Becky was glad for the rainy and overcast weather setting a grim and gloomy tone to the scene in front of her. Better weather would have seemed ill fitting and somehow false on this particular day.
Her dark brown hair stuck to her head from the rain. The long since faded red coloring barely noticeable anymore.
The small pile of cigarette butts at her feet told the story of exactly how long she had been standing there for. Nearly an entire pack of waste crumbled into the wet ground. Desecrating the formerly pristine grass.
A slight tremor ran through her hand as she fished through her pockets. Becky telling herself that the tremor was merely from the cold alone rather than the more likely cause that she wished to not even think of or mention. Searching and eventually being disappointed when she opened the carton of cigarettes and found only one solitary remaining stick.
With a disappointed sigh she swiftly lit up and pulled the warm acrid smoke inside her lungs. The momentary glow from the lighter highlighting the dark circles underneath her eyes and creating dark shadows beneath her gaunt cheekbones.
The sound of car tires moving over loose gravel gradually drew closer.
Having already seen multiple other cars arrive and depart throughout the day Becky didn't even bother turning around. Process of elimination making it easy to figure out who had finally shown up.
The car door opened, and a pair of feet began to walk closer. Eventually passing Becky by and continuing on down the pathway without a sideways glance.
Becky followed the blonde's progress. Watching her stop and place down the bouquet of flowers she had been holding at the foot of one of the many gravestones that littered the grounds. Her fingers tracing the engraved words as her shoulders began to noticeably shake.
The Irish woman took a deep drag from the cigarette and forced herself to look away. Having seen a similar scene repeated five times previously that day Becky allowed the woman her privacy as she had all the others.
A few minutes later the lethargic steps of the blonder woman made their way back up the path towards Becky's position.
Once again, she walked past Becky without acknowledging her presence.
"I'm sorry Renee," Becky forced out. Not able to look at the other woman while she said it.
Renee stopped mid stride.
She didn't respond in any way that Becky could hear.
After a few seconds her steps resumed, and she went to reenter her car.
Driving off and leaving Becky standing in the rain overlooking the somber scene. Only now after all the others had arrived and left contemplating walking herself down.
At least she had said something this time. That was a step up from last year.
With a final inhale Becky tossed the butt of the finished cigarette onto the waiting pile. Turning on her heel and walk back towards her waiting Mazda.
Maybe next year she would deserve to walk down that pathway.
For now, she just needed to make an appointment.
Sasha couldn't believe her run of good fortune.
After struggling for several years working her ass off through law school all that hard work seemed to finally be paying off.
With a highly sought after entry level job at Heyman and Dibiase everything was going according to plan.
The general word was that a job there was a fast track to bigger and better opportunities, both from within and outside firms looking to poach new talent.
Needless to say, Sasha was over the moon when she had initially received the news.
To celebrate the occasion, she had called up her friend Ember Moon, who owned and operated a gym that Sasha frequented. The two eventually growing close after developing a friendly gym rivalry several year ago when Ember had been just a trainer with a dream and Sasha was still an undergrad.
After a small debate the two found themselves sitting down at a bar and waiting for several other friends to arrive for the occasion. Laughing at the constant stream of jokes that seemed to pour out of the two bartenders; one who preferred to be called Big E and his longtime friend Kofi.
The two working in perfect tandem helping each other when they could without having to verbally communicate with the other.
Ember raised her glass for a toast while it was still just the two of them, "To Sasha! May she make enough money to make it worth all the lawyer jokes she will now get."
With a cocked eyebrow and an amused look Sasha raised her own glass and gently tapped Ember's, "As long as I don't screw it up." Throwing the glass' contents down in one large gulp.
"Sasha you aren't going to screw this up. You got this far. Don't second guess yourself after all the shit you've accomplished. Besides, you are going to need the job to pay me back for all those drinks you owe me over the years."
Sasha sighed exasperated, "I told you that you didn't have to buy me any. You never listened."
"I'm kidding. I was the one who kept dragging your poor tired ass out after your ridiculously long study sessions. You are my sister for life. Anything I can help you out with I will."
