Relax. You know exactly what you need to do. Act natural. Make them like you, but not too much. Remember: you don't know any more than they do.

Kidman couldn't fully stifle the nervous gnawing in her gut. She knew once this first day was over, everything would be easier, but for some reason the stakes felt high today. If she messed this part up, everything else would go down the drain.

She stepped out of the police car and thanked her fellow officer from her old precinct for driving her here. As he drove away, she turned to the new KCPD station. The August sun beating down on her and reflecting searingly off the windows did nothing to calm her nerves, so she just walked in without another thought.

It was cooler and dimmer inside the building, and it smelled like new floors and old wooden desks.

"Juli Kidman?" the woman at the front desk asked before she could start to say something.

"Yes."

"Good, good. The others should be out in just a minute to show you around and all. Glad to have you here, Junior Detective."

"Thank you." She stepped away from the desk and pretended to care about looking around. She wasn't sure why it disturbed her that the receptionist was friendly or that she knew exactly what was going on. There probably wasn't a reason—why shouldn't she?

The oaken double doors to her left opened and a man walked out. When their gazes met, his expression did some kind of flicker that she couldn't read.

He had very black hair, somewhat almond-shaped, dark eyes, and thick-framed glasses. He looked around thirty, maybe, though she wasn't sure. He wore leather gloves, which she thought was a strange touch in the summer, and had his silver badge pinned not proudly as much as officially on his shoulder.

"Junior Detective Kidman," he said, or maybe asked, she couldn't quite tell. "Welcome to KCPD twenty. I'm officially Detective Oda, but call me Joseph."

"Nice to meet you, Joseph" she said, accepting a handshake from him. "I'm glad to be here."

"Sebastian was supposed to be here," he said, turning and opening one of the oak doors again. "He probably just got busy. It's fine, we'll find him." He gestured for her to go through the doorway.

As they made their way through the building to wherever this Sebastian would be, Joseph explained things here and there, even introduced people in passing. Kidman's mind was somewhere else, though. Joseph seemed easy enough to get along with, but if she understood things right, Sebastian was the superior officer, so she needed to be on good terms with him. She didn't take the fact that he wasn't there with Joseph as a good sign.

When they got to a door that said Det. Castellanos below its frosted glass window, Joseph stopped. He hesitated, then said, "A couple things you should know about Seb before you meet him…. He used to be a cop and he's got more experience than just about anyone here, so he knows his stuff. He's actually brilliant, but don't tell him that or he'll just look at you funny. And he's not…you know, as scary as he seems."

Kidman raised an eyebrow—she couldn't imagine herself actually being intimidated by this guy—but nodded.

Joseph lifted a finger in a "give me a second" gesture, then opened the door and stepped inside. She could hear the beginning of their conversation.

"Hey Seb, did you forget our trainee was coming today?"

"No."

"Well, she's here…."

"I know."

Joseph sighed. "Come on, you know—"

He shut the door and their voices became too muffled for her to make out. She wrinkled her nose at the distinct smell of cigarettes that came through the door.

A moment later, the door opened again and Joseph came out, this time with another man. Kidman never would have admitted it, but he was…well, he was a tiny bit intimidating.

Joseph was about her same height, but Detective Castellanos was a good three or four inches taller. He had a "don't fuck with me" sort of presence, maybe from his two or three scars on his face or his flat expression. He wore a dark red tie that looked like it was tugged at a lot, since it was loose and the top button of his shirt was undone. His hair had an unkempt stubbornness about it; most of it was pushed toward the back of his head except for a thick strand that fell forward to the corners of his eyebrow.

"Detective Castellanos," he said, offering a handshake but no smile.

"Juli Kidman," she said, then remembered to add, "Junior Detective."

"You nervous?" he asked, studying her. She was used to men checking her out, but there was nothing sexual about this at all—it was like he was scrutinizing her very soul. It made her much more uncomfortable than if he had just been checking her out.

"Not really," she answered, holding his gaze.

That seemed to be the wrong answer. "You should be," he said. "If you're going to work with me, you're going to take this job very seriously. You fuck around and you're gone."

"Yes, sir," she said steadily, but there was a defiance in her expression that she hoped told him he'd never get the best of her.

"Good," he said. "Now if you've made it this far I trust you're smart enough that I don't have to show you how things work around here. Joseph can probably find you something to do until we have an assignment. If you have questions, figure out the answer or ask him. Don't assume you know what's best if you don't. And keep yourself busy. If I find you lazing around or wasting time, you're going to have issues." With that, he swept back through the door with his name on it and let the door shut behind him.

Kidman stared after him with her eyebrows high on her forehead. "Wow," she couldn't help but say.

When she looked to Joseph, he had a cringe on his face. "I swear he's not really that bad once you get to know him. He's just…stressed right now."

Kidman felt skeptical, but she didn't entirely dislike Detective Castellanos. He was clearly very straightforward and since she wasn't great at reading people, she would find that helpful. She didn't have any problems following rules; as long as he didn't try to patronize her too much, they might be able to work together just fine.

"Alright," Joseph sighed. "Let's find something for you to do."