Inferna Nuntius

Chapter 2

2                                                               

It was a balmy morning when her phone rang at the ungodly hour of 7am. Cassidy stayed motionless for a moment, then rolled over and reached for her phone. As she flipped the screen open, she knew one of two things instantly; the New York City Police Department was calling her and her day was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

She sat up in bed and breathed deeply before answering “Hello?” She said, as steady as she could. There was labored breathing on the other end.

“May I speak to Ms. Danmark?” The voice was slightly unsteady, yet there was an experienced undertone to it.

“This is she.” This phone call could only mean one thing. She had applied to the NYPD a few weeks ago. This had to be her rejection phone call. But I thought they did that by mail, she thought to herself.

“This is Captain Abrahams, Ms. Danmark. I have your application here, and there are some things that I think we need to go over….before we precede.” His pause made her heart skip beat. Before we proceed? Cassidy had that sick, empty feeling her stomach that permeated up into her throat. “Would it be possible for you to come down to the station today?”

“What kind of things do you need cleared up?” She was immediately regretful of her tone she had taken with him.

“I just think it would be best if you came down to the station so we could do this face-to-face.” He shot back at her. “How about 9am, would that be alright?” She had a feeling that if she wanted to pursue a career with the NYPD that this was not a request, but a mandate.

“9am will be fine.” She replied. She hung up the phone and sat still for a second on her bed. This was one of those events in her life that she would replay back in her head over and over again, thinking of what she could have done differently.

Nothing, Cassidy told herself. She pushed the covers back and flopped her feet on the ground. She wasn’t even sure of what to wear. She riffled through her underwear drawer before coming up empty handed. Damn it, she cursed herself, this is a make it or break it moment and I don’t have clean underwear.

*          *          *

At the station, she sat in her car for what seemed like an eternity until she mustered up the courage to walk inside. She had no idea what awaited her, no idea what things needed to be gone over. Her chest felt empty and cold as she walked up the stairs to the offices. As she crested the stairs, her paranoia took over and she felt as if every eye in the room was on her. When she scanned the room, her paranoia turned into a self-evident truth. Everyone from the receptionist to the desk jockeys had their eyes locked on her.

Awkward, she thought to herself. Before she could run the risk of embarrassing herself by speaking, a man appeared out the corner office and motioned for her to join him. She managed a weak smile as she crossed the room and hurried herself into the man’s office.

“So glad you could make it, Ms. Danmark.” The man said to her, extending his hand for her. “I’m Captain Abrahams, we spoke on the phone.”

“Yes, thank you Captain, good to meet you.” She shook his hand and was keenly aware of his eyes never leaving her face. He shook her hand for a moment too long, causing Cassidy to pull away. “What was it that needed to be gone over?” She sat herself down in front of his desk, hoping he would stop staring at her.

“Yes, of course.” He smiled at her, still staring. “Your paperwork came over my desk the other day, and I just had some questions about your application.” He shuffled through the papers on his desk before picking up the ones that had always been on top of the pile. He’s stalling, Cassidy realized. He sorted through her paperwork once again before looking up from the papers, a smile now on his face. He was staring into the bullpen and motioned for a man standing just outside his door to come in. “I invited someone to join us that I thought would be helpful to us both.” Abrahams explained.