I arrived at work at quarter to seven. I figured I would be the first person in the office, but Teddy was already at his desk, intently reading his monitor.

“Good Morning Cash.”

“Morning Ted, you sleep well?”

“Hardly at all, you?”

“Same.”

I slumped into my desk chair. I logged in and responded to a few emails. I realized that I didn’t have anything to do. We had ‘solved’ the Reliable Reliquary case and we were kind of at a dead end with the Tattoo Mage case. I spent some time on research. There was a bit on the Black Mesa pack, but nothing on the Sleeper.

“We may have a problem.” Teddy sighed.

“So early? Tina hasn’t even come by with our coffee.”

Agent Ruthersford frowned at me. “You can make your own coffee Cash. What I mean is there are ‘Break Glass’ warnings on the three cases related to our friend's items.”

“You lost me. What’s a ‘Break Glass’ warning?”

“It’s a condition that can be put on certain sensitive cases. If anyone accesses the files, it sends out an alert.”

“Well, that’s suspicious as fuck. Is there any way to get around it?”

Teddy bridged his fingers. “Possibly, but we will have to get someone from the Property Section to help. We may be able to get a hardcopy of the reports without actually accessing the file.”

I glanced at my watch. The property section didn’t open until 9 am. The elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal Tina. She looked tired and a bit sad. She looked up and her eyes bugged out of her head a bit as she realized that Teddy and I had beat her into the office. She hurried off the elevator to her desk but was encumbered by an array of bags, boxes, and containers that would have made a world traveler proud. I hurried over to help her.

“Good morning, Agent.” She greeted me sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m late. I just couldn’t get out of bed this morning.

“It’s OK Tina. One, I’m not your boss. And two, it’s not even 8 am. There aren’t many places you’d even be considered late.” I relieved her of some of her load.

“Oh, I know. I just like being the first one in. It gives me time to get organized”, she nodded toward her full arms.

“I see. What is all this stuff?”

“Oh, you know, stuff. This is my office bag, this is my lunch, this is my gym bag, this is Chief Northcutt’s dry cleaning. Just odds and ends really.”

“Chief Northcutt, has you do his dry cleaning?”

“Well, yeah. But I don’t mind. It’s on the way.” She blushed a bit. Her tangle of red hair was a bit messier than usual. She was wearing a smart-looking light charcoal suit with a kelly green blouse. She was wearing half-frame glasses today and I guessed she may not have had time to put in her contacts. She wasn’t wearing a belt and the way she had her shirt tucked in really accentuated her flat stomach. And her flat stomach showed off breasts that were large for her small frame. The overall effect was that of an extremely attractive and slightly disheveled librarian. Tina noticed me looking at her and the light blush deepened.

“I must look like a disaster this morning.” She pushed her hair behind her ears and brushed down the front of her slacks.

“No. Of course not. You always look great.” I walked into that one. I was expecting a saucy return, but she just looked at me.

“Thank you Cash, that’s really nice of you to say.” She looked cute, vulnerable. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her everything would be alright.

“No problem.” I smiled and saw an opportunity. “Hey, let me take the Chief’s dry cleaning over.”

“OK.” She handed me the bundle and started organizing her things. “I appreciate it.”

I took the dry cleaning and slowly walked over to the Chief’s Office. I surreptitiously checked the pockets of the suit but came up empty. The light was off, so I tried the door. Locked. I hung it up on the hook on the outside of the door and peered through the window. The blinds were closed so it was difficult to see anything. I detected movement inside the office and quickly hustled back to Tina’s desk. I approached before she noticed me and I caught her tugging her blouse down to expose her cleavage.

“I put his dry cleaning on his door,” I told her.

She stood and hustled over to stand closer to me. “Thanks so much, Cash. You’re so thoughtful.” She reached out to touch my arm and I grabbed her by the wrist.

“If I take you out to lunch this afternoon, will you stop the full-court press?”

She froze. Her expression changed from what I would consider dopey and slightly hopeful to calculating and considering. “Yes”, She finally responded, “I’d like that.”

“I’ll even let you pick the place if you promise to talk to me like a real human being. My treat.”

There was a hint of a smile now. “OK. Meet me at Cafe Rue Bell at 12:30. You know the place?”

I did. I told her.

