Disclaimer: Still don't own it
Here is the first chapter of my newest fic and I hope you will enjoy it. This is a Spoby and Mike/Mona fic with some cameos from the other girls.
Spencer groaned at the clock as the alarm blared.
She was tempted to just ignore it and go back to sleep; but she still had a mountain of paperwork to do in regards to her last case.
Reaching out and shutting off the alarm, Spencer sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Yawning, she shivered as the cold air impacted her body once the covers slid off. Quickly jumping out of bed, she hurried to the heater controls on the hallway wall just outside her room and turned on the heat. She then hopped back in bed and wrapped herself back in her covers in order to stay warm until the apartment was adequately heated.
Her room contained everything she needed; from book shelves to her bed that she brought here from her room back at her old house. Even the paint scheme was the same which Spencer had done herself just after moving in. In fact, half her old room was now currently in the new one though with some slightly newer stuff. There were various pictures on the walls with some that showed her and Toby as well as ones with her friends. She also had a few family pictures and even the second wedding when her parents redid their vows. That had been a happy day which had been a long time ago.
The weekend was coming up and she was tempted to take some time off and visit her mother as well as her sister in England. Her mother had relocated to be closer with Melissa and Wren after her father had died from a heart attack just a few years ago. The house was still owned by the family and Spencer was more than welcome to it back in Rosewood; but the young woman had opted to rent an apartment in Philadelphia to be closer to the local field office. Even though Aria and Ezra still lived in her hometown with their children, Rosewood still had too many bad memories.
After all, the Dollhouse had left too many scars.
Once the apartment was warm enough, Spencer got up from the bed and went straight to her shower. While the apartment had only one bedroom, it had the benefit of having a second bathroom connected to her room for herself while any guests could use the general one in the hallway. Of course, she rarely had guests other than Toby with that one time Alison had stayed over last year. The blonde had come back to the U.S. for family business and had only stayed one night. Hanna kept promising to come by but was still tied up with her own career in New York.
After she showered and was still wrapped in her white towel, Spencer went over to her closet and pulled out her work clothes. While most female agents work some sort of skirt for the office, she opted for a pantsuit since she often had to go out into the field. She had a variety of colors for her to choose from but often just went for the standard grey. Hanna had offered to help her shop for more stylish clothing but Spencer declined since her job was anything but glamorous. She hunted criminals for a living and there was no fashion involved.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she found it funny that other than the new short hair, her appearance had changed very little in the last ten years since Rosewood High. She was still thin and virtually gained no weight which had made Hanna jealous. In fact, Spencer had lost weight when she was in the academy and had been practically ordered eat more by her superiors. So she had developed a fondness for certain junk foods that she had avoided back in high school; mostly cheap breakfast sandwiches they sold at coffee shops. Even after all this time, coffee was her drug of choice and never went a day without it in her veins.
She dressed and then applied some makeup, just so that she could look professional, and then put on her work shoes. They were flats that worked well though she did had a few sets of heals in case of special occasions. She then walked into the small kitchen and grabbed the bread from the cupboard, putting a couple of slices into the toaster. While waiting for her toast to be done, Spencer poured herself a glass of orange juice and leaned against the counter. After her toast was done, she began to eat while watching the dark clouds gather outside.
Her apartment was only a ten minute drive from the field office so even if it rained, she wouldn't get too wet. Both her apartment building and the place where she work had their own parking garages which had worked out rather well when she had first picked out the building. The rent was a little higher than she would have wanted but since Spencer had a good means of income as well as plenty of money in her trust fund, finances were not a worry. Then again, Spencer never really had a problem worrying about money given the wealth of her family.
The apartment itself was fairly small but suited the young woman just fine. The kitchen was connected to the front room with only a counter to separate them; the front room was big enough though for a table to eat dinner at. There was a small bathroom with a toilet and sink in the main hallway; between her room and the front of the apartment. Across from that was a hall closet to store various things. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough space for a washer and dryer to do her cloths so she had to go down the hall to do her laundry; which wasn't too far away.
The apartment complex was located in a newer as well as higher end of the city so Spencer didn't have to worry about crime too much; though she made sure she was armed with her weapon at all times. Emily, before she had left to permanently stay with Paige in California, had helped her pick it out when Spencer decided not to move back into her parents' house after being assigned to Philadelphia once she graduated from the academy. Toby offered for them to move in together but she had declined since their jobs would have made things complicated.
