The Loudest Silence

Mason

I slam the pen down my desk as a huff of frustration pushes past my lips. Pinching the space between my eyebrows, I try to concentrate on the files laid in front of me, but the throbbing sensation on the top of my head was relentless and refused to let me focus. 

I had been in the office all day long trying to piece together everything I knew about Rick Wright and his men, yet everything still seemed fuzzy. It was as if some parts of the puzzle were missing, and I wouldn't be able to figure anything out until I had all the game pieces. 

Glancing back down at my desk, various faces stared back at me as I scanned the faces of every person that had ever been associated with Rick Wright. My desk was scattered with files dating back to nearly a decade ago, and I still had yet to come to a conclusion. I knew it would eat at me until I felt satisfied with the information I had found, but I wasn't there yet. 

I could barely focus in class knowing that this case was connected to me more than I had thought it was. It was like a flip had switched within me, and all I could think about was how to bring Rick Wright to his knees. 

My eyes grazed every face once again before stopping on a familiar one. She stood out like a store thumb amongst tattooed men with dark expressions lining their faces. Isabellas's soft brown eyes illuminated in the sunlight as strands of her dark hair flew in the wind. Her eyes were cast downward, and her hands were shoved into her jacket, something she still did constantly regardless of how warm it was out. She looked so young, and so innocent in the photographs, and it was still difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that she was affiliated with Rick Wright. 

I had been notably silent in class earlier, and there was no doubt that Isabella knew something was up with me. I had gone to class thinking I could put on my usual facade, but right as I came face to face with Isabella, all that flooded my mind were images of her father. It wasn't long after that dark thoughts began to invade my mind about my brother and how he had wound up with the same men in Rick Wright's crew. I felt physically sick in that moment and the only coping mechanism I had was to completely shut everyone out. Though it wasn't the smartest way to act in terms of my assignment, I was determined to get things back on track the next time I saw Isabella. 

I didn't know how long I sat in my office staring out the window behind my desk, but I was pulled out of my thoughts by a loud knock sounding on my door. Swirling my chair around to face my doorway, I instantly tensed as my eyes locked onto my boss. Glancing over at the clock which read that it was a quarter till eight, I furrowed my brows in confusion. He rarely ever stayed in the office later than 5pm. He was typically the first person in the office at the crack of dawn, and made it a point to be back home by sundown. I watched in silence as he stepped into my office and took a seat in the chair in front of my desk. He scanned the papers lying on my desk, before looking up at me. Dark eye bags sat prominently on his face as lines crowded his forehead. Exhaustion was transparent on his face, but it was a price that had to be paid when it came to a job like this. 

Clasping his hands in his lap, he finally spoke up, "I'm probably the last person you want to see, but at the end of the day, I'm still your boss. Dodging my calls and ignoring any messages is unacceptable behavior for an agent ranked as high as you are. There are expectations I have for my employees, and I expect them to be met by each and every one of my agent no matter what." He firmly stated as I nodded my head as an answer. Despite the anger I still felt regarding the information he withheld from me, he made a valid point. He was my boss, and I was his employee and that was a boundary I was not allowed to cross.