Kate entered the unit she was working in and noticed the few people present giving her strange stares. Something in the way they were looking at her made her unsettled. Previously, she didn't know the reason. Now, she did and she realized it had got to be the fact that a newbie like her had been assigned to her first case the day she joined the IB.
'Great! First day and jealous people all around.' Kate didn't even bother to take a look at her desk or greet the people. Their hostile expressions gave them away and she was not in the mood to entertain them when she had a case to focus on.
Ava had given her the details already. Without wasting time, she entered the meeting room where her teammates were waiting. Seeing a new face enter, the people inside were excited. Almost everyone knew about her and Kate noticed the people in the room didn't have any sort of animosity towards her. They seemed to be a few years older than her and she didn't mind being the youngest in the team.
"You must be Agent Reyes."
Kate heard someone speak the moment she entered the room and she looked at the man who had approached her on his own accord.
"Yes, I am. And you are?" Kate was polite yet distant.
"I'm Agent Dominic Pierce. We'll be working together in this case."
"Hello, nice to meet you." Kate greeted him. Since he was being friendly with her, there was no need for her to not show the same courtesy. Anyway, they'd be colleagues from now onwards. It'd be good if she made some friends in her workplace.
"Let me introduce you to our team. This is Agent Laura Rodriguez, Agent Bradley Stone and Agent Cole Nelson." Dominic introduced them and Kate nodded and shook hands with them.
"Oh my God, finally!" Kate heard Laura exclaim and she gave her a questioning look. "Finally, we have another lady on the team. I'm sick of being alone in this team."
"Was it that bad?" Kate sympathized with her when Laura nodded at her pitifully.
"Oh, please Laura. Cut it out. Everyone here knows who the gangster in the team is." Cole teased and Laura threw a glare at him.
"Ignore him. He is just jealous that I'm smart."
"Whatever helps you digest your food." Cole shot back.
"Ignore those two. It's a daily occurrence for them to bicker." Dominic suggested and Kate nodded as she took her seat.
Kate observed the only man who had yet to speak a word. He had merely nodded at her when he was introduced before he went back to thinking. But the man didn't have any evil intentions towards her. She sensed it. It's just that he was too mysterious and unreadable.
"So, everyone's here. Good. Good." The door burst open and in entered Chief Morgan, the man Kate had heard quite a few stories about during her trainee days. He seemed to be in his early to mid-forties and Kate was not surprised to see how fit he looked.
"And you must be Agent Katelyn Reyes. Welcome to the team and I hope you're prepared to spend the next few days running around. If you want to be lazy, get out of here. If you just want your salary deposited in your bank, look for another job. This is a dangerous job and I want you to put your heart, mind, and soul when you work. No mistakes allowed."
His words were uncoated and merciless and Kate realized that her analysis of the man had been bang on.
"Yes, Chief. I understand." Kate replied earnestly.
Jason looked at her a few more seconds, surprised that she had not uttered words of assurance like the others did in the past. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the others as he took his seat.
"You must all be familiar with the case by now, except you Agent Reyes. Make sure you go through the details soon." He instructed, darting a glance at her. "The police have passed the case to us completely. We'll need to leave in an hour or so. Senator Foster is waiting for us. Agent Pierce and Agent Nelson will accompany me to meet the Senator while Agent Stone and Agent Reyes will visit the place where Hannah was murdered. Agent Rodriguez, check the deceased call records and her other interactions. Any questions?"
Jason ran a glance around the room and when he didn't receive any response, he nodded lightly. "In that case, Agent Reyes and Agent Stone may leave right away."
Bradley glanced at Kate and she received his message right away. She was just about to step out of the room when her Chief stopped her.
"Agent Reyes, good luck."
Kate almost stumbled when she noticed a small smile playing on his lips. Embarrassed, she managed a quick thank you before she followed Bradley out of the room, not realizing that her reaction had made her Chief smile wider in amusement.
"Can you fill me in on the details while we are on the way?" Kate questioned as she walked beside Bradley. The man gave her a glance as he continued walking and Kate pursed her lips in wonder. Just when she thought he wouldn't speak to her at all, Bradley stopped walking and turned to her.
"Did you drive here?"
Kate was thrown off guard by his question. Nevertheless, she nodded immediately.
"Good. Shall we use your car? I didn't drive today. I hitched a ride with Cole."
"Well, of course." Kate was still surprised at how their initial conversation had started as she led him to her car.
"It's best I drive while you go through the details of the case. I'll brief you on the way. But you might want to go through the documents as well. You should have received the details from Laura in your work mail."
"Sure." Kate handed him the keys and took the shotgun. As Bradley started driving, she went through the encrypted email she had received from Laura a few minutes ago.
"So, the police are yet to shortlist any suspects?" Kate questioned as she analyzed the forensic report and the post-mortem report.
"Yes. They have been unsuccessful in finding any clues or leads till now and with Senator Foster pressing them down, they had no choice but to hand it over to the IB." Bradley explained.
"I see." Kate examined the pictures they had of the deceased and noticed the bruises on her arms and neck. The victim seemed to have struggled before her throat was slit.
Kate asked a few more questions on the way as they drove towards their destination.
"What misfortune for the club!" Kate commented as Bradley pulled over outside the club. "Who knew that hosting such a huge party would put them in trouble for days?"
Bradley couldn't help but smile at her words which she completely missed.
"Do you have more questions?"
"Not for now." Kate shook her head and stared at the club entrance.
"Good. Let's go in. The club workers are inside."
"Do they know about our arrival?"
"Yes, it was arranged yesterday after we got the case." Bradley locked the car and started walking.
"Great!" That was all Kate could say before she followed him.