small amount of stubbornness and resentment, that he finally acquiesced and began to face each of his cases with the polar opposite of himself.
Unsurprisingly, in nearly every case, they were each pulling in different directions, arguing and struggling with one another, though Harold was more often the cause of the struggle than Sam was. Sam tried his best to get along with Harold whenever he possibly could, which was rarely. Still, they somehow managed to get their jobs done, though Harold fought against the possibility that any of their couples could be in love, and Sam was sure that at least some of them just had to be the real love deal.
At the end of the day, though, their job was not about love. It was about authenticating relationships solely for the purpose of making sure that America wasn't flooded with aliens trying to get an easy life in the United States through a fake relationship.
For Harold, Amara and Jason's case was a classic sham marriage. A young and beautiful girl from a poor and politically torn country marries an older man after five minutes... Well, it was a classic scenario. Harold didn't know what the girl was running from or what she hoped to achieve, but he was damned if he was going to let her find it in America. There was no way he could believe that these two people could fall in love and choose to marry in such a short time. He wasted no time in getting to the point when Jason opened the door.
"Mr. Malloy." he drawled out in a monotonous and fed-up voice that clearly belied the attitude that instead of standing on Jason's porch dealing with his fraudulent handiwork, he could’ve been doing something much more interesting, like scrubbing the grout in his bathroom with a toothbrush.
"We are agents from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Department." He flashed his identification while grinding down on a piece of gum that may have been in his mouth for a decade. "We are concerned with the legitimacy and validity of your recent marriage. We have reason to believe that your wife does not wish to return to her own country, and is using your marriage as an illegal means of staying in the United States. Therefore, your marriage is under evaluation and review. May we come in?" He looked at Jason with boredom.
Jason had expected their arrival, but it was still difficult to keep his fear from showing.
"Of course, please come in." he spoke politely, stepping back to let the agents in. He led them to his living room, where Amara was curled up in an armchair reading a book. She looked up when the agents entered and Jason could see her own fear jump to her face, but she quickly made her expression neutral and set her book down.
"I didn't realize we had guests!" she said lightly, standing up and walking to them.
She extended her hand in a friendly way. Sam took it, giving her a hearty handshake, but Harold just gazed dully at her, both of his hands hooked on to the sides of his narrow belt that was nearly lost beneath his spare tire waistline.
"Mrs. Malloy, we are sorry to intrude." Sam said in a gentler tone than his partner. "We understand that you've had some recent trouble in being granted a student visa and when we were notified of your sudden marriage, well, you understand that the timing looks questionable."
"I do understand that." Amara sighed. "But Jason and I were engaged weeks before I found out that the visa had been denied. That was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence."
"So the marriage was rushed then?" Harold accused gruffly, his eyes narrowing at her. "You pursued a wedding to stay in the country when you heard that your visa would be denied?"
Amara lifted her chin as she looked at Harold and spoke confidently. "I'm a traditional girl, Mister----?"
"Davies."
"I'm a traditional girl, Mr. Davies." She said, coolly. "I pursued a marriage because I wanted to be married before I was intimate with my husband. Of course, news of the visa being denied
Unsurprisingly, in nearly every case, they were each pulling in different directions, arguing and struggling with one another, though Harold was more often the cause of the struggle than Sam was. Sam tried his best to get along with Harold whenever he possibly could, which was rarely. Still, they somehow managed to get their jobs done, though Harold fought against the possibility that any of their couples could be in love, and Sam was sure that at least some of them just had to be the real love deal.
At the end of the day, though, their job was not about love. It was about authenticating relationships solely for the purpose of making sure that America wasn't flooded with aliens trying to get an easy life in the United States through a fake relationship.
For Harold, Amara and Jason's case was a classic sham marriage. A young and beautiful girl from a poor and politically torn country marries an older man after five minutes... Well, it was a classic scenario. Harold didn't know what the girl was running from or what she hoped to achieve, but he was damned if he was going to let her find it in America. There was no way he could believe that these two people could fall in love and choose to marry in such a short time. He wasted no time in getting to the point when Jason opened the door.
"Mr. Malloy." he drawled out in a monotonous and fed-up voice that clearly belied the attitude that instead of standing on Jason's porch dealing with his fraudulent handiwork, he could’ve been doing something much more interesting, like scrubbing the grout in his bathroom with a toothbrush.
"We are agents from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Department." He flashed his identification while grinding down on a piece of gum that may have been in his mouth for a decade. "We are concerned with the legitimacy and validity of your recent marriage. We have reason to believe that your wife does not wish to return to her own country, and is using your marriage as an illegal means of staying in the United States. Therefore, your marriage is under evaluation and review. May we come in?" He looked at Jason with boredom.
Jason had expected their arrival, but it was still difficult to keep his fear from showing.
"Of course, please come in." he spoke politely, stepping back to let the agents in. He led them to his living room, where Amara was curled up in an armchair reading a book. She looked up when the agents entered and Jason could see her own fear jump to her face, but she quickly made her expression neutral and set her book down.
"I didn't realize we had guests!" she said lightly, standing up and walking to them.
She extended her hand in a friendly way. Sam took it, giving her a hearty handshake, but Harold just gazed dully at her, both of his hands hooked on to the sides of his narrow belt that was nearly lost beneath his spare tire waistline.
"Mrs. Malloy, we are sorry to intrude." Sam said in a gentler tone than his partner. "We understand that you've had some recent trouble in being granted a student visa and when we were notified of your sudden marriage, well, you understand that the timing looks questionable."
"I do understand that." Amara sighed. "But Jason and I were engaged weeks before I found out that the visa had been denied. That was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence."
"So the marriage was rushed then?" Harold accused gruffly, his eyes narrowing at her. "You pursued a wedding to stay in the country when you heard that your visa would be denied?"
Amara lifted her chin as she looked at Harold and spoke confidently. "I'm a traditional girl, Mister----?"
"Davies."
"I'm a traditional girl, Mr. Davies." She said, coolly. "I pursued a marriage because I wanted to be married before I was intimate with my husband. Of course, news of the visa being denied
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