The Brewing Storm

Prologue

"I still don't see the difference."

I let out the type of groan at him that only a younger sister could get away with, throwing both outfits onto the bed carelessly. "You. Are. Impossible." I glared at my brother from where he was perched at the chair he had dragged into the room just for the occasion when he had vowed to be of some use to me in this dilemma. Unfortunately, Jenny had already left for her job at the morgue and Aggie was probably late getting ready for school. Thus I was stuck with the man who was unable to tell the difference between red and green. I turned back to the small closet of the guest room, trying to find anything else that could work.

"I'm just being honest Lin," Thomas answered, arms probably crossed and leaning back in the chair dangerously. It was an annoying habit but one our parents had never quite been able to purge from him. Thomas would always just skirt the line of danger however he could, even in his sitting habits. "I don't know what you were expecting… asking your colorblind brother for wardrobe advice."

"You volunteered," I reminded him sharply, turning on the heels of my feet to glare at him once more. My look bounced right off though. Thomas had grown up with enough of my tantrums and looks to become immune, though consider himself lucky he had been off at college during the teenage years. I might have turned the place into a constant war zone when it came to bickering about curfews and the boys I had been unlucky enough to date.

I had mellowed out in my old age though- all twenty-five years of it. College had helped to an enormous degree… along with being away from my parents. Not that they weren't amazing people. They were just also boring, ordinary people and it got suffocating after fourteen years of the same routine day in and out. Sometimes you needed to break free and change things up for your sanity.

I pulled a blue blouse with buttons going up the front and grabbed the red sleeveless dress shirt from my bed. "So our options are the classic button-up that speaks to being plain and efficient or the shirt with a jacket combo that shows off just a bit of fierceness and helps me stand out." He looked between the two with a neutral expression, crystal blue eyes that mirrored my own looking the two over. Eyes that were good enough to make him the dreamiest weatherman in Central City if the internet comments were anything to go by. "Thoughts?"

He paused, hand going to his chin. "What did you say you were going for again? I just want a refresher so I can pick what best matches the desired tone."

I took a breath, alternating between holding each in front of my pajama top. I glanced at the clock- two hours. Plenty of time as long as my hair cooperated. "Okay. We're trying to say that we are so sorry about what happened to the previous CSI to create this position, but we will help keep the department moving forward into a bright new future with our hard work and positive attitude to the point the appointment becomes permanent." It had been a stroke of luck really. I had been in Central City four months with no job prospects in the city or any nearby suburbs. I had been reaching the end of the deal I made with my parents that would land me back home at the local police station in town solving nothing more than where Farmer Greg's sheep had wandered off. They had offered, but I just could not stand the idea of ending up back where I had started my journey in life after I had escaped. Luckily, Jenny had come to me with something she had heard about a possible job listing. So it was like God had made the position just for me in my darkest hour, telling me I would not have to resign my life to tracking down animals rather than criminals. That my parents would soon stop calling and reminding me that my bedroom was waiting for me at home. Granted I nailed this interview with Captain Singh.

"That's a lot for some clothes to say."

"Yes," I agreed. "But they can say that if you pick the right one." I had already made my choice, but I still felt like I needed another opinion at this point for confirmation in my decision. And because if he volunteered for this then Thomas was going to follow through and pick something out.

"Remind me what happened to the last CSI again?"

"From what your wife has heard from her officer friends at the precinct, he was struck by lightning in his lab and is currently in a coma," I stated very matter-of-factly. "It has been about two weeks and they're getting too backed up to just leave the job empty hoping he comes marching back in." Poor guy. But his loss was my gain, my much needed gain. The position had been listed as temporary, but chances were he wasn't waking up at this point I'd imagine. Give it a few months and soon I'd be the new CSI for the Central City Police Department which was more than I ever dared dream.

"And I hope we're planning of being sensitive about this issue that is probably personally affecting everyone there as he is a person that they know and care about?" my brother seemed to crawl into my mind and read my less than stellar thoughts. "Because sensitive isn't really your strong suit."

"I will be respectful about the fact that someone had to be put through great suffering to award me this opportunity, yes." And I would. Anything to get me in the door. Maybe that shouldn't quite be my motivation. I needed to work on that. Maybe once I got the job and could stop worrying about this whole mess- the possibility of driving to various farms day in and day out behind me.

His face was staring at mine, trying to see if I was sincere or not. I did my best to look so and he finally seemed to accept my attitude. "The blue one."

"Sleeveless it is," I nodded, tossing the one he had just suggested back in the closet with a flourish. I looked better in red anyway. He just rose from the chair with a squeak, knowing better than to argue with me once I had made up my mind. It just wasn't worth the time and energy. "Now, thank you for your help but I need to get ready. You should have enough time to get Aggie to school before I need to borrow the car to get to the precinct."

