Ghost - Elmax

Chapter 4 : File

Someone could be behind. No one. Checked one more time. No! There was no one! It was stronger than her. Maybe on her left? No one. On her right? Just Moussa at his desk. It was too dangerous. She knew she should have stayed at her apartment. But the files. She needed to finish them. Maybe tomorrow. No, not tomorrow. Now.

The black and chubby man at her right looked at her struggling, feeling some pain in his heart. He had been friend with Jane since the police academy. She was the only girl, and he was the only black, the two most discriminated.

- "Jane? Is everything okay?" asked Moussa with his deep voice.

But the girl kept writing her file with her bandaged hand, giving looks around. He stood and sat on her desk.

- "You need a break."

- "I'm fine. I have to finish this."

- "You're shaking."

- "It's...coffee," told Jane, her eyes on her file.

- "We both know it's not only this."

- "I didn't ask you anything!" got angry the girl. "Just go back to your work, and leave me alone!"

- "Jane-"

- "SHUT UP! (stands angrily) SHUT UUUUP! (throws all her papers on the floor)"

The room remained silent, all watching Jane. The young girl had crazy eyes staring into space, her face red, her body tensed, and her breathing heavy and fast. The door of the captain slammed, making brutally start Jane, whose knees gave way. She began to gather her papers -hearing some of her colleagues laughing- but her vision was blurry, her breathing irregular, and her members getting weak. They were laughing, louder, while she was unable to move, helpless. She heard people talking around her, but the laughs, the laughs were too loud, and the screams, buzzing her ears, giving her a head ache, it was too loud. Too loud. Hurting. Dark, humid, too small. Too loud.

- "Jane? Jane!" called Moussa.

He placed his arm on hers, bringing back the young girl. She had a start and brutally freed herself, before losing her balance, and falling on her butt, looking around. She was at the police station, but for a moment, she wasn't there.

Moussa was worried. Her eyes were wet and empty at the same time, her face was more than pale, and she was sweating a lot.

- "Are you okay?" asked the black man.

Jane looked around and saw the papers on the floor, so she kept collecting them, stood, and sat again at her desk, like if everything was fine.

- "Jane, stop it. It's late, I bring you home."

- "I didn't finish the file," answered the girl with a shaking and small voice.

Moussa sighed with his nose and picked up the rest of papers on the floor before putting them on her desk. Jane stopped writing. Instead of that, she moved slowly her head on her right, looking with too much insistence at her Glock 17. It would be so easy.

- "Officer Brown, take a break, and go back to your home," intervened the captain.

- "I...I..."

- "It's an order."

Jane opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. She looked around, seeing all her colleagues watching her, some murmuring things. She stood, put her coat on, and grabbed her stuff with her shaking hands. They were laughing, again. But it wasn't funny. She wasn't laughing. She was crying.

- "You're ready?" asked Moussa with a smile.

The brunette nodded, giving a last look to the others.