Anticipations (Evie Cortez Book 2)

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I was sitting next to Bess in the CPD conference room where she was literally writing so fast I could almost see smoke coming from the tip of the pen. She filled in some information before sliding the papers over to me to sign. I read them over and the gist of it was my official record of employment for the SCF task force and that I was fully aware of the supernatural dangers I could be entering on the field. If I got hurt I couldn’t sue them, even in the supernatural world there were politics and disclaimers.

I signed all the dotted lines before handing them back to her. “Now what?” so far this was all pretty painless and I was eager to find out the next step about how all of this worked. I had been working in a restaurant since I was a teenager and never knew another line of work until now.

Bess put the paperwork in a folder and put the folder in a black purse at her feet. “There’s a case involving magic that came onto our radar last week.” She grabbed a stack of folders that had been piled on the table. “While you’re getting your feet wet and learning the ropes I’m assigning you a partner.”  She sorted through the files until she found the one she was looking for then pulled it open. “There was a robbery at the Town Center Plaza bank. It was during after hours and the only witness was the security guard patrolling the mall. He went on record saying he saw a man and woman together and that the man was moving in and out of the place chanting something that got the doors to open. The vault and every entrance and exit were checked out, there’s nothing pointing to how they broke in but even so the police department has written it off like the guard was mistaken.”

“It sounds like magic and I’m the new resident magic expert. So far so good.” I didn’t feel overwhelmed or anything like I was expecting, I was starting to believe maybe I could do this job and actually make a difference. It was a good feeling.

“That’s the spirit. I know you have no experience with law enforcement and I’m not going to throw you into the waters without some floaters. There’s a training course that I’ve signed you up for starting in two hours. This case was put onto our radar last night and I need someone on it but until you’ve completed the course and feel comfortable on your own your partner will show you the ropes but mostly your instinct about magic will be your biggest weapon on the field. Still sounding good?”

“It doesn’t sound like anything I can’t handle.” I was keeping my expression cool, I didn’t want to seem like an excited dork even though inside that’s exactly how I was feeling.

“Good. I’ve already spoke to the bank manager and we have clearance to take a look around after hours.” She handed me the folder. “Inside are the facts about the case and the information you need for the training sessions. Your partner is Thomas Monroe, a supernaturally aware human who’s been apart of our FBI division for years now and helping out with the SCF development around the country. He’ll be at the training session waiting for you. If you have any questions never hesitate to call.” She frowned; it looked more like a tease than actual sadness. “You know I’m always here and that’s not a sales ploy.”  The frown quickly turned into a smile.

“Got it boss.” I returned the smile as I flipped through the pages in the folder, there were many of them. I thought of Dominic and his distain for paperwork, I had a feeling being a SCF officer was going to be worse in the paperwork department than a restaurant ever could conjure. “I guess its time to get to work.” I stood and decided to skim through the case file and training session after I got back home.

“I’ll call you when the bank is ready for us.”

I nodded and said my goodbye. I didn’t make it back down to the parking lot without running into a familiar face.