As the car pulled into the garage Thomas muttered, “Well, you weren’t kidding. You definitely have a target on your back.”

Jessica just nodded, as two agents stood at the entrance, watching the car closely. One of the agents was Agent Torres, the Bound agent from IA that helped create her ability procedures. She met her eyes, and agent Torres looked away, unable to meet her eyes. As Jessica left the car, the IA agents began walking towards her. Bracing herself, Jessica smiled at them.

“Agent Torres, and…” She started. The man besides Torres was a tall man, balding, and a small face that seemed to fit poorly on his face. He was smiling as he adjusted his suit, the feeling of someone who simply enjoyed the ability to make others squirm oozing from the agent.

“I’m Agent Myth, Pleased to meet you.” He held out a hand to shake and Jessica shook it. He continued, “I’m afraid that we can’t stay here and talk. Please come with us.”

“Why?” Thomas asked as Agent Myth was turning away.

“I’m afraid that’s not your concern,” Agent Myth answered pleasantly.

“I’m Ms. Adams’ TA.” Thomas argued, “I assure you that it is my concern if IA is involved.”

Agent Myth shrugged, “Agent Adams is having a disciplinary review, I’m not able to say anything more for the sake of privacy.”

Jessica’s heart skipped a beat, then began running away with the rest of her in tow. She took a deep breath, but it didn’t calm her nerves at all. How could she possibly have done something wrong already? She expected to make a mistake but a disciplinary meeting on Day 1? Jessica shook her head as Thomas tried to argue. Agent Myth refused to answer any more questions.

Agent Myth sighed, then turned to Jessica, “I am not in the mood to waste time Agent Erikson, so please file whatever papers you wish. Agent Adams, I am ordering you to follow me.” Agent Myth turned on his heels and began to walk away swiftly.

Jessica hurried after him, giving Thomas a pleading look. He waved her off but the determined look on his face gave Jessica a bit of hope. She quickly passed the automatic doors. As she walked into the elevators Agent Myth seemed to purposefully put Agent Torres between him and Jessica. Jessica watched as he pushed the button for the top floor, the same one where she was given the procedure from Agent Torres and the others.

The elevator was moving at a snail’s pace it seemed, at least to Jessica. She squirmed, much to what seemed to be Agent Myth’s amusement. Shifting from foot to foot Jessica kept her eyes on her own reflection, but the smirk on Myth’s face couldn’t be missed. When the doors finally opened, Torres left first, followed slowly by Agent Myth, then Jessica.

More of the meeting rooms had frosted glass this time around, enough that Jessica could see which room they would be in. A door opened and Jessica stopped walking. An aide, judging by the lanyard and t-shirt, rushed out on an errand no doubt, leaving the door ajar for a moment before it swung closed. The aide isn’t what stopped her though, no. It was Director Hernandez, sitting in a chair facing the window, which was showing an empty meeting room. Just before the door closed fully, Jessica saw a hand open the door on the screen. Jessica whipped her head forward and met Agent Myth’s eyes, the door now being held open.

“Any day now Agent Adams,” He drawled out.

Steeling herself for what may come, she slowly walked down the hall, and into the room. The agents followed her in. She tried to sit in a chair but Agent Myth stopped her.

“Other side Agent Adams.” He order. Jessica nodded, she walked around the table, so that the window was behind her.

Agent Torres took out a table mounted camera and turned it on. Agent Myth cleared his throat.

“This is Agent Myth. I’m am conducting a disciplinary meeting with Agent Torres assisting and acting as witness.” He pulled out some papers and said, “Please state your name for the record.”

Jessica swallowed nervously, “I am Agent Jessica Adams.”

Agent Myth nodded and smiled, stating the date and time.

“Agent Adams, earlier today you filed form JA-2B for a robbery this morning, yes?”

Jessica slowly nodded, “Yes, I did.”

