Chapter 3

The vinyl seat was cold, or maybe that was just me. The words I’d rehearsed seemed far away. Fatigue and nerves vied for dominance. Looking at his intense brown eyes, I got right to the point. “Agent Floyd hit me. He called it a training accident. When I showed up this morning, he told me that all agents assigned to him did a training review. We went through a bit of everything, firearms, policies, procedures, basic field magic, and then he took me back to the range. It was just us. He said he wanted me to demonstrate some offensive and defensive magics. We went through a few drills.

“Then he asked if I could create a shield that would stop a bullet. I said no. He punched me. I created that recording of the rest of our exchange. He said since I refused to create the requested shield, hitting me was the only way to see if I could create a shield to stop a physical attack. After a short exchange, I told him I had the recording and was reporting him for assault. Wayne and another person witnessed the assault.” With that, I hunched against the chair. Whatever happened next, it was out of my hands.

Smith picked up his phone and poked a few numbers. “Ice and a medic in my office, please. Also, see if anyone from evidence collection can come this way with a camera. No, it isn’t that serious.” He hung up the phone and pushed away from his desk. He pulled a blanket out of a filing cabinet and draped it over me before returning to his seat. “I want documentation, not because I doubt you but to prevent anyone else from questioning your integrity.”

I nodded as the impact of those words sank in. I was being protected. I would be able to wake up tomorrow, come to work, and do my job.

“Harris, what did you see?” Smith asked.

It took me a moment to realize Harris was Wayne’s last name.

“Agent Barnes and I were walking down the hall when we passed the indoor range. I looked over to see Agent Pine and Agent Floyd talking. Floyd appeared unhappy with the conversation and Pine was calm. Then he punched her in the face. To my regret I was too surprised to immediately rush in. I checked with Agent Barnes, who also saw the assault. At that point we realized Agent Pine did not need our assistance. She had a recording orb in her hand, which I don’t think Floyd could see. They had a short exchange, only a minute or so, and she showed him the orb before leaving. At that point I offered to come add my testimony. Then we came directly here.”

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“Is that everything?”

“No.” Agent Harris glanced at me before focusing on Smith. “When Agent Floyd struck Agent Pine, she lost her grip on her wand, and it ended up on the floor several feet away from her. Later, she used magic to call the wand to her hand. Agent Floyd flinched. When she showed him the orb, he backed away. I believe him to be afraid of active magic and magic practitioners, either in general or of Agent Pine specifically. Nothing in the interaction I saw gave me a reason to believe Agent Pine had threatened Agent Floyd with magic, but I couldn’t hear the exchange.” His voice was factual through the entire report.

On the bright side, I wasn’t the only one who thought Floyd wasn’t comfortable around magic. But I wasn’t thrilled that Agent Harris had considered the possibility that I’d threatened Floyd.

A knock on the door had Smith motioning for us to be quiet. He opened it a crack and then stepped back, holding the door wide. An athletic woman in khaki pants and a blue polo strode into the room. As soon as she was through the door, Smith closed it.

The bag on her shoulder had to weigh thirty pounds, but her posture was square. The French braid holding back her chestnut hair was tidy, but it left her powerful jaw looking a bit square. The slender nose and small mouth didn’t quite balance out her face, though she was more eye catching for the lack of perfection, not less. She took in the room, settling her attention on me, and headed over.

“My name is Eileen, and I’m going to take a look at your face.” She set the bag down next to me and narrowed her eyes. “What happened?”

“Kelsey. A punch.” I had a feeling I was going to be explaining my face for a while. Maybe I should come up with a cool story?

Nah. The truth was better, and other agents needed to know about Floyd’s behavior.