"Let’s go." He calls over his shoulder. I follow after him, trailing a few steps behind.

We arrive at the conference room soon enough. Four pairs of eyes turn to us as we enter. I ignore the looks of contempt that are aimed at me and sit down in an empty seat away from the group. I briefly glance at the other special agents seated on the opposite side of the long glass table before focusing my attention on the middle aged woman standing at the head of the table to my right.

"Now that everyone is here let’s get down to business." Jesse easily breaks the silence. You can read the seriousness of the situation through her steel gray eyes. I let my gaze roam over her, observing how her black hair falls short, just barely touching her shoulders. How tense and dominant her posture is, exuding an air of power and yet the well-fitted skirt suit she is wearing adds a touch of femininity. Being head of the entire Counterterrorism Unit is a great accomplishment, especially in a career run mostly by men.

"As we all know, there was another explosion this morning. This makes the second attack blatantly aimed at the Seattle Police Department, which now classifies as a terrorist attack. Because of the severity of these crimes and the casualties that the police department has suffered, I’ve been told that we are to make this our top priority. None of you are to work on any other case besides this."

"Sean, you will be the lead investigator." He nods when she meets his eyes. "Go and retrieve the evidence stored from the first bombing. Search the database to see if there are any ties linking these two attacks to past ones."

It doesn’t surprise me that Sean is taking point on this investigation. He’s her go-to guy and everybody knows it. This unit’s success rate has jumped since Sean and I got together. I haven’t decided whether that’s a good thing or not. There’s nothing I can do about it though. As long as this unit is on top and as long as the higher ups are pleased, then I get to keep my freedom – their obstinate version of freedom that is.