With a fond smile for her friend Sasha raised her new glass up for a toast of her own, "To family."
Ember grinned and raised her own glass once again, "To family."
"Sorry I'm late. Got caught up," Becky started off as she burst through the heavy door and plopped down onto the soft leather couch that sat in front of the large wooden desk which took up most of the tiny room.
The man sitting behind the desk sighed and set down the pen he had been writing with, "You can't keep doing this you know. I'm not your enemy here. I am trying to help you."
"Like I keep telling you Mr. Bryan, I don't need help."
If Daniel had glasses, he probably would have broken them out of the sheer frustration that has been working with this woman for the last several months.
"Ms. Lynch you need to at least try and play ball with me here. If you want to be cleared for field work, you need me to be on your side when the time for your reevaluation comes up. Behavior like this isn't helping your case."
Becky loudly groaned, "Fine. Ask away doc," crossing her arms defensively.
"Let's start with an easy one then. How has the last week been for you? I know what today is. Any setbacks?" Pen poised above the yellow legal pad that sat on his lap.
"It was fine."
Daniel noticed the omitted answer to his second question and the complete avoidance of discussing the specific date, "And… Setbacks?"
Becky nervously tapped her foot and avoided eye contact while she spoke, "Maybe once."
"Maybe?" Daniel skeptically replied.
"Fine. Yes, I did have one incident," the tense woman snapped at the reveal.
"You don't have to feel ashamed of it. It's natural for these setbacks to occur after experiencing something like you went through. But we need to learn how to deal with and process it. Not simply ignore the symptoms and hope the problem goes away."
Becky was distracted throughout Daniel's words. Nodding along in the hope that he would simply move on. Vague hazy memories of fire and the shadowy cries for help creating a buzz in her head that tuned out the outside world. The voices haunting melody fading slowly.
"… are you even listening to me?"
It took a few seconds for Becky to shake herself out of it. The bureau appointed therapists voice helping give her an anchor to pull back into the present, "Yeah I am doc. Just got a lot on my mind."
The familiar shaking that began to gather steam in her right hand making it difficult for the Irish woman to focus on his words.
Daniel relaxed back into his leather chair, "Would you want to discuss any of the things on your mind?"
Trying his best to get her talking. A task that has proven difficult over the last month of sessions.
"Not particularly."
"Does it still frustrate you?" Bryan asked pointing down at the shaking hand that Becky had been subtly trying to hide from him.
"What do you think?" She bit back.
Daniel was unfazed by her venom, "I think that your physical limitation would be very difficult for someone like you to deal with."
Becky scoffed at the phrasing, "Physical limitation is some grade A bullshit. Just call it what it is. My arm is fucked."
A heavy tired sigh escaped the therapist, "Why does that bother you so much? We both know it could have been much worse. Most people would say you got out extremely lucky."
"Most people can go fuck themselves then," the bitter words flying out without any filter.
"Why?" Daniel kept his composure in the face of the woman's fury, taking care to keep his voice measured and calm.
Becky looked around the room and almost laughed, "Why!? Because they don't know what the fuck they are talking about."
"Then how about you explain it to me."
"I didn't have a choice. I barely even remember anything from that night," she dismissively stated.
Daniel sensed that Becky was shutting down so, he changed tactics, "We can come back to that later. How about we talk about how you have been adjusting."
"Fine."
"I'm going to need more than that."
"I've been adjusting really fine."
The bearded man pinched the bridge of his nose, "I know what happened to your team and waking up from the coma can't have been easy for you but—"
"No shit sherlock. All those years of school to come up with that. Really fucking impressive."
"Becky you need to process all this. I cannot in good conscience give you my recommendation if you keep fighting me every step of the way."
"Fine. It sucked. It still sucks. It will probably continue sucking. I just want to get back to work, but you and these damn physicals are standing in my way."
"I'm just going to be straight with you right now. The only person really standing in the way of full reinstatement is yourself. I can see how much you want to get back to the routine that comes with work, but you are only hurting your own prospects with this acting out."