“Don’t be late, I only get an hour for lunch.” She sounded slightly bitter. Tina walked back to her desk and returned to her work without another effusive word. Seems like my hunch was right. There was more to Ms. Goodwin than met the eye. I headed back to my desk.

“Does Northcutt sleep in his office?” I asked Teddy.

“I don’t think so, at least, he hasn’t in the past.”

“Well, someone is in there now, and the door is locked.”

“Really?” Teddy looked over at the office door, interested. “Maybe he had a falling out with his better half.”

“Wouldn’t he just stay in a hotel? Why the office?”

Teddy shrugged. “Convenience?”

I wasn’t convinced. “How long has he been assigned here? Our friend said he was transferred from the New York office under a cloud.”

“It was a couple of years before the ice queen, maybe three years ago? I never heard anything negative about the transfer. I am starting to think that she has something personal against Northcutt.”

“I’m starting to think you have something personal against Director Barnum? What’s the deal, Ted?”

His face darkened. “She was very dismissive about Patrick’s death. I know she’s only been here a short time, but it was all very impersonal. And then the way she’s pushed the case under the rug, it’s all left a bad taste in my mouth.”

I didn’t respond. Some people dealt with death differently, and I have never heard Barnum tell me to stay away from the Tattoo Mage case. But, it was obviously personal for Teddy and I didn’t think he was being rational about it.

At 9 am, we took the elevator down to the Property Section. We walked through three separate secure doors before we got to the service desk. Teddy slid a sheet of paper to the young tech manning the desk.

“I’d like a complete hard copy of those three cases.”

“Sure, just one second Agent Ruthersford.” The tech tapped a few keys. “Hmm, seems these cases are under a ‘Break Glass’ order.”

“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.” Teddy said. He reached into his satchel and removed a brick of pure Ecuadorian coffee and slid it under the gap in the glass.

“Well, since you’re not accessing the file directly. I supposed it’s not technically against the rules.” The coffee was gone, and the tech was typing again. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll print it out, you read it here and then shred it.”

“Deal,” Teddy grinned. And in short order, the tech was handing over three disappointingly small case files. Teddy fired through them rapidly.

“These are nothing cases. Thefts and illegal sales. And they’re totally unrelated.” He seemed frustrated until he got to the property log of each case. “Here,” he pointed to the case files, “look.”

All three of the items had been signed out and back in an hour later on the same date about three months ago. By Director Barnum.

“What the fuck?” That was the last name I expected to see.

“Indeed.” Teddy looked thoughtful and turned back to the clerk. “One more tiny favor, and we will be out of your hair.” He slid the case files back to him and pointed to the property sections. “Can you visually verify that these items are in evidence?”

The clerk signed audibly but took the files. “OK, Agent, but you own me.” He shuffled off into the back.

“You think the property logs have been tampered with? Or the old switcheroo?” It wasn’t a new concept. Dirty cops had been caught switching out crack with soap and then using it or selling it. Usually a combination of both.

“I’m not sure,” Teddy responded.

A moment later the clerk returned. “It’s all there Agent Ruthersford.” He shrugged and fed the case files into the shredder.

We thanked him and got back into the elevator.

“Can we check the video logs during the time Director Barnum checked the stuff out?”

“Not without supervisor approval,” Teddy grimaced.

“Can we check the items out ourselves and see if they are legit?”

“Not without breaking the glass. And we can be almost certain they are mundane replicas of the items since you had the originals.”

“And we can’t go to Barnum because we aren’t sure she isn’t involved. Can we go to her boss?” I was grasping at straws now.

Teddy shook his head. “She reports directly to the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Even if we could get on his calendar, it wouldn’t be before tomorrow. Damn it, Cash. We don’t even know if this is related to the Sleeper. This whole thing could be a waste of time. A distraction.”

We stepped off the elevator and my cell phone rang.

“Rennie, it’s John.” He was speaking low and I could hear another conversation in the background. “I don’t have much time, but I found something on that thing you asked me about. You might want to keep an eye out for a white Mitsubishi box truck with purple lettering. It might be on the western stretch of US 141 from the border around noon tomorrow. And you be careful buddy, I heard those were some mean hombres.” He chuckled mirthlessly and knowing John, that was a legitimate warning. “Gotta go pal.” The line went dead.

