Her stomach dropped at his words. Eyes widening, hands gripping onto the hem of her sleeves crossed over one another. It felt as if her entire sense of reality had started– Trying her hardest to bring up the best solution as to his absence. Tardiness, lack of care, unknown factors. In every one of those made up scenarios, he was alive and well.
The walls of her heart squeezed at the news, trying her hardest to keep enough composure with the fifty people staring directly at her in silence. Hundreds of eyes never looking away from her shocked expression, putting more pressure on her to come up with a valued response.
She can feel one pair of eyes that bores into her head out of all the rest. In which she turns her head to the side, meeting eye to eye with Dallas. Stood in the corner leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, leg crossed over one another. The older man had a blank look on his face, no sense of dread from the news of his brother no longer being amongst the living.
It scared her more than anything inside. To see him stare directly at her, with no sense of sadness for his older brother's death. Not a hair out of place, not a corner of his shirt untucked– He looked as perfect as he did every single day. Amelia once admired it, now it only scared her greatly.
He was still perfect in a time of crisis, what Brenden said was becoming more and more true.
Amelia looks away quickly from Dallas, clearing her throat to speak. "I am truly sorry for those who loved, and cared for Agent Linch." She starts, confidence leaking from her tone.
"He was a very reliable ally to us all. Not only that, he was a good man."
If she had known sooner, she could have saved him. Another person in ties to her gone like the breeze of the wind. Although he was biologically tied to her lover, he was a part of her team alone. That was her responsibility to protect him, even if each and everyone of them knew the dangers of their profession.
Zackary didn't deserve to die, not in the slightest. Even if he was nosey to an annoying degree, that did not warrant death. He did his job well, with passion and drive. One of the many things she enjoyed about him, his purpose was to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.
He didn't care about the title, his ranking, or anything involving the hefty salary that followed. His hard work came from a place deep into his heart.
There was a risk to help those in need, and he took every leep to help solve each case placed in front of them. He was honored, respected, and loved by those around him. Amelia had admired his drive, no matter how much they bumped heads with one another.
The regret sunk in– She should have shown her appreciation more.
"Let us not sulk or think of his death in vain. We will avenge his death by catching the people involved."
Silence continues, no one in the room speaking after the air becomes thick once more. Amelia's own mind was blank, she had no idea of what to say to soothe the heartache that was clear on their faces. Some on the brink of tears, holding onto each other as they await their leader's commands. To move on, or to continue to truly mourn.
People died everyday, but this stung. Losing a valued man, a courageous individual that could have continued to change the world one step a time. Now they had to trudge on without his presence.
Ellis raises her hand, breaking the silence. "Agent Reston, what happened with your altercation with our 'Headless Madman'?''
Clearly the path that was chosen, fixing her posture to straighten it– Running her fingers through her hair. "I was kidnapped for a period of time."
With her words, the room erupts in commotion. Everyone speaking towards one another, Amelia raising her hands in an attempt to calm the entire situation.
"Everyone, everyone please! I am well and fine."
Beth raises from her chair, pushing her hands on top of the table. Her face spread with worry. "Did they injure you?!" She asks, raising her voice over the light conversation.
Amelia sighs, taking a moment to look down at her pants. Under those layers, her legs were torn to shreds. Of course she had to show them to understand the pressures she had been under, how much strength it took for her to be in front of them alive. Amelia was their leader, and strength was the first thing they needed to see from her.
"It's better if I just show you."
She leans down to grab onto the hem of her left pant leg, quickly following it up as it traveled up to the top of her thigh. With the sight, the room falls to silence again.
Her thigh was covered with scars, all in different forms of healing from the week long period of her torture. Scabs slightly forming, others chipped or pulled off. Bruising around the rim of each slice, reminding her of the pain each one came with. Colors of red, purple, and black swirled into one another– A gruesome sight on its own. Her own tan skin contrasted the dark colors, even moving the pant leg over her wounds would sting. She didn't show such a weakness, watching as everyone seemed to stare at her in horror.
It wasn't the only place: More noticeable were her own hands. One perfectly intact, while the other a bandage was wrapped around it. Underneath a ghastly hole from the piercing of flesh and bone. The pain was agony, she could still remember every little tug and push against the blades.
Phantom pain, the worst kind.
"I was beaten, tortured, and as you can see.. Stabbed. I lost a fair amount of blood from the altercation. Yet, I was let go." The flick of her wrist and the pant leg drops once again.
"They let you go?" Amelia looks up to hear Kay's voice. An eyebrow popped up confused at her statement.
She nods, "Yes, Agent Linch had found me barely alive at our front door. It was believed to just be a scare tactic." Without looking, her hand gestures towards Dallas. "I have spent the time away to heal, recover, and become stronger from it. Please do not look down on me just because of a scar."
Amelia didn't want to go into anymore detail of her encounter with Jake Parker. None of the agents in the room knew of her intimate ties with him, she wanted to keep it that way. Have the picture of a deranged killer on the loose as the only thing their gaze focuses on.
"That is all for me, Agent Linch will explain your tasks for your current case." There's no time to catch a word, packing her things into her bag. Amelia is quickly out of the door and into the hallway.
Bypassing Dallas entirely, not bothering to give him even a passing glance. Looking back at the doorway however, to make sure she could see the figure of the tall man in her previous position. He stood behind the glass walls, a projector remote in his hand. Speaking quickly by his lips, hands gestures towards the screen. Amelia's feet continue to walk to leave the building, hands fixing her bag over her shoulders.
Until her body crashes into something, hearing a grunt over her own shocked gasp. Her eyes quickly flicker up to see another woman. A boom as her briefcase in her hand drops onto the marble floor. Amelia pauses, taking in the woman.
The woman looked a bit older than her by a year or so– A presentable attire of a pants suit with a dark gray theme. Her hair was swept behind her shoulders, straightened with the color of dark blue from her roots to the ends.Her skin as pale as snow, her eyes brown as the caramel swirls of chocolate. Her body type looked slim, small but sturdy. Lips plumped with a light peach color, minimum makeup on her face.
She looked disheveled from the sudden altercation, bowing her head profusely at Amelia. "I'm so sorry!" A low tone voice left her lips.
The woman bends down to grab her briefcase, which had opened to scatter papers onto the floor. Mumbling to herself she begins to shuffle them into her hands, before Amelia crouches down in front of her.
Amelia herself takes some of the papers off the floor, holding them out to the worried woman. The woman pauses, taking the papers from her with a light thank you– Placing them into the briefcase quickly.