Open Case File [COMPLETED]

The Write Service (Part 1)

She took a moment to examine the view, interested to see whether she had described it accurately in her last novel. Once she confirmed that she had, she moved past the guns to the two people holding them.

This was the first time she was getting a clear look at them. In the two weeks she had been tracking their movements, they had kept their faces hidden under hats and sunglasses. The woman in the front seat had dark skin and her hair was pulled roughly back. She looked ready to pull the trigger no matter what Cece had to say.

There was a man in the passenger seat. Physically he was a far greater threat than the woman but the look in the woman's eyes made Cece predict the woman was the greater threat.

"Whoa, whoa," Cece said light-heartedly as if the guns pointed at her were an old joke. She raised her hands in surrender. "Not much of a greeting for a fellow federal agent."

An almost imperceptible look passed between the two gunmen and Cece was proud to know she had guessed right about which agency they worked for, and pleased with her alliteration.

"Tell us who you are in ten seconds or I'll put a bullet in your brain," the woman said. Cece had been right about her.

"Let's calm down," Cece said, a bit surprised she was remaining calm with two guns pointed at her. "Agent Mackenzie. DEA. My boss called ahead."

The two agents shared a quick look before turning back to Cece. "We didn't get any call," the male agent said. "We aren't working with the DEA."

"Dang it, Herb," Cece cursed under her breath. She looked at the agents apologetically. "Look, I didn't want to encroach on your investigation but the higher-ups thought my knowledge of the suspect would be helpful."

The guns didn't move and both agents looked unconvinced.

"Let me get my badge," Cece offered.

She looked at the woman, confirming she wouldn't get shot if she moved before she reached into the inside pocket of her coat. She pulled out a small leather rectangle and flipped it open quickly. Before she could react, the male agent grabbed the homemade badge from her hand to examine it.

"This is an altered library card," he said after a moment. "Cecilia Mackenzie," he read.

"Please, only my mother calls me Cecilia," Cece joked, but she grew serious as the woman moved her gun closer to Cece's face.

"And is this...?" the man poked the metal shield on the badge. "This is a chocolate wrapper."

Cece winced as he crushed the gold wrapper. It had taken her the better half of an afternoon to make. But she realized her situation was more dire than a wasted afternoon as the two agents fixed her with suspicious glares.

"You better start explaining right now," the woman said through gritted teeth.

"My name is Cece, Cecilia, Mackenzie and I live in that house across the street. Number twenty-three." The man reacted instantly, typing her name into his computer. "I'm a writer and I get really bad writer's block and I look out my window a lot and I noticed your van out here and thought..."

"You would impersonate a federal agent?" the woman asked. "That's a felony. You could go to jail."

Cece gave a tense laugh. "Impersonating is a strong word, more like..."

"You made a fake badge," the woman countered.

The male agent tapped the woman's arm and showed her the screen of his computer. Cece saw her driver's license picture on the computer screen. It only took the woman a minute to read the information. When she looked back at Cece, Cece could see the woman's violent hostility had been replaced with an annoyed hostility.