t reveal anything to do with ceramics. Even with his recent influx of money he used to buy increasingly nice things - and subsequently brag about them as though to cover up what little else he had to post about - he didn’t seem to be taking up a new hobby. Considering how cool the trail was, it was a good a place as any to go sniffing around.