"I do have a daughter to get to school now that you mention it." This was the reason Thomas was probably the only one of my siblings I could stand. Despite having a bit of an age gap and three siblings between us, he and I were the most alike in terms of personality. That being we were the ones who received the vinegar rather than sugar as my mom liked to put it. And that meant we could tolerate one another when we hated the rest of the world, count on each other to snap the other out of it. The others had often never been able to quite grasp the way we spoke to them and especially not to each other. "But if I'm remembering correctly, I named her Agatha."

"And I remember telling you that I was never going to call her that because it is literally the worst name that ever existed."

"It's a family name! Our grandmother was named Agatha if you'll recall."

"If you'll recall, that woman was awful and hated me."

"She didn't hate you!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "She literally called me the 'Affair Child' whenever Dad and my mom weren't around." My mom had been one of Dad's secretaries back when he worked in Starling City, but she apparently left enough of an impression that his previous three children left with him to the country- new wife on his arm. Then I came along seven months later, immediately the odd one out to every member of Dad's side of the family who thought he was insane for leaving everything behind.

Given what was happening there now, maybe we had been lucky.

He winced. "Yeah. Yeah, she did. Didn't she once take us all out for ice cream sundaes and you…"

"Could only get sherbet? Yes. That happened."

He started for the doorway with the chair, hitting his knuckle on the wooden frame. "You can call her Aggie."

"Thank you." With him gone, I proceeded to round up the perfect pair of dress pants and jacket to add a layer of professionalism to the outfit. The closet of the guest room was pretty small, meaning I pretty much had to pry anything I wanted out with a crowbar since it was so tightly packed. That and I literally had to crawl under everything to get to the shoes in the back corner, selecting a pair of shiny black flats.

Once I heard the telltale sound of an excited young girl being ushered out the door and a garage closing, I jumped into the shower across the hallway. Aggie and I shared it at the moment, meaning the tub was littered with all sorts of rubber ducks and other toys that I had to remove from the edge and place back perfectly once I was done. Otherwise, the poor girl might have a heart attack. I was running low on time, so I chose to quickly dry my hair before pulling out the curling iron to run through my long black hair that came down to my shoulder blades. I wasn't quite able to get the bouncing look I had perfected long ago, but it was enough to make me look like I hadn't just rolled out of bed.

I quickly applied the makeup I kept in a drawer too high for Aggie to reach, making sure I was subtle rather than flashy. My blue eyes stared back at me in the mirror. They were by far my stand-out feature, the one thing everyone remembered me by whether it be a broken heart or a winning student. You could always tell a Porter by the eyes.

I had just finished throwing my clothes on, smoothing to make sure there were no wrinkles, and grabbing my purse with resume inside when Thomas arrived back home. I climbed down the elaborate twisting staircase that was going to kill someone someday and jogged through the foyer to the front door. There he passed me the keys with a pat on the back. "You've got this, Lin."

"Thanks." The drive was a relatively quick one. It usually would take me about a half hour, but the streets had been pretty quiet since the whole particle accelerator incident at STAR Labs. People had been afraid to leave their houses fearing some kind of radiation in the air after the placed had melted down, but numerous scientists had appeared on the new to say there was nothing to fear. The explosion had been the exposure and no one had died or been harmed because of it. I personally had been visiting home when it happened and was glad from Thomas and Jenny's descriptions that I had missed the excitement. Nothing quite annoyed me like blind panic when reason would suffice. Still, two weeks later and the city was still pretty quiet compared to how it usually was.

I parked outside the precinct and carried myself proudly into the building and riding the elevator to my desired floor once I had secured a visitor's pass. I kept in mind now that everyone was weighing me, sizing me up. I needed to keep myself standing straight at all times and make sure I left a positive first impression. I knew when I needed to have the glittering smile and be 'on'. This was certainly one of those times as the elevator opened with a ding and exposed me to the grandiose atmosphere of the higher CCPD. I tried to pass it off as curious mild interest, but my heart leaped at the grand scale of the staircases on each side and the display of what looked to be Gods on the one wall with the words 'Truth, Justice, Liberty' emblazoned with them. The floor even appeared to be made of marble, green compass emblazoned upon it. The entire police force was behind another set of glass doors, allowing me a look into them running here and there to do their jobs. They were certainly up to more than looking for lost sheep. I had come a long way from my days in the country for sure.

A kind secretary led me inside to outside Captain Singh's office where I sat politely, resume in hand at the ready. I kept my back straight against the chair, noticing I was drawing glances from the occasional officer as they passed. Everyone was moving as if they were on a mission though and I could imagine business had picked up since the whole STAR Labs thing. People had seen the chaos and took advantage of it as they were prone to do. Which is exactly why this place need to get a new CSI asap and stop worrying about hurting the feelings of someone in a coma.