“Can you explain what form JA-2B is for?” Agent Myth had a controlled look, as if he was leading Jessica into a trap. Jessica had no choice but to walk right into it.

“Form JA-2B, Ability usage against Armed Citizens. To be filed and attached to any report in which my power is used against armed citizens.” She explained.

Agent Myth nodded slowly, “And why did you file it this morning in connection with the robbery arrest this morning?”

Jessica frowned, “Because both suspects were armed. Agent Erikson and I retrieved two metal firearms that were sent to evidence for further examination.”

Agent Myth smiled, as if she had said exactly what he wanted. “Agent Torres, if you will.”

The Bound agent retrieved something from her briefcase. It was an evidence bag, with one of the robber’s guns in it.

“What is this Agent Adams?”

Jessica was beginning to get annoyed. “One of the firearms Agent Erikson and I recovered.”

Agent Myth smiled, and removed the firearm. He then removed the magazine, and placed it on the table, sliding it over. Jessica frowned, looking at the magazine dumbly. She was surprised that it was not in fact a magazine, but a clip for a pellet gun. As in an air propelled pellet gun.

“I assure you, before you protest, this is the same firearm you and Agent Erikson found on scene. The issue is that these are not, in fact, firearms. They are Pellet Guns, toys in other words.” Agent Myth explained.

Jessica just stared at it, trying to think faster to try and figure out where this was going. After a few minutes of silence it was clear the agents were waiting for a response. Taking a slow breath to center herself, Jessica asked,

“Ok, so they were using metal pellet guns to threaten a fellow citizen. What is the matter?”

Agent Myth sighed, as if disappointed, but the smile on his face betrayed his tone. “The issue, Agent Adams, is that your report makes the claim that the suspects were armed when they were not.”

Jessica frowned, “Just because they were using a non-lethal weapon doesn’t mean-”

Agent Myth interrupted her, “That’s exactly what it means according to Markus Wright v. The Grand City. Toy weapons cannot be used as justification for claiming a citizen was armed, specifically for prosecutorial purposes but it also means that your report was improperly filed as an Armed Robbery.”

Jessica opened her mouth to argue but Agent Myth talked over her.

“The men who tried to rob that store got off when their lawyer found your mistake before we did. A judge signed the release order and the case was closed.” Agent Mythi pulled out a piece of paper from the pile. “Adding to this reasonable suspicion that the robbers were a part of Nameless, this is a big fuck up Jessica.”

At the mention of Nameless, a chill ran down Jessica’s back. “I- That’s-”

“And the fact that two nobodies got a lawyer that could run through the paperwork that quickly without so much as asking for one makes those suspicions even more reasonable, don’t you think?” Agent Myth asked rhetorically.

Jessica stayed silent, slowly shaking her head she just asked, “How was I supposed to know? They were metal guns.”

“You double check the magazine. Just as we did here. Your TA should have taught you that but the responsibility to properly file your ability’s paperwork is yours.”

He slid the paper in his hands over, it was a disciplinary write up. “Please read this over. You are being written up for professional negligence. Do you understand what that means?”

Jessica slowly nodded, but Agent Myth answered his own question regardless. “For the record, as an Agent on your 3-month probation, you get one write up. If you get another within the month you will be removed as an agent, either via termination or reassignment. Do you understand what I have told you?

Jessica took a shuddering breath. For an opening shot, it was very effective. Jessica was shaken, and she had no doubt that nothing else would come of this for anyone but her. This was targeted against her, probably why her paperwork was so specific, to trip her up exactly like this.

“I understand,” She confirmed. Agent Myth brought a pen from his pocket, “Then please sign on the line. By signing you accept the write up, and we can all move on with our day.”

Jessica slowly nodded, this was fine. Terrifying but fine. The Director was making her presence known and it worked. Jessica picked up the pen. She would simply have to double check her paperwork from now on, ensuring that she fully knew the details of the case. She couldn’t afford this happening again. Placing the tip of the pen on the line, King stopped her.