Besides, Spencer had spent more time under someone else's roof that she wanted to be out on her own for a change.
Once she was done with her food, Spencer grabbed her jacket as well as her purse. She checked her weapon and placed it in the holster on her left hip; covering it up with her suit jacket. She also made sure to grab her badge since there had been times since she had been stopped by the local cops who had noticed the bump. Once she had everything, Spencer set the alarm code by the front door and made sure to lock up behind her. Even after all these years, she was still paranoid and made sure to spend the money to make sure her apartment was secure when she was gone; especially during extended periods of time.
Given that it was still early, Spencer didn't encounter any of her neighbors when leaving her apartment. In her paranoia, the young woman had made sure to check out every one of her neighbors just in case there was an issue. A few of them were college students who were trust fund children like herself and the rest were lawyers. Given that it was spring break at the local university, they were all gone to some beach while the lawyers worked odd times. While she was generally polite when in the hallway or doing her laundry, Spencer never bothered engaging in any conversations.
Her car was a new dodge that was automatic with some other cool features. It was blue, four door, and could handle any environment that she had to deal with. Though it was rare for Spencer to travel out of the area, she liked to be prepared since the agency's vehicles were either hit or miss depending on where you were in the hierarchy. Given that Spencer was fairly low on the totem pole, she just didn't want to take the chance and made sure to register her car with the agency; they even gave her a light in case of official business. She never had to use it yet but it was a nice gesture.
There was very little traffic in her part of town and she headed to the FBI field office with no problems at all. Spencer was tempted to stop and get some coffee but a new bistro had opened up inside her building itself; part of some new refit for the busier agents. Word was that the owner had greased some wheels in Washington so that they could be allowed to open the chain within the FBI buildings themselves. They were only allowed on the ground floor only but that didn't stop them from being a popular spot for break times. The fact that they featured a food menu sweetened the deal and even Spencer had most of her lunches there.
Showing her badge to the front gate as well as having her fingerprint scanned, Spencer was waved in with no problems and went straight to her parking space. The garage was large enough that every agent, even the lowest of ones, had an assigned parking spot. Spencer's was a ways away from the main elevator but she was still glad that she didn't have to fight for a spot like she did back during high school; which was why she often carpooled with one of her friends back then or was dropped off by her parents. After parking her car and locking it behind her, she walked for about five minutes to the elevator.
After waiting another minute, Spencer walked into the elevator and headed up to her floor.
When Spencer first mentioned that she was going into law enforcement, her mother and Melissa had freaked. It had been expected that she would go into the family trade like Melissa had and be a lawyer; even taking a spot at her mother's firm when she had graduated law school. After the Hell of the Dollhouse and the revealing of Charles as A, Spencer had decided to make a new career choice to make sure that no one would go through what she did. Surprisingly, her father stuck up for her and convinced everyone else that it was a good idea. He had even called in a few favors so that Spencer could get in after graduating Rosewood High.
After the summer of graduation, Spencer had gone straight into the academy after excelling her admittance tests. While there, the young woman had been nearly at the top of her class and focused on murder crimes while most of her peers went for the spots on terrorism for the overseas assignments. After graduating a few years later with excellent marks, she had been assigned a post locally as either involved in serial cases or as a liaison with the State Police on various cases. By then, Tanner had poached Toby from the Rosewood Police Department and Spencer had got to see him more though they never worked a case together.
The door of the elevator opened for her floor and Spencer walked out to head to her cubical.
The young woman still retained some of her quirks since childhood; especially her attention to cleanliness. Her cubicle was always well kept and everything was where it should be. Since she was at the end, she shared a wall with a fellow agent who was out for vacation and was blessed with a good amount of privacy. She had a single work computer, metal desks for storing her stuff, and a double black filing cabinet to store her paperwork. The white desk was the only thing out of color with the rest of the cubicle but spencer couldn't care less.
Besides her computer and office things, she had a few pictures of her with Toby, family, as well as one with all of her friends together. There was even a picture of them all together one last time before graduation; something that would probably never happen again given that there was now a rift with certain members of the group though Spencer herself didn't have any issues with her friends. It was amazing on how a single mistake could cause so much damage; which Aria still paid for to this day in regards to her relationship with her brother.
Pulling out the paperwork she was behind on, Spencer booted up her computer and began filling forms out while she waited.
