The U.S marshal stepped into the secluded office near the rear of the building, she put her hand up to her mouth and cleared her throat, 'Okay, he's just a man, just human, like everyone else… Don't let on that your star struck!' She took a deep sigh then paced, 'What should I say? Hello? No… I bet he hears that everyday… Or I should hope he does… Greetings? Way too formal… But maybe that's what I need?' She did several more paces before realizing the door was open with a pair of large deep grey eyes following her pacing pattern, with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk. 'Shit!'
A hand reached out, "As you obviously know, I am Agent N, please, step inside, fill me in on any details."
She sighed and took his hand and gave a firm shake, he turned around and retreated into his office leaving her standing in the hall, she pulled her shoulder length blonde hair into a tight ponytail and followed him in, "I'm Angel. U.S Marshal."
Near nodded silently, "I'm aware, firstly, What do we know?"
Angel blushed slightly, "All the deaths seem to be along major highways. But, when I investigated the crime scenes, I concluded they're just dump sites, it's not actually where the killing happened."
Near smirked, "Impressive. I wasn't aware investigative abilities was a core necessity in a U.S Marshal."
She smiled brightly, "It isn't."
Near folded his arms and leaned them on the desk, "Ever consider it? That isn't even in the reports sent to me, although, by looking at the photos I could have told you that. But, it seems you picked up a detail others missed. I look forward to working with someone so perceptive."
Angel beamed with pride, "Thank you!" She glanced over at the open briefcase, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry, but whose that?"
Near raised his eyebrows and glanced back at his briefcase, "That's my wife and son."
Angel smiled, "She's beautiful. Can I see it?" He shrugged and handed her the photo, "You're so lucky, and your son is so cute!" She smiled thoughtfully at the photo, "How did you meet?"
Near chuckled under his breath, "I met her on a case, but I've known about her longer than she knew about me… That sounded creepy." They both laughed quietly, "She's my 'bosses' little sister, though, at the time he wasn't my 'boss'. Didn't stop him from clocking me a good one when I asked her out."
Angel laughed, "Wait… So, isn't your boss L?"
Near shook his head, "Though, he is my superior, his husband is in charge of assigning cases, I have to play nice or he'll send me on a shitty case. Yes, he is vindictive like that." He smiled softly, "But, I trust him, he'd never send me on an unnecessary case or purposely put me in unnecessary danger… His sister would kill him."
Angel's eyes widened, "So… She's R's little sister?"
Near turned in his chair and looked at the mapping he did of all the drop sites, "Indeed."
Angel laid the photo on the desk gently, "I hope I can be as happy as you some day."
Near shifted his stare to her, "Happy?"
She nodded, "Mhm, the way you carry yourself. You're happy, I've seen a lot of people in my life, I've gotten very good at reading emotions and body language. I'm so jealous!" She laughed lightheartedly.
He smirked silently, "Thank you… In the words of my wife, 'Sometimes all it takes is for someone to see you as their world before you can see the world for what it really is.' They're out there, you'll find them." Angel smiled softly, 'The rumors of him were all wrong. He's a really nice guy, a little awkward and quirky, but… He's nice.'
Near turned his attention to the map again and twirled some of his hair around his finger, "Let's make a list of possibilities. Obviously, any trucking company, what else passes through these highways frequently?"
Angel sat herself in the chair across from him and narrowed her eyes in thought, "Nothing out of the ordinary, just usual commuters, semi trucks, that's really about it."
Near nodded, "Given how wide the disposals are we can assume it's someone on the road, more often than not. And, since we know the killings aren't taken place at the scene, we can assume they're taking place somewhere more secluded. Since no one has reported any gruesome scenes… It would make sense if it was a trucker of some sort. Plenty of room in the cab of one of them, or in an empty trailer… So, it would have to be a privately owned truck."
Angel raised her eyebrows, "Right… Because, company trucks exchange trailers, the killer wouldn't want to risk someone accidentally stumbling on anything."
