Pandora's Box

Chapter 6

Autumn, 2013
Willis Tower, CIASF Main Office
Chicago

"Can you believe it? We actually have nothing to do for once." A girl with a head full of green hair leaned back in her cubicle and flashed a grin at the general direction of her colleagues. Pandora perked up from where she had been playing a game of tetris on Facebook over the past hour, just in time to catch a response from her team member seated diagonally from her, a dark headed male she now knew was Evan.

"I, for one, am not complaining. Autumn's almost ending. It's the first day in December and I have some drinks lined up!" The guy proceeded to stand up and stretch, as a ripple of laughter wove itself through the small office.

"Hush, Melanie, don't jinx it. I'm supposed to meet a friend after this too. Shh, and maybe Howard won't hear us." the dark haired male mockingly placed a finger on his lips, just as Howard walked out of his office with an amused smile.

"I'm not ten feet away from you guys, and I'm definitely not prematurely deaf. Trust me, I heard every word." Howard replied with a laugh. Pandora couldn't help but feel at ease just watching the easy camaraderie between her colleagues. Anthony's team had returned from their last case just two days after Pandora had started getting settled in, and the chirpy leader of Team ASPEN had wasted no time in introducing Pandora to his team. In the two months that she's been here, she's been learning the ropes and realizing the high-profile, delicate and sensitive cases that usually was placed on the laps of the CIASF agents, and the degree of which they need to protec the classified cases. 

So far, Rhys has been putting her in charge of apprehending targets of lower class agents and their problems, as well as interrogating the ones they already had enough to press charges on, just for further confirmation. All in all, Pandora realized she's been placed on the learning curve, but for now, she wasn't complaining. While Ryland Jarett had been quite harsh with her that first day, right after Pandora had proved her worth in a one on one combat, he had developed what Pandora could only surmise was respect. He didn't ever down trod her or second guess her move, and in fact had followed her out on cases once or twice, if only to observe her. He had told her it was his duty as the team leader, so he could sign off her approval form after six months, but the girl was still unnerved.

"But yes, Melanie isn't wrong. We are at a slow period in time, but it's come at a good time. Hopefully this continues till Christmas so we get a good break, huh?" he winked, as a cheer rippled through the office. Pandora found herself looking sideways at Rhys seated at his table next to Howard's doorway. 

Despite being irritated at him when he tried to assert male dominance when she had first arrived, a few weeks of being around each other made Pandora realize that Ryland Jarett wasn't all too bad. He was committed to his job, fair and just, and cared very much for his team members. The last part, Pandora surmised by how cautious he was whenever she had to apprehend a particularly tough target. She had realized that Rhys was never far away, and always ready to jump into action. That in itself was enough to soften Pandora to her leader, yet she was realizing that all she ever saw of him was just at work, and nowhere else. Rhys rarely opened to anyone else, from as much as she could gain from Kya and her team members. 

"So," Howard continue, straightening up as the cheers went down.  "We do have a couple of new cases coming up," a collective groan went around, and their head laughed, waiting for them to settle before he continued. "But none of them will be coming in tomorrow. So why don't we head home now and all enjoy some rest before we start afresh tomorrow?"

"If boss offers, I'm not going to say no. Bye everyone, I have a date!" Before anyone could say anything, Evan dashed out as he grabbed his bag. 

Everyone laughed as the shock wore off, and before long the rustle of people packing began, as one by one the agents streamed out. Pandora's keen senses picked up on Anthony and Rhys's conversation as she too closed her desktop windows, and collected her stuff.