Elysia arrived at work with five minutes to spare. Once she opened the glass doors, she got into work mode. Working for Interpol wasn’t the easiest job in the world, but she loved it. Of course, she was fairly new to the scene, but it’s been smooth sailing from here. If you leave out the countless all-nighters and mountains of files. Her family was constantly worried for her, with good reason. Particularly her favorite cousin, Nadia.
When Elysia received the job offer, Nadia made a pros and cons chart. Of course, there were more cons than pros, but that’s not the point. She would always say, “Lyss, I support you but what if something goes wrong?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll inherit my paycheck and my apartment.” Followed by a smack on her arm. “Elysia, I’m serious! This is dangerous business! So much can happen and I wouldn’t know until it’s too late! What if there’s a bunch of underground sneaky people and they mean to get you in your sleep? Oh what if-”
“Nadia, do you trust me?” She slowly nodded. “I promise you that I’ll be okay. I’ll update you every few weeks.” She was met with a look of shock and disgust, “No! Once a week! That’s the least you could do.” Nadia had the gift of persuasion, she would pull the puppy dog face to get her way. What was worse it that she knew it worked. Every single time. She rolled her eyes, “Fine. Now, this popcorn isn’t going to finish itself.”
She flashed a bright smile, “Morning, Santiago,” she pressed the button “how’s the family?” The security guard chuckled, “Just about average, couldn’t get the kids to sleep on time last night.”
“Try reading them something, maybe the law enforcement textbook? Put me right to sleep in school.” she smirked. He laughed as the elevator doors slid open and waved goodbye. Elysia tucked in her dark brown locks behind her ears, a habit she developed when she felt nervous. Today was a big day. Not only was she about to get assigned her first major case, but she was to move abroad the next week. Alright Elysia, you’ve got this. Stay calm. Next thing she knew, the doors were wide open and she stood in front of her boss, Director Langford. With a stern, unamused look he said, “I see that you’re feeling rather confident, Miss Park.” Dammit.
As she made herself a cup of coffee, one of her coworkers slid up to her side. “Today’s the day!” On her right, was an incredibly lively brunette. That was Eva, one of the only few people who weren’t as stoic as the rest. “Are you excited? Oh my god, I hope you don’t get partnered up with Matthew. When I was working with him, he ignored everything I said and took the credit.” she huffed. “I’m sorry about that, but as lovely as he sounds..my meeting is in about eight minutes so I should get going.” Eva frowned, “Alright alright. I’m walking with you though.”
The path to the conference room wasn’t too bad, but it did take some time. Eva stopped dead in her tracks, as if she was a deer in the headlights. “Earth to Eva?” Elysia tapped her shoulder and she came back to reality. “Sorry it’s just that, I don’t recognize him and,” she sighed “goddamn.” You followed her gaze to where a man with stood. He wore a light brown jacket over a white shirt. Goddamn was right. His skin was tan, dark hair ruggedly neat, and his eyes were a deep shade of brown. “He’s probably new here. Maybe from another division?”
“Park, over here.” said Director Langford. Your question was left in the air as you left Eva.
“For the next month or so, you’ll be placed in Berlin on the hunt tracking down a cartel ultimately led by Leon Rolph.” He slid a file folder towards her and she flipped through the images and documents. “As you know, you’ll have a partner with you as well-” he was cut off by the door opening. It was the same man you saw earlier. “Just in time, Nazario.” Why did that sound familiar?
“Miss Park, meet Damien Nazario. He’ll be your partner on this mission.”