Near nodded, "I'll work on that angle, I'll narrow down our list of thousands of people to hopefully hundreds… It's at least a start, I'll assume this person has had issues. Can you go over the evidence of the bodies, perhaps there will be something small, like a fiber or anything else."
Angel nodded and stood up giving him a thumbs up, "You can count on me!"
Near smiled at her, "I need to contact our agent at home. Fill them in on our findings and send them the data."
Angel plopped back down in her seat, "Why?"
Near sighed, "If I died one of the other detectives would be able to pick up right where I left off. It's just protocol, but very important. Sometimes our cases can become very dangerous."
She nodded, "I can understand that. What's it like? Working with competent people?" She chuckled slightly.
Near smirked, "They're all a handful."
She blinked a couple of times, "What are they like? If you don't mind me asking. I understand if you don't want to answer."
He smirked slightly, "I shouldn't, but… Let's see, First there is R, he's… A perfectionist, right down to his daily routine of just getting up in the morning, he's painfully punctual in everything he does, but he's passionate and kind. Then of course, the infamous L, he's a smart-ass, and he knows it, he has a tendency to be a little arrogant, but not as bad as R. He's always late unless R is with him, he has the worst eating habits known to man, he's quirky… But that's probably why those two work out. The Yin to the other's Yang." Near smiled slightly, "I hated R so much when he first married to L." Angel giggled slightly and leaned on the desk propping herself up on her elbows like a little kid listening to a riveting story, with wide eyes. Near smirked, "Then there's M, irrational, over emotional, but very intelligent… Sometimes, I think his own intelligence escapes him. He's very infuriating, but he's my best friend, I couldn't imagine life without him constantly challenging me, I think he drives me to be better every time. Let's see, then there's J, he's pretty quiet, usually has his nose behind a video game or a strategy guide. He doesn't talk much, but when he does he usually blows me away, we've taken to calling him the peacekeeper… He normally deescalates any arguments or disagreements, if it wasn't for him… I don't think we would have all stayed by each other's sides, working the way we do." He smiled again, "And B… Where to even begin with him… He's our resident runaway. He left the agency a long time ago, strayed from the path, but he's here, he's… An odd fellow, he's very emotional. I never met him up until a few years ago, but our old guardian always spoke highly of him, even when he wasn't on his best behavior, let's just say that." Angel smiled. "C… He's the stuff of legends. Matt says he's like batman. In a way he's right, minus the day job. He grew up in the same orphanage as the rest of us with the exception of R… He left before M, J and I arrived. J used to tell me scary stories of the boogeyman of the Whammy House. The idea of him used to scare me, to the point where at one point I slept with a night light."
Angel laughed, "Aww."
Near rubbed his chin, "C saved us. Even though, his original mission was to kill us. If it weren't for him, we would have never made it out of a case alive. He's highly skilled in weapons, and his mind is just as sharp, he outta be, he has to keep up with B. He's the strong silent type, a polar opposite of his husband. When C and B work together… It's like watching poetry in motion. The compensate for each other very well."
Angel smiled, "I can sense the respect you have for all of them…"
Near smiled as he pulled out his laptop, "They're my co-workers, but before that… My family, regardless of how dysfunctional we are."
A loud ringing could be heard coming from his laptop and a female voice came over the line, "I was getting worried!"
Near blushed a little, "S. My investigator is in the room."
"Oh. Awkward. Hello." A grin could be heard from her voice.
"I'm sending our complied data to you now. Have you heard from the others?"
"Yes. I've heard from B and R. Be careful, initially we believed all these cases to be minor, but I'm comparing all the data that I'm receiving and I'm not so sure it's face value anymore." Her voice was slightly trepidatious.
Near smiled, "Understood. I will proceed with extreme caution."
"You better! If you get hurt on this case I'll wring your neck! Then tell R!" Her voice was alarmingly threatening.
He smiled at Angel, "I promise, I have a very capable partner. Don't worry."
"Take care of my husband, he's foolish and reckless –"
"Sayu! I'm going to hang up now! I love you!" He ended the call and blushed brightly. "Sorry."
Angel laughed, "I like her! She's feisty!"
Near rolled his eyes, "You don't know the half of it."
