April 4thThe air hung anxiously in a sort of anticipatory quiet within the dark interior of the flat, rustling leaves of the dogwood tree outside casting dancing motes of light through the closed drapes. A still form laid sprawled across the couch, clad in Yogi Bear pajama bottoms and a pillow over its face in the tepid coolness of the Spring afternoon as the television cast the glow of its
Netflix logo across the living room. Jingling of Christmas bells approached in a purposeful chime when a calico feline bounded upon the sofa, mewling and crying and climbing over the still-sleeping cadaver. Catori made her best attempt to ignore it until Mimi started kneading her side, stirring to consciousness and discarding the pillow carelessly onto the carpet.
"*siiiiigh*... I'm up. I'm up, I'll feed you," she groaned, lazily stroking her hand over the plushy fur of the cat. It was already one in the afternoon, on a Tuesday at that, but she hadn't had work that day. Or any day over the past two months. After leaving her job at ISCI she'd taken the time off to recuperate from her injuries and the medical compensation pay was nice and all, but there was nothing else to take up her time outside of binge-watching old sitcoms and taking care of her lawn. Cat wasn't in the right frame of being to go back to being a criminal psychotherapist, coming back to the Boise Police Department required her to pass a fitness test after her long separation (which frankly wasn't going to happen only two weeks coming off painkillers and a handful of years away from the gym), and her degree was too low to qualify for many of the psychologist's clinical positions. It was slim pickings unless she wanted to move to Canyon County and do something small time and the application process was depressing enough alone. The groggy woman shuffled her feet like a zombie toward the door, throwing on some unlaced boots and making her way to the patio to fill up her kitty's food bowl and check the mail.
Mostly spam mail, like always. Grocery store ads, a
Cash4Gold mail slip she never asked for, a notice from the Toyota dealership that her truck was getting close to 50,000 miles, and an official letter marked
URGENT and
TIME SENSITIVE. Catori almost threw that one away if she hadn't recognized the government approval stamp on the front, spam can sneak up on you like that. Running an ebony nail along the lip of the envelope, the medium unfolded the offer letter and began to scan it with an unamused expression. She took a moment just looking at the letter, the plane tickets, and the dates and addresses before sighing loudly and running a hand down her tired face. She had a few phone calls to make.
Ri-i-i-i-i-i-ng... Ri-i-i-i-i-i-ng... Ri-i-i-i-i-
"...Idaho States Correction Institute, this is Jim Barnes speaking.""April Fool's Day was on Saturday, Jimbo. You're a few days late," Catori croaked dryly.
"...Cat Ricci?""Yeah, it's me. I got the offer letter from the 3-letter organization you applied me for without telling me.""You were looking for work and I floated your resume. I know you've got investigative experience under your belt and with those weird books you read I thought it would be a good fit. Get you back on the government payroll and all.""They want me there on the tenth.""...of this month?""Of this month, yes.""They must really want you then, I knew your qualifications would get you through.""No, I've already been accepted. Without interview. And they sent plane tickets. This sounds like a cult, Jimbo.""Maybe a little, but they're the real deal. SEO likes to fly under the radar but they know what they're doing, you'll be taken good care of I promise.""And what if I just don't go? I can't move all my stuff across the country and sell my house in less than a week.""I didn't think the selection process would be so aggressive, I apologize for that, Cat.""I'm gonna need favors, Jimbo. Lots of favors for this one.""I'm sure we ca-""No no don't misunderstand, I'm not playing coy this time. You screwed me pretty hard intentional or not and I'm gonna need help.""Alright, alright Cat I get it. I'm sorry. I'll help you anyway I can.""Good. *siiiiigh* I'm gonna need someone to house-sit and get my mail when I'm between addresses, keep the place presentable until I can put it on the market-""Okay.""-hand off my truck to the auto shippers and make sure the DCS people have access to the storage I need to go get-""Mm-hmm.""-and I'm going to need a ride to the airport, I need to be there at 5 A.M. on Sunday.""I'm not sure if I can help you there, Cat. Cassandra won't-""Screwed me, Jim. Bent me over a table, pulled my hair, smacked my ass and just had your sloppy way with me.""Cat-""Raw dog. No lube, like all your life problems could be solved by sticki-""Cat ju-... just stop talking like that, please. I'll drive you to the airport on Sunday, I'm sure Cassie will understand if we're a little late to Mass.""I knew you could be a gentle lover.""Seriously Ricci knock it off, it's not funny.""You're the only one in this conversation who thinks that," Catori prodded, a wry grin tugging at her lips,
"I'll see you later this week after I make some arrangements. Mmmbye for now."August 10thIt had been a long, exhausting week alright. Picking up around half a decade of life and lugging it to Washington State would do that to you. Catori hadn't even felt like going out and seeing the Soggy City after her flight had touched down, opting for chucking her baggage into her rented Fusion and making a beeline to the Best Western. The minor jet lag didn't help any and neither did the foreboding clouds that spoke of rain that Seattle was famous for, and the medium sipped her coffee as her tired eyes scanned the slick road. She'd been up since 5 that morning making sure that her pant suit was ironed, makeup done for a formal business setting, and slotting time to grab a "healthy" McDonald's breakfast with minutes to spare.
