Without A Trace • •

[brett damien parrish]

Brett actually had a day off where he knew he wouldn’t be interrupted by work. They were rare things – extremely rare – so Brett made the most of them when they came around. To a stranger, his job might have sounded exciting and dangerous, but there were a lot of times when what he did never made it to the ten o’clock news. If it did, then the majority of the country would be too scared to ever leave their homes. The modern world was already a scary place to be already without knowing every little operation that the FBI ran on a daily basis. Sometimes Brett’s job was easier than he thought it would be, and other days even he felt the sweat on his palms when he tried to talk someone into listening to reason. He never tried to predict what it would be before he got there, never tried to act like he had it in the bag when it could flip and go the opposite way in the blink of an eye. He never knew what tomorrow might bring, so when he had a rare day to himself, he lived for it. Too many ‘days off’ came with cell phone interruptions calling him in ASAP for an emergency sometimes out of state.

He considered himself to be okay at switching off from work. A news report would catch his eye, or he’d see cops dealing with a situation and he’d feel an itch to step in, flash his badge, and help out. It was completely unnecessary, but it was in his blood to do the right thing. It was probably why he was thirty-five and single. Brett wasn’t the type to whine about that, but he knew his mother would like to see him settled already. To her, it didn’t matter that he was working so much. She had made it work with his dad, so it wasn’t a good enough excuse for those failed dates when he had been summoned by a crisis before they could look over the dessert menu. It wasn’t like he could tell the local authorities, or the guy threatening to kill hostages to wait while he walked a girl home though. Life didn’t work like that. So when Brett did find himself with a day like today, he mostly spent it finishing up ignored errands and fitting in some time with his family.

He knew Utah would have classes for most of the day, but he’d promised her dinner that evening at anywhere she liked in the city – his treat. Brett also decided to swing by Sophisticakes and spoil her with some sweet treats. She had been the last person work had forced him to cancel on, but he knew she’d understand. It still didn’t make him feel any less guilty about it. As always the popular bakery was busy, and Brett found himself standing in a long line of customers waiting to be served. Some were less patient than others and he found himself scowling at one woman who was tutting while a little boy took his time choosing which four cupcakes he wanted in his box. When did the world become so damn impatient?

• • •

TAGGED! Annalaina Octavia Nyqvist
WORDS! 535!
OUTFIT!  FBI Funk!
LYRICS! Masquerade - - - Nina Nesbitt
NOTES! <3

[Annalaina Octavia Nyqvist]

Sometimes it felt like Laina never got a day off. Not that she was fussed about that. She really did like her job and liked keeping busy. When she was trying to solve someone else's puzzle, she didn't think about the one that inspired her to become a lab analyst for the NYPD. Before Ashlynn's senseless murder, Laina had been happily dreaming about the future where she would become Mrs Annalaina something or other, wife, mother and board member to a dozen or more charities. Ashlynn would have been her Maid of Honour and they would have continued their girl's nights well into their golden years, celebrating everything together. Laina would have been completely content with that; she would have been genuinely happy with that lot in life. Then tragedy struck and that sweet, blissfully happy, naïve Annalaina Nyqvist was no more. That sweet girl had been replaced by a curious teenager determined to find out what happened to her best friend.

From there, she wasn't at all satisfied with her previous idea about her future. She wanted to dive deep into the puzzles around her, so determined to solve these puzzles and mysteries. It was terrible that Ashlynn had to die for this new, curious and stubborn Laina to be born. Back then, she hadn't been old enough to solve Ashlynn's murder but she was old enough and trained so well that she could solve these deaths now when they happened. Laina's only wish was that these things didn't happen in the first place. She wouldn't have minded in the least being out of a job, but there would always be bad people out there doing bad things. And there would always be people like Laina there to put the puzzles pieces together and put those bad people behind bars for the rest of their lives.

Even if those people had been thirty seconds away from their double shift turning into a triple. She was tired, practically asleep on her feet after having lived life for too many hours in a row on coffee and energy bars, but still patiently waiting in the Sophisticakes' line for her turn to order. The kid at the front was cute, if a little undecided. Laina didn't really care, she wasn't in any hurry to get anywhere. She had some errands to run before she went home, found her shower and her bed. Her captain had told her before she'd left that he didn't want to see her for a couple days and she agreed with him. There was no way Laina could do her job to the standard that she'd set for herself if she was passed out on her desk, or under it. Her patience, however, only went so far and when some woman made an impatient noise at the boy picking out his cupcakes, she'd reached the end of that nerve. "Leave the kid alone. It's a damn hard choice." She said with a shake of her head. "Some people." She added, muttering under her breath.

♦ ♦ ♦

Tag || brett damien parrish
Words || 506
Clothes || Coming Soon!
Music || Wide Open --Kane Brown
Notes || <3

[brett damien parrish]

Brett’s work was extremely intense. One mistake could very well be the difference between life and death. He might not have spent a day doing anything physically taxing, but some of the cases he worked saw Brett going home completely exhausted with aches in every part of his body just from how tense he had been waiting to see how the day would play out for him. People were unpredictable, and all of his training, all of his psychology books and classes, could not guarantee that he would be one step ahead all the time in his career. Thankfully, so far, Brett hadn’t lost anyone innocent. There had been times when snipers had taken control, or storming the scene with SWAT had been the better option, but Brett would rather that than have to face the families of people caught up by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was surprising how many people felt like the world had wronged them, but after growing up in an FBI family Brett was already prepared for the darkness that was out there.

When he was away from that, he cherished the breaks. He probably spent a little too much time appreciating the little things considering life in New York was non-stop. There was really no time to dawdle considering how fast everything moved here. Brett couldn’t slow down, there was no chance for it. His time away from the job was short, and if he didn’t make the most of it then it would be over in the blink of an eye and he’d have nothing to show for it. Spending time with his family was one way to keep his sanity in check. He wouldn’t be able to go to each scene, strap on his bullet proof vest and try to calm down a tempestuous situation without knowing he had them to go back to when all was said and done. If it was ridiculously late when he got his key in his front door, then a quick text was enough because he knew there would be a reply when he woke up, but Brett took all the chances fate gave him to call them up or spend time with his sister and parents. It might not be as much as they would all like, but Brett would take what he had. It was always going to be better than nothing.

Brett was thankful that someone else spoke up before he did. He had a habit of coming across as that stern FBI agent even when he was off the clock. It could be a little too intimidating for day to day life, but it wasn’t like Brett could switch it off. He was paid to be that way, and a day off wasn’t going to make him forget his training. Rocking on his heels, Brett leaned forward to the woman who had spoken up on behalf of everyone else waiting patiently in line. “I’m glad someone said something.” He admitted with a warm, lopsided smile. The kid didn’t take much longer to settle on what he wanted, and then it was a matter of bagging up the order like the staff would anyone else’s.

• • •

TAGGED! Annalaina Octavia Nyqvist
WORDS! 540!
OUTFIT!  FBI Funk!
LYRICS! Masquerade - - - Nina Nesbitt
NOTES! <3