In the Driver's Seat

Chapter 2

 Federal Building, Manhattan, NY. December 17, 2003. Wednesday morning.

"Join me for coffee?"

Neal looked up from his desk to see Agent Tricia Wiese. She had her coat over her arm, and that indicated she wasn't talking about a cup of the breakroom swill. "God, yes." He stood up and grabbed his coat. "Lead the way."

She chuckled as they entered the elevator lobby. "You know, it's okay to head outside for coffee whenever you want, as long as you time it around the meetings you're supposed to attend."

Neal pressed the down button. "Uh-huh. I see people come and go all the time without checking in with anyone, so I get it in theory. I also see the way they look at me the instant I leave my desk, and how they note the time when I return. Hitchum isn't the only one ready to accuse me of being a slacker. Or worse."

The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. It was nearly full, and they paused their conversation until they reached the lobby. As they pulled on their coats near the main entrance, Tricia said, "FBI agents don't trust easily. Most of us had doubts when we heard Peter had recruited you."

Neal followed her outside. "Is this going to be a talk about how you're keeping an eye on me? Because I've already heard it from a couple of agents, as if I hadn't already guessed. I'd rather skip the coffee than hear it again."

"No lectures, I promise. More like an apology and an offer of friendship." They'd crossed the plaza and were near the street. Tricia hailed a cab.

"You don't like the coffee shops around here?" Neal asked. "I don't mind exploring, but I need to get back in time for whoever's supposed to tail me over lunch."

"Don't worry about it. Hitchum assigned me as your Wednesday tail. Without asking me or checking my schedule, I might add. We're getting an early start because I'm taking the afternoon off. I'm going to help with an event at the school where my sister-in-law works." They climbed into a cab that answered Tricia's hail and she faced Neal. "You can bail if you want. I won't tell anyone."

"I'm not turning down coffee and an apology."

Tricia gave the driver directions to a cafe near the school. When the cab was underway, she said, "I'll start with the apology. Normally when someone new joins my group, I make a point of introducing myself the first day and scheduling time to get to know them over coffee or lunch. I should have made that effort with you."

Neal shrugged. "I wouldn't have known I was being snubbed if you hadn't told me."

"True enough, but our coworkers know and I have enough seniority that many will follow my lead."

"Another reason you stopped by my desk at 11:00. By noon the bullpen would be half empty, but at 11:00 more people heard you invite me to coffee." Neal studied her. "Why did you ask me to join you for coffee instead of calling it an early lunch?"

"I wasn't a fan of Hitchum presuming I'd go along with his lunchtime spying. I certainly don't want the rest of the team to think I condone it. And this way it's too late for him to sign someone else up to replace me."

"I think I'm going to like you."

"Same here. Your work on the case files I gave you was solid. I agreed with your findings, and the main feedback I need to give you is that your write-ups should be longer to satisfy Peter's preference for more detail. Beyond that, your conclusions made sense and you worked quickly. I hope we'll be assigned to cases together when Peter's ready to send you into the field."

"Thanks."

"Tomorrow I'd like to talk through your work in more detail, to get a sense for your thought process. Then I'll pick out another set of case files for you. Peter wants you to see a wide range of the type of cases we handle, so this is your advance warning that it will be a lot of files. Hopefully enough to keep you busy next week." She paused. "Did anyone tell you about Friday?"