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“....One ...two ...three...four...and five pages. Oh, thank god! If I was going to have to take another trip again I swear ...” An aggravated female was mumbling to herself while rifling through a small stack of papers. She was standing in the middle of the fifth floor of a busy police department, very obviously in the way of everyone. Some people nodded toward her in a friendly greeting while others just glared angrily while pushing past the young woman to try and get to their own destinations. It didn’t really matter though, she was far too focused to notice anything other than the report in her hand. She had a job to do and nothing would get in the way of that, that was the motto she tried to live by day in and day out.
It was already Friday, her fifth day working at the New York City Police Department and nothing memorable had happened just yet. Considering how intense the streets of Brooklyn New York usually were, it was almost a let down in her eyes. For obvious reasons, she had been expecting the whole building to be full of hardened criminals with extensive rap sheets, but no. She hadn’t gotten to witness anything like a drug bust or an unruly criminal trying to fight back against the cops if only to get shot.
Truthfully--as bad as it sounded, she wanted some real gritty action! Instead, she was stuck sitting inside the small office at the front of the station, helping to organize all the current files that were waiting to be switched over to digital records. Of course, there was the promise of real ride-alongs, but that would most likely not come until a few months down the road. For now, it was a back and forth of being stuck inside a brick and mortar building attending random presentations, etc, etc, etc.
The elevator, however, was something that the young intern was seemingly always going to struggle with. Her crippling claustrophobia only made worse thanks to the anxiety of trying to appease everyone who worked on the force. Her anxiety had only amplified when she stepped into the metal deathtrap. Dirty and smudged walls surrounded her on all sides and judging by its condition just at first glance, it was clear the thing was not up to code with any sort of recent inspections. She hated this part of the job, but Lisa Winthrop--her current supervisor--was counting on her to bring that very important report back down to her on the first floor. Swallowing her pride and closing her eyes tight, The young woman listened to the small motor whir and groan while she was brought down closer to solid ground. Long deep breaths in and then equally long breaths coming out in an exhale kept her nerves of steel steady and ready to trick anyone who might join her.
It proved to be a correct decision, as once the elevator lurched to an abrupt stop--and forced her to will herself into not hurling on her shoes as the fourth-floor icon flashed in front of her--the electronic doors parted to allow two more passengers inside with her. The other female was very tan and in her police blues--short red hair in a very small and tight bun was all the intern could see of her. It was obvious that the other woman didn’t care much for talk amongst co-workers judging by her dismissive attitude and absence of voicing even a simple hello as she placed herself onto the other side of a male--arms crossed over her chest to even further indicate her unwillingness to offer anything but a one-sided conversation. Something that the younger woman was just as unwilling herself to give so freely to someone that didn't want it.
The male was turned slightly, brown eyes soft in expression fixated on the floor panel. It gave her just what she needed to cast aside her apprehension about her possible metal grave and study him more closely--even if that was out of the corner of her eye. Sharp edges and deep curves lined his face, curly brown hair that was immaculately styled all aside from a few flyaway strands dangled carelessly above his forehead helping in making him look more human. A tight black t-shirt clung to a rigid frame, dark faded jeans hugged his hips in just the right way, and a police badge was tucked on the outside of his belt. Handsome features resting above a rigid jaw line and a completely stoic expression; the young woman found herself captivated.
She had been in the middle of twirling her short blonde hair between index finger and thumb, counting the seconds until she could be free from this box-like prison when it suddenly dawned on her just how hard she had actually been staring. Far too long as well she noticed, quickly averting her gaze until an almost inaudible beep signaled the man’s stop, and then almost immediately after, her own. With one quick dip of her head to the female--who had scoffed at the gesture--she stepped onto solid ground, releasing a soft gasp of relief that she was now safe. Until she had to take a trip to yet another floor, she was going to appreciate every moment not spent in an elevator, and it was going to be marvelous.
“Hey, Lis.” She called out to her supervisor, and whom she had recently identified as one of--well only--friend in the five-story tall building. It had been a full week of paperwork and boring lectures, and even though Lisa was technically her boss, she was the one person who was keeping the intern sane through it all.
“Big Kat! Did you get the report that I asked for? Please tell me Sergeant Dickwad didn’t try to give you trouble again! I swear I am going to kick his ass for the comment he made yesterday. Oh! There you are you little piece of-.”
Standing in the main lobby, the all too familiar chipper voice that could only belong to her supervisor sounded muffled behind the bulletproof glass that separated that room from the rest of the precinct. The sudden and none too kind curse that slipped from her lips startled the blonde, throwing off her guard even if just enough that it ushered a brief pause. She was not the subject of the woman's insult...but who-?
“Did you just call Leo a-? Where are you?! I can hear you but-OH!”
