Accidentally Wolf (7 page)

I
shifted the box in my arms before responding.
“
Yes, I
’
m Special Agent Thomas,
”
I
answered
politely.
See? I wasn
’
t always a total witch. Just ninety percent of the time.
“
Is Chief Monroe available? Or can someone tell me where my office is?
”

“
Oh, I was told you weren
’
t coming until Monday.
”

“
I don
’
t really start until Monday, but I just cleaned out my old office and thought I could get my new one set up.
”

“
Let me see if the Chief
’
s available,
”
she replied
with a strained
smil
e
like she really didn
’
t want to
. Or maybe she just hated her job. Either way, I didn
’
t care.
“
Please have a seat over there.
”

“
Thanks
.
”
I
went
over to the
fairly worn-looking peach-colored
chair
on the other side of the room
where
she
had
gestured.
It creaked unhappily when I sat down as if protesting my using it.
Why was she so surprised I was here the Friday before? Didn
’
t everyone get their offices set up before they started? Not to mention I wanted the weekend to look over my new team
’
s files.

“
Agent Thomas?
”
a
man asked
,
walking toward me. I had a second to take him in
.
M
an, he was tall. Had to be at least
six
-
five
, about two hundred and fifty pounds
, dark
,
shorter hair, and soft blue eyes.

“
Yes, I
’
m
Special
Agent Thomas,
”
I answered
as I stood up from the chair, which let out another groan
. I shifted the box on my hip so I could extend my hand to shake his. Instantly I was swarmed
with images, some of which where I was
naked, spread out on what I suspected wa
s
his bed. Others showed me that he was a
shifter
as well, a cheetah.

“
I
’
m Agent Mike Harris
.
”
H
e
was
smiling, shaking my hand longer than I would have liked. I let him
have
another moment before pulling my hand back.

“
Nice to meet you, Agent Harris,
”
I replied.
“
Is Chief Monroe in?
”

“
Yes, he asked me to show you to your office,
”
Agent Harris answered
,
leading the way through a set of
wooden
doors.
“
Then I can
take y
ou
to
his office as well
.
”

“
Thanks, I
’
d appreciate it
.
”
I follow
ed
him, taking everything in as I went.
I made note of the dingy tan carpeting, the ceiling lights that had burnt out, the bits of paper and food wrappers decorating the room
’
s
various corners.

I also noticed the nume
rous cubicles where people seemed to be either chatting or playing
an assortment of
games on their computers
or checking their Facebook
.
There seemed to be a lot of agents doing absolutely nothing of use and not even trying to hide it.
“
Did you guys just finish a big case?
”

“
No, why?
”
he asked me over his shoulder.

“
Is it always like this?
”

“
Like what?
”
T
his time
he
turn
ed
to face me
with a quizzical expression
. I gestured around the room, showing the goofing off.

“
Like this!
”
I answered, not hiding my shock
.
“
P
eople lounging around and obviously not working.
”

“
Welcome to the MNSTR Squad,
”
he replied chuckling and went back to leading the way.
“
We only get called in for murders
where
the suspects aren
’
t human. Here
’
s your office.
”

I turned back to where he was pointing
.
The space
was large but filthy.
Dust covered the desk
’
s surface and the small trash can was overflowing with garbage, yellowed pieces of paper spilling over onto the floor.
I couldn
’
t ev
en hide the disgust
on
my face
that
they didn
’
t even bother to have it cleaned for me. I set my box down on the desk that looked like it was on its last leg of life and turned back to Agent Harris.

“
I
’
m ready to see the Chief now
.
”
I told him.

“
You don
’
t want to get settled in first?
”
I think he could tell I was annoyed then and started shifting his weight uncomfortably as if wondering if I might take it out on him.

“
Well since I don
’
t seem to have a power washer or a HAZMAT team,
”
I answered sarcastically.
“
I think I
’
ll meet with the Chief first.
”

“
Yeah, we don
’
t have a cleaning crew or maintenance,
”
Harris replied, obviously catching on to my meaning.
“
You
’
ll get used to it.
”

“
No, I won
’
t
.
”
I
rubb
ed
my
forehead in frustration,
as he turned to show me the way to the Chief
’
s office.
“
I work for the FBI, not some mom and pop private investigators.
”

“
Here
’
s Chief Monroe
’
s office
.
”
Agent Harris
pointed to a closed door
after a short walk across the main floor.
“
I
’
ll see you Monday morning, Special Agent Thomas.
”
He gave me a small half-smile before turning to depart.

“
Thanks for the tour
,
”
I
called out after him
as I knocked on the Chief
’
s door.

“
Come in,
”
I heard him yell from the other side of the door.

“
Got a minute, Chief?
”
I asked after I opened the door and stuck my head in.
I noticed that his office was not as messy as the rest of the place, but the carpet still needed a good vacuuming. Chief
Chad
Monroe had been working on something on his computer when I opened the door but backed his chair away
from it
and turned to face me as I came in.

“
Of course, Thomas,
”
he answered smiling.
“
Please, come in.
”

“
Thanks
.
”
I clos
ed
the door behind me before taking a seat on the chair in front of his desk.
“
Agent Harris showed me my office.
”

“
I know that tone
.
”
Chief Monroe rais
ed
an eyebrow.

“
Yeah, after the H
AZMAT
team has a go at it,
”
I
chirped
sweetly.
“
It might be able to be used.
”

“
I understand you
’
re used to the FBI that actually has a budget, Thomas. This isn
’
t that FBI.
”

“
What
’
s with everyone lounging around? They still work, right?
”

“
Yes, my agent
’
s work, Thomas,
”
he replied, starting to get annoyed with me and not hiding it well.
“
Our division is only a few years old
.
M
ost agents don
’
t take us seriously. Our funding and case load is a direct result of that.
”

“
Fair enough
.
”
I
conceded
, realizing I had to keep my cool. Let
’
s not piss off the boss who
’
s a vampire before I even officially start.
“
What can we do to change that? How many team leaders do you have?
”

“
One,
”
he answered, smiling widely, showing his fangs.

Oh, I had a sinking suspicion I wasn
’
t going to like the answer to my next question. What the
heck
was going on here?
“
One other than me, or one including me?
”

“
The lat
t
er
.
”
H
e chuckled,
“
This entire office is going to fit under your purview. You report directly to me.
”

Okay, I could do this. This office obviously needed a firm hand and a straight shooter.
“
How many agents?
”

“
Seventeen, five directly under you. The rest I would like to be under them. I
’
ve already cleared it with headquarters
.
W
hile I will remain Section Chief
,
y
ou
’
ve been promoted to Division Chief of MNSTR, Thomas.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, can you say that again, sir?
”
I asked leaning forward, assuming I had mis
understood
him.

“
You heard me, Thomas
.
”
Chief Monroe fold
ed
his hands on the desk
,
and
look
ed
me directly in the eye.
“
What happened with your Bernard case shouldn
’
t have happened. I have almost ten
agents
in here that knew Bernard was a shifter. But
your
team didn
’
t know because no one told us about the investigation.
”

“
Honestly, it never crossed my mind to ask, sir. I assumed he was human.
”
I felt stupid about that now. It should have been protocol to check with other divisions when pulling background. But then again, it should have been in the system with Bernard
’
s file. So it wasn’t just all on me.