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Police Department building in Cleveland. It's Thursday, evening hours.

The situation is quite tense in the Cleveland Police Department. The main room is usually filled with brief chatter, however today the situation and the moods are quite different. You can feel it as you enter. Everyone takes their seats and is ready to hear the latest information on the case. The police chef, Wyatt Rogers, is starting the briefing. You are the main investigators assigned to this case, however obviously the rest of the station is briefed with the details, so they can assist.

It seems like we have a new case on our hands.

“ There is a little, 5 years old girl who went missing today. Her name is Regina Balfour. She was abducted at 6:30 PM earlier today from a big Target store in central Cleveland. She was there with her mother, and was taken away while sitting in the shopping cart. ”

Then, the police chief proceeded to describe a very particular, strange situation. The abductor came back to the shop just a few minutes later, just to shoot himself in the head. Those words don't come easy to Chief Rodgers, as he understands how ridiculous the situation is. We have the abductor in the black bag, yet, we have no clue where Regina is.

As everyone is ready to depart, the Police Chief invites one more person into the room, Special Agent Aria Matthews. She was sent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to help with the investigation and tend to the body, and believes that she has some important information to share with everyone. It seems like she knew the abductor.

@Aria Matthews @Willow Wilson @Finan Ryder

Aria arrived in Cleveland two hours ago, playing back a thousand memories when she was driving to the hotel. As soon as the Bureau found out, that their retired agent was involved in the kidnapping, they decided to send Aria to the place, where the crime happened. After all, she treated Cleveland like home, and she knew the city very well. Adding to this, she used to work with retired Lewiston, and her uncle was the chief of the police. That could be helpful.

After the short introduction to the crime, she got invited to the room.

" Thank you, Chief Rogers ", she said, walking to the place from where he was speaking just a few seconds ago. " I'm agent Matthews, and the FBI sent me here due to the importance of the kidnapping. I would like to remind everyone, that whatever you hear here is confidential information and can't be known to the public. Both the victim and the suspect are known by the agency. "

She got the brief about the whole case while she was on her way. Luckily, her memory was good, so now she could look professional.

" The victim is a daughter of two members of a dangerous religious group. We have been monitoring them for some quite time. "

She paused to let everyone get familiar with this information.

" The suspect was a retired employee of ours - George Lewiston. He was directly connected with the Balfours. He stopped working their case last year and moved to Cleveland. "

Aria stopped to look around the room. She wasn't the biggest fan of public speeches.

" I will provide more details to the team that will be working on the case. Does anyone have any questions? "

@Finan Ryder @Willow Wilson @Maggie

Finan, whose headache had already been building up gradually during the morning, was sure that the young girl before him, who had most likely never seen the actual horrific results of a kidnapping, slowly rubbed his temple. He didn't mind listening to those younger to him and respecting them, but the reminder that it was confidential felt so obvious to him, that his temper was getting the better of him. He'd been in the force for quite a long time now, seeing the most horrific things and frantically chasing down criminals, before they were able to harm more innocents. Even though he'd never heard of something quite so weird as the situation which had transpired and he was worried, he wasn't about to let this FBI bureaucrat just walk into the precinct and tell him what to do.

With that, he sighed silently and raised his hand slightly. Once he noticed that the attention was now on him, Finan stood up from where he had been hunched over in his (quite frankly very uncomfortable) chair and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, hi. Detective Ryder, homicide and threats detective here at Cleveland PD. I transferred here some time ago and I've been instructed to assist on the case. It's so nice of you to ask if we had any questions, ma'am", do you want us to also roll out the red fucking carpet? Wouldn't want you to get your nice shoes all dirty with blood or vomit."

Finan let out a short laugh. His best friend and fellow detective Scott Fell, and a few other agents, chuckled at his words. All of them also weren't very fond of FBI people in general. At Cleveland PD but also at his old precinct of Canton PD, they'd had numerous big criminals or threats in the past for which they'd called in the FBI. Each time, whoever the FBI had sent, had made things worse, lording their FBI status over the agents at the precinct. Finan was close with most of his co-workers and hated seeing most of them get treated with such disrespect and like they were much dumber, just because they weren't FBI. So for the FBI to now come to them and treat them like they wouldn't know one of the first rules of handling high profile cases, rubs Finan in the wrong way.