The sharp ringtone of Becky's phone broke the tense silence. Stopping the bitter words that were about to launch from her lips.
"You're not supposed to have you phone on in session," the exasperated man spoke.
With little regard for the bearded man Becky held a finger up to silence him as she answered the call, "Hello… Of course… Yes Ma'am."
Bryan patiently waited even though his frustration with the FBI agent in front of him continued to build. Speaking up when she began to stand up and walk towards the door, "We're not done here."
"Yes, we are. Order of Special Agent in Charge Kim. Give her a call if you want."
Daniel sighed and had to concede defeat for now, "Alright. I expect you on time for our next session."
"Sure," Becky said with no real conviction.
Leaving through the door in a flash and leaving behind a frustrated and worried Daniel Bryan to sit idly by.
One week into her new job and Sasha was tired beyond belief. All the work to get through law school seemed to pale in comparison to the amount of work that she had been subjected to so far.
Which was why she was in the office going through thousand of documents both physical and electronic at nearly midnight on a Saturday.
After hours of work Sasha's eyes felt like they could fall out from simply being so tired.
She whipped off her glasses and ran a hand through her dark purple hair. Allowing it to fall down out of the tight more professional ponytail she had it in earlier.
Leaning back into her chair, she took a moment to try and reset herself before diving right back into the tedious work.
The conference room she was currently working in had an older analog style clock on the wall that had been her constant companion. The steady ticking marking the slow but inevitable passage of time as she sat and slogged through the stack of work in front of her.
Her eyes drifted back to the laptop screen that sat on the desk. The bright light assaulting her eyes and making her immediately look back away.
'A quick break should help me through this last stretch,' Sasha thought. Recalling a tiny store that was open all day and night and was only a block or so away. Maybe she could pick up a tea or some other drink that could give her a pick me up. The walk over might even help to make the tiny aches in her body go away.
So, after throwing on a light jacket to ward off the chilly New York night, Sasha was off.
Leaving the tall building and walking down the street till she found and entered the quiet little store.
After searching for a couple minutes, she found an interesting flavored tea and paid the polite old man behind the only register.
She took her time as she walked back to the office. Happy to spend as much time as she could outside, rather than in the stuffy space she had been confined to since noon.
The familiar glass doors that were emblazoned with large letter declaring this to be Heyman and Dibiase loomed in the distance. Marking the end of her tiny break.
After the long elevator ride back up to the fortieth floor Sasha stepped out with her eyes focused down on her phone.
It only took about fifteen steps for Sasha to realize she had gotten off at the wrong floor. Only to turn around and be greeted by the elevator doors closing and the digital red numbers that displayed which floor it was on began descending down from fifty.
"Damnit." Sasha swore while pounding the correct button for the fortieth floor to no avail. The descent not stopping by her insistence alone.
She stamped her foot down in annoyance and crossed her arms. Turning away from the elevator that wouldn't be back for some time.
This floor strangely only having the one elevator rather than the normal six that could be found from the lobby upwards.
The small observation made Sasha curious and she let her eyes roam around the seeming normal looking floorspace.
Sasha wouldn't have thought anything more about it if a loud band didn't startle her enough to actually drop the tea she had been sipping from. Nearly the entire contents spilling out and over her jacket. Keeping the liquid from the comfortable and professional black dress she had on underneath.
"Shit," she mumbled. Trying to brush off some of the liquid before it seeped into the fabric.
She walked deeper down the hall, hoping to see an indicator for a restroom that she could use to clean up a bit more.
In her search she ended up spotting a door near the end of the hall where a sliver of light shined through a small gap in the door. The rest of the floor being in mostly darkness making it impossible to miss.
Whispers too quiet for Sasha to make out came from the inside. A curiosity striking the woman, wondering who could still be working at this hour and what the hell that noise had been.
She tiptoed closer to the door, after looking back and seeing that the elevator was still in the process of descending.
The small crack left open gave Sasha just enough room to peak inside the room.
Her eyes first fell onto a man in his early thirties that she didn't recognize right away. His hands were both raised up to rest on top of his head. Nervously pacing in and out of the small sliver of the room Sasha could see.
