by Jeff Uribe
[Castle Rock, Sheriff's Office. Day 1]
> Just then, the patrolman, Prentice, burst into the office. "Sheriff, you > better come take a look at this."
The sheriff and the rest of the team rushed out of the office just in time to see the cows stampeding down Main Street. Whoever was unfortunate enough to be parked there were having their cars smashed in by cows running in all directions. Jordan rushed out just in time to see two cows attempt to climb over the team's rentals.
"Oh man." Jim said with a low whistle. "Are we covered for cows?"
Vanessa gave off a small chuckle while the rest watched the cows head down the main thoroughfare, leaving smashed doors, broken mirrors, and other more natural offerings in their wake. As fascinating as the stampede was to the other members of the team, Leo was checking out his surroundings. A bad habit he never seemed to have lost ever since his Black Ops days. He had an uneasy feeling ever since they had arrived in this town, and he wanted to know why. After a few moments, the cows had disappeared down the road and the team were about to return back into the office except for Leo and Zenya, whose arm was in Leo's grip.
"What's wrong?" Zenya asked, looking at Leo as he released her arm.
"We're being watched."
"Of course we're being watched." Zenya said, raising her eyebrow. "I don't think this town has seen Federal Agents ever since its founding."
At this, Leo had to smile. Zenya's skeptical look and her no-nonsense attitude were some of the things that Leo liked about her. It helped to ground him when he was afraid he was getting too paranoid. "I don't mean in passing or as a curiousity. I mean, we are being watched, as in surveillance."
Zenya frowned at this and stepped back. "We've been here for less than 20 minutes. Who would be watching us like that and why?"
Leo took out his mirrored sunglasses and put them on. "I think someone has been waiting for us to arrive. Over my left shoulder, down the street, the pick-up game of basketball. They haven't played ever since we entered the sheriff's office."
Zenya looked from Leo's glasses to the game that he pointed out, only to see the 8 kids standing there watching the two agents intensely. The basketball rolled around idly down the street.
Leo nodded and said, "Across the street, in the diner. 3rd window from the rear and the waitress behind the counter. They haven't eaten or done anything since we got here either."
Zenya then dropped her eyes to her purse, acting as she was looking for some- thing in it. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw a teenage couple watching them, not saying anything to each other or anything, just watching. The girl behind the counter was also watching them standing on the steps outside the sheriff's office, paying no heed to the water container she was refilling which was overflowing into the sink. Zenya closed her purse and stepped forward to Leo. Without warning, Leo reached out and pulled Zenya into a clutch, his arms around her waist.
"Leo!" Zenya said, more out of surprise than anything as she put her arms around Leo as well. "What are you doing?" she whispered as she blushed and looked around to see if anyone else was watching. She noticed that when she did this, the basketball game resumed and the couple across the street started to eat once again, acting as though nothing had happened.
"Behind you, the black T-bird has been in reverse for the past 10 minutes, even if it hasn't moved an inch since then."
As Leo looked down into Zenya's face, she saw in his mirrored glasses that the Black Thunderbird down the street was indeed in reverse, idling. A young child was looking out the back window as the driver, another teenager, seemed to be watching out of his side mirror. As she was watching the car, she hadn't noticed that Leo had dropped his hold on her and was smiling.
"What?" Zenya asked once again, seeing that smile on his face.
Leo just continued to smile at her and said, "You can let go now."
For a moment, Zenya was in a state of confusion. Then, as she blushed once more, she stepped back with her arms dropping back to her sides. Leo reached up and took off his glasses, dropping it into his coat pocket. Zenya then glanced into the office, only to see the rest of the team looking back at them. Attempting to maintain her composure, Zenya couldn't help but blush once again and started to laugh at Leo's confused look.
"What?" Leo asked, smiling once again.
"The kids weren't the only ones watching us out here, Leo." Zenya said as she turned to enter the Sheriff's office once again.
The color drained from Leo's face as Zenya said this, only to be replaced by a bright red as he followed her in.