Empowered by his co-workers support, Finan mockingly continues his rant.

"Now, I have an honest question. Do you not know how to do background searches or determine people's mental state over at the FBI or? This shouldn't have been allowed to happen, and YOU as their employer should have known they couldn't be trusted in public or with old cases! I will admit I've never seen the FBI actually successfully do anything here, but I didn't expect this level of amateurism. Now we get to clean up you guys' fucking mess. So please, explain to me how this could have happened so that we can get to solving this heaping pile of shit you have so politely left on our front door."

@Aria Matthews @Willow Wilson @Maggie

Chef Rodgers certainly wasn't pleased with how things were unfolding. There was much to unpack in this situation. He grasped Detective Ryder's temperament and working style, but this time, he couldn't be as accommodating. Giving the man a thorough look, he raised his eyebrows and said,

“ Detective Ryder, Special Agent Matthews is here as a courtesy from the Federal Bureau. Without her, we wouldn't have this lead in the case. I remind you - a 5-year-old went missing. Every. Single. Minute of this investigation is now crucial. This is not a place for that. ”

He then shifted his gaze to Matthews and added,

“ The ATF Investigation that George Lewiston was a part of yielded no substantial evidence against the Balfours. Agent Matthews isn't with the ATF; she's from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detective Ryder ”

His tone was stern and tinged with irritation, but he attempted to maintain composure and proceed with the briefing. Chief Rodgers rarely found himself this irritated with Ryder. He usually respected the detective and understood his way of operating. He admired Ryder's hard work, talent, and dedication, and even his difficult personality was something he could tolerate. Not this time, though. Perhaps there was more to this situation?

@Aria Matthews @Finan Ryder @Willow Wilson

The moment an older man stood up, Aria knew that he didn't have anything nice to say to her. The moment he called her ma'am, she knew that he didn't respect her. And the moment Finan decided to call her out for not wanting to get dirty during work, she knew that they will not like each other.

She rolled her eyes listening to all the vulgar words, that this man had towards her. As she understood, he was some type of "leader" in the precinct. At least that's what she got from the fact that after his truly brilliant comment about the red carpet, few of the other men laughed. Aria understood, that someone could be angry at the FBI or her young age. After all, she wasn't in the field for too long, for sure less than this man. But she hated unprofessionalism, and that is exactly what this detective was showing.

Before she spoke, she looked at Chief Rodgers, who was already opening his mouth to scold Detective Ryder. At least one person in this room knew how to work professional cases. She was even happier, that her uncle was smart enough not to reveal that they were related. It would've only added fuel to the fire.
To her surprise, the police chief spoke more harshly than she expected. The attitude with which Ryder was speaking made her think that he's liked by his boss. But Rodgers' tone said a completely different story.

"I understand that you might have some personal issues with the Bureau, Detective", Aria spoke calmly, not showing her irritation. "But you have to know, that one of the biggest mysteries of this crime is the fact, that Agent Lewiston was involved in it. Both the FBI and the ATF test their agents thoroughly, and anyone who shows signs of a dangerous behaviour is either not accepted or removed from their position and being monitored."

She also didn't know what happened to old George. When she worked with him, he was just a normal guy. Not really talkative (which Aria loved, because she could just focus on her job), not standing out in the crowd. Just normal.

"As Chief Rodgers mentioned, for now our biggest priority should be finding the kidnapped child. After she's found, we will focus on her kidnapper and what made him do, what he's done. I think that our own personal beliefs should be set aside, and we should cooperate to solve the case as quickly as possible."

That's why she wanted to become a pathologist. When you are in the morgue, you don't have to talk to detectives with too high level of testosterone. You are left alone and most of the people are too uncomfortable to even visit your unusual office. In situations like this one, Aria was mad at herself for switching her studies.