I looked at Teddy, “That was my friend John. He’s working on a task force near the border. I’ve got a lead on our cargo.”

Agent Ruthersford’s eyes went wide as I explained what John had told me. We rushed over to his computer and pulled up a map of the area. We traced the 141 west to the border. Teddy tapped the screen. “Here,” he said. “Barren stretch of road in a small town, Pasadillo. We can enlist the local law enforcement to stop the truck.”

“Is that safe? Getting small-town cops involved?”

“Absolutely not. These guys are probably on the take. We will have them stop the truck and then leave, let me make some phone calls…”

“Boys!” A voice boomed from behind us. “How is the Reliable Reliquary case going? I figured you two would be out pounding the pavement.”

Chief Northcutt came out of nowhere. I looked over at his office and his door was open and the light was on. Had he come in while we were down in Property? I was pretty sure his light was still off when we got off the elevator.

Teddy closed the map tab and turned to face him. “Nothing to do today. We ran her down yesterday, but she got away. We have a lead on where she will be tomorrow. We should have the items then.”

Whatever Northcutt had been expecting Teddy to say, it wasn’t that. He started to say several different things, but settled on “You saw the Farfalla? What did she look like?”

Teddy looked at me and I did my best to appear bored. “Italian Catwoman, but a Supermodel,” I said, unconcerned. Teddy nodded his assent.

“Really? Well, I guess that makes sense. But if you know where she is, why aren’t you dealing with her right now? We need this case closed.” His voice had an edge of tempered urgency. His grey suit was wrinkled and his shoes needed a shine.

Teddy stood up and looked annoyed. “We don’t know where she is, we know where she is going to be. Big difference. Look Chief, you gave us until Friday and we are going to deliver ahead of schedule. Just let us work.”

Chief Northcutt looked dubious. His close salt and pepper hair needed a trim and maybe a wash. “Where are you going to ambush her? Maybe I could come, extra back up?”

The elevator dinged and Director Barnum stepped off. She was wearing a beige pantsuit with an elegant, feminine cut. She looked pissed as she walked over to us. “Northcutt, where the hell have you been? Why aren’t you answering your phone?”

Northcutt looked like a deer caught in headlights that also had a hoof in the cookie jar. “Sorry, Dorothy, I must have had it off.” He scrambled to pull his phone free from his pocket.

Director Barnum looked at Teddy and I and her expression seemed to soften a bit, but not much. She turned back to the chief. “Be in my office in ten minutes. Don’t make me come looking for you. She turned on her heel and marched back to the elevator.

Northcutt sighed and deflated visibly. “You see what I am dealing with, boys? The last six months have been hell.” He massaged his temples with a thumb and forefinger. It pulled back his sleeve and I thought I caught a bit of color from his cuff. His face looked drawn and pale.

Teddy looked sympathetic. “Tell her you will have the items from the Reliable Reliquary tomorrow afternoon. You can personally deliver them.”

He was pulling at his cuffs and straightening his tie. “What? Oh yes. See that I do.” He stalked off to the bathroom. Probably to privately prepare for his butt-blasting. Whatever he’d done, it wasn’t good.

“What the fuck was that about?” I said when the Chief had left.

Teddy worried a button on his jacket. “I’m not sure exactly. Well, nothing for it today. Let me make some phone calls. You can spend the afternoon reviewing this.” He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a monstrous binder marked “Policy and Procedure”.

He handed it to me with a smile, “There’s a test you will need to pass if we survive the week.”

I slumped back to my desk and began to read. Tina delivered coffee shortly thereafter. There was a steady drizzle outside and the sky stretched toward the horizon a sooty grey. It didn’t look like it would let up anytime soon. Other agents filtered in and out, but I didn’t see any sign of Alicia or Lucas. They had their own caseload I guessed.

I studied until the clock said 12:15, then I packed up my stuff and headed to the restaurant to meet with Tina. The drizzle hadn’t let up and I took an umbrella into Cafe Rue Bell. It was an upscale New American Bistro. New American seemed to be code for $30 hamburger, but I didn’t mind splurging once in a while. It was a good fucking hamburger.

Tina was already seated with an iced tea in front of her. She had replaced her glasses with contacts and her messy hair from this morning had been perfectly styled. She offered me a terse greeting as I sat and regarded me with a calculating stare as the waiter hustled over to take my drink order. Only once I had my own iced tea and we had placed our lunch orders did she speak.