“It’s a trap.” His rumbling warning sent even more chills down her spine, “Second line, it’s only referring to one report. You made two.”

Jessica froze, looking at the line in question. King was right, she had made one report for each robber. The chill erupted in Jessica’s chest as it all clicked. Why she was signing this write up, why Agent Torres was here, as she had written these forms up herself, and most importantly, why Director Hernandez was watching in the other room. She would sign this then be hit by the second write up, probably be transferred to that lovely night watchman job the Director was so eager to tell me.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Jessica leaned back, without signing. Agent Myth frowned, “Is something wrong?”

Jessica nodded, “Why wasn’t I alerted to the issue before now?”

“You were on patrol, and this fuck up would be bad for your reputation. To avoid a lawsuit we ensured your privacy was not breached.”

A reasonable explanation. “Why can’t I revise my form?”

“The order was signed by a judge, it was effective immediately.” Agent Myth explained, starting to look annoyed. “Please sign the write up. I have more important things to get to today.”

Jessica leveled her gaze at Agent Myth, “No, I’m disputing the write up. I- I should have been given the chance to revise my paperwork. I also want to know why a judge would not allow for a revision of my paperwork.” Her voice shook but she got the words out.

Agent Myth Sighed, “Oh, save the dramatics agent Adams. Do you know what will happen if you dispute this?”

He took the paper, examined it almost cartoonishly, then mimed stamping the form, “Denied.”

“Two days without pay just to end back up in this room. I do not appreciate my time wasted, sign the write-up,” He punctuated the order by sliding the paper back to Jessica.

She sighed, slowly picking up the pen to buy time. She asked King for help in finding something to use. She smiled, and dropped the pen, “I want a representative.”

Agent Myth blinked, then blinked again. “You signed away your right to legal representation when-”

“Not legal representation, but my mandated IA representative, the one who will advise me. The one I am contractually obligated to.” Jessica said clearly. “Do you want me to show you in the general associate’s handbook where my right to representation is?”

Agent Myth narrowed his eyes, “Well, that’s why Agent Torres is here. She will act as-”

“No! What? You can’t just-” Jessica stopped talking as the door opened. An older man with salt-an-pepper hair, with a very fine suit, and a manila folder in his hand, walked in with a smile.

“Greetings, my apologies for the interruption.” The man said. Agent Myth said nothing. When Jessica looked at him, he was pale.

The man walked around the table, reaching out to shake Jessica’s hand. “Hello there young lady. I’m Deputy Director Trevino. Head of the IA department. I stumbled upon your file and noticed that you were never assigned representation for your hearing. Which is funny because given that you have two write-ups scheduled one after the other as a probie, you should have been assigned one immediately.”

The deputy director chuckled as he sat down next to her. Now that he was close, the man was large, massive even. He was both well muscled and well-fed. A slight paunch to his gut and arms thick with muscle. Simply sitting next to him made Jessica nervous.

“So, if I heard correctly, Agent Adams wishes to dispute the write-up, and no doubt the second one.” He continued, “I second that opinion.”

Agent Myth’s smug demeanor had completely vanished. “On what grounds? I assure you that-”

Mr. Trevino cut him off with a hand motion, “On the grounds that the fault does not lie with Agent Adams, but with IA. Mr. Rodriguez’s team did not provide the revisionary forms. According to the Judge’s release order in question,” The Deputy Director pulled a folded letter from his pocket, “The fact that there was no way to properly maintain proper documentation meant that the original arrest was improperly made. Hence, the men go free.”

Agent Myth just pursed his lips, “The dispute will move forward, in that case. We will escor-”

“I’ve already dismissed the write-ups. The proper signatures have been sent.” Mr. Trevino said. Agent Myth frowned, and tilted his head.

“You cannot be acting as both representative to Ms Adams and also decide upon the dispute.” He said slowly.

