Al listened intently, his eyes taking in every detail of what she was doing. She explained the incident and he understood most of what she was going on about, yet he did need to brush up on his street slang.<br/><br/>She finally found what she was looking for and was out the door a moment later. Al didn't even flinch to try and stop her. This girl clearly had an issue with authority, but it was his assignment to help her, or so he thought. Maybe it was time to get updated.<br/><br/>He strode down the hall at a brisk pace, his heavy combat boot digging it's heel sharply into the carpeted floor, yet it sounded like a platoon was marching down the hall in perfect step. The thudding stopped outside the Director's door and he knocked sharply.<br/><br/>"Come in."<br/><br/>Al stepped inside turning to close the door behind him, his wings creating a slight breeze that blew a sheaf of paper off the Director's desk. He sighed as he struggled to bend over and pick up the page.<br/><br/>"About Jewel Mycroft." Al began, but the director's hand shot up.<br/><br/>"I don't want to hear about it. No one else will go near her, let alone be her partner. We need someone good enough to handle her and there's no one other than you who can." he wheezed, sitting up straight in his chair.<br/><br/>"No sir, I'm not asking to be reassigned." Al said, sitting down on a chair after turning it around backwards, "I'm just unclear as to what you want. If you're serious about keeping her as an agent, then I will try my hardest to help her. But how did she pass the academy anyway? Why are you keeping her as an agent if she's like that?"<br/><br/>"You mean why did I make a criminal an agent? Why recruit a street thug?" he asked, "I was going for the whole 'Wolf in Sheep's clothing' approach. You know, how we employ hackers to test our systems to patch security holes. Fight fire with fire, so to speak."<br/><br/>"Understandable, but you think the 'Street Thug' mindset is compatible with the FBI rules and regulations?"<br/><br/>"Iggy, listen." he said, leaning in closer, "Times are changing. Now, faster than ever. We need to change to keep up. Maybe this is the right direction, maybe it's not. This girl seems to be caught between two different sides of herself and this causes confusion for her. Maybe she just doesn't know what side of the law she wants to be on because of it. She needs a guide. One that can keep up with her. You're on the other side of the fence. Strict rules and proper procedure have a time and a place, Al. Maybe she can help you loosen up and help you realize where that time and place is."<br/><br/>"You think I need to loosen up?" he asked, skeptical, "I think I'm rather comfortable." The Director sighed and spun his computer screen around, showing his calendar, "Al, you scheduled this meeting two minutes before you walked in from your phone in my Outlook." he said, "You walked in as soon as I clicked accept. That's way too Militaristic, Al. This is the FBI, not the army."<br/><br/>"Alright, I will continue the rehabilitation attempt." he said with a sigh, standing up.<br/><br/>"Al, this isn't rehabilitation, for Christ sakes!" The Director sighed, "Just help her out. Be her friend. She's your partner. Get to know her!"<br/><br/>"Oh, right." he said. Fixing the chair so it was perfectly aligned with the other beside him, he left the office and strolled to the windows beside a balcony where people would go out and have a smoke. Connecting to his computer on his phone, he pulled up Jewel's last known address and programmed it into GPS. Then slipping his phone into a holster on his forearm, he stepped out onto the balcony and hopped over the railing.<br/><br/>He startled a poor woman who was standing with her back to him. All she saw was someone go over the rail. She relaxed when she saw him fly off between tall buildings.<br/><br/>Al ended up flying over a rather run down part of town. Police scanners often spouted the names of the streets here. Al landed gently on the roof across the road from the address listed in her file and waited...