The last case had left quite a bit of stuff to fill out due to the incompetence of the local authorities. Spencer had luckily managed to avoid any blame for what had happened as well as the other agents involved in the case but there was still plenty of fallout to deal with. The suspect had ended up dead and the hostage was wounded, although not as serious thankfully. Now everyone at the top wanted to know what had exactly happened thus Spencer had to file reports with a several departments; which she hated doing since they all required different means of being placated.
"Spencer? Assistant-Director Ashford wants you in his office," stated a passing Agent, shaking the young woman from her focus. Putting everything down, she quickly headed to her boss's office which towered overhead. Once she was outside his door, she knocked and waited for his response before entering inside.
Her boss was at least two decades older than Spencer as had no hair on his head. He was tall, clean shaven, and had blue eyes. His blue suit lacked any wear and was always similar every time she saw him. Rumor was that he was divorced and completely devoted to his work; though he was still polite with everyone and treated all the agents under him well. Usually, Spencer received her assignments through her e-mail and other proxies; thus this was the first time she had been to his office since first being placed in this department a few years ago.
"You asked to see me sir?" Spencer inquired as she stood formally in front of Director Ashford's desk.
"Yes I did; there's been a situation in one of the Federal Buildings in Brookhaven. A body has been found on site and the State Police need help liaising with the building's staff given that they are Federal Officials. I want you to work with the State Police to make sure that there are no complications," Ashford said as he leaned back against his chair. Like spencer, he seemed to be in the middle of his own pile of paperwork which made sense given the responsibilities that he had.
"Yes sir; I'll leave right away," Spencer said as she turned to leave. While she hated getting behind on her stack of paperwork, an assignment was always welcomed.
"Also, I've read your report about what happened with the last assignment and I've recommended a citation for you; good job," he stated and smiled at her.
"But everything went wrong sir," said the young woman, surprised that she would get praise after what had happened.
"But it wasn't your fault and did everything you could to keep the dirt out of the Agency's eye; you do good work and your service is appreciated here," stated the older man and Spencer smiled in thanks. He then motioned for her to get going so she quickly left the office and back to her cubical.
Once she was at her cubicle, Spencer put everything back where it should be and shut off her computer. She then made sure she had her service weapon as well as her other identification papers. Once she was set, she made her way to the elevator to head to her car. Everyone was starting to trickle in and Spencer had the feeling that because she was the senior agent at the time, that was the reason why she got the assignment. That was fine with her since liked to be out more in the field than stuck behind a desk. Spencer joined the FBI to stop crime and not do paperwork for hours on end.
The drive to Brookhaven wasn't much of an issue and it had been quite a few years since she had last been in the town. Aria and Ezra had been married in Brookhaven out at one of the farms that had been rented for the occasion. It had been an interesting affair since there had been tension because of what had happened in the aftermath of A's demise. Aria had been angry with Alison but had invited her to the wedding anyways even though her own brother hadn't shown up. While she never asked her friend why, Spencer got the impression that Aria had only invited Alison to remind her of the rift she had caused between the siblings.
It took less than an hour for Spencer to arrive in Brookhaven and she immediately headed to the Federal Building there. Technically, the town was too small to sport its own Federal Building but given that the Government was spreading its eggs because of Terrorism, it got one to take the pressure off of the larger cities. The building was located on the edge of town where it had taken over after a law firm had left. The only agencies that were in the building had to deal with environmental and agriculture thus civil only; which was why the FBI had to be called.
Driving into the parking lot, Spencer immediately saw the news vans everywhere as well as the State Police. After leaving her car and locking it, the young woman made her way to the police tape and showed her id to the officer manning the perimeter. After checking her id, he waved her through and courteously held the tape up for her to move past. She ten made her way into the building after flashing her badge to a few more State Police Troopers. Given the amount of officers she had seen so far, Spencer was under the impression that something was up.
Following the trail of officials, Spencer entered the offices where the EPA was located and caught the sight of something peculiar. There was various crime scene personnel taking pictures of a young woman arranged in one of the chairs in the waiting room. Spencer slowly walked up and stared at the body since it seemed hauntingly familiar. The way the body was dressed reminded Spencer of something but she couldn't place it. As she moved closer but still out of the way, she heard footsteps from behind.
"Spencer?" asked a familiar voice from behind and Spencer whipped around quickly to see a person she knew quite well.
It was Toby.
Please Read and Review; also a special thanks to Paraddicted for the pre-read and you should check out her fics!