Divisions

Part 1 - Chapter 5

A week later

..."Natalia... Natalia wait!" – Jarred whispered.

"No, you creep!" - She yelled, still in her gown from the press-briefing-.

"Why are you still thinking about me?" She asked

"Wait! Wait, let me explain-" he began.

"Stop. Stop! Leave me alone, don't speak to me... Just let me go!"

He only then noticed he was grabbing her arm. He slowly let it go. As he did so, she ran away from him, and a small letter from her pocket was all she left behind.

He tried to pick it up, but echoes of people yelling "Jarred" came closer and closer and all he could do was kneel and stare up at the sky...

"Jarred! Jarred, wake up, idiot! You slept through your alarm!" Mark's voice was yelling, snapping him out of the dream.

He breathed heavily and shot out of the bed, as he was jolted back into reality.

"How late are we, Mark?" Jarred asked, rushing to throw on a shirt and jeans.

"We should have been at the briefing room ten minutes ago about the new development in the case, Jarred," Mark said, shaking his head.

Jarred only had enough time to spray body spray on his body and run a hand through his hair before he left the room.

"By the way..." Mark said as the two walked through the corridors. "You were whispering the word "Nat" in your dreams,"

"Was I?" Jarred asked, pretending to wonder why.

"Come on! You're acting like a pre-teen. Why don't you just speak to her, Jarred?"

"Because, Mark," Jarred said. "I've said this a million times, I'm never going to run into her again. My feelings aren't meant to be requited," 

They had reached the entryway of the briefing office, and Jarred rushed ahead to avoid the rest of the conversation

"Oh shut up! You're using that as a crutch, Jarred Dunn. You could just as easily just be friends with the girl, come on." Mark hollered, trying to catch up.

"We can have this discussion another time," Jarred brushed him off, as they reached the entrance to the room, inside which two men already sat.

"Just yesterday you said you wouldn't be late, Mr. Dunn" Mr. Ackley said in a stern tone from inside the room.

"We apologize profusely, Mr. Ackley" Mark replied seamlessly as they both entered.

"I would like you both to meet Mr. Sterling Richards, one of the agent handlers of the NIF agency,"

They each shook the elderly man's hand, feeling slightly surprised by the presence of an NIF agent in the building.

"Nice to meet you. Dunn," he said shaking Jarred's hand. "And you..." he asked Mark.

"Marcus George," Mark said, shaking his hand.

"I assume you are both working on the Sheldon Murder case?" he asked.

They both nodded.

"Gentlemen," Mr. Ackley said, addressing Mark and me. "Mr. Richards is here because the IDA and NIF, having both reached deadlocks in their probes, have decided to create an Allied Task Team along with an independent organization, "

"Under this Alliance, each agency will need to assign two agents to the mission, who will meet timeously to investigate the case. We have opted to choose younger agents, at the NIF, because you all are expected to devote your time to the case, "Mr. Richards continued.