It had been three years earlier when Tara had joined the FBI.
Tara waited next to the desk as the security guard made a phone call. This was it-her first day working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Finally all the long days and nights of her conscientious work through high school and college and training at Quantico would be worth it. Today she would be meeting the team that she would be working with as a computer expert.
"Someone will be down in a moment to take you to your supervisor's office, Agent Williams," the security guard told her courteously. Tara nodded at the stocky woman.
Agent Williams. That was her now. A special agent for the FBI. Life could not be better. Or scarier.
Standing in the imposing building with professionals bustling around her, she felt shy and out of place. Surely, little Tara Williams, "nerd" and "geek" was not really supposed to be here.
"Agent Tara Williams?" Tara turned and saw a smiling woman somewhere in her late forties or early fifties looking at her expectantly.
She was here. It was official.
"Yeah." Tara was unsure how she managed to even answer. Her answer, besides sounding unprofessional and uncertain, was very squeaky. Tara winced.
The woman seemed not to notice Tara's nervousness and shook hands with her. "Welcome to the FBI, Tara. I'm Susan, the rotor from your team. I'm here to take you to Mr. Eldridge, your supervisor." Tara, not trusting her voice fully, nodded.
"So, this is your first job with the FBI?" Susan asked, leading the way to an elevator, her high heels clicking a lively rhythm.
"Yes," Tara answered. I need to stop these one-word answers. Show her that I actually have some brains for the job. "I just graduated from Quantico."
"You must have done well to have made it onto the team you're joining," Susan said admiringly. "Stan only puts the best on that team."
"Stan?"
Susan laughed. "Oh, Mr. Stan Eldridge."
Tara nodded. "Oh." The elevator doors opened just then and Susan and Tara got in after two men deep in conversation rushed out. Susan pressed the floor number and turned back to Tara.
"Nervous?" Susan's statement was more of statement than a question. Tara tilted her head to the side and fought the urge to twirl her hair. It would not do to look like a little girl even if she felt like one.
"A bit." That's a lie. I'm VERY nervous!
"Don't be, honey. The guys on this team are great. They can be quite the kidders and tricksters, but you'll be fine. They need a woman in there to calm them down. I'm rotor for three teams right now - there's a shortage because two are out on maternity leave, one quit, and the other is in the hospital due to a concussion from a car accident - so I'm barely around. At least that is how it feels."
Tara felt a bit of her old panic rising in her chest. I'll be on a team of all men. My supervisor is a man. And the only other female, Susan, is barely around. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know.
"Here we are," Susan's sunshiny voice broke through Tara's thoughts. "Just follow me, dear, and I'll get you to your team in one piece."
Susan led Tara to a private office. "STAN ELDRIDGE" read the placard next to the door. Tara's heart began to pound in her chest. Susan knocked on the open door, then motioned Tara into the room.
"Hi, Susan," said the African American man, looking up from a pile of papers. His face was lined with a few small wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. Although he looked tired, he smiled and nodded to the rotor. "What can I do for the FBI's best and busiest rotor?"
"Hey, Stan. Well, you could find me a few assistants," Susan laughed, then motioned to Tara. "Actually, I came to present you your newest agent for Shep's team, computer expert and special Agent Tara Williams."
Stan stood and held out his hand. "Ah, Tara Williams, it's good to meet you."
As Stan welcomed her and outlined once again her job and responsibilities, Tara began to feel her heart slow down to a more comfortable tempo. From what she could tell, Stan Eldridge was a man that the world could trust to do his job and do it well. She was fairly certain that she would be fine around him.
"Let's go introduce you to your team," Stan finally said, standing to his feet. He led the way down the long hall. People walked at various speeds in and out of the many doors, some private offices, some conference rooms, some bullpens for different agencies and teams. It reminded Tara of an ant hill. The many people were the worker ants, and the queen ant, although unseen, was the protection of America. It was a worthy queen, one that Tara had worked for over half of her life in preparation to serve.
"Here we are," Stan announced, walking into a room. Tara timidly followed him, her nerves returning in full force.
"People, your attention please." Six pairs of eyes turned toward the door. Tara bit her lip, then quickly stopped. She had to look professional. "I have your new team mate, Tara Williams. She is a computer expert and special agent, and I think that she will be able to bring a lot of assets to this team."
Tara fidgeted as the attention turned to her. She could feel each of the men scrutinizing her. She could feel her checks beginning to burn. She wanted their eyes to leave her alone. She always hated it when men paid attention to her.
