After The Midnight Hour

"You can do it, Kate. It's your big day today. You can do it." Kate stared at herself in the mirror as she prepared for her big day. It had been her dream to join the Intelligence Bureau and finally, it had happened after years of persistence and hard work.

Her phone kept dinging and she didn't have to guess what was happening. Her family was going crazy in the chat group, especially her mother who hadn't stopped praising her for her achievements. If given a chance, Katelyn was certain that her mother would announce to the world that she now worked at the Intelligence Bureau.

With a smile, she picked up her phone and scrolled through the messages.

Mom: Good luck, sweetie. We are so proud of you. You are the best!

Dad: Good luck, Kate. Call us once your work ends.

Dylan: Sis, Mom's going crazy. Control her. Good luck, by the way. Have a blast!

Kate didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her younger brother's message. Have a blast? Was she going to a party to have a blast?

Mom: Ignore your brother. He's being sulky because his exams are coming up. Call us once you're done with work.

Dylan: Excuse you. Nobody gets to ignore me. Not my sis at least. After all, I'm her lovely brother.

Kate let out a laugh at his words and shook her head helplessly. Even though Dylan was already twenty, he was like a comical cartoon character. 

Mom: Dylan, get our ass to the kitchen. What the hell have you done to my lovely kitchen??? 

Dylan: Shit! Mom, I was hungry. 

Mom: So? I don't care. Why didn't you clean the kitchen after you prepared yourself a midnight snack? I'm going to faint. The kitchen looks filthier than my garbage bin.

Dylan: Don't be dramatic, Mom. I just left the utensils in the sink. I've cleaned the counter. 

Mom: Come down and wash the utensils before I come up to drag you down.

Dad: Son, you don't want to piss your mother off more than she already is. I can see fumes coming out of her ears.

Dylan: Crap, I'll be down in a minute. Sis, see you later. Have a good day!

Kate felt her nerves easing up after looking at her family's early morning drama. All her nervousness from before vanished and she felt her confidence rising. Glancing at herself in the mirror once again, she typed a quick message to her family before leaving the apartment.

Kate came from a well-off family. While her father was a Chief Financial Officer at a marketing firm, her mother owned a cafe and a restaurant. The apartment she lived in was a gift to her from her parents the day she had been appointed as an Intelligence Bureau agent. Though she rejected it at first, she had no choice but to accept it later when her overly dramatic parents used their smart brains to subdue her.

While Kate waited for the elevator, she glanced at the only other apartment on the floor. It had been more than two weeks since she had moved to her new place, but she had never met her neighbor. The apartment seemed empty and unoccupied when she knew it was not. 

The elevator opened wide and she entered in, pushing the other thoughts to the back of her mind. Her neighbor was not important, her work was and it was her first day. 

With a hopeful heart, she entered the parking lot only to be startled when she saw an array of vehicles parked in the space allocated for her neighbor.

'When did this happen?' Kate wondered. She didn't recall seeing the vehicles when she returned home after having dinner with her family the previous night.

Shaking her head, she entered her car and drove out. On her way out, she flashed a greeting smile at the middle-aged man who managed the apartment building. Kate didn't remember his name. But the man was kind and gave off a friendly vibe. 

Tapping her fingers anxiously as she drove towards her destination, Kate made sure to arrive before the time of reporting. While she made her way inside, she garnered a lot of attention from the people around her.

Kate didn't know what happened and why they were staring at her as if she were a showpiece in a museum. Ignoring them, she entered the reception.

The place was not unfamiliar to her. She had been at the Bureau when she worked in the police force in the past. Moreover, she had familiarized herself with the place better when she was in her training period.

"Hello, Kate. I see you are all prepared for your first day at work." She heard the front desk agent speak and Kate smiled at her immediately in greeting.

"Hello. Good Morning, Ava. Yes, I am. I was asked to report here first." Kate waited while Ava retrieved her badge from one of the drawers.

"Yes, this is your official badge and you are to report to Chief Morgan. He'll be here in a few minutes."

"What? I was told I'd be reporting to my Unit Chief." Katelyn couldn't hide her surprise. 

"I know. But the department's been assigned with Hannah Foster's death case. Chief Morgan is going bonkers with all the calls he's being bombarded with." Ava explained as she sorted her table. 

"Her case came to the IB?" Katelyn was stunned.

Hannah's death case was not a secret to her. The entire country knew about it. Being the daughter of a Senator, Hannah's case had become a topic of discussion since the time she died mysteriously a week ago. While the police were handling it, her father had been pressing for it to be passed to the IB. 

"Yes, we got the orders yesterday and Chief Morgan added you to his team." Ava flashed a sympathetic smile and Kate perceived that her first day at work would be anything but relaxing. She knew who Chief Morgan was.

Chief Morgan or Jason Morgan was quite a name in the IB. Known for his merciless tongue and no-nonsense attitude, all she imagined was a short-tempered man pacing back and forth in his office as he barked off commands to his subordinates.

"Well, I better hurry up. Got to be on time on the first day." 

"Have a good day, Kate, and good luck."

"Thank you and have a good day."

Kate didn't know whether to feel blessed or worried. It was not a regular occurrence that a new agent was assigned to handle a case, that too on the first day of joining. Usually, they'd only be ordered to handle the paperwork for a few weeks before they started fieldwork. 

'It seems I'm blessed with the fortune today. What are the odds?' Kate sighed as she waited for the elevator. 'Good luck is all I need today.' She thought to herself before she entered the elevator.