Suddenly and without any warning, a small brunette woman appeared from the other side of the glass and shouted with glee. Lisa's sudden exclamation forced a soft gasp of surprise from the interns' lips, her eyes fluttering as her hands balled into fists. A tightness in her chest betrayed the notion that it was a simple scare, rather instead a rising panic that she struggled to keep down before it could show on her face.
“Don’t do that! I told you I hate getting startled! Jesus!” She spat at her superior. Lisa erupted into a fit of giggling, clutching something tightly in her closed fist
“I know, I know, sorry Katrina,” Lisa gasped for air. She laughed hard, her breath coming out in short gasps. “I’m sorry. I swear, but-your face! Woo-ho-hoo!”
A loud buzzer indicated the office door was now unlocked, the brunette still cackling and gasping for air when Katrina threw the door open and marched through. With her hands on her hips, her brows pinched together, a small pout touching her lips furthered the obvious frustration that burned in the pit of her stomach. Normally, the shenanigans that Lisa often got up to ceased to bother her but had she not had her guard up when she'd parted from the elevator, the entire situation could have turned out entirely different. Lips twitching, Katrina had to hold her breath in for a couple of beats before breathing out again.
“Really, I could have punched someone, the Captain would have loved to see that.”
Katrina huffed but then stopped when she watched as her supervisor was putting an earring back into place. That mini heart attack caused merely because her ecstatic supervisor had finally found a piece of jewelry. The same one that she had lost on Katrina's first day, hence why her introduction into the precinct was two hours spent looking for a small piece of silver on the ground. It wasn’t worth staying mad at the records clerk for something like this. Lisa had been absolutely heartbroken when she thought she lost a piece of the set in the first place. The intern swallowed her pride for the second time in ten minutes and did her best to relax a little bit.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Did you just find it? Where?!”
Lisa playfully slapped Katrina’s shoulder and flashed her a playful wink before speaking animatedly.
“You, my darling little youngin’, are my good luck charm! No sooner had you gotten back down here than I saw it glittering on the floor right underneath your chair,” Lisa squeaked, clapping her hands together. A broad smile tugged at both sides of her lips and she was practically bouncing on the tips of her toes. Her naturally bubbly nature was so infectious and endearing, it was almost sickening.
Katrina finally slid back into her desk chair, both of her knees cracking and popping in unison as she settled herself into a comfortable position. Soon, the two were at work, laughing hysterically over the simplest of topics as though they had been friends for much longer than a week. Despite that brief period, Katrina could have considered her a closer friend over those that she had known for years. While Lisa slipped away, Katrina couldn’t help but laugh even harder. The internship had been like this from the start--even though the young woman wasn’t getting to enjoy any crazy police chases or anything to that extent--at least she had Lisa.
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The police station’s front entry resounded with the laughter of two women who seemed to be enjoying their jobs entirely too much. For a Friday, it was uncharacteristically slow. By now they usually had a good hoard of people who would have come and gone: a majority mere petty crimes and more frequently than not an older lady that was missing her cat for the third time that week--Katrina had learned her face by that Wednesday. So when none other than the captain of the precinct, himself, showed up in the front window of the lobby, both females couldn’t help but immediately fall silent. It was safe for both to assume that he was intervening with the intentions of yelling at the pair’s unprofessional demeanor.
“Sor… Sorry, sir. Were… were we being too loud?” Katrina’s finger was jammed into the intercom button, a slight trembling in her limbs. Her eyes were focused on the tall and dark man looming over them.
The hardened lines of his face suggested that he was irritated with their antics, only for that stern expression to give way to a more gentle amusement. The intern felt that everlasting anxiety of trying to appease everyone only becoming worse the longer his presence persisted. Her insides did an unpleasant somersault and a sickly lurch while she attempted to form a cohesive sentence.
“We can be a lot quieter. Sorry!”
Both women stole glances at one another and then abruptly looked back to their superior’s none too amused expression. Having crossed a line--and being more than aware of that fact--Katrina suddenly remembered why she had been less than adamant about forming personal relationships with co-workers. Lisa may have just been a stepping stone in what could have made or broken her career whether by good intentions or bad, and likely by association, slow her down when she wanted to quickly climb up the ranks at the precinct. She'd already been able to get an internship position while still in college. Katrina was so close.
They stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time, the captain's arms crossed and a focused expression practically drilling holes into the intern until finally, he stepped away from the window and used his keycard to gain entry into the area both girls were sitting in.
“Reynolds! My office, now,” his voice was calm and level---something that must have taken years of practice.
“Yes, of course, sir,” Katrina gulped and jumped out of her chair, immediately falling into step with his tall form. Looking over her shoulder, she gave Lisa a look that screamed, I’m about to get fired and this is all your fault. They would talk later and bicker about it then, most likely right after she emptied out her locker.