Finan grimaced as Chief Rogers scolded him. He understood his often rather unprofessional attitude in meetings wasn't always appreciated by his chief, but Finan never let that also happen when working the case, and he'd hoped Chief Rogers would understand that here too. However, the older man's rather stern reproach, slightly threw Finan off his momentum. He'd been prepared for Chief Rogers to slightly chastise him, but not the actual scolding he'd received. He wouldn't say they were close but he'd always seen Chief Rogers as being very fair and understanding of his agents and detectives. He'd often forgiven Finan's problematic personality due to his ability to solve his cases and his fundamental honest and caring nature.

He breathed in and out slowly before responding, attempting to prevent another outburst. His mandated therapist, who he'd been forced to started visiting last year after an exceptionally traumatizing case, had taught him a few breathing exercises for when his temper would get the best of him. Finan was very aware he could sometimes be a bit of an asshole. Growing up broke and an orphan, he'd gotten used to people treating him as being lesser than them. They'd expect him to be dumb and an asshole, just because he hadn't gotten the same opportunities as others had growing up. After years of trying to prove to them that he deserved their respect and that he was smart, he'd given up on trying to change people's minds. To make it easier for himself, he decided to be exactly what they all expected him to be, and put up a hard exterior.

A small cough and glare from Chief Rogers pulled Finan back to the present. Slightly embarrassed, he'd realized he had zoned out and everyone was waiting for him to respond to both Chief Rogers and Matthews. He quickly cleared his throat and nodded his head slightly at the Chief. He carefully chose his words, wanting to make sure he was understood properly.

"I know, Chief. I'm very aware of the situation and why we need to act fast. I've been around for some years, remember? I've had my fair share of child kidnappings. I won't say sorry for what I said because you've given us no reason to trust her or the FBI for that matter. But I'll play nice for now. I just wanted answers.".

He then turned towards Matthews and stared her straight in the eyes.
"I don't give a shit about personal believes and I want to solve the case as badly as you do, Matthews. I'm just telling you I'm not just going to roll over and trust every word you say to be the best thing ever. I'm professional when working cases though, I promise you that, if you're worried about it. But I guess you've answered my questions. Please... continue.."

Satisfied he'd let himself be heard clearly enough, Finan sat down again. His best friend and co-worker, Scott, who was beside him, gave him a small fist bump. Finan wasn't happy with how the meeting was going down so far, but he was glad he had been able to speak his mind, and he was content enough to just let it continue.

@Aria Matthews @Willow Wilson @Maggie

Aria stood still while Rodgers was talking to Ryder. There was definitely something between them, but she didn't want to get involved. It was not her problem and she didn't want the detective to not trust her even more.

When he spoke to her again, he still wasn't treated her as she would want it. But there was some change visible and she was willing to accept it.

"I trust your experience in your job, Detective Ryder. I know that Chief Rodgers takes only the best people into his team", she said nodding her head. She was glad that the fight was over and they could focus back on the case. The girl was still missing, the suspect was dead and the clock was ticking.

She looked around the room to check the team that was sitting in front of her. It looked like uncle Rodgers really took all the experienced police officers, detectives or agents from the area. It was as if it was the best of times to solve the worst of crimes.

"I assume that no one else has any questions. We can proceed with the meeting then. Chief Rodgers?", she looked at him as she said it.

@Willow Wilson @Maggie @Finan Ryder

Chief Rodgers tried to set aside his frustration. Continuing to argue would only hinder the progress of this investigation. He knew what lay ahead – a flurry of press conferences and media attention where he would have to share more and more information, answer questions. He preferred to remain on good terms with the experienced detective. Soon, he'd require leads, clues, and information to reassure the public that the investigation was moving forward, both for America and Cleveland. Moreover, he hoped that Finan's skills matched his temper.

Chief Rodgers raised his eyebrows, pleased that his niece was maintaining her professionalism. He wasn't one to engage in nepotism or favouritism. He had chosen Matthews because she had recognized the abductor; he wasn't even certain if she had experience working in the field. This was going to be a challenging case. He glanced at Willow, another member of the team, hoping she was quietly taking notes to advance the investigation and act as a mediator to help the two investigators cooperate. Then, he proceeded to deliver the instructions.