“I didn’t. I signed those before I decided to represent Agent Adams. Afterall, she was asking for a dispute before a representative. Please note the time stamp.”

Agent Myth was quiet for a long moment. “I can’t accept that sir. A formal complaint will-”

“Damn right a formal complaint will be filed,” Mr Trevino agreed, “Against you, Mr.Rodriguez’s team, and The good Director in the other room watching this entire proceeding. This is such an overt breach of conduct that I will be personally ensuring this is thoroughly investigated. Now end the meeting and get back to your office. You do not work for the Director as a damn minion, Myth. You work for me, and it is disgraceful that you and Ms. Torres took part in this blatant targeting against a new employee.”

Agent Myth was red in the face as his boss tore him a new one, and the moment of silence was one too long for the Deputy Director. “Out! Now!”

“This meeting is concluded.” Agent Myth nodded and the camera was taken down. The two agents scrambled to get out, and as the door opened Director Hernandez could be seen leaving her room. Mr. Trevino stood, “Director, A word.”

Suddenly Jessica was alone, but only for a moment. Agent Torres walked back in, picking up a last piece of paper. She paused, and looked at the door worriedly. She braced herself and turned to Jessica. What happened next, Jessica couldn’t quite believe. Agent Torres bent at the waist, saying something so softly Jessica could just barely hear it. Agent Torres stood quickly and left, leaving Jessica dazed by the bizarre encounter.

The deputy director came back in shortly after, a pissed off expression on his face. He took a deep breath and sat across from Jessica. She took a moment to take a good look at his face, since she couldn’t see it very well from the side. It was square, with a strong jaw and a slightly bent nose. He was clean shaven, but a three-day shave look seemed to be a conscious choice.

“Ok, let’s get the worst out of the way. Your life is about to get very hard,” He said with such seriousness, that Jessica had to fight a sudden bout of hysterical laughter. Instead of letting the insanity get to her, she grimaced and replied, “Yeah, I know.”

Mr Trevino nodded, then sighed. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. IA is not supposed to be used for office politics. It will not happen again.”

A notification hit her glasses, a direct message with a decent sized file. “Go downstairs and report everything. Make a complaint against everyone you can remember was involved in this and the Director. Make it clear that she has shown targeting behavior, backed up by the recorded Job offer interview, the recording number is in the file for you to reference.”

The information was shot at her at high speed and Jessica could barely comprehend it. “As in, make complaints?”

“Yes, I also added the reference number for this disciplinary meeting. I will warn you, Director Hernandez is a darling of the Council and they will bury the complaints. That is alright. You just need to establish a pattern of targeted harassment. This will make it far more difficult for the Director to pull something like this in the future. Do you understand this so far?”

The hard face of the deputy director softened as he looked at the clearly overwhelmed Jessica. He paused the onslaught, allowing Jessica to process everything that had been said. Finally, her thoughts in a semblance of order, she had to ask.

“Why are you helping me?” The question was paired with a very confused and hesitant look. “And why should I trust you?” She added after a moment.

Mr. Trevino slowly nodded and smiled. “Good questions, I can answer the latter easily enough. You don’t have a choice. You cannot stand against the Director without help. I’m the only one offering.”

Jessica nodded back, that was true. She really needed a friend in high places. Mr. Trevino continued, “As for why I’m helping you? That’s a bit more complicated.”

He leaned back waving at Jessica to get comfortable, “Simple explanation is that I have a personal crusade against Amelia, the better answer is long, so get comfortable.”

Jessica sighed, she leaned back into the cushioned seat, the chair was pretty comfortable.

“You remember the story about the credit counterfeiting ring?”

Jessica nodded, “That was Nameless right?”

“Yes, but also no. It was a cell, but not a main one. It was also very well run. We had next to no evidence, just some circumstance. Not enough to get a proper warrant. So Miss Hernandez decided to side step the courts and prepped a swat team. Suddenly, gunshots were heard in the suspected office. Swat was sent in and the equipment used for the false credits was confiscated and destroyed. There were a few issues though.”

