Outside your window (18+)

Chapter one

I flip through the files on my desk, my eyelids feeling too heavy to keep open. It has been three hours since I last took my five minutes break, and before that I worked another three hours on these goddamned files. I have three more of them left, and when I'm done with those there are several other piles of files to go through. This isn't what I signed up for when I took this job. I didn't study for seven years to sit at a desk all day and look at old files. I'm supposed to be kicking ass at court. Saying stuff like objection your honor! Or My client does not need to answer that. I should be out there, not stuck in here because my boss is a sexist-ass man with every white-male privilege there is. Of course I'm the only woman of color there is here, what a lucky coincidence. Although I'd never complain about my Moroccan genes from my mothers side.

I run a frustrated hand through my dark hair. I can't do this anymore, I'm going crazy in here. I've been working here for two months, five days a week. That's forty days now, eleven hours a day and that is one hundred and forty hours in total. Jesus Christ I can't fucking do this anymore. I shove away from my desk and head for my door. The door handle is suddenly pushed down and I barely manage to jump out of the way before it swings open.

"Ah, Trinity, there you are." Henry says, blocking the doorway while I try to steady my breaths from almost being hit with the door. Yes, where else would I be since you put me here?

"You put me here boss." I say jokingly even though I'm pretty serious and his eyes drop to my lips and then to my cleavage. Like he always does. Disgusting.

"Why aren't you working?" His eyes are glued to my cleavage as he speaks and I resist the urge to cross my hands over my chest to shield it from his eyes. I open my mouth to speak but he holds up a hand to stop me. "I need you on a case, ASAP." A case- my eyes widen. What the heck made him change his mind?

"Tha-that was actually what I was about to talk to you about, sir." I breathe out the words with my shock still setting in. My first case, finally. It's happening. "I-I'm, thank you." I tuck a few loose strands of hair behind my ear.

"Yeah, it's about a client who's son claimed to see Mr Romano leaving a crime scene just after shots were fired in that same area. I'm sure you know about it." Mr. Romano. I have heard about him on tv many times. The criminal without a face. Every time someone reported seeing someone they claimed to be Mr. Romano they either went missing or were found dead right before the trials. I have been reading about his cases, going through them in these files and they are just so...fascinating. He's a criminal that no one actually knows the face of, but people still claim to have seen him. Some even refer to him as the devil himself because nobody has any actual evidence of him being a criminal but everyone knows him. Well, everyone knows of him. This is one of the biggest cases and I can't believe he's giving it to me.

"Yes, I am aware of it, sir. I have gone through many of these file reports and I-" Henry puts a hand up, cutting me off once again. His eyes finally stop harassing me and he looks up at me like he's about to have a normal conversation without his mind being in his pants. I straighten my posture and Henry runs a hand down his face.

"You have two hours before the official trial and you will be prosecuting Mrs Mills' case whose son was a key witnesses to a criminal investigation but died before he could testify." My mouth drops, my brain still processing everything he just said. Two hours? I'm sorry...what? There is no way- these kind of things take weeks, even months. I need to talk to the client, go through her report, find solid evidence- what the hell?

"I'm sorry sir but I need more ti-"

"Trinity," he cuts me off a third time and I mentally scowl at him not even being decent enough to address me as 'miss' or just my last name. The lack of respect this man has for me seriously makes me want to choke him. "I only hire the best. If you're telling me you can't work this case, your one chance of proving yourself worthy, does that really make you the best?" His question is rhetorical, yet he's waiting for me to answer with a tilt of his head. I force my head into a small shake and he clasps his hands together loudly, making me flinch. "Great. You better get on it, Margaret sent everything you need to your email. Do with that what you wish. Bring me a coffee while you're at it. That going to be a problem for ya'?" I try to keep a neutral face while my face reddens with embarrassment and fury. This case is impossible and we both know it. He is doing everything on purpose. He wants me to fail. On top of that he wants me to bring him coffee- why not give him head while I'm at it.

I bawl my hands into fists by my side and force a tight smile onto my face. "Nope, not at all." I am going to prove this sexist-asshole wrong. Maybe this will be impossible for anyone else, but not for me. Not if I've been going through these files for two months, almost half of them being about Mr. Romano. I know more about his case than anyone else on this bureau. If anyone can do this it's me.

-

I have been going through these files for an hour now. I am become more and more confident by the minute that I'm not going to win this trial. While going through these files and doing some googling I found out some pretty interesting information. Mr Romano- also known as Damien Romano- was born into a Russian gang, potentially a mafia, with critically high criminal records. Yet they never get caught. Damien Romano has not shown his face, ever, but still people know of him and claim that they have seen him. How on earth is that even possible? For all I know he could be made up, not real. The man is basically a ghost. This case is impossible.

I sigh and fight the urge to rip these files to shreds and throw them at Henry's face. He did this on purpose- giving me this case. He wants me to fail so that he can have a reason to fire me, and since I don't want to get fired I'll have to beg him to let me stay and he's going to tell me that there is one thing I can do for him and- ugh. I'm changing the subject. But I'm pretty sure that's what he wants.

"Fuck.." I slouch in my chair and run my hands through my hair. Come on Trinity, you can do this. I force myself to keep scrolling through the internet reports and interviews. There are a lot of interesting stuff about him but none that will help me win this case.

02:34.
Man confessed his part in the criminal gang from Russia "I have worked for Mr Romano, he owns the whole damn thing-"

16:09.
Couple found dead in dark alley with three bullets to their backs, police says they are connected to the Russian Romano gang- d'yavol- they call the leader, which is Russian for 'The Devil'.

12:56.
Ronan seen walking away from crime scene with his...

Wait a minute..I click on the page and skim through the article. I scroll down to find several pictures of the back of a tall male walking. I keep scrolling til I find what I am looking for and my eyes nearly pop out of my skull. What the hell-

"Holy fuck.." I mutter and copy paste the article to my printer. This whole case just became a helluva lot more interesting.