I could instantly hear my brother in my head lecturing me to be sympathetic. I shook the thought from my brain and continued taking stock of the place. Soon the door opened as two men emerged. The first was an older man, African American, who looked exhausted beyond belief. I could see he was a Detective from his badge and he turned to give me a curt nod, eyes the type that betrayed his emotion easily. This man was unbelievably sad and worried about something- the world on his shoulders. I did my best to look completely sympathetic as I nodded back somberly, playing to my audience. The second was much younger, blonde, and he stopped to give me a smile. He was clearly stressed as well but he did a much better job of hiding it as he actually managed to sound cheerful.

"The Captain says you can go in now." I rose to my feet, dusting my pants off.

"Thank you very much, Detective," I noticed the badge on him as well. And just like I guessed he seemed to appreciate the addressing of his rank, holding the door open as I entered.

Captain Singh was sitting at his desk, dressed impeccably in his jacket and tie. He rose to greet me and I made sure my handshake had the right amount of strength and timing. "You must be Lindsey Porter."

"Yes," I greeted warmly, but still with the level of necessary respect. "I just want to start by saying how sorry I am that you're in this situation to begin with, Captain Singh. I know these past few weeks have been difficult for this city, but for you possibly even more. It's never easy to fill a position when you're secretly hoping you won't have to."

"Thank you," he answered sincerely, clearly slightly impressed at my wording. He gestured for me to sit and followed once I did. "I've been over your resume. This would be your first CSI job, correct?"

"That is correct, sir. But I find what I lack in experience I make up for in willingness. I want to be the best at my job and am willing to put in the time it takes to get there. I also acknowledge that this means I have things left to learn and am willing to adjust and maneuver until I find a style that works for myself and this department."

"This job will have a lot of odd hours. There isn't quite a set schedule. When you're needed by the detective you'll be expected to arrive."

"I understand that and have no other commitments that would interfere with my ability to do the job. I am also very timely- I know it's silly but I kind of pride myself on the fact that I was never absent or tardy to any of my high school and college classes." It was true. Thomas thought I was insane.

He kept his eyes down, looking over my resume, but he seemed to be nodding imperceptibly. I had to fight back my smile. I was knocking this out of the park. "Any issues we would need to be aware of if you were offered the position?"

I had prepared for this one. "I do feel the need to state that I have a family member in the Coroner's Office, who I might be working and interacting with. Of course she would receive no special treatment and we can definitely function with a working relationship. Jennifer Porter is her name."

"You're related to Jenny Porter?" Leave it to Jenny to be a solid reference. She was pretty beloved in the office and I imagined the sentiment was the same around here. She never had a bad word to say and was always willing to bend over backwards to help anyone who needed her. She was probably as close to perfect as a person could get.

I nodded, smiling brightly. "She's my sister-in-law. I'm living with her and my brother right now until I get settled."

"When's the baby due?"

"She's got about three months yet… plans on working until she goes into labor of course."

"So your brother's the weatherman on Channel Five then right? Thomas Porter the Storm Reporter?"

I had to force myself not to roll my eyes. Thomas of course loved the nickname. I thought it was completely cheesy for a dork who was interested in the way clouds moved.

Singh snapped as if putting something together. "I knew I recognized those eyes of yours from somewhere."

"Yes. Though he has put them much more to use than I have winning over all the ladies of Central City."

He laughed at this, a genuine chuckle. But then it was almost as if something clicked back into place and his stern demeanor reaffixed itself. "I do feel a need to reiterate that this position is a temporary posting. In the event Mr. Allen is able to return the position would be returned to him."

"I do," I agreed instantly. "And I hope he does." It was a straight-up lie I admit, but it was clear Singh was fond of my former even if he would never admit it. I had to tread carefully here. "This would just be a means of gaining experience while I could. It would certainly make my resume look better when the time did come that I moved on." Which hopefully I wouldn't actually have to do.

He was about to say something but there was a knock on the door, followed by a man in a mustache sticking his head in. "Sir, you're needed in the bullpen." He noticed me and chose his next words carefully. "We think we found something relating to… that incident."

"I'll be there in a few minutes, Berkley. I was wrapping up here anyway." He nodded and vanished from the doorway, closing the door behind him. Singh looked apologetic as he rose. "I'm sorry to have to cut things short."

I rose, waving my hand. "I completely understand. Crime waits for no man." And I would take a short, successful interview out of a dragged-out one. Singh had to move fast on this before things got too out of hand around here without a CSI. I couldn't ask for a more perfect opening. I extended my hand and he shook it warmly.

"We'll be in touch soon. Thank you for coming in."

"Thank you for considering me, Captain Singh." With that, he escorted me out to the elevators before heading back towards the bullpen where everyone seemed to be gathered. It wasn't until I was alone in the elevator that I dropped my façade for a moment and pumped my fist.

