After Myers had briefly shown Kate her room and she had left her bags on her new bed, Kate found herself sitting alone in Professor Broom's office waiting to meet him. Interestingly, she realized the more she waited, the more nervous she became.
Clay had spoken about him a bit during the remainder of her tour and from what she could decipher, the man was highly respected. She was beginning to worry that he had made a poor choice in her. The more she learned about the B.P.R.D., the more she realized the seriousness of the agency and she was feeling that she might not be ready for the job. Sure, she wouldn't exactly be out fighting monsters. That was Agent Hellboy's job. But, she still held a great amount of responsibility in whether or not the agents made it back in one piece.
Kate was startled when she heard a door open and watched the golden doors. A man walking with a black cane made his way slowly into the room. He wore a nice black suit and appeared to be in his late eighties. With his age came the wrinkles and large bags under his eyes which gave the impression that he had been through a great deal in his lifetime. His hair was white, as were the beard and mustache that framed his mouth and he wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. The expression he cast as he spotted Kate standing nervously before him showed such kindness that Kate felt herself physically relax before him.
Maybe there was nothing to be nervous about after all.
As he neared her, Kate extended her hand. "I'm Dr. Katherine Hayward. It's nice to finally meet you Professor Broom," she greeted warmly.
Professor Broom shook her hand lightly. As Kate began to pull her hand away, he held onto it and Kate looked at him.
Broom smiled lightheartedly. "Don't worry, my dear. You'll do fine," he reassured her.
Kate narrowed her eyes and smiled confusedly.
"I may not be like Agent Sapien, Dr. Hayward. I can not read minds. But I am, however, very good at reading faces," Broom said with a smile.
He let go of her hand and sat down where Kate had been sitting previously. Kate sat in a chair across from him.
"Now, I've been informed that you only arrived recently, Dr. Hayward. I know that Agent Sapien has told you what we do here at the Bureau. I do not expect that anyone has explained why I chose you for this position."
Kate shook her head silently, waiting for him to continue.
Broom sighed and looked at her over the top of his glasses. "Dr., what we do here is very important. Everyone here, no matter what job they may have, must be able to do it efficiently and well. You were chosen from a list containing many others who were just as qualified as you are. I trust that you won't disappoint me."
Kate noticed that her mouth was becoming quite dry and when she attempted to speak, she only emitted a tiny squeak. She felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment.
Professor Broom chuckled. "I've spoken with a number of your professors who have all assured me that there is no one better for this position than you."
The small sense of pride Kate felt with his comment was almost enough to calm her nerves.
"Professor, what if...what if I turn out to be not what you expected?" she asked, still a bit worried that she wasn't up for the challenge.
Broom's face displayed utter seriousness when he said, "You're ability to do well or to do poorly here all depends on the confidence you have in yourself."
With that, he stood up slowly and began to walk across the room and up a spiral staircase. Kate stared after him. The exchange had been so short that she hardly felt like anything had transpired between them.
"Professor," she called after him.
Broom paused halfway up the stairs and looked down at her over his shoulder.
Kate glanced down at her feet for a moment, thinking. Finally, she spoke. "I won't disappoint you."
With a slight nod in her direction, he began continuing his way up the stairs while replying, "You'll do well here, Dr. Hayward."
Once Professor Broom had left the room, Kate released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in. Telling herself that she shouldn't be as worried as she was, she stood up and gazed upon the empty room. It wasn't that she was a nervous person, but Kate was finding that the secrecy and seriousness of the agency combined with the overwhelming amount of new information she was receiving was taking its toll on her nerves. She sighed, disgusted with how weak-minded she felt. Soon, she'd get into the swing of things and prove to everyone that she was meant to be here.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the doors behind her were thrust open. In strode none other than Hellboy, appearing very agitated.
Without looking at Kate, he continued to walk into the room and asked, "Is father home?"
Kate cocked her head and crossed her arms.
"You mean Professor Broom?" she asked on a whim.
Was Broom his father?
