Arresting Eyes (On Hiatus)

Arresting Eyes

            The blast of cold air that rushed past her as she opened the office door had Casey smiling. There was nothing like air conditioning on a summer-like day that had sweat making her back slick, even though it was still May. Swiping an escaping blonde strand of hair back behind her ear, careful not to knock her sunglasses off, Casey made a beeline for her desk and the work she knew she’d find piled there.

            Her desk was right in the middle of their open concept office, her desk the same dark grey as the others, standing out all the more against the white of the walls and light grey of the tiled floor. It was the wide bank of windows along one whole wall that kept the place from being too monochromatic for her taste, their height giving them a distant view of the lake. Casey smiled and turned away from the view, gaze locking onto her target.  

            “Gorgon!”

            The oh-so-familiar voice instantly killed her good mood as she turned to face the man dressed in a t-shirt and jeans striding towards her. “What is it, Frost?” she asked, sighing. “I haven’t even sat down yet.”

            Frost looked down his nose at her, dark brown of his eyebrows going up. “Well,” he said, voice laced with sarcasm. “I know as your supervisor it’s hardly my place to tell you what to do, but I have a job for you. If you’ll deign to accept it, that is.”

            Casey sighed again. “What is it?”

            “Change into what’s on your desk and meet me back out here and I’ll fill you in on the details,” he said briskly. “And by the way, you’re late.”

          She frowned then glanced at her thick watch. “By my watch I still have a minute to go before my shift starts.”

            “I believe it’s common practice to arrive at least five minutes early for your shift. In case there’s anything you need to hear about before you actually start working, like, say, a sudden emergency that requires your attention. Now hurry up and get changed,” he said.

            Glowering, Casey turned her back on him and hurried to her desk, wondering, not for the first time, why Frost had it in to her. He didn’t care when the others came in, as long as they weren’t late, but her…

           She shook her head, knowing the impossibility of figuring her boss out. He was like his codename, cold, hard, and uncomfortable when it got too close. Smiling slightly at that, she dumped her purse onto her chair before grabbing the red bundle that was neatly folded on the metal top of her desk.

            Holding it up and letting it fall down, she could see it was a dress. With a low neckline, a halter top, and being obviously formfitting through to the waist before it flared out into the skirt, the garment wasn’t something Casey would ever consider wearing, let alone owning. Her hand closed into a fist around the cloth and she immediately retraced her steps.

            Stopping in front of Frost, she held up the dress to his blue eyes. “What kind of job is it that I have to wear something like this?” she asked, putting worlds of scorn and disbelief into that one word.

            His gaze slid past the bright red fabric to hammer down into her. “Intelligence has picked up the trail of a hacker who’s been poking around us far too much lately. Normally, I’d have taken Thunder with me on this, but unfortunately, she’s already out on a job. Which leaves me with you, since you’re the only other combat capable person in the division. Or do you think I should bring Hound or Heart along on a job that may require fighting?”

            Casey looked down, then up. Muttering, “An explanation beforehand would have been nice,” she headed to the locker rooms, not giving Frost a chance to say anything else. Inside the cooler and much darker room, she had no choice but to take her sunglasses off. She lay them carefully on the wood bench that ran between the dark grey-blue lockers that lined the two walls of the tiny room. She yanked open the door of the locker with Gorgon on it and a snake sticker that she suspected was the work of the Boss, and began tossing her clothes in as she took them off. She was actually glad to take off the shirt and tank top, the latter still damp with sweat. She hoped she didn’t smell, and if she did, Hound might have perfume somewhere in her desk that she could borrow.

Her shorts were next, and she was glad she’d actually shaved her legs as she wriggled the dress on over her head. She got stuck only once, her arms over her, her head halfway through the neck. Glad none of the other girls were there to laugh at her, except Heart who would have been in just as bad a place as she was, Casey twisted, turned, and tugged until she finally got the thing on.

            Her hands running over it to smooth it, Casey found herself looking at far more of her chest and cleavage than she usually allowed out. She shifted and glanced around, but she really didn’t have anything to cover it up with. Not even a jacket, not with how hot it was out. She sighed and reached up to the top shelf of her locked. She patted around there until her hands encountered nylon and plastic.

            Strapping the thigh sheaths on, Casey was relieved that at least the dress hid them. She didn’t think she’d feel comfortable doing a potential combat job unarmed. She wasn’t Thunder. Making sure each of the three knives that sat on each thigh was properly sheathed and easy to remove, Casey straightened.

            With a sigh, she grabbed her sunglasses, jammed them back on and walked out. Relieved that even Eagle was out and Kang was off, Casey strode back to the front of the office. She was momentarily distracted by the way the skirts moved around her legs, but what she saw in front of her quickly had all of her attention.

            In a black suit with a bright blue shirt underneath that matched his eyes, Frost actually looked like someone with authority for once. Casey stopped and stared for a second, before the realization of what his change meant. “You’re not coming too!”

            Frost’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah, I am. I can’t trust you on this job alone.”

            Casey bristled, eyes narrowing. “And why not?

            “Because the hacker we’re after is a known gun enthusiast. I can’t have you freezing up out there, especially not when we’re chasing someone who’s been looking into the agency.”

            She flushed. “I’ve never frozen up on the job before!”

            Frost snorted. “There have been too many close calls, times where you nearly did. You need to deal with your fear.”

            “Fuck off, Frost.”