Nailed it.

I told Thomas as much when I got back to the house, changing into a pair of jeans and a tee as soon as I could lumber up the stairs to my room. I kept myself entertained the rest of the day relaying the interview to my parents and then engaging in my odd hobby. With the lack of opportunity to works scenes as a CSI, I had taken to combing stories on the internet of not just Central City and mentally cataloguing how I would work the scene and what I would look at. It kept me sharp despite my knowledge of how odd the practice was- imagining crime scenes in gruesome detail. I spent hours at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, enduring the judgement of my brother whenever he passed. "Horrible taste in both hobbies and coffee. You're lucky we're related."

Aggie was home soon enough as well and was determined to describe to me in detail every moment of her day in second grade, including how Timothy had let the class frog loose and it had managed to hop into the cafeteria. "And then Alice had him hop on her sandwich. She refused to eat it, and I told her that was silly since frogs have microbiota just like we do." Ah, one of the words she had picked up from me and her mom. The pronunciation left something to be desired, but it was clear Aggie was going to make one hell of a scientist someday. "Jimmy, Jimmy Bean, he said I was a big fat liar. So I ate it."

"You ate it?"

"Yeah. And it tasted just fine Aunt Lindsey. Just like I told them."

It was actually more exciting than most stories she relayed, but I listened to all of them in rapt attention. Not many kids were interesting in my opinion, but Aggie was one of them. I loved being Aunt Lindsey and was willing to endure any amount of silly costumes or funny voices or bedtime stories she insisted upon to be the Cool Aunt in her eyes. She had told me multiple times I was never allowed to move out, which was unfortunately not a plan we could agree on. But I also loved just being around her. Aggie had the kindness of her mother but the little bit of devil may care that her father made famous. It was refreshing and never made for a dull moment. And she was by far the best part of my moving to Central City.

Jenny came home and Thomas was ready with dinner. He was not the best chef by any stretch of the imagination, but what he lacked in talent he made us for in consistency. It seemed that every two or three weeks, the dishes would loop back around again back onto the table. He was working on expanding and experimenting, but it was very difficult to get a pregnant wife and a six-year-old to be adventurous and try new things at this point. So the routine continued.

I was digging into my corn as Aggie relayed her story again- her parents more horrified than impressed as I was- when my phone started ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out, swallowing quickly, to see it was the CCPD.

"No phones at the table!" Aggie yelled at me, a phrase her mother had said to me many times.

I patted her blonde head, identical to her mother, as I passed to step into the living room. "This is a special occasion."

I picked it up as I sat on the plush new couch that had me sink at least an inch. "Hello? This is Lindsey Porter."

"Porter, it's Captain Singh." My breath halted as I waited to hear the next words. "Frankly, I have neither the time nor the patience to keep these interviews going. I'm swamped and need a CSI yesterday." Not quite how I wanted this conversation to go, but I'd take it. "You seem to have done well in school and have a good attitude about the situation, so I want to offer you the job."

Thomas stuck his head in and I gave him the thumbs up as I nearly jumped off the couch. "Thank you so much, Captain Singh. Thank you." I couldn't stop my giddiness from coming out. "You won't regret this."

"Can you start tomorrow by any chance? We'll get you orientated, introduce you to the Detectives, and then show you the lab you'll be using." He didn't have to say it, but I kind of understood what he left out. The lab where someone had been struck by lightning a few weeks ago. Hopefully they had fixed that issue.

"Absolutely."

"Alright. I will see you at nine a.m. tomorrow then. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this, Porter. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job filling in until Allen is on his feet again. Hell, anything would be better than the chaos we have at this point."

"Glad I could help out. See you tomorrow." I hung up the phone and fell back into the couch cushions in triumph. I had done it. I had a job, and not just any job. I was going to be working for the police department of a major city. I wouldn't be packing up my bags anytime soon, except maybe into an apartment once I got settled.

Because even though Singh had stressed multiple times the job was temporary I had looked into the laws of Central City and found a huge point in my favor. If by half a year I was still holding the job and the current employee had no return date, then legally it was time the job be changed over to me.

All I had to do was hold my own for six months and impress them so much I got to keep the job. That wouldn't be hard. Just go in with a positive attitude and stay diligent. Organize things and build relationships. Foster a sense of trust with the Detectives. Do everything in my power to make losing me such a tragedy it couldn't happen.

Well, that and this Allen guy had to stay in his coma. Which I imagine wouldn't be too much of a long shot if he'd already been under for weeks, though I didn't have the statistical data on that. It was a tragedy to be sure, but when one door closes another door opens I suppose. He had created an opportunity for me and I was very appreciative.

Because in six months I was going to become the new CSI of the CCPD.

I couldn't wait.