“-and, oh, well I suppose we’ve arrived haven’t we? Isn’t it great passes by so quickly you’re having fun? I really wasn’t sure what to think of you new guy since this is our first meeting, but I think you’re a fun guy you know that? I’m so used to talking and being shut down for no reason, but you’re so nice and such a great listener. Your special partner must be a real lucky woman, or man if that’s how you swing. No judging from me if so, I know several gay guys who are all great and fun to hang with. I mean, I did in college I guess since I haven’t seen them in a few years- Oh I’m just rambling on again aren’t I? I’m sorry, it’s something I tend to do without thinking unless someone stops me. Ah, but since we’re here its about show time isn’t it? You ready to get to work new guy?”

The silent pause in the air slowly allowed Jack regain his sense of reality. He blinked slowly at first, as if waking from a deep sleep, before shuddering as his full awareness returned to him. “I, um, what’s happening? Who are you again- I mean, right, Crista, what’s going on?”

The agent eyed Jack momentarily before laughing as she slapped his back. “Oh, you’re a funny guy new guy. No way you forgot my name so quickly.”

‘Well, I was hit with a lot of things to process after all,’ Jack thought ruefully.

“Like I said, we’re here,” Crista continued.

“Here? Here, where. . .” Jack broke off as he looked around at their surroundings. “Wait, why are we on a roof again? What the hell, how high are we?”

“Oh nothing too high,” Crista waved her hand dismissively. “Just 24 stories or so, I never remember is the floor numbers equal the number of floors. I think they skip 13, maybe. Anyway, we’re up here to do our job silly.”

“And, building security just let us up here without any trouble?” Jack asked unbelieving.

“Well of course,” Crista said as if it were obvious, “I’m in disguise, remember? I’m dressed as a building inspector for an insurance company, right?” She posed to Jack as if it were obvious. The young man appreciated her fine figure, but somehow couldn’t really say he’d believe her in the guard’s situation. Her clothes, minus the jacket, were clear under close inspection that they just mimicked professional attire, and the jacket hoodie, sunglasses on her head, and mask didn’t scream ‘professional’ much better.

“I’m, not really buying it,” Jack shook his head. “That fake suit shirt is supposed to fool guards? No offense.”

Crista blinked at Jack, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. She cocked her head curiously at Jack for a moment, looking down at herself before looking back up at him. “Goodness, that is quite the surprise,” she finally said with a wink. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t putting out properly for you. Here, how about now?”

Crista’s image in Jack’s eyes suddenly shifted, like a mirage, and suddenly Crista looked very different. Instead of the tall brown-haired woman, Crista now was shorter, about equal to Jack’s height, and was wearing a sharp suit with plenty of cleavage showing. A serious frown was on her face, and the sunglasses over her eyes suddenly seemed much more appropriate. She seemed to ooze an air of seriousness, charisma, and professionalism.

Then the real Krista reappeared, smile on her face.

Jack gaped at her, astonished. “How the heck did you do that?” he asked.

“Oh, I guess that haven’t explained that to you yet,” Crista mused with a giggle. “Hm, well, I don’t want to step on Mrs. Green’s toes, so ask her about it yourself later. For now, just think of it as something I can do to most people. People with eye trouble I have to put in a little more work, like you it would seem. Agents like me are expected to have at least one trick up their sleeve after all.” She gave him a friendly wink.

Jack nodded slowly. He made a mental note to ask his new boss about this later. Was this related to the veil and his left eye? Was that, his thing that he could do, and did Mrs. Green know about it?

“Now,” Crista said, the smile fading to something a little more serious. “It’s time to get to business. Follow me.” She led him over to a roof corner, where a box sat inconspicuously. Crista opened the box without hesitation and began to assemble a telescope, which she finished faster than Jack expected. After messing with several settings until she was happy, the agent maneuvered the telescope over to peer towards something in the distance. She waved Jack over to join her.

“Okay, I got it set up,” she explained to him. “We’re just doing some recon work today new guy; just watching and taking note. The target is one we’ve been following for awhile, and we got word the police are finally closing in on him today thanks to an anonymous tip. We’re here to make sure the arrest goes down without any problems, but if there are our only job is to notify the bureau. Understand?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Sure,” Jack said slowly. “So, we’re just watching someone get arrested after telling the police about them?”

“Bingo,” Crista agreed. “I’m not quite sure how much Mrs. Green has told you given the absolute mess of a fuckup going down in HQ, but when it comes to fieldwork for agents, we don’t do the police’s job for them. If we have to intervene, someone screwed the pooch. Now, open your app. If you hold your phone close to the telescope here, then you’ll be able to see what I see. Mine is recording and sending back to the bureau.”

Jack did as she instructed, and soon the corkboard was replaced by a circular live feed from the telescope. Confirming he was connected, Crista turned her attention back to the telescope and moved it slowly down to the entrance of what appeared to be a shorter condominium building.

