Land Locked

1 - Partner

Cal hated the feel of the polyester against her skin. She pulled at the collar of the shirt and shuddered. It was the first time in her life feeling frumpy. She took a deep breath and finished dressing. She tucked the stun gun into her belt, clipped on her walkie-talkie and took one last look into the mirror in the women's locker room and smoothed down her unruly black hair. She grabbed her bag and headed outside.

Outside, the headquarters was in chaos. It seemed to be normal chaos, something everyone was used to. Some people rushed around the office at breakneck speed, while others lounged at their desks looking at their computers with a donut in their free hand. Her new workplace didn't seem worried about the stereotypes. The other two rookies were already standing in front of the sergeant, and she stood next to them in attention. Sergeant Cook was a tall, sturdy woman who didn't tolerate straying from her rules. She checked their uniforms before leading them to the grid of desks where cops in uniform were typing up reports, taking statements, and talking to civilians.

Cal's eyes fell on a man in the corner. He was barely visible behind the mountain of files piled up on his desk precariously. She only saw the top of his thick, dark hair. She felt an instant kinship with him, assuming he was a black sheep just like her.

"Officer Weppler, you're with Officer Thomson. Smitt, you're with Fisher. And Officer Serrano, you're with Officer Carden. Go find your new partners. Play nice. Learn from them. You got any problems, come to me."

She scanned the nameplates on the desks. Carden wasn't among them. She hesitantly turned towards her sergeant. The woman looked up from her clipboard and pointed towards the corner desk with her pen. Her partner was the black sheep.

Walking closer to Officer Carden's desk, she saw that the tower of files wasn't just work. It was a physical barrier between him and the rest of the department. Like children who built tents out of blankets and sofa cushions, he'd created his own space in what was supposed to be an open space office.

"Hello, Officer Carden?"

The man was larger than she thought. Tall and wide, built like a bull. Hunched over at the little desk, scrawling details into case files, he looked almost comical.

"Excuse me, sir?" she tried again.

Carden turned around. He seemed surprised to see her standing in front of him.

"You're a rookie."

Cal nodded. He stood up and side-stepped her to go to Sergeant Cook. She stayed at the desk, craning her neck to see which case he was working on. Cal could hear his conversation with Sergeant Cook. It wasn't something she needed to be closer to. Instead, she took a seat at his desk and examined the case he was looking at.

The file was filled with photographs of young women. Very beautiful, very dead, very dismembered young women. Notes were scrawled in pencil along the margins of the pages. Post-its peeked out from pages. Sentences were highlighted. He was studying the case in every sense of the word.

A burly hand slammed the case file closed. Cal quickly got up. The whole office could hear his conversation. Officer Carden didn't want a rookie partner. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice.

"I expect two things from you," he said.

Cal nodded her head.

"One. Do everything I tell you. Two. Don't do anything I tell you not to do."

She grimaced. She had hoped for camaraderie on seeing him initially. She straightened her posture. He sat and pointed to the empty desk in front of him.

"We follow the schedule Sergeant posts on the bulletin board. I don't care if you're just here to collect a paycheck. I'll do all the work. Just don't get in my way."