Snakepit

Chapter 2

"What is this?" Hermione tossed the file onto her desk unceremoniously, looking up at Rick Bode, her boss and director of the Department of Intelligence.

"What do you mean?" Rick said, his large frame leaning against the doorway to Hermione's office. There was a challenge in his eyes. He wanted her to ask about the name next to hers on the newly assigned case.

So be it.

"Why do I have a partner now? You said I could work alone, said that I should work alone. My stats show that I'm perfectly competent on my own and I run through more cases than anyone else here! I don't need anyone, let alone Draco Malfoy."

Rick sighed, brushing a little piece of lint off his charcoal suit. "You know exactly why, Granger. I told you to stop putting yourself into potentially dangerous situations alone for the sake of a case. I vividly remember telling you to bring backup when you're on operations or out collecting evidence. You like to work alone, I get it, but you can't do everything on your own. We have protocols for a reason. This city isn't always safe."

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself," Hermione grumbled, looking away from Rick. Okay, sure, she had a tendency to abandon protocol for the sake of convenience, but no real harm had ever come from it. Yet.

Rick raised his hands in defense, "I know you are! I've seen your stats from Hawthorn and I've seen you put grown men on their backs here during training. Sometimes that's not enough though, and you know it. I'm doing this for your sake, Granger. Just think of it as a test run. Work this case with a partner and we'll revisit this conversation afterwards."

Hermione studied the dark mahogany wood of the narrow bookshelf across from her, thinking. Law books, self-defense books, department books, history books. She knew Rick was right. He even warned her that there would be consequences if she kept up the "bad" behavior. She just wished she wasn't so damn good at doing everything on her own. The thought of working with someone, having to delegate tasks to someone, brought a grimace to her face.

"Fine. But give me a new partner. Literally anyone else," she answered, her brown eyes meeting his, their warm color completely at odds with the tone of her voice.

Rick sighed again, this time rubbing his hands over his face and gray beard. "And what is wrong with Draco Malfoy?"

"Well, for starters, he's not even in our department! How am I supposed to work on a case with someone who's not even on this floor?"

"He just transferred here from Law Enforcement."

Hermione couldn't help her incredulous laugh. "Law Enforcement? You want my partner to be some cop? How did he even get in our department anyways? We handle extremely confidential information, I can't even begin to imagine how he pulled off a transfer here. It makes no sense. Don't even tell me this has something to do with his family intervening—"

"No, no! For the love of God, Hermione, you're lucky I can't fire my best employee...Malfoy sent in a transfer request a few months ago. We've been completing background checks and vetting him just like everyone else we hire. He's clean. And no, he wasn't a cop in Law Enforcement. He was an agent in the Organized Crime sector and actually wracked up some impressive statistics. He went to Hawthorn, just like you, and has a satisfactory transcript–"

"Well, I can tell you a thing or two about how he accomplished that," Hermione mumbled under her breath, her mood souring as Rick continued to talk about how wonderful Malfoy is. There was no way he could have changed that much since Hawthorn. There was just no way.

"Just give him a chance, Hermione. I know his family is...a presence in Ravaina, but I've spoken to him, and he seems like a good, dedicated guy. That's why I thought you'd work well together. I still think you'd work well together if you give him a fair shot," Rick said, staring her down. She knew he wouldn't back down on this and while she didn't want to either...he was the reason she had her dream job. She owed a lot to him.