I have been having the worst day ever. However, I think I will be just fine once I get over the fact that I am a spectacular failure. Anyway, who else agrees that 'Secrets' by One Republic fits the Bruiseshipping pairing quite nicely?
"Look," Jay began seriously, doing his best to meet Cole's furious stare with his own vibrant oceanic eyes. "I understand that you're upset, and that you don't want to work with me, but I can assure you that-"
"I don't need your assurances," Cole sneered, moving to pick up his fallen office chair. "You're right. I don't want to work with you. And it's not necessarily because you're an inexperienced rookie."
Jay opened his mouth to protest, but a sharp glare from Cole had him snapping it shut so fast that his teeth clacked together.
"I'm not entirely sure why I wasn't just given Detective Julien to work with," Cole mused, placing a hand to his chin. "The man's a genius. Cracks murder cases over breakfast like he's solving a sudoku puzzle."
Jay raised his eyebrows, impressed.
"I don't want to work with you because I work better alone," Cole finished grandly, shoving the office chair back into position under his desk. That done, he whirled back to face his new partner, a scowl gracing his chiseled features.
"Sometimes a second opinion can be nice," Jay offered up, keeping his eyes downcast.
"Not one from an inexperienced, bumbling fool," Cole shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'm far from that," Jay insisted, a spark of anger igniting in his eyes. He raised his head in order to level his gaze with Cole's. "And whether you like it or not, Detective Smith has assigned me to work jointly with you on this case. If you need my credentials, I would be happy to oblige." At that, Jay reached into his coat pocket and fumbled around for an ID.
Cole stayed the man's hand with a disinterested wave. "I prefer to see how one does under pressure," he explained. "A piece of paper means nothing to me."
"Suit yourself," Jay relented, shrugging.
"Get out of my office," Cole instructed shortly. "I'll see you at the briefing if you've got the gall to show up."
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Jay silently slipped through the door, leaving Cole alone in his sparsely furnished workspace.
The detective blew out a long breath of pent-up tension and sagged into his swivel chair.
He was certain that the newbie would be the death of him. He hated working with anyone. Ever since…
Cole immediately cut off his wayward train of thought, shaking his head viciously to clear his mind.
There was no need for that.
He had work to do, in order to prepare for the assignment.
Cole flipped his jet-black laptop back open and keyed in the ridiculously long password with practiced ease. As soon as the homepage of his Acer roared to life, Cole jumped into his file folder to find the document on Jay Walker.
He found it easily and quickly opened the document in his file reader. Information flashed before his eyes as he hastily took in all the facts he could locate.
"Jay Silven Walker," Cole recited aloud. "Born June 23rd, 1998." Here, the detective paused and allowed himself to smirk. He had a year on the newbie.
"Started in as Ninjago City's youngest Deputy of Investigations, at age 20. Walker held the position for five years," Cole continued, peering curiously at a subparagraph labeled: 'Notable Achievements'.
Leaning in to get a better look, the detective began reading the numerous bullet points with unrestrained interest.
Says here that he blew the cover on a drug ring, Cole thought to himself, scrolling down to read more. But it doesn't give any indication anywhere of him ever undertaking an undercover assignment…
Cole huffed in frustration. Walker has zero experience in the one field that he really needs experience in, he mused, simmering in his thoughts.
"What have you got me into, Smith?" Cole groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
He checked the time on his watch and leapt from his chair.
Almost time for the briefing already, Cole thought quickly, snatching his mobile phone up off his desk and jamming it into his pocket.
In seconds, he was out the door and in the empty halls, dark hair flying behind him.
Cole made it to the conference hall in record time, skidding to a stop in front of the wooden door in order to regain his professional composure. After carefully styling back a loose strand of hair, Cole briskly strode into the room. He selected a chair near the front of the long table, sitting close to Head Detective Smith. He offered his boss a quick nod out of respect and subconsciously straightened his spine.
Jay Walker was already seated, posed ramrod straight and looking highly uncomfortable in his chair.
Cole ignored him.
Raymond cleared his throat. "Alright, let's get this over with," he stated nonchalantly, setting a manila file folder on the table. "This folder has all the information our team has gathered over the past few months, along with some basic technical information on your positions and your interview responses."
"When are our scheduled interviews?" Cole asked stoically, slipping into focus. His brain shuffled around information, preparing to take in more facts.
