[text/encrypted to Carolina]

[too_high]

[Given how poorly she'd reacted to him earlier, and the bits of information he'd gotten from Washington and York, Maine still wondered if this was the best idea. Whatever he'd done in his future, however, whatever they associate between him and the Nightmare they'd recently faced, he wasn't too concerned how others perceived him. He'd set them straight where it came up but he wasn't going to bother with an excuse or explanation. They could either see he could be trusted, or not.]

[Except where Carolina stood. The dull ache in his chest from the sniper bullet he'd taken seemed to be a mockery of what she'd meant to him, as a leader, as a colleague, and it was one relationship he wasn't willing to brush off.]

[So it's with a few days in between and some careful deliberation before he sends his message. It's not much, just the intention to offer open communication without making her feel pressured into it.]

[He'd consider no reply to be a clear order to stand back, and if silence is what he got, he's willing to do just that.]

boss

[Perhaps on a more subconscious level he crafts the tiny details of one, small word, the shape and presentation of it meaning more, to him at least, than the sound it makes, or any official translation. No punctuation. A question mark was too forward, a period too final. Lowercase. Informal. Her title, not her name, because he saw her as his superior.]

[And now, to wait - for a reply, a lecture, or silence - and steel himself for anything.]