The captain and intern hadn’t talked much aside from her first day in the precinct, but even then it had been fairly brief. He had welcomed her in with open arms but then handed her over to Lisa almost instantly. So, even on this walk of shame--where Katrina was sure she was about to get the boot--she finally had the chance to look him over a bit more. The guy was tall, lines in his face betraying the hidden signs of descending into older age, he didn’t look too bad. Whereas most people wouldn’t notice them, Katrina’s attention to detail helped her to catch some very tiny grey hairs amongst the rest of his thick and textured black hair that came up into a short razor fade. He looked well put together--but then so did Katrina and look where she was--and he was the leader of an entire police department. That was one thing she realized she could only continue to dream about being in her future. She had gotten too comfortable around Lisa, and it was going to cost her something that would have lead to her dream job. She was done for and she hadn’t even had the chance to really try.
They made their way around a maze of interconnected hallways and doors, Katrina wringing her hands together and biting her lip the entire time. Finally, they stopped in front of a glass door, the words, ‘Captain Levi Gellar 78th Precinct NYPD,’ were etched in big gold letters directly in the center. He opened the door and stood so that Katrina had a chance to walk in first. She immediately went for the gray stack chair meant for visitors. Eyes downcast and head down, she couldn’t bring herself to sit with good posture. Like everything else in her life before college, she had failed this internship and hard.
A soft click signaled the door shutting behind her and slowly her boss came into view just outside of her peripherals. They stopped in front of her for a brief second, but just as quickly continued on to the chair behind his desk. Katrina finally took a chance by looking up. He was smiling, and her nerves finally started to ease a bit.
Katrina erupted into a full-blown panic. “I am so sorry about back there in the lobby, sir! I don’t know what came over me, we were just having a bit of fun while getting through some of those files. It won’t happen again. I swear if you just give me another chance, I will not let you down.”
This internship would determine if she had a chance at becoming an actual police officer, the first step in achieving her lifelong career aspiration. To think she ruined it all by being a bit too loud--one time--was absolutely ridiculous. Even still, there was no reasonable explanation for why the captain would have called her into his office, so she had to assume the worst.
“Katrina, please,” He shook his head and a small laugh escaped from deep in his throat. Leaning back, he folded his arms behind his head. “You and Miss Winthrop are close, it’s only natural for the two of you to get a bit loud while talking from time to time, and trust me, it doesn’t get any worse down here than up on the third floor. No, I brought you here for an entirely different reason.”
“Is this about when I accidentally walked into the evening shifts roll call last night? Or maybe when I accidentally spilled coffee on your jacket Tuesday? I offered to get it cleaned for you!”
The blonde hiccuped a couple of times, staring at her boss as he watched her with a seemingly amused expression.
“No. None of that!” Levi shot straight up and used his index finger to push a piece of paper toward the frantic woman. “Take a look at that letter, won’t you? I wanted to bring you into my office so that I could congratulate you, personally.”
Katria blinked a few times, her hiccups only getting worse while she attempted to process what was just said.
Congratulations? For what? Trying and failing miserably at your unpaid job!? Yeah, you really suck.
Grabbing the paper with the fancy letterhead, she scanned the document quickly. Of course, when she realized what it was implying, she had to read through it a bit more slowly the second time around.
“Surely this has to be some sort of mistake,” Katrina offered almost incredulously.
“No. Not a mistake. I made the decision myself. That quick thinking on your part has me convinced that bending the rules and putting you with a partner to shadow a few months earlier than normal would benefit all of us. You’ve got the drive, determination, and intelligence that would make for an amazing police officer, Miss Reynolds. Keep it up, and you just might find yourself in the police academy just over six months from now. Might help you to get into the FBI right on schedule then and everything, don’t you think?”
Katrina stared at the captain again, this time her expression twisting from one to another. Holding the letter incredibly close, the blonde blinked a few times until she finally had the ability to speak again.
“Thank you, Captain Gellar. Really, this is-.”
Words wouldn't form themselves on her lips, mouth opening and closing uselessly. Any attempt at finding the right words as to how grateful she was proved to be futile, eyes wide and staring dumbfounded at the man just across the desk from her.
“So, not next Monday, but the following one?”
He gave her a nod, lacing his fingers together.
“Yes. You will have one more week with Lisa and then the remainder of your internship will be spent up on the third floor. The officer who has agreed to work with you needs a few more days to finish some casework and I would feel bad putting the two of you together in the middle of the week.”
Katrina nodded in understanding while still buzzing with excitement. The relief she felt to know she wasn’t fired but in fact placed into a fast track in her work program felt too good to be true.
“Thank you again, sir. I promise I won’t let you down!