Xavier got back to the hotel and immediately walked into the lift.
The lift took him up in silence.
When the door to his room opened, the first thing he saw was Arlen.
She was at the table, slate screens open, cables and adapters spread out like she'd tried three different ways to brute-force the same locked problem. Her hair was tied back messily, shoulders tight, eyes locked on the data in front of her, jaw set hard enough that it looked like she'd been clenching it for an hour straight.
She didn't even look up when Xavier walked in.
Xavier closed the door behind him and stood there for a moment, watching her work.
He wanted to ask her about the progress, but watching her, he already had a guess that she was having a hard time and probably hadn't found much.
