Before she can grab the briefcase herself, Amelia does it for her. Standing up, as the woman follows suit. "Here, I apologize for running into you. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She holds out the briefcase in front of her.
The other woman silently nods, taking the briefcase from Amrlia's hands. Amelia fixes the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Do you work here? I don't believe you've ever been here before."
She perks up, pulling the briefcase to her side. "Oh! I'm a transfer from New York. Agent Talons, from the NYC BAU."
Amelia's head tilts to the side, watching as the unknown woman quickly pulls a folded piece of paper out of her coat pocket. Handing it to Amelia, she takes it and opens it. On the piece of paper was indeed a notice of transfer, this new woman was an agent. Named Taylee Talons, twenty four years old. Her position had been second chair in her own agency, being in the B.A.U for a total of four years. Serving seven years in the police force altogether. To be transferred to Amelia's department, you had to be skilled. Hard enough to handle the drilling cases daily, to be quick on your feet even in times of stress.
Amelia was shocked to have not heard anything from the linking force of an arriving agent. Yet she couldn't complain, they had just lost one of their own. It was almost too coincidental however, as one domino falls another is placed behind it awaiting.
"A transfer? I didn't hear anything about a transfer, I would have heard before you arrived." Amelia gazes back up at the woman.
The woman rubs at her arm nervously, looking at her. "It was a very sudden transfer Miss uh,"
"Reston, Agent Reston." That name held so much meaning, it was more than most.
She nods, "Agent Reston, you're my superior I am assuming."
Amelia sighs, folding the paper back up to place into her own pocket. "Yes, I am."
In a moment the other woman is holding her hand out to Amelia, a smile lightly pressed on her lips. Amelia takes a moment to look down at the woman's hand before firmly grasping it into her own. Shaking it with a light movement, the two are joined together for a brief moment.
Amelia was not fully convinced of this new woman's potential, as she had heard nothing about her identity nor credentials before her arrival. It would be tested the moment she was given the opportunity to show her strengths, failure was not an option. Yet the woman looked chipper, barely damaged by the profession she worked for.
"It's a pleasure, I've heard a lot about you." She says, gently letting go of Amelia's hand.
Amelia lightly nods, "All good things I hope." The statement was only half true, she could care less what anyone in or out of her department thought of her image.
The woman in front of her however seemed eager to be meeting her, twisting slightly with her briefcases. Eyes shimmering with excitement, anticipation. The face of someone who had barely scratched the surface of the horrors that await her. Amelia only hoped she handled that change with strength, unlike herself.
Amelia would welcome the woman with open arms, but with the same force as all the other new recruits before her. She was not easy on the newest of agents, Amelia wasn't easy at all.
Before she can open her mouth to welcome the agent, she hears the deep vibrato of a voice she knew too well. Followed by the loud clanking of his shoes against the echoing walls of an empty hallway. Her entire body froze at the sounds, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on top of one another. Yet she kept her facial expression the same, although her heart raced against her chest vigorously.
Emerald eyes peer over to meet with Dallas' own stare. His lips pushed into a straight line as he stared down at her. No expression behind his eyes, no sort of spark that she had wished to see after the news. Dallas had changed greatly in her eyes, and it wasn't getting anymore positive the longer he looked in her direction.
Dallas gestures to the woman, "Amelia, who is this?" His voice was rough, stern as it always had been in the presence of other people. How could he act so casual, so ordinary when so much had happened.
His brother was dead and not once did he shed a single tear. Blood spilled with ease by another's hands, Dallas was not hungry for revenge– For justice. He looked as if he was at ease with the news, perhaps content his brother was six feet under the ground.
It made her stomach flip, turn and contort in ways she had never experienced before. The thought of the man she had loved– Still loved, being the reason his own brother was dead. Amelia couldn't believe it, a part of her wished it still wasn't true.
"Agent Talons, she's apparently a transfer from the New York BAU." Amelia looks back towards Taylee, the woman now only looking in the direction of the tall man next to her.
Dallas' face changes in slight surprise, "Transfer? Hm, I'm Agent Linch." Leaning forward he offers his hand out to her to shake. The woman does so, shaking his hand firmly.
"A pleasure I'm sure, Agent Linch." Taylee nods, giving him a smile before looking back to Amelia. "Agent Reston, where do I go to meet my team?"
She was eager, Amelia couldn't fault her for wanting to get acquainted with her now team. Amelia turns to look back down the hallway, pointing in the direction. "Down the hallway to the right, it's our conference room."
Looking back, Taylee gives her a nod before moving away from the two of them. Both turn back to watch as the new recruit moves further and further down the hallway. Before disappearing entirely, hearing the hinges of a distant door creaking open and shut. Now it left the two of them together.
"I never knew we were getting a transfer." He speaks, his voice now soft. Amelia could feel his eyes on the side of her face, she didn't move.
Amelia needed to stay far away from him at any chance she could, even if her heart beckoned her to stay. She loved him still, the love she had shared with him would not disappear overnight. Which upset her even more inside, that a dangerous man held her heart still in his hands. No way to separate fully, no way to detach. Dallas was always in the back of her mind, who he used to be.
Who they used to be together.
"Amelia?"
There was nothing she had to say to him, nothing that would be beneficial to her task. He was just like the others if what was said was deemed truthful. A distrustful, ratchet, monster. One lurked in the shadows, while the other openly basked in the light with others.
She didn't know which one was worse. A monster that snarled in the darkness to lure in its victims, or the monster that walked and talked amongst the common man. Disguised as beauty, presented as caring and truthful. Both were horrid, the same creature in the very end.
Not one was better than the other, not one deserved salvation.
Her feet turn on the heels of her shoes, fixing her coat buttons as she begins to walk away from the man. Holding up a hand in dismissal as she walks to the front entrance. She planned to stay on her path to victory, there was no time to let her heart lead her into a trap.
That was the first time, and most certainly the last.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Dallas."
To resist the urge to look back in his direction was strong, yet she resisted. Opening the front door with a light tug, before hearing it shut behind her. With the closing of the door, Amelia lets out a sigh or relief. Rolling her shoulders back as she takes herself down the cement steps, making her way to the parking lot. Walking with long strides in her steps, eyes moving with the movement of the scenery around her.
It was always a warm day by the time she had left her office, the sky painted in colors of red, orange, pink, and even purple. A canvas of a sky that roared over the busy life of California, a place where so many believed their dreams would come true.
Her own dream was to live freely, in hindsight it never came true. The life she lived before his return was a facade, a distraction to the storm brewing beyond the horizon. Amelia had let the wonders of a happy life blind her from the signs of danger nearing.
Even the danger in front of her very eyes, seen through red colored glasses.
"How fast ya simple life can end."
She hadn't even noticed Jake had moved, eyes peeling away from the clock to be face to face with him. Barely any distance between them, caught off guard by the sudden movement.