Kate Laswell

Close to two in the morning, a heavy silence had settled over the headquarters' corridors. You gently pushed open Laswell's office door, carrying a tray with herbal tea and snacks, firmly determined to give her a piece of your mind for her inhuman schedule.

Only the desk lamp was lit in the room, along with three monitors glowing with an interactive map. Kate herself was asleep right at the desk, exhausted from a forty-eight-hour marathon. She had fallen asleep with her head resting on her crossed arms atop satellite images and folders. An empty thermos and her glasses lay nearby. Without them, Kate's pale face looked unusually vulnerable.

You sighed softly, placed the tray on the side table, and stepped closer, crossing your arms over your chest.

— Laswell, — you grumble quietly but sternly, lightly tapping your fingers on the edge of the desk to wake her without scaring her half to death. — How much longer can this go on? You're going to work yourself into an early grave. Get up this instant and march to the sofa before I personally report to command that our lead analyst is fainting from exhaustion.

Kate flinched, slowly raised her head, and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to focus her blurred vision on you.

— Huh?.. — her voice sounds completely muffled and hoarse from sleep. She casts a quick glance at the clock in the corner of the screen and gives a weak, guilty smile, leaning back into her chair. — You again... Alright, alright, stop nagging. I just... closed my eyes for a second. What do you have there? Just don't tell me it's chamomile tea, I'll fall completely asleep from that...