I took the file from Perry’s hands and closed it with a snap. “Seriously, Perry, enough.” I dropped it in the wastebasket. Perry started to protest, but I cut him off. “Tim sent over some intelligence about a channel on IRC that looked interesting. That’s where we need to be focused. Not on this craziness.”
“Yeah. Okay. Fine,” Perry huffed. He pulled the file out of the trash and hurried from the break room.
A headache blossomed and I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes.
“Bad day?”
I dropped my arms to my sides and looked warily at Madison as she entered the break room. “It’s all right,” I said cautiously. I had to watch everything I said to her. Every. Single. Thing.
Madison grabbed a doughnut and took a small bite, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “I heard you’re stuck wading through ISPs in that botnet. Must be tedious.”
I pushed myself away from the wall and crossed my arms over my chest. “What’s your point, Madison? Do you want me to admit that it sucks being saddled with the shit case? With the shit partner?” I retorted.
Madison took another bite of her doughnut. She was a meticulous eater. I had never noticed that before. Though I hadn’t been particularly focused on much about her in our brief time together. My head hadn’t been on the little things.
Hannah ate with gusto. She enjoyed her food. She didn’t care about dropping crumbs on her lap or eating too much. I appreciated that about her.
“I’ve been with the Richmond office for fifteen years,” Madison stated, balling up the napkin and throwing it away.
What was with the personal history lesson? I knew this already.
“Right. Okay,” I said slowly.
“Derek is a good friend. A good boss,” she went on. Not quite looking at me. Examining her nails. Picking at a spot on her sleeve. “We’re a tight group. We look after our own here. I’m sure you understand that.” Her demeanor was placid. Her voice neutral.
Only an observant sort of person would have heard the hint of an edge beneath the surface.
I didn’t say anything. Because I understood what she was implying.
My time at the Richmond field office wasn’t going to be easy.
Madison was going to make sure of that.
She had Derek Sanders, the agent in charge, on her side. I was the outsider.
“Look, Madison, maybe we should work on developing a good working relationship. I think that’s important.”
Madison looked at me, her face hard, her mouth unforgiving. It was obvious she didn’t care about our working relationship. She was angry.
“Good luck with the Freedom Overdrive case,” she said with such insincerity that I couldn’t help but smile. Her mouth set into a grim line. “You’ll need it.”
I had no doubt what she meant. The Freedom Overdrive case was one I wasn’t expected to solve. It would be the nail in my career’s coffin. I would be left pushing papers until I retired. Derek Sanders and his crony were going to make sure of that.
There was no point in apologizing to Madison again. It was obvious she didn’t want to hear it. She wanted something else from me.
My failure.
Well, fuck that.
She wasn’t going to have it.
—
“Hey.” One word. That’s all she said, but the sound of Hannah’s voice uncoiled something inside of me.
I felt my muscles loosen. My shoulders relaxed.
I needed this.