"Tara, this is your team. These are Special Agents James Sheppard, Joe Wolf, Jack Hudson, Myles Leland, and Bobby Manning." Tara followed Stan's gaze to connect each man with his name.
"Hi," she said, uncertain of what was now expected of her. Do I ask "Where do I start?"
"Where's D?" Stan asked.
"Out meeting a snitch," James answered.
"Hey, Eldridge, was there a meeting I didn't know about?" someone asked behind them. Tara turned and saw an African American man of average height.
"D, I was just asking about you," Stan said. He nodded to Tara. "I was introducing the team to the newest member. This is Tara Williams. Tara, this is Dimitrius Gans."
"Nice to meet you, Tara," Dimitrius answered warmly, holding out his hand. Tara shook it hesitantly.
"Nice to meet you too." The longest sentence that I got out all day.
"Welcome to the team. It's great to have you working with us." His comments seemed sincere and heart-felt. Tara eyed him warily, but she saw no sign that she should be afraid. This man did seem to be genuine. She decided that she would give him a chance.
"Mr. Eldridge." A secretary hurried up. Tara watched how she was able to hurry so daintily on her pencil-thin high heels. If I did that with my sense of balance, I would die. Just like when I was in that ballet class. Oh, Aunt Stacey regretted that so much.
"Yes, Rachel?"
"A phone call, sir. It is urgent and requires your immediate attention."
Stan nodded to the secretary. "Thank you, Rachel. Hold it a minute and I'll be right there." Turning to the team, Stan ordered, "Okay, keep up the good work, guys." He noticed Tara and added, "I mean, everyone. I guess that 'agents' would work best now. Introduce yourselves to Tara and help her settle in. D, I'm giving you the job to take care of the rookie. Get her through the week alive and I'll be grateful." And then Eldridge was gone. Tara felt the panic begin to overwhelm her as the agents moved toward her.
"Welcome to the team, Tara. It'll be great to have someone who can figure out the technology around here. It isn't great, but maybe you can make some sense of it." James shook her hand. Tara swallowed hard and managed to whisper out a response that she hoped was intelligible.
"Myles Leland the Third," the blonde, aristocratic-looking agent said as he gave her hand a firm, professional shake. "Welcome."
"Don't forget 'the third' on his name. He's quite proud of it," Tara heard Dimitrius murmur next to her. There was a hint of humour in his voice.
"Hey there, darling," Joe Wolf said, shaking her hand. Tara inwardly recoiled at the "darling". It was one name that she hated. She had too many bad memories involving it. Her aunt and uncle had known that and never called her by that pet name. "It'll be nice to see a pretty face around the office now." Her fear was nearly suffocating her now. She hated petty compliments that made her feel more like a mannequin than a woman.
"I'm Jack. It's great to meet you, Tara," the next man said. He was younger than any of the others, probably a fairly new agent himself. Tara barely heard his words. She was having problems breathing with the weight of panic in her chest. She felt nearly ready to faint. Her knees were about to buckle...
"G'day, sheila. Welcome to the team," Bobby said, taking her tiny hand in his huge one.
Australian. I never expected that. I always wanted meet an Australian to see if they really talked like that. I never guessed that it would happen my first day here, Tara thought amusedly. Wait! I can ask him all about the country and what kind of foods are there and whether wild kangaroos bounce around everywhere and if koala bears are as cute as they look in text books... Tara suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling that she had been shaking Bobby's hand for way too long. She quickly released and peeked up - way up - to see if he was impatient with her. He did not appear to be, instead smiling at her. He's so tall. What nice eyes! And his dimples! I bet every girl in this office has flirted with him. Oh, I hope he doesn't think that I have a crush on him. Do I? I don't know, but I don't want to. Oh, dear, everyone's waiting for me to say something. What should I say? Hurry up, brain, think! Say anything!
"Thank you. I'm very glad to be here finally after all the training and waiting and even more waiting." Tara bit her lip suddenly. When she was nervous she tended to either not be able to speak at all or jabber on a mile a minute. Neither of those would make a good impression of these fellow agents.
"I guess that Eldridge wants me to watch out for you," Dimitrius's kind voice said from Tara's side. "Let me show you your desk and introduce you to the specialties of each agent and our current case load. Does that work for you?" He looked her in the eye, and Tara noticed concern in her gaze. Oh, great. He must have noticed that I was about to freak out while shaking hands with the others. I'm not even doing anything dangerous and I already look like a chicken. Great going, Tara, just great.
"That sounds wonderful," she replied, willing her voice to be steady. Thankfully her words sounded sure even to her own critical ears. Dimitrius smiled and led her to a vacant desk.
"Well, here you are."