you the budget you've got so you could be more than a fucking police station."
"I'm sure you understand that this assignment is different from the projects we typically work."
"What I understand is that I came to you as a specialty Agency because I have friends who run your program and they have told me about the great work you do." The 'great' came with a set of air quotes, but the inflection in his voice made them entirely unnecessary.
"Your friends have not deceived you. We do a lot of good here. But as I said, our assignments more often consist of information -gathering and counter-intelligence activities."
"Perhaps I should go back to the police, then, and leave you to more important matters than my only son."
Again with the air quotes. Several sets in that last sentence.
Ana stepped up. "Sir, after tracking down the van that was used in the abduction of your son, we were shot at by guns containing acid bullets which completely destroyed all organic material they came into contact with."
She paused, hoping the impact would register before she continued.
"Do you want the traditional child abduction unit from the ordinary police force trying to figure out how to deal with that? Or do you want this Agency, which remains on the cutting edge of scientific and technological advances, handling people with that sort of weaponry?"
The senator's chest rose and fell as he let go of a heavy breath. The fire that warmed the room still simmered in his eyes. Ana worried that if he snorted, flames might shoot from his nose like a dragon. Then, just as quickly as he had thrown out insults, he walked out of the room without another word.
"Idle threat motherfucker," Marisol mumbled.
"If I get to decide who lives, it's not going to be him," Justin said.
Malcolm turned to them, but it was Ana who spoke. "Guys, seriously. The man just had his son kidnapped, I'm sure you can understand on some level that he's more than a little stressed out."
Three sets of eyes rolled. It wasn't like Valkyries were used to cutting anyone a lot of slack. No one ever did for them, and since they most often worked with each other, after a while it became a force of habit to return the favor. None of them spoke. They didn't have to; they already knew what the others were thinking to a level of confidence that would make Aerin accept them as psychic.
"Any other leads?" Ana asked. The point was that a child had been kidnappe d and they needed to find him, even if his father suffered from a general lack of tact and social graces.
"Aerin has some ideas ." Malcolm paused, hesitating. "But I'm going to let Rani, Kara, and Melanie follow up. They've been resting. You've been working. You've been attacked."
"But," Ana sputtered, "we saw the organic destruction weapons! We know about the kid! His school!"
"And we just got yelled at by the client!" Marisol said. "We deserve this one just for taking that shit from the Senator!"
"I know you hate to wait. To be told not to do anything." Ana wondered if Malcolm ever got tired of being calm, confident, and reassuring. "But you need a few hours at least to recover. I don't want to push you for this case when there are other important matters we need to get back to."
"Let's get back to them, then!" Ana said.
"You will, Ana. But like I said, you need to rest. I want you fresh. There are challenging circumstances I must take into account."
"Can you tell me what they are?" Her question was half-interrogation, half-curiosity.
"You will find out soon enough. Please, go home and get some rest. All of you. You know the work never ends. If we could work all day, every day, we would, and there would still be more to do."
Ana sighed. They all had extraordinary work ethics, but they also knew that Ana had nothing to look forward to in her downtime. No one acknowledged it openly, of course, and sometimes she wondered if the walls she had built around her personal life harmed her more than they helped.
Marisol clapped a
"I'm sure you understand that this assignment is different from the projects we typically work."
"What I understand is that I came to you as a specialty Agency because I have friends who run your program and they have told me about the great work you do." The 'great' came with a set of air quotes, but the inflection in his voice made them entirely unnecessary.
"Your friends have not deceived you. We do a lot of good here. But as I said, our assignments more often consist of information -gathering and counter-intelligence activities."
"Perhaps I should go back to the police, then, and leave you to more important matters than my only son."
Again with the air quotes. Several sets in that last sentence.
Ana stepped up. "Sir, after tracking down the van that was used in the abduction of your son, we were shot at by guns containing acid bullets which completely destroyed all organic material they came into contact with."
She paused, hoping the impact would register before she continued.
"Do you want the traditional child abduction unit from the ordinary police force trying to figure out how to deal with that? Or do you want this Agency, which remains on the cutting edge of scientific and technological advances, handling people with that sort of weaponry?"
The senator's chest rose and fell as he let go of a heavy breath. The fire that warmed the room still simmered in his eyes. Ana worried that if he snorted, flames might shoot from his nose like a dragon. Then, just as quickly as he had thrown out insults, he walked out of the room without another word.
"Idle threat motherfucker," Marisol mumbled.
"If I get to decide who lives, it's not going to be him," Justin said.
Malcolm turned to them, but it was Ana who spoke. "Guys, seriously. The man just had his son kidnapped, I'm sure you can understand on some level that he's more than a little stressed out."
Three sets of eyes rolled. It wasn't like Valkyries were used to cutting anyone a lot of slack. No one ever did for them, and since they most often worked with each other, after a while it became a force of habit to return the favor. None of them spoke. They didn't have to; they already knew what the others were thinking to a level of confidence that would make Aerin accept them as psychic.
"Any other leads?" Ana asked. The point was that a child had been kidnappe d and they needed to find him, even if his father suffered from a general lack of tact and social graces.
"Aerin has some ideas ." Malcolm paused, hesitating. "But I'm going to let Rani, Kara, and Melanie follow up. They've been resting. You've been working. You've been attacked."
"But," Ana sputtered, "we saw the organic destruction weapons! We know about the kid! His school!"
"And we just got yelled at by the client!" Marisol said. "We deserve this one just for taking that shit from the Senator!"
"I know you hate to wait. To be told not to do anything." Ana wondered if Malcolm ever got tired of being calm, confident, and reassuring. "But you need a few hours at least to recover. I don't want to push you for this case when there are other important matters we need to get back to."
"Let's get back to them, then!" Ana said.
"You will, Ana. But like I said, you need to rest. I want you fresh. There are challenging circumstances I must take into account."
"Can you tell me what they are?" Her question was half-interrogation, half-curiosity.
"You will find out soon enough. Please, go home and get some rest. All of you. You know the work never ends. If we could work all day, every day, we would, and there would still be more to do."
Ana sighed. They all had extraordinary work ethics, but they also knew that Ana had nothing to look forward to in her downtime. No one acknowledged it openly, of course, and sometimes she wondered if the walls she had built around her personal life harmed her more than they helped.
Marisol clapped a
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