Back to sleep

"Report," said West.
"The target escaped," said Phobos.
"Escaped? How?"
Phobos was silent.
"I asked you a question."
"She is gone." Phobos walked away from West.
"Hey you nickel-plated son of a bitch. You don't walk away from me. You go find her and kill her or get your ass back in that box."
Phobos continued to walk away.
"Put him back in the goddamn box!" said West.
The two soldiers in the room looked at each other and then at Phobos. They did not move.
To go back in the box was not a punishment to him. He wanted to return. In the bottom of the slithery murk he would sleep and dream of a better reality. Phobos opened the metal crate and lowered his body into the amber lubricant like a mummified pharaoh. He rejoined the oil in peace.