The Glitch in Dragon City

Chapter 1

     Dragon City, the place I’ve always dreamed of living. The beautiful thirties styled buildings and skyscrapers had caught my eye from a young age. To finally be living here was a dream come true. 

     I already had an apartment lined up and taken care of. Now I just needed to turn in my application to the Dragon City Detective Agency.

As I stepped out of my cab, I looked up to see the D.C.D.A building. I was in complete awe. The building looked very old but well kept. Insanely excited, I sprinted up the steps to the large wooden doors to be greeted by the buildings security officer.

“Hello miss…” He smiled at me and nodded. “What is your business here?”

I smiled brightly at him, my eyes sparkling with excitement. “My name is Abagail Finn! I’m here to turn in an application for the agency.” I took out the thick packet for the guard to look over. “See?” He nodded once more and opened the door for me. I thanked him as I resisted the urge to skip through the doors.

The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. While the exterior was old and aged, the interior was more modern. The lobby was stunning, with white marbled floors, walls and ceiling. A large oak desk sat in the middle of the lobby and sitting at the desk was a woman that looked to be in her late twenties. She didn't even look at me as I approached.

“Take a seat.” She said in a bored tone. I nodded and turned. A small waiting area was displayed in front of me, with black leather chairs, a glass coffee table and magazines neatly stacked for people to read while they wait. 

It seemed to be hours before my name was called to the desk. “Abagail Finn?” ‘How did they know my name?’ I thought nervously. Standing up, I walked to the desk and smiled at the secretary. Glancing slightly to my right hand side, there was a small golden name plate that said Judith. I assumed that was the secretarys' name.

Judith rose her hand up without looking. “Application, photo I.D. and social security card…” She demanded. Reaching into my bag, I took out what she asked for and handed them to her. She slipped the application into a plastic cylinder case, placed it into a tube which shot the container upwards, then she took copies of my I.D. and social security card. Again, she didn’t look at me as she handed my cards back to me. 

“Take a seat Miss Abagail, the Chief will be down shortly for an interview.” This time Judith actually looked at me and smiled slightly, so I smiled back and turned to retake my seat. 

As I turned, I bumped into someone and fell backwards onto my ass. “I’m so sorry!” The man said. His voice was deep but smooth and it made my body tingle. He crouched down to take my hand and help me. “Are you alright?” He asked, concern apparent in his voice.

“Y-yeah, I’m okay. Thank you.” My hazel eyes met crystal blue ones. ‘Oh fuck…’ I thought to myself. Blue eyes were my ultimate weakness and this man’s eyes where stunning. 

The man helped me to my feet and smiled brightly. “My names William, but you can call me Will.” He extended his hand out to me. “Nice to meet ya!”

I took his warm hand in mine and smiled as I greeted him. “I’m Abagail, I prefer Abby though. Nice to meet you too.” I thought I saw a sparkle in his eyes as I said my name. 

Realizing we still had our hands clasped, I blushed and dropped my hand. I saw his upper cheeks flush slightly red before he cleared his throat and fixed his black tie. 

“S-see you around Abby…” He hesitated before turning.

“Uh yeah...see you later…” I went back to my seat, smiling like an idiot.

-     -        -

     About twenty minutes had past when I heard the elevator ding and a clack of heels on the marble floor. I looked up from my phone to see a tall buxom brunette woman walking towards me. 

    “Are you Abagail?” she asked in a thick Australian accent. Her eyes seemed to pierce through my very soul.

“Yes, I am.” I stood to shake her hand.

“I am the Chief detective here. My name is Shannon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her voice was gentle but firm at the same time. It demanded your attention. “Follow me to my office so we may have a little talk.” She turned on her heel and sashayed to the elevator. I trailed behind her. As Shannon pressed the button for the fifteenth floor I started to feel uneasy, like something big was going to happen. I brushed the feeling off and looked straight forward.

The elevator came to a jolting halt as the doors opened. We both stepped out. I followed Shannon, once again, to the left down the long hall to her office. The doors to her office were completely frosted glass, as were the front walls. Even the handles to the doors were made of glass. She opened both doors and stepped through. 

There were two white chairs on either side of her office doors. As I stepped closer I noticed a man sitting in one of the chairs reading a newspaper. I could just barely make out his reddish brown hair and light colored eyes. Flipping the news paper up he grumbled something about me being a newbie.

My attention shifted back to the Chief as I walked through the doors. She had a beautiful view of the city as the late afternoon sun began to set. Looking out of the window I realized that the D.C.D.A. building was the tallest one for at least five blocks in every direction.

Shannon took a seat at her ebony desk and typed away at her computer. “You may sit anywhere you’d like.” She said plainly. I hesitated a bit before settling on a grey leather chair in front of the Chief’s desk. She glanced at me from the corner of her eye and smiled slightly. “So…” she started, “you want to be a detective…” She was now looking directly at me, a full on smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Yes ma’am! Have been since I was a young girl.” I smiled brightly.

“Why is that, Miss Abagail?” Curiosity was evident in her tone. 

My smile slowly faded. “I uh...m-my parents...they disappeared when I was nine years old. The case had been dismissed...the detective on the case...told me they were likely dead and he abandoned the investigation.” I looked into the Chief’s ice blue eyes. “Ever since I found out they disappeared...I’ve had this gut feeling that they are alive somewhere...and I still want to find them...dead or not.” I could feel the tears prick the back of my eyes but I forced them away. “That is the reason for my wanting to be a detective...to take the cold or dismissed cases, to take fresh cases...to prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else.” 

Chief Shannon just smiled and pressed a button on her desk. She spoke firmly into a small speaker. “Nick, you can come in now.”

There was a click as one door opened. The man from outside sauntered in with his hands in his back pockets. Sitting in the chair beside me, he lit a cigarette and nodded in my direction. “This is her then?” He asked. His voice startled me. It was deep like William’s voice, but rough and scratchy. Probably from years of smoking.

“You are correct.” Shannon looked to me. “Congratulations, Miss Abagail. Your dreams of being a detective are coming true.” She smiled at me as I gave her a confused look. “You are now a part of the D.C.D.A. team.”

My eyes lit up, I was at a complete loss for words. “R-really?! That's great!” I was so excited that I was almost trembling. 

“This…” She motioned to the man sitting next to me, “...is Nickolai. You are his new partner.” We looked at each other. I smiled as he held out his hand. As I shook his hand I spoke excitedly.  “Nice to meet you, Nickolai.”

      He smiled slightly and nodded. “Nick...just call me Nick.”