The whispers finally became intelligible for Sasha, "What are we going to do man?" Came a voice from someone else inside the room Sasha couldn't see.
"Just shut up and let me think."
"He's not going to be happy."
"Don't you think I know that! We just need to make this problem go away. We can tell him that Ryder wasn't going to play ball. You know how much he hated this Jersey trash."
"You actually might be onto something Ted."
With no context Sasha was confused by the snippet of a conversation she had entered in on. She vaguely recalled meeting another lawyer by the name of Zack Ryder that fit the description to a tee. Sasha honestly had no idea how such a frat bro type Jersey shore reject had got a job at such a prestigious firm.
Despite the voice in her head urging her to just walk back to the elevator which had now finally started its slow ascent back from the ground floor, Sasha forged ahead. Inching closer and closer to the door so that she could get a better view into the room.
Sasha couldn't withhold the startled gasp that sounded abnormally loud so late at night without the normal hustle of activity.
With one hand she swiftly covered her own mouth. Her eyes widening as she realized what she had seen.
The unmistakable pool of blood underneath the man she had seen lying on the ground shocked her, but what little had been left of the man's head shocked Sasha. A sudden need to throw up racing through her body and making her turn away from the door and retch as silently as she could. The small amount of content that had been in her stomach falling to the carpet.
"What was that?" Sasha heard from inside the room.
An immediate panic descending upon her and momentarily freezing her till she swiftly burst into action. Moving as quickly and quietly as she could back down the hall towards the elevator which was now on the 41st floor. Just nine more and she would have an escape route.
The sound of pounding footsteps from inside the room encouraged the purple haired woman to move faster. Cursing herself for the stylish heels that she had been wearing. The extra inch or so not feeling quite worth it right now.
She turned around the first corner she could just in time as the door burst open and the two people that had been in the room came outside. Hiding behind a desk that kept her close to the elevator which was now at the 45th floor One of them crying out in annoyance after taking a couple steps down the hall, "What the fuck did I just step in."
"Suck it up Bo. Someone was here," the man she figured out was named Ted stated. Stopping in the hallway as he looked over the sea of desks that littered the floor, "Come out whoever you are. We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to discuss what you may have seen."
Sasha knew without a doubt that getting caught would mean nothing good for her, so she stayed silent and watched the elevator slowly climb.
Her heart dropping in her chest when she saw it stop on the 48th floor to let someone off.
The two men had split up. Each one slowly walking around the perimeter of the room to try and cover as much space as possible. Bo walking down towards the elevator while Ted moved farther down the hall and away from Sasha's hiding place.
Sasha's heartbeat skyrocketed as she waited with bated breath for the red numbers to finally start climbing once again. Before that happened though Bo's path was going to take him right by Sasha's hiding place and she needed to figure out a way to deal with that.
Staying ducked low to the ground she snuck a quick peak around the corner. Her eyes widening when she saw the long jagged edged knife that hung from the man's hand.
She fought the urge to get up and just run, sure that she would be apprehended before she could make it into the elevator and close the doors. Conversely though, if she stayed in place she would easily be spotted and she didn't like her chances in a straight fight.
So, Sasha reached up with one of her hands searching the desk for something that would help her in a surprise attack but finding nothing. Her anxiety began to rise. The man would be passing by her in just a few seconds.
At the last moment her panicky eyes darted around and found a red fire extinguisher that had been sitting underneath the desk she was hiding behind.
The ding of the elevator door arriving coincided with the exact moment Sasha sprang out of her crouch and swung the heavy metal object as hard as she possibly could at the unsuspecting man who had been distracted by the elevator's arrival.
A heavy metallic thud echoed across the floor. Sasha dropping the makeshift weapon and making a break for the open elevator.
"Bo! Hey stop right there!" The other man yelled from the other side of the room. Starting his own sprint back to try and catch Sasha before she escaped.
Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her ears as Sasha ran as fast as she ever had before. Throwing herself into the elevator so fast she nearly slipped. As quickly as she could Sasha pounded on the button for the ground floor, watching it light up and moving to continuously press the door close button so hard she almost worried it would break.