Mr. Torres rubbed his nose a bit. “The reason gunshots were heard, is because a Bound agent seemingly was mistakenly sent to the office on a bad call. She was told she had probable cause and that the area was safe. She didn’t wait for her partner and was found dead in the raid. Shot by Nameless agents. Unfortunately, due to the issues with the case, most of the Nameless cell was let go, including the bastards that shot our Agent.”

Mr Trevino looked furious at that. Truly furious. His clenched fists pressed against his lips. “It didn’t matter. What mattered was that the equipment was destroyed, and the fake credits were no longer being produced. I had evidence that the Director herself made the call for the Bound agent to enter but the evidence mysteriously vanished from every system. So yeah, I’m trying to pin something on her to make sure she can’t pull this shit again. The issue I’ve had is that she’s kept her nose clean, until now.”

He pointed at her, “For one reason or another, Director Hernandez sees you as a threat to be neutralized. She wants you gone, preferably yesterday, and she is very used to getting what she wants. I will be assisting you in foiling her attempts to be rid of you, in the hopes that her impatience and annoyance push her to fuck up big enough that I can finally investigate her and strip her of a position she has no right to keep. Even if all I have is a solid record of clear bullying, I can work with that.”

Jessica just listened and absorbed what she was told. She spent a solid minute thinking this scheme through. This included a rapid-fire discussion between King and her. Finally she met the deputy director’s eyes.

“So… If I have this correct, I am the linchpin in your scheme to overthrow the Director. Specifically, I’m bait.” Jessica slowly summarized.

Mr. Trevino agreed, “Exactly. Now, I won’t force you to accept this, but if you don’t…”

If she doesn’t Jessica would be a night watchman by the end of the week. Jessca had underestimated the Director. That mistake had nearly cost Jessica her job. Jessica ground her teeth, it was obvious Mr. Trevino was correct. She was a very small fish in this pond, and a large shark just offered his help. She took it.

“Alright, consider the complaints filed. I’ll be your bait.” Jessica stood, the meeting clearly over.

Mr Trevino raised a single eyebrow, but smiled. He stood, and without a word opened the door for Jessica. She walked through, a mix of worries and uncertainty roiled in her gut. She passed by the frosted meeting rooms, not allowing her gaze to wander like before. She walked into the elevator, holding it for Mr. Trevino. He just shook his head, “I’ll take the next one.”

Jessica let the doors close, and went back down to the first floor. She left the elevator, walking through the sea of desks. She noticed a few agents were giving her looks, but ignored them. She got to Thomas’s desk, where he was typing on the computer. She let herself relax just a bit.

“Mind if I plug in?” She asked, “I have a few forms to file.”

Thomas nodded, “Good to see you back, how was it?”

The careful way he said it told Jessica that the looks from earlier were for a reason. Jessica gave an exasperated laugh. “Weird as fuck, worrying, and I’m in the middle of battle in office politics.”

“So…” Thomas replied, thinking that over, “Nothing unusual then.”

Jessica laughed as she took a display cable from the computer box, clicking it onto the side of her glasses, she used the virtual display to access the complaint forms. Writing the Director’s name on the first one, she added, “6 hours left, once I’m done here, we going out on patrol?”

Thomas laughed a bit, “What, getting sick of HQ already?”

Jessica sighed as she opened her apartment door. She walked through the little one bedroom and fell onto the bed. Twelve hour shifts suck, and she had 3 more this week. She took a deep breath, and turned over onto her back. Staring at the blank ceiling, she just let everything that happened that day wash over her. At least, she tried, but after everything that happened, something stuck with her. Agent Torres, alone with her in the meeting room. The woman bent at the waist, bowing. The whispered words bouncing back and forth in her skull, King remaining suspiciously silent.

“My deepest regards to the Great Unifier,”