It was no test.

That, maybe, was worse.

Gavin had stepped out of his office for only a minute, going across the hall to inspect the office of the late Choi in order to cross-examine a certain report. His secretary, having not been told, had mistakenly unlocked the door when his next appointment had arrived ahead of schedule.

Gavin steps out of Chu-e's office, closing the door gently behind him, and catches the tail-end of the exchange with Klaus' desperate, confused plea of Sir?

"Hello?" Gavin frowns. "What...?"

Then he sees that the door of his office is open. That his chair is occupied. That his shit-eating son-of-a-bitch Ditto is playing the IMPOSTER with its beady eyes and lifeless smile. Of course, Klaus couldn't see those details with his gaze pinned to the floor.

"I knew I shouldn't have left your pokeball unattended," he mutters, stalking over to the desk and snatching up the offending capsule to return the offending Pokémon. He shoves it into a drawer of his desk and sits down in the chair.

"Come in. I apologise for my Pokemon's incredibly unprofessional behavior." He rolls his eyes. Fucking Ditto. "Please, sit.

klaus anchoret

Gavin's no psychologist, but it doesn't take a degree to read the discomfort in Klaus' tense muscles and unnatural pallor. Ordinarily, that was the goal when someone was summoned to Gavin's office. The very atmosphere of it — cold, metallic, impersonal — was designed to illicit anxiety. But Klaus isn't here because he's in trouble.

So Gavin doesn't repeat the request for Klaus to sit, just yet.

"You're not in trouble, if that's what you're worried about." Best to get that out of the way, before the poor guy had a heart attack. "It was brought to my attention that you have skill as an engineer, is all."

He looks like he's about to be sick.

Gavin has sudden flashbacks to SPECTRA; perhaps that wasn't an unreasonable assumption.

"Would you like something to drink?" Please don't throw up on my floor.

klaus anchoret

How did this one end up in Rocket?

Yet alongside the skepticism, there are shades of empathy. He remembers what it is to be afraid of those who could end your life with a snap of their fingers, a click of the tongue. His throat closes around old memories best left undisturbed.

Thankfully, Klaus' refusal to look at him means he'd likely missed the shadow in Gavin's gaze.

Klaus, however, is not so lucky. Gavin never looks away from his uncomfortable guest, and doesn't miss the mute shake of the head in refusal. He'd have left it there, understanding, but Klaus clarifies after a beat of silence.

"There have been problems with the rear escape trunk of the sub, and our usual engineer is indisposed." Gavin would later come to find out that he'd been among the casualties of Rowan Wrynn's Occupied Ocean project, and whatever horrors were converging in the deep. For now, however, he knows only that the man is missing. "You can understand why that might be a problem, I'm sure."

For now, they were docked safely in the Cave of Origin, thank goodness.

klaus anchoret

Having something to focus on seems to put some of Klaus' nerves at ease, which was a start. When he glances up, he'd find Gavin's amber gaze to be steady but not malicious, an enduring patience and curiosity suggested in their depths.

"I'm afraid I only know surface details; further explanation would have been lost on me." He's not an engineer, after all. "But I did receive the full report from the agents who discovered the problem, and I can forward that to you."

He looks away to the laptop on his desk, opening it and beginning to type.

He's still listening, though, rambling as the explanation might've been, and he glances away from the screen when Klaus stops himself and apologizes. His lip twitches as he holds back the urge to chuckle.

"That would be appreciated." A single tap of a key. "I've sent the report."

He gets up from his chair, gesturing toward the door as if to say, Shall we?

klaus anchoret

Uncomfortable and stilted though the encounter seemed to be for Klaus, Gavin appears completely at ease as he closes his laptop and gets to his feet. It's not inherently an action of dismissal, though as their conversation comes to its natural close the underboss doesn't seem averse to Anchoret's eagerness to leave. Gavin was aware, on some level, the effect his presence could have on subordinates.

So he dips his head in response to the question, acquiescent.

"I do. If you check in with those at the escape trunk, they'll know to expect you."

After all, it would raise suspicions if they weren't given a heads up and some grunt showed up to fiddle with the components.

"The problem lies entirely with the Ditto, not with you."

With that, and a tight smile, he closes the door behind Klaus. I'm going to kill that Ditto, some day.

klaus anchoret