"Actually, the two of you will be interviewed at the same time for a joint position in their IT department," Raymond corrected, fixing Cole with a look that clearly ordered the detective to not complain.
Cole settled for glaring daggers at his superior instead.
"You will be taking over Virus Software Maintenance while the company's usual employees are on an extended vacation in Fiji," Raymond explained, flipping open the cream-colored file folder. "Once you're in, I expect you to install a technical 'virus' that will track Borg Industries' most recent dealings and exchanges with other companies."
"What are we looking for?" Cole inquired.
"Any possible mishandling of funds, and black market exchanges of materials," Raymond answered quickly.
"And our objective?" Jay tossed out, leaning forward in his chair. The newbie's gaze was intense and focused as he stared at Head Detective Smith. His shoulders were rigid and his jaw was set in a firm line as he took in all the information his boss was throwing at him.
"You are tasked with keeping our virus under the company's radar and ensuring that it does not mess with any processes other than that of their trade and finance records," Raymond finished, sliding the manila folder down towards Jay.
The ex-Deputy of Investigations picked up the contents of the folder as it neared him, eyes alight with excitement.
Cole gritted his teeth together, chancing a brief glance at his counterpart before snapping his head back to face his boss. "Are the fake resumes in there?" he bit out, jerking his head in the direction of the file folder.
"Quite," Raymond answered cryptically. "I expect the two of you to review the contents of that folder. When you're finished, return it to me directly so that I can keep it under lock and key. Your assignment starts Wednesday. You have two days to prepare. Meeting adjourned." Satisfied with his small spiel of information, Head Detective Smith rose to his feet and glided from the room.
Jay continued to flip through the many sheets of official-looking notes with a fascinated expression dominating his face.
Cole sauntered over to his new partner and sat in a chair next to the newbie. He peered over at the documents Jay was looking at and quickly attempted to snatch up an interesting-looking file on Borg Industries' IT staff.
"Hey!" Jay protested, tugging the papers back into his own grasp. "I was reading those!"
Cole growled low in his throat.
Jay glanced over at the detective nervously before submitting, hastily forking over the profiles.
"Better," Cole noted, nodding his approval at Jay's actions.
Jay frowned, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly. "You know, partners are supposed to work together," he reasoned, crossing his arms over his chest.
Cole made a noncommittal noise of disinterest as he pored over the pages he had clutched in his hands.
"So maybe you should start by officially introducing yourself to me?" Jay continued, unruffled by Cole's blatant disregard for him.
"You already know who I am," Cole snarked, flipping over a page.
"I know that you are Detective Cole Brookstone, the Blacksmith Detective Agency's top employee," Jay listed off. "What I don't know are the really important things."
"Like?" Cole inquired gruffly, staring intently at the documents in his hands.
"Like your favorite color, for starters," Jay piped up. "Or your favorite food, or what you do in your free time, or your biggest pet peeve, or-"
"Blue," Cole butted in sharply. "Cake, none of your business, and you."
Jay ducked his head at his partner's last biting comment. "This is off to a rocky start," he muttered to himself.
"I like orange," he put in. "As for my favorite food, there's just too many to choose from! In my free time, I do a little inventing and dabble in poetry. My greatest pet peeve is when items at the store are priced to just under a certain dollar amount. Like, $5.99? Really?"
Cole wheeled his head around and glared several iron daggers at his talkative partner. "No one asked you for your rather annoying opinion," the detective spat, voice level but alive with dark fury. "Now shut up."
Jay gulped and shrank down in his chair. "Yes, sir," he squeaked, tentatively choosing a fake resume from the file folder and beginning to look it over. Occasionally, he peered over the top of his sheets to glance at Cole, who looked entirely absorbed in the pile of miscellaneous case documents.
"So, Walker," Cole ventured, daring to break the tense silence that had enveloped the two.
"Yeah?" Jay responded quickly, perking up.
"You were right. You don't know the really important things about me."
"And?" Jay prodded, leaning forward in his chair. A shy grin of eagerness wound its way into his expression.
"And you should know that I am temperamental, prefer silence, hate happy people, and hope to God that I crack this case fast enough to get you out of my life."
Jay's small, hopeful smile dropped from his face. "Okay," he stated simply, returning to his papers.
Cole gazed over at his crestfallen partner and felt a slight tug on what he assumed was the remains of his heart.
Stop that, he growled inwardly. He's just another useless face who will get in my way. He means nothing to me, and never will.