"I'm well. Thank you." Green eyes study the supervisory agent before continuing. "I know the team's gone through an adjustment period." Quite the understatement. "You've been doing well." It's a genuine compliment.

it takes him a moment to place what she means, and his tone turns from dismissive to incredulous as he asks, ❛ you? c'mon, jen. you're better than that. ❜ which, frankly, says nothing of the fact that as the protectee she should not be making the decision. someone impartial, unlikely to be biased by her dislike for the hassle of security measures. he's not fool enough to consider himself suitable for the endeavor either. even if, in arguing the point, he's essentially assuming the mantle despite.

"I didn't architect the plan." Merely signed off on it, which the more the Director contemplates the matter, the more she wonders if it was a ruse. (Shepard approved. Time to put the actual security plan into place.) A frown. Surely, they knew better than to toy with her. Though, they would argue they were only doing their jobs and ensuring her safety.

important psa.

he has enough common sense ( if barely ) to refrain from suggesting that sometimes the two might be one and the same. instead, he replaces the thought with a dry and distinctly humorless, ❛ does it matter? it's a stupid decision either way, jen. ❜ as responses went, that probably was not much better in the grand scheme of things, but...

Her eyebrows rose instinctively. "Rule 1," came her dry remark. Never screw over your partner. He's looking at the so-called idiot who had signed off on the revised plan for her own protection detail; technically, the head of security had approved it first.