Trouble

Case: Rippers

A couple of days later, I was invited to the bureau for a meeting concerning my new task. I was thrilled to finally know who and what I would be up against. As I arrived, Shane was waiting at the door.
''What are you doing here?'' I asked him.
''I told them you wouldn't take the case unless I was your partner.'' I couldn't believe it.
''You did what?'' On one hand, I was glad to have him with me because this was a whole new adventure but on the other hand, I wanted to be able to prove myself.
''Oh, it will be fun.'' Shane looked at his watch.
''We are going to be late, speed up little girl.''
I scowled at him and reminded him I didn't like being called little girl. Ignoring it as usual, he dragged me through the hallways, into one of the bigger meeting rooms they had.

Inside were ten people, I recognized only a couple of them. Dan, the boss, was here, so was his second hand man. I assumed the other people were colleagues who'd work the case with us. As we sat down, the boss asked everyone for silence and started introductions.
''Welcome, everybody. I'm very excited to start this new operation. However, it is a very dangerous one and I want everybody to always be as careful as they can be.'' Dan looked around the room, letting his words sink in.
''As for introductions, sitting here to my right is Luka. He's in charge of this operation and will be directly reporting to me.'' Luka was a very serious man. I'd never seen him smile since I've worked here.
''Next to him sits Bert, the best tech guy in the world. He handles everything electronic."
Bert gave a quick nod as to acknowledge Dan's point. He looked rather nervous and out of place.
"Then there's Felicia.'' She was a rather perky blond woman who must get a lot of stares in this man's world. She didn't seem to mind that all eyes were now focused on her, some more intense than others. 

''Felicia is our counselor and will be reserved for this case only. She will be keeping tabs on everyone's state of mind through regular sessions. If anything traumatizing were to happen, she's the one who'll help you through it.''

''I'm more than happy to help. I hope to speak to all of you very soon and that you'll feel comfortable talking to me.'' As Felicia said this, she let her gaze linger longer on me than on the other men in the room. I immediately felt targeted. She surely was not here for only me, was she? It's not because I'm a woman that I'd have less control of my emotions than these men, is it? My thoughts were interrupted as Dan introduced the next person.
''This is Kyle, he's the expert. He's followed this case for a while now and knows every little detail about it. He'll present the case later on.''

Kyle had a very friendly smile. He didn't seem to be as rigid as some of the other agents here.
Dan introduced the other five guys as Milo (an expert in criminal behavior), Stiles (a forensic scientist), Scott (a detective), Ezra (historian, why we needed him, I had no clue), Blue (for all the paperwork and insurance stuff) and Evan (for logistics).
''Everybody knows Shane. He'll be partnering up with Elena, one of our freelance agents. Maybe, you'd like to say something about yourself, Elena?''
I felt as if I were back in high school, presenting myself on the very first day of the year. All eyes were on me but it didn't matter. I was used to it.
''I'm Elena and I'm studying criminology. I...'' I wanted to continue but a couple of people raised their eyebrows and started whispering furiously. It was Felicia who had the balls – ironically – to say it out loud. "You are a student?''
"Yes, I am."
"Do you have any experience? Enough for such a high profile case?''
"Isn't it too dangerous for such a young girl?''
"How'd you get this case?''
I decided I'd let them throw all their questions at me and I'd give them all the same answer at once.
"I'm very young indeed. But that's apart from my professional life. As you can see here, '' I handed out papers I'd printed earlier, ''I've caught more people in those few years that I've worked as a bounty hunter than most do in their lifetime. I never have casualties and manage to live a life as a student as well. So, '' I finished, ''once you've decided from these numbers that you think I'm up to it, I'll be happy to answer any other questions.''
I'd never expected the sheets of paper to be enough proof for them and I was right. But they were impressed, I could tell that much.
''Right,'' Dan took over again, ''that's that. Kyle, the floor is all yours now.''
Kyle had been closely studying my score sheet instead of paying attention. He looked up only to realize everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to start. ''Thank you, Dan. I'd like you all to look at the screen since I've had Bert make some handy visuals.'' Kyle gestured to a long white canvas hanging on the wall. He pressed a button on the beamer and a name appeared: ''Case: Rippers''.