It didn’t take long for Jack to hear the faint, distant police sirens, followed soon by the image of several police cars appearing in the video in front of the building. Cops and detectives poured out onto the street and raced into the building with non-lethal weapons drawn. It was like watching a cop show to Jack.

“Now, let’s see if you try to do anything stupid,” Crista muttered as she kept her undivided attention on the scene playing out. Nothing happened over the next five minutes as the cop stampede faded to a trickle, not until the front door of the condominium suddenly opened to reveal two detectives escorting a large man in handcuffs out of the building. The man appeared furious, and was quite obvious in his cursing and screaming at the grim-faced policemen escorting him to on of their cop cars.

Jack’s eyes narrowed at the fat man. He appeared, familiar somehow. Not that Jack knew him personally, but that they’d come across each other before in a past life. Or a past job. Jack’s brain clicked as recognition stuck him.

“Hey, I think I know that guy,” he said slowly. “Yeah, that’s the asshole who harassed the waitresses at the diner I worked at before, the one my friend Hank had to almost throw out for being a jerk.”

“Oh?” Crista said, her attention still on the man. “Interesting new guy, very interesting. I was wondering how we caught this bastard’s tail after so long. Explains your scars.”

Jack blinked. “What?”

“Opps, said to much,” Crista said, though the subtle smile on her face seemed to indicate something else entirely. “Hm, looks like our Joe Schmoe won’t be causing any trouble here at least. Lucky for us, and especially the cops.”

“So, now what?” Jack couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, we’re going to stay here awhile longer and keep an eye out for anything,” Crista said. “But someone else will be inside looking around, and we have enough eyes in the precinct to keep the bastard under observation. Nothing goes wrong in the next five minutes, the job is done.”

“Seems a bit, simple, doesn’t it?” Jack pointed out.

Crista finally turned her attention to Jack with a grim smile. “Yeah, as I said, lucky for us. Wouldn’t want to add anymore scars to that pretty face of yours.”

As she turned back to the telescope, Jack felt something in his left eye. As subtle as he could, Jack closed his right eye, rubbing it to cover himself, and allowed the grey world of the veil to appear before him. The image of the condominium in the video remained the same, except one of the upper windows suddenly appeared to stand out from the rest. It was blacker than the others, and seemed oddly fluid along the edge.

Jack also looked over at Crista. She appeared the same to him, until his eye wandered down. For whatever reason, in this lightless world, something appeared to be shifting beneath the lady, not quite a shadow, but instead a reflection perhaps? Jack saw a woman singing in the trees, a beautiful voice, and hidden in the shadows of the brush, two large wings.

He blinked suddenly, and the veil world vanished. What was that? Why hadn’t he seen something like that before?”

“Well, it doesn’t appear we’ll be seeing any action today new guy,” Crista hummed as she raised her head away from the telescope and began to take it apart. “Good news, one might say. Job well done.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Jack protested.

“You didn’t do anything, wrong,” Crista corrected as she finished setting placing the machine parts back into the box and closing it up. “Our job was to watch, and we watched, so we did a good job. Don’t try thinking beyond that, you’ll hurt your head. They don’t pay us on-site job compensation for that, believe me I’ve tired, and honestly the list of exceptions and rules on the matter is much too long for any sane person to read through in one session. They really ought to make it more user friendly, I tell you what, but I suppose that wouldn’t be worth the paperwork for us to fill out and for them to fill out just to reject us. Reminds me of the last time I was in the office with a friend of mine. She scratched one of the tools loaned for the mission, and her supervisor had her writing up this massive report sheet-”

Jack had already begun to tune her out as they walked back to the elevator, or was it the stairs down to the elevator, and suddenly they were back on the street. Crista was waving goodbye as Jack sat, confused, in a cab.

“Good work today new guy,” she winked at him. “I’ll put in a good word to your supe, and thanks for listening. I really like good listeners. Let’s hope they team us up again soon, ta ta.” She closed the cab door and walked away, leaving a dumbstruck Jack watching her walk away.

“Um, sir?” the cabbie spoke up from the front. “Where to?”

Jack shook his head. “Um, Farmview Apartments. Do you take card?”

“Oh, that lady already covered for you,” the cabbie shook his head. “You’re a lucky guy being able to work with someone so pretty, and with such a nice voice and kind heart. Bet she’s scary when she’s angry though huh? That frown on her face when she first flagged me down was very intimidating.”

Jack processed the cabbie’s words as they pulled into traffic. “I wouldn’t know yet, I only just met her,” he finally said. “But, she seems nice, and she most definitely knows what she’s doing.”

As the cab turned the curb and vanished, Crista finally let out a sigh and rubbed her throat. Shaking her head, she resumed her walk to the next block, and walked into the usual office where she worked. As usual, at least for the last few weeks, interns were scrambling around with coffee and files as men and women in suits combed through old case reports and files alongside a few detectives.

Crista nodded to a few before walking into her office and shutting the door.