Game of Patience

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The tune of her alarm woke her. She grumbled and climbed out of bed, half asleep. She got herself ready for the day and once washed and dressed she decided on breakfast.

Downstairs was quiet. The living room light that she left on for her parents was still on, meaning they weren't home. It wasn't unusual for that to happen. As she grew older, her parents could do longer missions. She was old enough to be left overnight. Plus with all the security in this house, no one could break in.

She cooked herself a fry up to make up for the little dinner she ate last night. She ate quickly and washed up her plate. She didn't know whether to cook her parents something or wait, they might not be back until later.

Her phone rang and she answered it after three rings. It was the station, they were sending a car out for her so she didn't have to walk in the pouring rain. She pulled the curtain to the side and sure enough, it was hammering it down. A flash of lightning was followed by thunder. She was glad she didn't have to walk in that. She hoped her parents weren't outside in that either.

She greeted the driver as she jumped into the back seat of the black car. The drive was relatively simple, there was no traffic, not many people ventured out in this kind of weather. Even though a car is the safest place to be during a thunderstorm.

They pulled up and she jumped out, pulling her coat up over her hair to protect her hair. She walked through the front doors and into the reception. She smiled at the officers guarding the doors and she waved to the receptionist. The lift dinged and she fastened her pace to get to it before the door closed. Only one person left the lift, and she slipped in with only a few moments to spare.

The lift was empty, which was a rare occurrence seeing as there were always officers on shift, coming or leaving the building. The music was a cheerful yet annoying tune that she had tried to convince them to change. The voice cheerfully announced that they were at level five before the doors opened with a high ding.

The first thing she noticed was how quiet it was. The second was the amount of people in here. They spoke in hushed tones, one at a time. Listening patiently to one another. She walked towards them, trying to catch a glimpse at what they were looking at.

"Brooke."

She turned to see Aiza Liu, the head of the station. She wore a tidy suit with her long hair down. She smiled as she saw her. Brooke turned around and saw everyone looking at her, some smiling strangely, and others avoiding eye contact.

"If you'd like to come into my office please."

She didn't wait for a reply, she walked back into her office and held the door open for Brooke.

Her office always smelled of caramel, sweet and calming. She took the red chair in front of the desk and waited. She had been in this office many times over the years and she doesn't remember it ever being different. Photos of various countries that Aiza had been to over the years hung neatly on the walls, all in black frames. Her desk was always full of stuff, papers, books, stationary. But there was definitely organisation to the mess because every time someone came in requesting something that was on the desk, Aiza found it with little effort.

Aiza sat down and offered Brooke a sweet. She took one from the bowl and thanked her, Aiza knew her well, she had a sweet tooth.

"How are you today?"

"I'm well thank you, and yourself?"

"I'm okay." There was something in her voice that suggested to Brooke that she wasn't. But she didn't push for a reason. There was little point. If Aiza wanted her to know she would have told her.