“I’m not a whore, you know.”

Oh boy. “I don’t think that.”

“Yes, you do. I know what they say about me, Cash. It’s not fair. You’ve seen how Agent Santiago acts. You haven’t met any of the other female agents, but I promise you, they are all the same or worse. But only old normie Tina get’s to wear the scarlet letter. It’s fucking bullshit.”

I don’t think I had heard her swear before, but the bitterness I had picked up on was coming out to make a formal introduction. She fixed me with a steady gaze before continuing. “ I prefer to think of myself as selectively aggressive. You have to be in this environment.”

“Are you dead set on dating a Special Agent?” I winced internally. I almost said fucking, and what came out wasn’t much better.

Tina took a sip of iced tea and gave me a half-lidded shrug, kind of a condescending snort. “Ok, you want the sob story? Here you go.”

I gulped my tea to avoid having to respond. I really hoped this didn’t end with her getting raped by werewolves.

“My parents were both mages,” she began. They both worked for AMI as enchanters.”

Of all the things I was preparing to hear, this wasn’t one of them. “I thought being a mage was hereditary. Shouldn’t you be a mage too?”

She did her snort thing again, it was a mannerism I had never seen from her before, and now twice in as many minutes. “It’s a good thing you are so cute. Yes, genius, I should be a mage. My old man, in particular, was handy with the ‘old flamey torch. But sometimes it skips a generation. You can imagine what those blue blood motherfuckers think of that.”

“Probably not really fond of it.” I guessed.

“That’s the understatement of the fucking century. They think it’s physical proof that you aren’t worthy of the bloodline or some shit. You’re worse than trash to them. If you don’t manifest powers by puberty, the parents are ‘encouraged’ to put you up for adoption, or worse.” She had a hard look in her eye, but there was no sadness there, only anger. “And when I say ‘encouraged’, I mean ‘forced’ unless you want your entire family to be ostracised.”

“And by ‘or worse’ you mean killed,” I said.

She nodded. “Like a baby fucking seal.” She mimed clubbing something. “My parents were mortified of course, but I was their baby girl, an only child. They couldn’t bring themselves to give me up. So they left the mage community and took the only path left to them that allowed them to practice magic.”

“The AMI. That makes sense. But I am sure they were seen as traitors.” I said.

“Give the man a cigar.” Tina clapped her hands as the waiter set down our food. A salad for her and my $30 burger. Once he was gone she continued. “And of course I paid them back by being a grade-A piece of shit and getting knocked up at 16.”

She forked in a huge mouthful of salad while I almost choked on my burger. “You have a kid?”

She laughed. “Well, the same parents that threw their lives away for their little mundane daughter sure as hell weren’t gonna let her get an abortion.” She slid her phone across the table to me. “Meet Felicity.”

There was a picture of a smiling preteen girl that looked like a miniature Tina. “She’s beautiful, just like her mother.”

Tina finally smiled. Not the sardonic smile, but the smile I had seen over the last few days in the office. Which was the real one? “Thank you. She really is my whole world. Her father is as big a piece of garbage as you would expect. He was 22 when he knocked me up and has floated in and out of our lives ever since. Drugs, gambling, smuggling. You name it. He’s bad at it.”

I slid the phone back. “Are your parents still working or did they retire?”

“They were killed.”

Another unexpected turn. “Oh Tina, I am so sorry.”

“They were waiting for it their whole lives really. They took precautions of course, but they were always afraid someone from their old life would turn up. There was a raid on the AMI office here in Houston. They were both killed during the fighting.”

“What? They were killed at work?”

“Yeah, ironic isn’t it? The place they should have been the safest. They spent so much time and energy constantly warding and re-warding our home. And then they get popped at work as collateral damage.”

I thought about it. “When did this happen?”

“A few years ago, AMI hired me after that. To keep me close and give me an income. I was pretty much still making a mess of life.”

About the same time Chief Northcutt started. Interesting.

“Anyway, now you know the story. Boo-hoo. Poor Tina. That’s not why I wanted to talk. I have a problem and you might be able to help.”

I popped a fry in my mouth. “Sure. I’ll do anything I can.”

“Great!” Tina smiled winningly. “Let’s get married.”