Jon Snow paced around the small office of his commanding agent at Nights Watch Protective Services, wondering what the urgent assignment was that he'd been called in for at 2 o'clock in the morning. His last case only ended the previous day, and standard protocol states that all agents must have a minimum 48 hours before starting their next job, time that Jon desperately needed after the gruelling week-long stakeout that he'd just completed.
Sighing, he stopped his pacing and took a moment to run a hand through the rough black curls on his head, a silent reminder for his commanding agent that he hadn't had a chance to get some much needed rest. Jon mused that the dark stubble covering his jaw and the drawn out look in his eyes would probably have sufficed, but then he remembered that the commander wasn't known for his ability to pick up on subtlety, so the worse he looked the more chance he had of making his point.
He knew he should be thankful really, Mance Rayder was one of the more obliging men that he had worked for during his career, and what he sometimes lacked in compassion towards his men he more than made up for in his drive to make the Night's Watch the most trusted private investigators and protection agents in the field. Jon loved the work, and as much as he grumbled about the long hours and the inability to live a normal life, that said more about his own tendencies towards gloom than it did about the job.
Mance came charging into the room moments later, a standard issue case folder tucked under his arm. Jon noted that this particular folder was labeled in red, a colour code reserved for only the most important jobs. All thoughts of the sleep he was missing out on disappeared as he switched into gear and awaited Mance's briefing, feeling somewhat pleased that this high-level case was being assigned to him.
"Rough night, Snow?" barked Mance by way of greeting, knowing full well that he was the cause of Jon's less-than-fresh appearance. He took a seat behind his desk and quickly flicked through the case file, not waiting for Jon's response before launching into the detail of the assignment. "Ygritte Grey, 25-year-old key witness in the Eastwatch murder trial. She saw the whole thing, the suspect saw her, and now she's yours to look after until the trial."
The Eastwatch murder case had been all over the news for the past month. Seven dismembered bodies were found in an old warehouse in a small shipping port outside of the city, the motive was unclear and so far there'd only been one arrest. Police were confident that the suspect had worked alone, and the matter quickly proceeded to trial. Jon vaguely recalled hearing mention of a possible witness, but the newspapers never reported on that any further.
"Who's been looking after her until now?" Jon asked, fearing that the young woman might have been going it alone due to the incompetent work of the local police.
Mance handed him the file before answering, wanting Jon to start acquainting himself with the details.
"She's been staying with her father, big hulk of a man. Thinks he knows best how to protect her, wouldn't let the cops take her in," Mance paused, considering his next statement before continuing. "That was until earlier tonight, one of the suspect's guys broke into their place and tried to drag the girl out the window. The father came in just in time and scared the guy off. The girl held her own too, damn near scratching the guy's eye out before he knicked off. After that even the cops agreed that more specialized help was required. So now the job goes to you."
From the way he spoke Jon knew that Mance was secretly pleased that the police had come to him, knowing that it further cemented the agency's position as the best in the game. He continued to flip through the file, familiarizing himself with the details of the case and whilst making a mental list of the things that needed to be immediately put into place.
His silent planning came to an abrupt halt when he turned the next page of the file and saw a picture of the young woman whose safety was now in his hands. It was her eyes that found him first, their quiet defiance already challenging him even without being in the room. She didn't look like the type of woman who would succumb to being protected very easily, her fiery hair seeming to be testament to that fact. She looked as though she was more than capable of looking after herself, and Jon got a sense from her picture that she made sure most people knew that about her too. He found himself studying the picture more closely than he usually would, a fact that didn't seem to go unnoticed by Mance.
"She's a looker, isn't she?" Mance drawled while eyeing Jon from across the table. "Just make sure you keep your hands to yourself with this one, can't afford to have anything compromise the case. This will be a big win for us if we can safely get her to that witness stand." His jovial tone only vaguely hid the threat that lay behind it, for it was a very clear rule within the agency that there was a strict no fraternization policy between the agents and those under their protection. It was a rule that Mance had put in place many years ago when he realized that in cases such as this, where the agent would be spending long hours with the client, even living with them in some circumstances, could lead to messy situations and a misguided sense of closeness born out of constant proximity.
"You don't have to remind me," Jon scoffed at Mance's suggestion. Keeping a professional distance from his clients had never been a problem in the past, and he didn't intend to start breaking the rules now. Sure, this Ygritte was intriguing and he genuinely wanted to protect her from the suspect in question, but there was nothing beyond that in Jon's mind. She was young and attractive, but there was no need for her to be any different.
Jon prided himself on his devotion to his job, and he fully understood the trust that clients were placing in him, and did his best to never betray that. If anything, his colleagues would probably accuse him of being overly sensitive to the matter, to the point where he didn't form any relationship at all with his clients, not even a polite one. Just yesterday Sam, the closest thing to a friend that Jon had apart from his brother Robb, insisted on schooling Jon in what he considered to be basic manners. Sam was of the belief that the more comfortable a client felt around you, the more likely they were to have a good outcome, and he felt it was his duty to humanize Jon and bring his conversation skills out of the dark ages.
Jon snapped the file shut and looked up at Mance, a sense of purpose and an alarming desire to get this woman under the right sort of protection overcoming him. It unsettled him slightly, but he told himself it must just be the result of Sam's preaching yesterday. Either way he was keen to get things moving.
"When do we get started?"
"She should be here any minute, the local cops picked her up about ten minutes ago. I've already had the team arrange a safe house for you move her to, and you're under orders to lay low for the next few days." Mance stood and retrieved some items from the cabinet behind his desk, and handing them to Jon he continued, "Here's a new secure phone, alarm details for the apartment and the numbers for the backup agents on the case. You'll need to keep her indoors until we get in touch with you. You know the drill, the first few days are about making the accused think she's done a runner. We want them to think their little stunt tonight scared her off."
For a moment Jon thought back to the photo of the girl and wondered just how difficult it was going to be to keep her confined to the apartment. Her striking looks would certainly mean that she would be easy to spot once she was allowed to resume normal activities, and Jon made a mental note to get in touch with Gilly to see about toning down her look. It unnerved him when he felt a pang of sadness at the thought of converting her vibrant copper hair into something much more ordinary, but he pushed these thoughts away and told himself to concentrate on the case.
The man accused of the murders witnessed by Ygritte was already turning out to be a pure deviant with a long list of prior offences. After a brief read through the file Jon got a sense that this man wasn't the type to just sit back and let a witness condemn him. There was a reason why the local cops weren't taking any more chances with this one, and he felt that this case was going to be one of his toughest. The desire to see this woman safely through the trial was growing stronger by the minute and Jon was yet to even get her into his care. He briefly wondered if this case was striking too close to home, with Jon losing his own father in similar circumstances when he was still a young boy. He told himself that must be the reason for the connection that he already felt for Ygritte, and mentally chastised himself for letting the past get the better of him.
The sooner they brought the woman in so he could begin going through the initiation process the better, Jon thought. Once he heard her story he would surely be able to separate his own feelings about his past from the job that he had to do.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind him, prompting him to turn and look at the woman being led in by the officer. His eyes immediately locked with Ygritte's, and everything that Jon thought he saw in the photograph was there, and more. He saw that she was spirited and fiery, and that she was probably used to getting her own way. Most of all though, Jon saw the fear that she thought she was doing such a good job of hiding, and he immediately knew that this was going to be the first time in his career that he was going to have to hide some feelings of his own.