Divisions

Part 2- Chapter 8

"Nat..." Jarred whispered, as she gently let him go.

His heart was racing as he looked into her eyes. She looked so... so broken.

Her face then suddenly changed from wounded to cold.

"This is my problem, Jarred," she said, finally. "I'll deal with it alone,"

"Nat, it's not just your problem, I also caused what happened-" Jarred began.

"No," she shook her head. "He said if I told anyone he wouldn't tell me what happened to Mr. Sheldon. I cannot jeopardize this mission, especially not for his family. They deserve to know the truth."

"Please, just let me help," Jarred said, his voice breaking.

"Not this time," Natalia said, her tone resolute. "You should get back to your room; I'll speak to you tomorrow, Jarred,"

She opened the door to her room and waited for him to leave.

As he walked away, he could hear her close the door shut. He knew Natalia did not want his help, but he insisted on doing the best he could.

Jarred thought about what other information he could see on the page. It had the NIF's logo on the left hand corner, the letter was written in black gel-looking ink...

He knew where the page came from.

He walked towards the reception office of the building and was met by a smiling woman at the desk.

"How can I help you, sir?" she asked.

"Can just anyone use that paper?" He asked, motioning to the stack of papers.

"They usually ask first," she said, confused.

He nodded. "Okay, well, do you have records of the people who enter and leave the NIF?"

"I do, but I can't give them to you, it's classified..."

Jarred showed her IDA badge.

"I see, sir," she said, clearing her throat. "You're here with the IDA about the allied task force over the Sheldon Murder case?"

Jarred nodded. "I need to know if anyone has entered the building in the past few weeks by the name of Mr. Oliver Sanders,"

She opened up a tab on her computer and searched through the names.

"He was here once, a few days ago, supposedly as a new handler, but then left suddenly," she said, scrolling down.

"Yeah, he hasn't come in since, "she continued, shaking her head.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Well, he might have informally come in, perhaps? You'd need to see a picture of him to see if you recognize him," she said, searching the NIF database.

She tilted the computer for me to see and showed him a picture of a smiling man.

He nodded. "This is the man. Has he come to the front desk ever at all?"

She nodded. "Just yesterday he came here. He greeted me, asking for some details, something about a prospective student?"

"Did he take down any information?" he asked.

"Basics, yes," she said. "I gave him some paper, that's it,"

"And do all employees have access cards?" he asked.

"Yes, past and present," she nodded.

"Oh, okay," he said. "Thank you for your help. "

"No problem sir," she said, a professional smile on her face.