The Unknown Theory: Book 1

Chapter 5

Brietta was sitting in her car, impatiently waiting to hear back from Max. Not that she was the type of girl who was infuriated when a guy didn't text back, but it would be nice to know if now was a good time to visit him.  A good portion of her job already involved bursting in on people's lives; the least she could do for Max was give him some notice.
In the meantime, Brietta found herself sketching out a new design for some shoes, a pair of high heels to be exact. However, her design was't just an ordinary pair of heels, they were multipurpose shoes. Not only could the heel be removed, but also it could be replaced with either a flat heel or a high heel that concealed two 0.9 mm bullets and work as a gun.
There were so many different sketches in Brietta's notebook that were both fashionable and multipurpose. For example, the earpiece inside an earring, the bulletproof raincoat, dresses that a person could run in. Brietta liked to sketch in her notebook whenever she got stressed or needed a break from the outside world. It was the one place where she could be all three types of herself: the fashionista, the engineer, and the FBI agent. Too bad there wasn't a place for that person in the real world.
When Brietta checked her phone again, she was shocked that Max hadn't responded to a text that she sent over a half an hour ago, until it dawned on her that she was checking her work phone for a text she sent out on her personal phone. Brietta then checked her personal phone, which sure enough had a response from Max.
Brietta had written Is now a good time to stop by?
Max replied. Absolutely! Just let me know when you're here and I'll meet you out front.
That last message was sent about 20 minutes ago. Brietta figured that it was better to reply once she got there, so she turned on her car and started the drive to Max's office.
While Brietta was driving, she couldn't help but remember that this was the first time she had seen Max in a long time. Sure, they had texted and talked over the phone while she was at Quantico, but the last time she saw him physically was over 3 years ago. Brietta was still a graduate student at MIT, with plans of finishing her doctorate and making the biggest discoveries known to mankind.
But where was she now? Behind a cubicle inside a so called "FBI" office where occasionally she was allowed to do field work. It seemed that when Brietta first joined the FBI, it was the answer to all of her problems, but now? Brietta just wasn't sure where she belonged anymore.
After pulling into the parking lot, Brietta pulled out her phone and texted Max to let him know that she was here. Within minutes of her sending the message, she saw Max walk out of the building, at least she thought it was Max. Brietta got out of her car and looked closely Max, who waved over at her. Obviously he recognized her.
"Hey!" Brietta yelled as she waved back at Max. After locking her car she walked over to Max and met him halfway between the building and the parking lot. "How are you?" Max asked. Brietta casually shrugged. "I'm doing ok. How are you?" Max shrugged. "I'm doing good."
They both stood there in an awkward silence, though Brietta wasn't sure why. They never ran out of things to talk about in college. What had changed? Why were they so nervous around each other for some reason?
"Actually Max," Brietta started in an attempt to break the silence, "There was an official reason why I came." Max looked around first before looking back at her cautiously. "You mean, like FBI official business?" He asked.
"You're not in trouble or anything Max," Brietta said, "I just need your help with something. Can we talk inside?" Max breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure thing Brietta. Just follow me."
He then lead Brietta into the large building in front of them by holding open the door open for her. They didn't get too far inside when a office secretary stopped Brietta and rudely said "You're not allowed to be here without a visitor badge."
"Oh I'm sorry," Brietta said with fake concern, "let me get it out for you." With that Brietta grabbed her FBI badge and opened it up for the condescending secretary to look at. "I wasn't informed that you'd be coming."
"Good, especially with it being a matter of national security. Now if you'll excuse me." Brietta walked away from the secretary and back over to Max, who was standing there completely stunned. "You ok Max?" Brietta asked.
"Yeah," he said after awhile. "I just don't remember you ever being that forward." That was his nice way of saying that Brietta was a little over the top, which at first didn't bother her at all. To Brietta, it was just another part of being an FBI agent, but suddenly she saw how it would bother Max. She then realized that what he was trying to say was that she had changed, which was probably true, but for some reason it made her want to show him that she was still the same girl he knew back in college.
"Is this your office?" Brietta asked. "Yeah," Max said while he got out his keys and opened the door. When Brietta walked inside, she was hit with such a large sense of nostalgia. The chalkboard filled with equations, models scattered across the room, an environment made for discoveries. Yes, Brietta missed this, and she was anxious to get back.
After Max closed the door behind them, Brietta dug out the equations from her purse. "I'm not sure if you know the answer, but do you have any idea what these equations could be?" She handed Max the equations, who grabbed them to look at them closely.
"By any chance are these related to that serial killer case?" Brietta raised her eyebrow in confusion. "How do you know about that?" Max looked up from the equations. "I watch the news."
Oh. Brietta felt ridiculous for asking. How could she forget the fact that this case was highly publicized? It was a miracle that she hasn't been cornered by reporters yet. "I don't recognize this equation right of the top of my head," Max started, "However, I have been working on something that may help you."
He walked over to his desk and grabbed his notebook, which was filled with more equations and sketches. "Do you have a minute?" Brietta nodded as she sat down in front of his desk. "I have all the time in the world."
"Don't you have to get back to work?" Max asked cautiously. Brietta shrugged. "Probably, but this is more important. Go ahead, I'm all ears." Max smiled and pulled up a chair next to her and started explaining the math he had done about the locations of the killings to her and how it related to the case. Within minutes Brietta was back to thinking like a scientist, trying to solve the problem ahead of her. Finally, everything was back to the way it used to be. If only it could just stay like this. If only this moment could last a lifetime.