Rob Zombie blared over the car radio louder than what could be considered reasonable as the compact crunched its tires into the adjacent parking lot at approximately 7:45, not too early and far from late. Through the drizzle-speckled windshield Catori could get a firmer look at her new headquarters and suffice to say it wasn't what she expected.
A manor in the city stood out enough, one with a large surrounding fence and gate even more so. It had a sort of ancientness to it, and while well-maintained it was clearly aged and worn. It almost looked like a historically preserved building and she wouldn't be shocked if it had been in fact. The style was clearly Victorian with the abundance of dreary windows that ran nearly floor to ceiling on all levels and the high-slanted roof with the flat top. The paled brick gave it a more official feel she thought, akin to a courthouse. But the most striking detail about the manner was that it didn't have any color. Completely translucent in almost a perfect cube, beginning at the fenceline and going back as far as she could perceive. Cat had never in her life seen that before. As she had driven up Route 99 all manner of spirits made themselves evident in a colorful display, even more so when she turned off into the more residential Roxhill where people, y'know, had residences to pass away in. She had seen at least one a block on her way to the manor yet the manner gave off absolutely NO aura whatsoever.
"...well that's not creepy at all..." remarked the psychologist to herself, pulling herself from her Ford.
With her coffee in one hand and purse and umbrella in another Ricci made her way toward the ornate gate at the entryway to the foreboding edifice, just a short trip down the sidewalk. The air was brisk for the spring, sitting just below 50 degrees with a biting wetness to the air and a healthy wind. It hadn't rained for about an hour but she wasn't about to take any chances. All except for the dampness it reminded her of Idaho. Emergent thoughts battled for attention as she made her short jaunt with moments before she was introduced to her new organization. The typical anxiety of starting a new job, the annoyance of the whole moving situation, worrying if her cat Mimi was going to be alright in her crate for a few hours. Orientation had better be short, Cat had things to do once she was either assigned a residence or found one herself.
Yet as early as she was Catori wasn't the first one there. It had taken her more than a moment to realize that a sunny blond girl with an aura to match belonged to the same organization. It was a bright goldenrod with orange tinges, like fresh-squeezed orange juice but more clear and bright. It denoted positivity, action, and extroversion, generally outgoing people. But you didn't need any special vision to see that from her mannerisms. Catori had initially thought she was out for a morning jog until she waved her down. Maybe... the SEO had some sort of fitness program like the FBI? That was probably it, the girl was dressed more to walk dogs than to work for a 3-letter agency, unlike the businesswomanly attire that Cat sported. She'd probably change once they got inside. To be honest it was a little worrying to know that she'd be working with someone so young. She looked like she just graduated high school! To have someone so far younger than her as technically her "senior" made her feel a little inadequate.
".....Heeeey..." the psychologist droned flatly in response to the chipper young woman's greeting. She wasn't in the mood to deal with people today, probably not all week with the crap she had to put up with. Moving her cat, getting her things shipped, phone calls, picking up her truck, more phone calls, learning the job... it was a lot to do. She circumnavigated the perky girl with a purposeful walk, cradling her umbrella and balancing her coffee in two fingers to tug on the gate. No dice. It wasn't locked though, but there wasn't a buzzer she could use to ring herself in or even a card reader by what she could see. Maybe it worked off RFID chip...? She'd need someone to let her in. Facing herself toward Sierra, Cat put on a more empathic, neutral, and professional tone than the dismissive and pessimistic droll she had first displayed toward her.
"Excuse me, my name is Catori Ricci, I was instructed to appear here today for in-processing? Oh, I'm sorry, it's nice to meet you as well, I'm not incredibly awake right now. Would you mind letting me inside, please?" she asked politely. To her chagrin Cat had almost left her tact back at the hotel. It didn't matter whether or not she was in the mood to deal with people, first impressions only happened once.