“The crime scene at the Target store in central Cleveland has been secured, and police officers are awaiting further instructions. They managed to interview a few witnesses, including the Balfours. John Balfour arrived at the scene soon after Sara informed him of the abduction. ”

Chief Rodgers didn't have as much information as he would have liked to share, but there was one more crucial point.

“This case is of utmost importance. Soon, it will gain widespread attention. A young, white girl's disappearance is a national emergency, and it won't be long before it's all over social media. I implore you, do not speak to the press, and do not interrupt the Balfours when they are interacting with the media. They have a significant following.”

Chief Rodgers couldn't help but acknowledge that all of this sounded somewhat absurd. Crazy, even. What was he trying to convey? But it was the truth. The Balfours were undeniably unconventional, and if anyone saw them being dragged by the police, it could lead to trouble. For some reason, these religious freaks held considerable legal and public sway. Any misstep could lead to the department being criticized by the public.

@Aria Matthews @Finan Ryder @Willow Wilson

After the briefing, they all got into the car towards the crime scene. Willow was feeling the tension between the 2 agents, feeling slightly uncomfortable herself. This case would make or break the beginning of her fragile career. She has always done very well up to now. But this was definitely the biggest and most important thing she has worked on. Her notebook clutched on her lap she decided that she couldn't avoid introducing herself properly any longer.

"I know that you guys have this massive amount of experience, and I am looking very much forward to working with you! When the chief told me I was actually pretty surprised, to be honest. Maybe I should not have said that. I'm just a bit nervous. Okay, that also doesn't sound good. I promise I'm up for it! I've been top of my group and will probably get a promotion soon anyways, according to the chief, Damnit that sounds braggy."

She never knows when to stop talking, especially when she is nervous. These are some intimidating people. Even though she never worked with Finlan before, she knows he is nice. But still, the guy is top of his game and can smell bullshit a mile away.

"Omg I'm so sorry, I've never even said my name. Willow Willson, very nice to meet you! she said to Matthews.

This didn't go how she wanted it to, but nothing can be changed now. So she held her hand out towards Matthews and smiled as confidently as she could. fake it till you make it right? After two years at the station that was one of the most important things that she learned.

@Maggie @Finan Ryder @Aria Matthews

She sat in the passenger's seat thinking about the team that she will have to work with. Finan was for sure a good, experienced detective, but he lacked manners and control. Age difference wasn't helping as well. The older man will definitely need some time to understand that Aria is a right person on the right spot. Now Detective Ryder was busy driving the vehicle. The FBI agent was happy about it. God knows who touched the police station's wheel before her and how nasty it could've been. From what she knew, a lot of officers liked to snack during patrols.
After the meeting was done, they got into the car with one more person. The girl couldn't be much younger than Matthews, but from what she understood, she wasn't that experienced. But they needed someone who was just a police officer. Sometimes people liked talking to them more, since it was them who they saw most of the time. For sure not someone in the FBI T-Shirt, like herself.

Her thinking got interrupted by the waterfall of words that came out of Willow's mouth. Aria blinked, surprised by the speed that the girl was talking with. It's like she didn't need to breathe between sentences.

"Aria Matthews, nice to meet you too," she said, turning around. One look at her posture could tell, that the rookie was nervous. "Have you ever worked a case like this, Officer Wilson?" she asked with a slight smile. She didn't want to scare her off on the first day.

Aria did not smile a lot during her work. But who could smile where you needed to use your whole focus on investigating, what exactly happened on the crime scene? She wanted to welcome the officer to their team, though.

"I assume, I don't have to ask Detective Ryder that. I could clearly hear that he's worked an FBI case before."

She turned back to face the road. It was getting later, and the sky turned black like a perfect storm. The question of why Finan hated the Bureau so much was still in her head. She assumed that something happened in the past that made him think that way. She was hoping, that maybe she will be able to make him at least neutral towards the FBI.

@Maggie @Finan Ryder @Willow Wilson