Murder In The Moonlight

Chapter One

The car ride back to headquarters was a relatively quite one, but  unlike other times, the air was tense. Scott wanted to say something, that was easy enough to see. I sank in my seat and braced myself for the scolding I was sure to receive.

"Mitch I th-"

"I know I was supposed to wait for the signal, okay." I sank further in my seat and looked out the window. I know I messed up. I know I could've fucked the whole operation up. I know I could've gotten seriously hurt. I know.

He sighed, " I just want to make sure you're safe," he looked over at me even though I was intent on avoiding any and all eye contact. " you know I don't like sending you in those situations alone-"

"But in situations like that we have no choice!" I looked at him then. I was frustrated, mostly at myself because I knew he was right; but I didn't want to admit it.

"Look Mitch, I know in situations like that we have to send one and not both of us. I get it okay? I just don't like you getting hurt. It bothers me how reckless you can be sometimes, you throw all caution to the wind and one of these days it can result in something really really bad. I know we've been doing this for a long time and we've built up a reputation but that does not mean that we can't make mistakes. It doesn't mean we're invincible. We're human and we make mistakes and I'm worried that one of these days you could end up seriously injured or killed."

I bit my lip. Great, as if I didn't already feel bad. Well now I just feel like a piece of shit. "I'm sorry." I mumbled.

"Next time there is a solo mission I'm going to take your place."

My head snapped up and I looked at him for the first time during this entire conversation, " I know I was reckless but I handled it!" He couldn't be serious, "you're over reacting!"

"No Mitch, you're under reacting. Our job is dangerous. One wrong move can cost you your life as well as the ones you were sent in to save."

I scoffed at that. Scott and I have worked together for the better part of three years. We have built up quite the reputation. We work very well together, we communicate efficiently and we both know that the lives of the people that we save come first before anything else. But sometimes just want to rip his fucking head off. I hate when he acts all 'holier than thou.'

Apparently while I was busy mentally killing Scott in my head we had arrived at headquarters. He turned off the car and exited the vehicle, after unbuckling myself, I did the same.

We trudged up the steps of the building and made our way inside. We were to meet with the department head and discuss the mission and how it went.

Scott and I never looked forward to these meetings, these meeting were very "textbook." We filled out paperwork, went over logistics and looked at numbers and death count, and it was all very bland and disconnected.

Everything that happened to us, to the innocents involved, felt like it didn't matter. It was all just ink on paper. It wasn't the graves being dug. It wasn't the families mourning the loss of their loved ones.  All of this was just formalities, all of this was just to be filed away in a cabinet.

Our department head didn't like this paperwork either, much like the rest of us.

He got into this business because he liked helping people. His sister had been kidnapped along with her friend and both had been raped and beaten. Unfortunately, her friend hadn't made it out alive.

It was that instance that drove both brother and sister to create this company. When Avi's sister went missing no one believed him. She was only missing for 48 hours which wasn't long enough for an adult to be declared "missing." 

It wasn't until five days went by that the authorities finally filed the missing persons report and attempts at finding Esther and her friend had even began. And by that time, Esther's friend had already passed.

Esther had managed to escape after her captor went out to run some more "errands."

After she was safe in the arms of her brother did she tell the authorities what had happened and what she could remember about the place she was being held captive. It was within the next 3 hours that the man responsible for all of her trauma was captured and her best friend's body retrieved.

And well, the rest was history. The Kaplans got a loan for a building and after a couple years the business that they had started  had grown even bigger than they could've imagined.  Their once, little operations building had turned into a whole corporate facility that housed techies, training rooms, levels and levels of business officials and well, us. The actual agents who handled the matters we were assigned. Scott and I have been a part of this business since it began. And boy has it been a wild ride.

Once upon a time I couldn't stand the sight of the big lug, and we could barely work together because our personalities were so different. Our talking often ended with fists and lots of sassing on my part.

"Earth to Mitchell? Are you ever gonna open the door? Or are you just gonna try and teleport our way in?"

I take it back. I still want to punch him.

I glared at his stupid toothy grin, and opened the door, a small smile on my own face.

But only sometimes.