His Side

Meeting

After dealing with a hostage situation that resulted in only the suspect being killed, something everyone tells me is a good thing, Unit Chief Shepard had decided it would be best for me to start teaching full time, rather than just during the summer. The only plus is that I am teaching hostage negotiation and practices, but none of my students seem to be interested in what they are learning. But I found a way to bring in some new ideas to my teaching, mostly thanks to my new girlfriend, Debbie, who is a student at the local university here in Quantico VA. The role play exercises seem to be helping my students to create a dialogue that should help them in real world situations. I have even taken another step and started to take a few courses at the university. Even though Unit Chief Shepard has told me that Psychology is for the backroom boys, but what do I care? I'm already out to pasture.

Since I hadn't given up on the Psychology aspect of my teaching, Shepard had paired me with a FBI vet, Bill Tench, who is the founder of the BSU, which a lot of people refer to as the Bullshit Unit. Bill is also over the road school, which means that I get to travel all over the country with a man I just met, teaching techniques to local offices, who act like it is more of an issue to listen to us than it is trying to solve cases with outdated ideas. I had taken a step that Bill disagreed with and took a day off while we were in California to talk to Edmund Kemper Jr, otherwise known as the Co-Ed Killer. While Shepard thought it was a waste of time, he told Bill and I we could use ten hours of our fifty hour weeks to look into this more. Since then Bill and I have seen Kemper twice and has been interesting to say the least.

One part of being an instructor at Quantico is auditing classes, today I have the privilege of sitting in on David Smith's class on Crime Scene Investigation. As soon as I walk into the room, I sense there is some tension, I'm not sure from what or who, but it becomes even heavier as the class begins. Smith begins by showing the initial details of the case at the root of today's discussion, describing the cases specifics, "now the investigating agents believed that the suspects to have gangbanged the victim before dumping his body in the river." Smith clicks through his slides, bringing up a photo of the man who had been found in the river. However, soon after uttering the trigger word 'gangbang,' Smith's attention is brought to a young brunette woman in the third row, "Miss Freeman?"

The young woman looks up from her notes, "yes, Professor?"

"Do you wish to step out?"

"No," She states plainly, "why?"

"Miss. Freeman, you know the rules," Smith sighs and shakes his head.

"Yes, I do. I know them better than anyone. However, did you or did you not talk with me just the other day about missing too much class time?" Freeman stands and walks around the tables lined up in the room, to serve as desks.

"I did, however, these rules are in place to help keep you a decent woman."

"But I cannot be a good agent if I keep missing class."

"Miss. Freeman..."

As I sit there I realize that she was the source of the tension in the room when I got there. I also realize she is just the kind of person Bill and I could use to grow our department. "Let her stay," I stand up, "what harm can really be done from a couple of indecent words?"

"Agent Ford, I know this is the progressive new way of thinking. But the bureau does not support this way of thinking."

"One class," I shrug, "and I'm sure she'll want to leave every time she hears one of those words from here on out." I look to Freeman, who is almost surprised that I am standing up for her. "After all these words don't agree with a woman's delicate state of mind." Once I say this Freeman looks at me as if I had tried to kick her out of the classroom myself.

"Very well, Agent Ford," Smith gives in, "Miss. Freeman, you are welcome to leave anytime you wish."

Freeman nods and sits back down, before glancing back to me. I nod and smile back to her and soon after she turns back to the front of the room. After the class I gather my things, thinking of how I can start a conversation with this young agent without sounding odd or inappropriate. When I look around the room, she and the other students are gone. They cleared out of here faster than my students do on a daily basis. I hurry out into the hall and look around, seeing Freeman strolling down the hall, I head in her direction, "Miss Freeman?"

"Yes?" She turns, probably expecting anyone but me, "can I help you, Agent Ford?"

"Yes, actually. I wanted to talk to you about what happened in class today."

Freeman sighs and shakes her head, before turning and continuing down the hall, "I know. I should have left. I wish I could say it won't happen again, but uh.. it will."

"That's not what I was talking about," I shake my head, catching her as soon as I can, "maybe I should introduce myself. Holden Ford, I'm with the Criminal Psychology and Profiling Unit here at the bureau."

"I wasn't aware we had a Psychology or Profiling Unit," Freeman looks at me as if 'm crazy.

"Well,we just got started," I clear my throat, "that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I was hoping you'd be interested in joining our unity and helping us get some footing."

"Why? I'm a woman, we're delicate," Freeman scoffs a bit.

"Come on, I only said that so a traditionalist like Smith would let you stay. I want you to join the unity because you are quite the opposite."

"I'll think about it."

"Great," I smile, "I'll see you later then. If you decide to join us, we are in the basement of the bureau," I extend a hand.

"Thank you, Agent Ford," Freeman takes my hand before I gently shake it.

"Holden, please, if we are going to be colleagues."

"Goodbye, Agent Ford," Freeman chuckles before she walks away, leaving me in a state of awe at the confident woman who just left me standing in the middle of the halls with my mouth hanging open like a lunatic.

The next afternoon comes and I still can't get Freeman out of my head. I had looked into her file and learned her name is Nancy Faith Freeman, she is from Rockland Maine, with a double major in Criminal Investigation and Psychology before coming to Quantico. When Bill comes into the office he notices I am a bit more interested in this file then I am in anything else, "did science create you the perfect woman on that piece of paper?"

I shake my head and take a sharp inhale, "do you think Shepard would approve a student working underneath us, instead of an actual agent?"

"I can't imagine why he wouldn't, we are both instructors. Why?"

"Yesterday I met this student, she was stubborn and refused to leave the classroom after her professor used a trigger word."

"She sounds like a pain in the ass."

"I think she'd be good for us."

"Did you already offer her a position?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if she's going to take it."

"Well, we'll just have to see now won't we."

The next afternoon Nancy comes down to the basement to see us, joining our team, quickly winning over Bill with her sassy and Wendy with her brains. It only takes her a few minutes to grasp the concepts we are talking about, but with a background in Psychology it isn't a surprise. She is very smart and full of attitude, which I'm sure will come in handy with the suspects we interview. The first place we take her is to interview Monte Ralph Rissel and she blows our expectations out of the water, even threatening Rissel.