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Jeremiah was not even sure how this had happened. He was not the person who worked the desk. Instead he was standing, looking very imposing in his vest and shoulder holster, and his badge at his waist, while watching it for however long it took the usual person to get back.

Bloody hell.

He had paperwork to be doing and cases to be assigned and dinner to plan and ...

Blue-green eyes blinked and flicked towards the young woman that had come in. With the way she was carrying herself, she was clearly just expecting to not be noticed. Jeremiah's expression was neutral but inwardly he was frowning.

"'lo," he replied. "What can I do for you today?" Was that even what he was supposed to say? He had not worked the front desk in years!

Jeremiah's gaze flicked to her hand and then back to her face. Her hand was taken, a quick and firm handshake given.

"Your last name, Preacher?" he asked after letting go of her hand. "Do you have a resume as well?"

There were at least a couple openings that he knew of but ...

Preacher got a bit of an eyebrow raise from Jeremiah. Being able to pick up on things was part of his life, especially when it came to people, and often he just followed his instinct.

"If you've got a quick retort, better to go with it than hold it in, Preacher," he replied, taking the resume and looking it over. Some part of it got her another look but he said nothing and pulled a file folder from the desk to put it in. "Most of dispatch likes to give s**t as much as they take s**t, so you've got to have thick skin and a sharp tongue."

Not Jeremiah's neck of the woods but he knew the people there. Drank with them on the rare occasion. "There are a couple openings here. One for working the desk," which apparently was going to be a thing because where was the damn officer, "and one for dispatch. Both require a background check."

"There is but I'm also not the person you have to impress," Jeremiah countered with an amused glint to his eye. "... but it is good that you've got some experience with your police department where you're from."

Still, she seemed quick enough and Jeremiah was always someone who liked to stick it to people when they roped him into situations he did not agree too. There was still some of the troublemaking youth in him that would never go away.

"How do you feel about being thrown in head first, Preacher?" A slow twitch of his lips upward into a smirk, the most expression he had made since she had come in.

"Entirely," Jeremiah replied dryly but the glint in his eyes was amused.

"Mm, they're out today but there's always ways to impress someone when they're not here." He was impressed that she was willing, further impressed that she was also willing to admit she might get in over her head and need to be taken out.

"Right here. This desk. Mostly it is just directing people to where they need to go." The detective gestured for her to come around to the other side where he was. "The person who usually works is out on maternity leave and they've been using officers to watch it." He paused a moment before adding. "Not me but it seems like the officer that should be has taken an extended bathroom break."

Which he needed to find said officer and have a few words.

"So if you are willing, you can be tossed into a brief trial of watching this." Under supervision obviously. "Do well enough and I can talk to the person who is in charge of hiring."

The moment that Jeremiah was about to respond a portly looking officer was coming from the back. Blue-green eyes narrowed and his eyes narrowed. "Get lost, Sergeant?" he asked, not kindly.

"Ah, no, Detective Lieutenant, I -" The sergeant's eyes flicked to Preacher who was behind the desk. "Is she from a temp agency or something?"

Jeremiah got a particular expression on his face, one that was not very nice. "No, Sergeant, she is not. She is in fact here to try her hand at the job you were assigned and chose to disappear from." His tone was hard and unimpressed. "Go have a seat in my office, we'll be discussing a few things."

The sergeant opened his mouth to respond but closed it and merely nodded. Jeremiah turned back to Preacher once he was sure that the officer was gone and leaned to raise the chair up higher for her. "Lower it down if you need too or I can get you something else if you want."

He stood up properly and gave her a sharp smile. "Detective Lieutenant Jeremiah Mercer." Then he was stepping around her to pull open a drawer where there actually was a cheat sheet of sorts. "Map of the building with locations of offices and those that are frequently called upon." A pen was pulled from his breast pocket, Jeremiah's thumb brushing against the calla lily he wore briefly, and he was writing down his extension. "That is how you get a hold of my office directly but I'll stick around for a bit to make sure you've got the hang of it. After all," a sharp pleased predator smile, "I was made to wait, so shall the sergeant."

"You strike me as the sort that would likely have words if someone offered that," Jeremiah snorted and moved back to watch her work for a little while. When it seemed like Preacher had it, he gave her a nod and left her to it.

She only got a smirk at the giving him a taste of his own medicine before he left.



The detective returned after an hour but only because he had not heard from Preacher. When he had been questioned about his choice in people to watch the front, he merely gave a sharp grin. No one else had fixed the problem yet, they had not hired anyone, so he took care of it.

At least for a little while.

He reappeared from one of the side doors, the door closing behind him with a click, and he had a bottle of water and a plate in hand. With a pastry.

"How are you doing, Preacher?" he asked, blue-green eyes sweeping over the entire area and then focusing on her.