She looked back up and saw the angry face of the other man slowly get closer. Willing the doors to close faster.
Finally, the doors began to slowly close. The speed they closed at combined with the distance the man had yet to cover making Sasha breath a small sigh of relief.
At the last second before the elevator doors slid shut the man threw the knife he had been carrying. The sharp metal sailing through the air and barely making it between the doors.
Sasha yelped as the knife sailed past her. The throw ricocheting off the back of the elevator and falling to the ground at Sasha's feet.
With the doors closed Sasha let out a deep breath. Her body beginning to shake as she came to grips with what had just happened to her.
Even as rattled as she was there was one thing, she knew she had to do.
Her heartbeat not slowing down until she was finally outside of the building. Pulling up her phone and using her map to find the closest police precinct.
Becky walked out of the elevator and stepped out into the busy floor. Already feeling out of place in her casual leather jacket over a simple black shirt and jeans when everyone else was dressed in a suit.
She felt like she stuck out like a sore thumb. The subtle shaking in her hand steadily increasing.
Picking up her pace Becky turned the corner and walked down the hallway leading to Gail Kim's office which stood separate from the rest of the floor.
Becky let out a shaky breath. Arriving in front of the office door and taking a moment.
With her steady left hand, she reached inside her jacket. Rummaging around until she grabbed hold of the pill bottle. Taking note of the six remaining tablets before quickly throwing two back without water.
After almost a minute of deep breathing and putting a real effort into calming herself and staying present Becky gently pushed open the door. The shaking from her right hand down to a manageable level to hide.
"You wanted to see me."
The diminutive but strong willed Asian woman looked up from the computer in front of her and gave Becky a soft smile, "Come in and sit down. I have some good news."
Becky walked in with a confidence that she didn't truly feel. Trying her best to put on a professional front and take some of Daniel's advice. Though she would never admit that to him.
"Well I'm all ears for some of that."
Gail's smile faltered for a moment before it came right back, "I'm sure you will like this then. I was able to pull some strings and get you temporarily reinstated."
Becky couldn't believe her ears, "What about the tests? How?"
"The only way I could swing this was to essentially spin this as a test run. We have an assignment that shouldn't be too demanding, and I thought you would be the best person for the job."
"This isn't an April fools' joke is it? I know it's October, but I still need to check."
With a casual toss, the Special Agent in Charge threw a folder across the desk. Landing it right in front of the perplexed and still in shock agent, "You know I don't joke."
Even now it still felt surreal for Becky. Her eyes somewhat unfocused as she was flooded with a relief and appreciation that she could finally get back to doing her job in some capacity at least, "What's the assignment?" Doing her best to slip back into a professional mode despite how much emotional she was from the news.
"I need you to go down to the 17th precinct in New York. They have a woman there who we have reason to believe may be connected to something big and we want her brought in to us."
Becky looked up from the folder she had been perusing, "Something big? Do I get anything more than that?"
"No." Kim's tone making it clear that was the final word on that.
"Alright then. So, basically I get to babysit."
"I'd prefer to call it escort duty."
"You certainly know how to make a girl feel special."
"Just get it done. I've asked Agent Roode to accompany you on this trip. So at least you have some company."
Becky groaned internally. Bobby Roode was one of the more annoying personalities she had to deal with. He was also one of the only things she hadn't missed about the job, "Well that is simply glorious." Sarcasm dripping from every word.
"Just go. I'm sticking out my neck for you here so don't fuck this one up."
Becky looked down through the file she had been presented. Her eyes fixating on and being drawn to the small portrait of the woman she would be picking up. The striking purple hair and deep brown eyes pulling Becky in, "I've got it."
"Then get to it. Special Agent Lynch."
Becky grinned and felt like things were finally beginning to look up for her.
Walking out of the room with the file tucked under her arm and a fire inside of her that she hadn't felt since before everything went wrong.
'Maybe this will be the start of some good things coming her way.'
Becky had to fight to hold in the laughter at how absurd that thought seemed to her as soon as she had it.
'Maybe…'