Hellboy continued roaming around the room. Kate wondered why he kept looking. It was obvious Broom wasn't there. When he didn't answer, Kate decided that she must have been right and spoke.
"He was just here. He went that way," she said, pointing at the spiral staircase.
Hellboy stopped and finally faced her.
Studying her, he put his hands on his hips. "Why are you here?" he asked with a little less menace than his voice had held earlier.
Kate let her arms fall limply to her sides in defeat.
"I told you. Professor Broom requested that-"
"No, why are you really here?"
Kate thought about what she realized in the taxi earlier.
She had nothing to lose, right? But, was that it?
"Why should you care?" she shot back.
When he continued to stare at her, she slumped into a chair.
"I felt like…this was my chance."
She sighed and began pulling at a loose thread at the hem of her skirt.
"I mean, I didn't even know where I was going or what I'd be doing. It just seemed like I was meant to do this, that this would give me the chance to prove myself. And…ugh, God, why the hell am I telling you this anyway?"
She pushed herself out of the chair with a little too much force and looked defiantly at him.
"What is this, a test or something? What's your problem?" she asked, becoming more irritated by the second.
She hadn't meant to tell him so much. Once to words started to pour from her mouth, she couldn't stop them. Kate was feeling much too vulnerable for comfort. She almost never told anyone what she was feeling.
Hellboy held up his index finger and opened his mouth to speak and then thought better of it, letting his hand fall back at his side.
"Just trying to see what you're made of, kid," he said simply.
Kate then realized that this might be his way of getting to know her better.
"Listen, I-" Kate began, but was interrupted when someone strode into the office in the same manner that Hellboy had.
The man, dressed in a casual suit as everyone here seemed to be, was holding a manila folder in his hand labeled "top secret".
"See this? You're going to ruin us. This is the last straw!" he yelled as he approached Kate and Hellboy.
Hellboy scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Don't know what you're talking about," he responded casually.
The man stopped in front of him and snorted disbelievingly.
"Look at this," he said, indicating the folder which he had begun to open.
He sorted through various pictures of Hellboy. Most of them were fairly unclear but obviously of him. Each picture that the man showed included Hellboy out and about around the city.
Hellboy looked at the pictures and shook his head. "So?"
The man ran a hand over his bald head anxiously.
"This agency is secret, Hellboy, top secret. You can't be seen!"
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the nervous sweat from his brow. It wasn't until then he noticed Kate.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Kate looked up from the pictures in his hand.
"Oh, sorry. Dr. Katherine Hayward," she introduced herself.
The man considered her for a moment and then nodded.
"The new research assistant, right? I'm Tom Manning."
The following silence told Kate that the conversation she had been listening in on was not meant for her ears.
Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, Kate decided to excuse herself.
"I'll leave you two gentlemen to your business. It was a pleasure to meet you," she said, indicating Manning.
He nodded at her and turned his attention back to Hellboy.
As Kate made her way across the room, she glanced back at Hellboy and met his eyes. She stared at him a moment too long before she realized what she was doing and then left the office through the door leading to the chrome hallway.
Trying to remember where her room was, Kate wandered through various hallways until she found the right door. She reached into her pocket and produced a card which she slipped into a slot in the door and the door was unlocked.
The room was as she remembered it; it was empty and cold. The walls were chrome, as much of the inside of the building was with the exception of Professor Broom's office. At the back of the room was a metal bed with a white cover and white pillows. On one side of the bed was a metal nightstand and to her left was a metal desk. The adjoining bathroom matched the room in that it was just as plain. Everything was chrome and what wasn't chrome was white.
Kate sighed and walked into the bathroom, taking a look at herself in the mirror. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of herself. It wasn't often that Kate wore much makeup and what she had put on today in order to look presentable was atrocious. Immediately, she reached for a tissue from the box on the counter, wiped off the red lipstick and then washed off the excessive amounts of mascara and blush she applied earlier that day.
After washing her face, Kate walked back into her room and fell on her bed.
The day had been exhausting, but Kate was sure of one thing; life at the B.P.R.D. would never be dull.
A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews! Keep them coming. It gives me the incentive to write. ;)