In a lot of ways, as Alex might easily surmise, that was the way Simon preferred it. That distance, the relative safety behind facelessness. He could control his tone easily enough, and had enough practice playing so many different variations of insane at the hospital that he was hard enough to read on average. Alex, however, was more perceptive than most gave her credit for. Somehow he doubts he's going to be able to keep up the façade now that he's, for one, not being actively mute anymore. His major line of defense was gone now.

The reluctance, however, he wasn't exactly putting a lot of effort into hiding. She'd know anyway, there wasn't much point in pretending that he wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of having to deal with Richard Strand. He met her eyes when she said his name, saying nothing while he waited for her to give voice to her thought.

Silently he considered her offer for a while, taking another bite of sandwich in the meantime. What would make dealing with Strand easier? Mostly he'll need to cooperate, but honestly that's up to Richard he'll have to make the decision to do that when Simon makes the offer.

But maybe there is something. "...He think of me as a deranged murderer. He doesn't understand." Maybe Alex could soften that edge for him? It might make the man more tolerable.