Agents:
Whitmore entered the room looking serious and impatient. His black suit was freshly pressed, his dark hair smoothed back, and his general appearance immaculate. Dark, razor-sharp eyes immediately locking in on Grant, Whitmore strode purposefully over to Grant’s desk and planted his feet.
“There’s been another sighting.”
Grant had surreptitiously watched the other man’s entrance, but pretended to be enthralled by the open chart on his desk.
“Hmmm?” He didn’t look up.
Whitmore’s jaw clenched.
“I said, there’s been another sighting. Another were-“
Grant held up a hand, finally glancing up and regarding Whitmore with his tired hazel eyes.
“Please don’t start that again.”
“That makes four sightings in two months.”
Grant sighed and closed the chart.
“Yes, plenty of crazies out there.” He glanced down at the calendar on his desk. “Full moon too. Nice. Fits.”
Whitmore glared down at him.
“These aren’t just nuts. These are reliable witnesses.”
Grants eyebrows lifted.
“Witnesses who claim to have seen werewolves.”
Whitmore dropped a folder down on Grant’s desk looking smug.
“There’s more. Each sighting was accompanied by a missing persons report.”
Flipping open the folder, Grant perused its contents.
“The people who reported seeing werewolves have gone missing?”
Whitmore slammed a hand down on Grant’s desk causing a widespread lull in both conversation and activity around the previously bustling room.
“No, dammit! Other people have gone missing at the same time the sightings were reported!”
It was Grant’s turn to set his jaw.
“Sit down and keep your voice lowered.”
A brief look of abashment flashed across Whitmore’s face and he sat, but then he straightened his back as his confidence returned.
“You can’t ignore these reports any longer. Three different states, four missing persons. We have to investigate.”
Inspecting Whitmore’s face, Grant could find no crack in his resolve to exploit. He nodded slightly.
“Fine. As long as you promise to say that we’re investigating missing persons possibly related to new gang or cult activity and not investigating werewolves.”
“Fine.”
Whitmore rose and turned away, taking several steps before he realized that Grant wasn’t following him.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“Let me finish up just a few things here. I’ll meet you outside in ten minutes.”
The waves of protest rolling off Whitmore were almost palpable, but he said nothing, turning away again and threading his way through desks and fellow agents to the exit. After watching Whitmore until his back disappeared through the double doors, Grant’s eyes scanned around the room for any sign that he was still under scrutiny due to his partner’s outburst. Once satisfied that this was not the case, Grant opened a drawer of his desk and fished out a cell phone. He pinched the bridge of his nose before typing in the number, and cleared his throat as he brought the phone up to his ear. Marcus wasn’t going to be happy about this.