Assignments

"She's in her department, Stone," the lady outside the main office answered.

The agent nodded and thanked the secretary. He headed toward Cross' desk. He shrugged. Cross was only a more experienced agent. What need had he for her? After all, he had efficiently sacked all of his cases. He didn't need any help sacking another one, especially if it was a majorly important one. He rather enjoyed sacking all those cases.

He smiled as he entered Cross' department. She worked in the section of the agency that included analyzing and identifying incriminating evidence. He saw her. She was at her desk fuming quietly at a piece of paper in her hand. A folder identical to the one he was holding was on her desk wide open. He approached her with a state of debonair status. "Hello there, Agent Cross. You do know that you should keep confidential information to yourself, you know." He pointed to the open folder.

Nina Cross looked up and glared at him. She closed her folder quickly. "What would you know? Sacked all your damn cases, hmm? I don't know you."

Charles Stone leaned on her desk. "Agent Cross, I do believe you are correct in that statement. I do not know you either. Considering that we just caught a brief glance at each other earlier, I wouldn't be surprised." He nodded slowly. "Shall we review the case files?"

She didn't reply. She stared at him hard for a few a minutes. "Promise me you won't sack this case, and if you do sack it, I will work on this alone and solve it with or without your damn help."

"Fine, be that way, Cross, because I'm not going to make any promises with anyone," Stone replied. He smiled and turned away.

Cross pouted. "You…"

"I'll catch you later, Agent Cross." Stone lazily waved without facing Cross and walked off.

Cross narrowed her eyes and watched him leave suspiciously. Why him of all possible partners? The carefree nonchalant sacker of all cases… what a brilliant partner! How did he pass the agency tests? She reluctantly opened the case files and resumed reading. It was going to be a long case.

He bumped into her in the lobby the next morning. She was having a mug of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast at a table. He sat down in the chair across from her. "Good morning, Agent Cross. Good breakfast, I presume?"

Nina Cross glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Oh, yes, wonderful until you showed up. Go grab yourself something to eat, big hot shot."

"Oh, no. I don't eat," Stone replied. He smiled innocently. "I'm not hungry."

"You read over the case files?" Cross inquired.

Stone nodded a bit too casually. "Yes, I did, partner. What kind of partner would I be if I didn't at least read the assignment?"

Cross frowned and didn't reply. A lousy one…not that you aren't one already…

Stone smiled again. "I'm not that lousy of a partner, you know."

Cross blinked before speaking a few seconds later. "I didn't say anything about you being lousy."

He grinned. "Oh, but you were most definitely thinking that."

"How would you know that?" Cross demanded in an even tone. "What are you? A mind reader?"

He shrugged. "Not quite. I'm just skilled at interpreting emotions and thoughts."

Cross took a sip of her coffee and was silent for a second. "Now, I don't suppose your skill would help us in our case, would it? We do seem to have no leads or clues at all."

Stone's facial expression was mysterious as he opened his briefcase and took out the case file. He flipped through a few files quickly, searching for a certain paper. Finally, he pulled out a summary sheet triumphantly. "Ah, here we go. First, we've to figure out what exactly the case is. That is not as simple as it seems, but I think I have a lead."

"We're supposed to spy on Kruzer and expose him at the right time," Cross replied.

Stone smiled light heartedly. "Ah, that's what they wrote, but if you're really that experienced, you should know that they want you to collect as much information as possible, bring all of it to this agency, then wait for their orders."

Cross pouted. "What would you know, Agent Stone? You've only been here for about two weeks. I've been here longer than you, and I've worked on plenty of cases. I had a case similar to this one before. It's simple. We follow their directions."

"Alright. Directions. You're the expert. Enlighten me."

"Well…I…uh…"

"Cat got your tongue there, Agent Cross?"

Cross frowned. "No, actually, I… would you happen to know who Kruzer is? His identity was never mentioned anywhere in the files."

Stone smiled. "Expert indeed."

Cross's face flushed red. She bit back a remark.

Stone shrugged and looked at her with deep eyes. "Kruzer is a man. The name is a surname." He pulled out a lab top from his briefcase and flipped it on. "Look here." The screen flashed to life and showed the image of a man and his data. "This is your Kruzer."

Nina Cross stared at the screen. The man was very familiar. In fact, everyone in the agency knew of him. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recalled something that she had read in the case files. …energy source stolen… mass destruction possible….must be retrieved…