Black and Blue: The Calm

Opening.

"I'm loving this whole," Erickson scrambled his hands and drew his eyes to the thick curls that stopped just at my shoulders, "big look. You look nice, Bridges." His puffed chest and leading ego produced a smug smirk while he obnoxiously chomped on his chewing gum. Asher Erickson reeks of the privilege that his white fragility won't allow him to acknowledge. Daddy opening his wallet was all that it took for Ericksons' dismissal from the FBI academy to be a thing of the past, allowing entitlement to fuel each step Erickson takes around the headquarters. 

"You are the first person I've met whose smile does nothing to enhance appeal. I'm not sure if it's due to the lack of sun or lack of soul. Whatever it may be, you should seriously do something about it," I went to brush past him but quickly halted my movements. Leering up at him, I cocked my head to the side, "by the way, I washed my hair this morning. It's smells like coconut oil and prosperity. Get you some." I checked him with the rise of my brow and maneuvered around him.

Entering the debrief room, I scoped for an empty seat as most of the team was already seated with their notebooks and pens ready to be utilized. I planted my bottom in the chair next to Donovan and pulled out my supplies. "What was that about," Donovan whispered and averted his eyes to Erickson, who'd taken a seat across from us. "Oh, that," I clicked my tongue and flung my hand aimlessly, "he was just serving his daily dose of asshole."

Donovan leaned in, the scent of his cologne and the lick of his lips enticing my senses, "well, did you stick him?" There was something about the way he looked at me and said what he'd said, that made me pool in the nether region. Caught up in what had became a foreign feeling, my words clung to my throat, just as my sight did to him. Indentions pierced his mahogany cheeks and before I could wallow in embarrassment, Chief Bennett saved the day.

Well in his fifties, age only seasoned the attractiveness of the older man. His salt and pepper hair was pristinely slicked back, contrasting well with his baby blue, almond shaped eyes. Clad in a burgundy suit that complimented his olive tone, Chief made his way in front of the podium and began to address the room. "If you watched the news this morning then you know that right now we are in a state of public frenzy and fear after discovering the remains of Madison Zurlek and Tanya Hubert. I need someone to tell me they have something for me."

I raised my hand and Chief brung his attention to me, "yes, Ms. Bridges?" I retrieved my eyeglasses from their case and placed them onto my face before grabbing my notebook from the table, "I did some further research and I believe I've found a lead. May I?" Chief nodded and motioned his hand for me to come forward. Pushing my chair back, I stood up and ambled to the front of the room.

"I looked into the past of NU-Life adoption agency's owner, Jack Malawski, and stumbled across the transcript of the divorce hearing involving him and his first wife back in 2009. His first wife, Colleen, alleged that Malawski had a Swiss bank account, and because of the privacy that comes with having an offshore account, it was the burden of Colleen to prove that he had one. She submitted documents to the court and what's interesting is that as persistent and adamant as Colleen was in getting what she felt was owed, she accepted each and every term and condition presented by Jack."

I licked the pad of my middle finger and flipped the page of my notebook, "I dug into their divorce decree and found that she'd been given sole ownership of more than three properties the couple shared. One of  properties in particularly caught my attention, the warehouse located in Connecticut, being that it is the only property that's listed in her maiden name. I pulled the reports of the electric activity and the usage had increased by one hundred and sixty percent back in December of last year, which is around the time local police stations started receiving missing person reports, after little to no usage for years prior. I'm willing to bet we are looking at an underground operation of babies being sold on the black market." Chief's stern face morphed, his clapping hands admitting praise, "great work, Nyla. I want to see you in my office after lunch."

Lunch had quickly come and ended. I lightly tapped my knuckles against Chief's slightly opened door before entering, "I've been summoned?" I joked. He looked up from his computer and motioned his hand to the chair that sat in front of his desk, "have a seat." Filling the space, I straightened my posture and placed my hands in my lap. "Again, well done this morning!" I smiled, "thank you."

"As you know, the position for SAC, special agent-in-charge, is up for grabs and you have been listed for consideration." Every tooth and inch of gum had to be on display with how big my smile was. Blood, sweat, and tears were spilled onto the land the academy was built on and if there's anyone more deserving of the position, I'm certain it's me. He went into the cabinet attached to his desk and pulled out a file, spreading its contents along the oak wood.

"Elijah Davis. Twenty eight years old and raking in a massive amount of money. Five million dollars a year to be exact. He's believed to be trafficking tons upon tons of heroin from Colombia with the help of none other than the FBI's most wanted, Salvador Esquida, the Colombian cartel leader. Outside of a tip and a record of Elijah's private jet landing in Colombia three times within the last year, we haven't been able to directly link him to Esquida nor establish exactly how he's getting the heroin into the states." Chief sat back in his chair, locking his fingers in the space between each of them, "how far are you willing to go for this position?" The answer was simple. As far as I needed to go.

...
Introducing