Whistler sat on the beach, right outside of the building to her new apartment. She couldn't believe how much had changed in a week. On the previous Monday, a group of the DIA staff had met Officer in Charge Peterson outside her apartment building to help her move in. It was the first time many of them had met their new supervisor but they were all eager to help and make a good impression.
Whistler was immediately struck at how down to earth Peterson appeared to be. She had her hair down, wearing jeans and t-shirt, and introduced herself to the staff by her first name. "When we're out of the office, I would prefer if you all just called me Kandi. And appreciate you all helping me move, it will make my transition so much faster."
Whistler had still worn a pants suit to help with the move in and most of the other staff were dressed in business casual. She had worn flats, knowing that she would be helping move boxes but still couldn't bring herself to wear anything more casual when meeting her boss for the first time.
"Here let me take your blazer," Peterson had told her when she entered the apartment carrying a box for the first time. Whistler was startled when Peterson didn't wait for a reply and immediately started helping her take it off, placing it on the counter next to the box. "You all are very… formal here," Peterson said clearly trying to think of the best work to use.
"Your predecessor had an expectation of professionalism at all times." Whistler explained. And she had completely agreed with Jackson on this and many of his other policies. She felt more comfortable in her work suit than she did in any casual clothes, especially when meeting with other staff members.
"Right," Peterson smiled at her and then she stuck out her hand. "Since we haven't been officially introduced, I'm Kandi."
Whistler was 100% uncomfortable with calling her boss Kandi and also hoped that she would not have to go by Kate. But she knew better than to go against her boss on something so simple, especially right out the gate. "Whistler, Kate Whistler."
"Ah yes. I've already read a bit of your file. You transferred here almost two years ago for DC and you are the primary officer for NCIS, right? Jackson had reported that he was very pleased with your work." Whistler was surprised. Jackson had never complimented her on anything since she started there. Whistler looked up to where Peterson was studying her and smiling warmly. "I look forward to working with you."
After all the boxes and furniture had been brought up, they had all gone down to the beach where Peterson had provided beer and pizza. Whistler had surprised herself and had been one of the last to leave. It just was so relaxing to be sitting on the beach, the waves at her feet.
"I'd love to live this close to the ocean," she said, not really looking up to see who had sat down next to her. Another uncommon moment for her. Speaking without a real purpose and of a personal desire.
"Then you should," Peterson replied. "There are several vacancies in the building."
"Oh, no." Whistler straightened smoothing out her shirt. "I already have a place, plus I think this close to the beach would be a little of out my price range."
"You might be surprised. Plus, no harm looking into it, right?" Peterson reached over and squeezed Whistler's shoulder. "You only live once, Kate. You should do what makes you happy."
Whistler was uncomfortable with the touch and the personal conversation with not only her boss, but a woman she didn't know. "I'm sorry," she said standing up. "It's getting late, and I have an official meeting with by new boss in the morning."
Peterson smiled, leaning back on her elbows and closing her eyes. "Good luck, I hear she's a hard ass."
Whistler glanced at her boss one last time but the woman didn't open her eyes. Whistler walked off wondering if she was going to make it through the apparent casual aspects of Peterson's leadership style.
Whistler was relieved, when the next morning she had walked into Peterson's office and found the woman in business attire; hair pulled back and glasses on. She still referred to Whistler as Kate, much to her disdain. Whistler was also surprised when Peterson opened the meeting with different floor plans and prices for the apartments she had just moved into. "Just so you can think it over and explore," Peterson told her.
They then turned to more professional topics, with Peterson explaining what changes she had envisioned for the DIA. She was going to implement more procedures so that DIA would haven't work on the whim of other agencies but would now be able to prioritize requests and focus better on internal tasks not related to liaison duties. She also wanted more accountability of where her officers were and what they were doing with their time. Agencies had already been directed that they would need to call in to the main line for any requests.
"I won't accept any deviation from this. The health and safety of my staff is my top priority. I don't want you all to be overworked and if for some reason you get pulled into the field, I want to know your exact location in case something happens so I can get assets to help."
Peterson opened the file on her desk and glanced through some paperwork. "You have worked as the head liaison with NCIS since you arrived. They are definitely our most demanding agency; they request access and various documents nearly three times higher than all our other agencies. Just since I implemented the policy of contacting the front line, three of their agents have tried calling you seven times in the two hours."
Whistler was surprised, checking her phone. "I haven't received any calls."
"Actually, you'll find your phone out of service." Whistler looked closer and indeed saw that there was no connection for her office provided cell. "The phones provided to you all were extremely outdated. You'll be provided a new one as soon as IT finishes installing updates and programs later this morning?"
Whistler was slightly taken aback. "What about emergency cases? Surely there will be exceptions for calling the front desk?"
"That is why we have put a DIA officer on call. Once every other month you will be expected to fill this role for a week. This officer be on call outside of working hours to assist agencies. It will be a rough week for whoever is on call but at least you'll have the rest of the weekends and nights to yourself. We'll see if it works, learning curves for everyone. I've already told agencies to reach out to the main line even in emergencies so we can get them the on call agent as soon as possible."
"NCIS are very thorough in their work. They can be a bit demanding and overly zealous, but I think that comes with the nature of their job." Whistler felt a little defensive about the new procedure. It rubbed her a bit wrong that the office now seemed to be monitoring all their actions.
"I understand that, but they still need to go through the proper channels. We of course want to help with the investigation, but National security is our focus. Sometimes… agencies don't quite understand this especially the more active and demanding ones. In addition, we have other duties besides being liaisons."
"Of course," Whistler replied.
Peterson sighed and paused before continuing the meeting. "I would also like you to consider taking a break from NCIS."
"A break?"
"Yes. I think you should consider transferring to a less demanding agency. Not that you're doing a bad job, in fact you are very successful and do excellent work," Peterson was quick to clarify. "I think, in the interest in advancing your career, it would be better for you to get a little more diversity at this point. Network with some other agencies. And with a lower caseload, you could take on more internal role which will open up opportunities for advancement."
"Leave NCIS?" Whistler was flabbergasted for a moment but then really thought about it. There were a lot of pros to switching to another agency just as Peterson said. It had never occurred to her to leave. But leaving would also allow her the chance to start over and try to avoid animosity. She couldn't deny that right now she felt dreaded at the idea of walking into the NCIS office. Seeing Lucy and the prying eyes of the knowing agents. Could it be that easy for her to walk away?
"You can think about it if you want. I'll schedule a follow up with you at the end of the week just so we can see how you're adjusting to some of these changes."
And that is how Whistler now found herself sitting on the beach in front of a new apartment with a fresh start. She looked down at her cell to see a message from Lucy asking her to call her. It went along with the nearly twenty other unanswered calls and text from various members of the NCIS team the past week. But they weren't Whistler's problem anymore.
