Catch me if you can

“Well done, Special Agent Rojas” – the director of the FBI said as he shook Monica’s hand.

Even though Monica had been with the bureau for only a year, she already made a name for herself. Today was yet another successful day for her since she managed to apprehend a criminal from the “Most Wanted” list. Cases that had previously reached a dead end now rested in the “solved” pile.

“How do you do it?” – an agent who had been with the FBI for ten years asked Monica.

“Beginner’s luck, I guess” – she replied with a sheepish smile, crumpling the random piece of paper she found in her pocket.

Agent Rojas absentmindedly tightened her ponytail and then retreated from the briefing room. She was too tired to stick around and chat. Once she got home, Monica sautéed a chicken breast and steamed some broccoli. She threw the food onto a plate, dropping one of the florets to the floor, and settled in front of the TV. Nothing held her interest, but that was quite alright. She just needed to take her mind off of things.

“Leave work at work” – Monica’s father used to say.

That wasn’t so easy. When you’re in the FBI, you technically never leave work because you are on-call 24/7. Plus, you can never just shake off the monsters that you chase after all day, once you return home.

“How DO I do it?” – she asked herself, recalling her colleague’s question from earlier that day.

For a while, she tried to think of an answer, but none came to her.

“Must be beginner’s luck” – she said to herself and reached for her plate which by now held only lukewarm food.

Monica ate what was on her plate while watching a show about a group of wives and their drama. The more mindless the show, the better it was for emptying her brain. By the time the program had ended, it was almost midnight, so Monica decided to go to bed.

When the alarm went off at 5 A.M., Monica already laid awake, thinking of the things she would get to do that day. She tried to remember the dream she had, but couldn’t.

***

“You’re under arrest, Maksim Yakubets” – Special Agent Rojas shouted as her partner knocked the perp into the ground.

“How did you know he was going to be here?” – her partner asked once they were alone.

“Just a hunch” – Monica replied.

“This happens too often to be a combination of luck and hunches” – Special Agent Nunez added, annoyed.

Monica shrugged.

As they drove in silence, she remembered the dream from last night. She and Maksim, whom she had just arrested, were chatting over coffee. They both seemed relaxed as if they had known one another for ages.

Monica figured that she was reaching and that she probably dreamed about something inconsequential and was only trying to find an answer to her colleagues’ questions. Since she didn’t know the answers herself, she vowed to do whatever it took to find them.

***

“Nina, I think I’m crazy” – Monica said to her best friend, sitting down next to her in the park.

“No, you’re not” – Nina replied automatically.

“But why do you think you are?” – Nina asked.

“I caught another criminal at work today” – Monica replied.

“So you’re good at your job. What’s the problem with that? And how does that make you crazy?” – her best friend inquired.

Monica explained her latest arrest and the dream she had before it. Then, she recalled that that was what happened with every single apprehension she had performed. It was never luck or a simple hunch. Like a movie, dreams and arrests played out in her head.

Nina sat at the opposite end of the coffee table and stared at Monica.

“OK, so what about that dream you had last night?” – Nina asked after Monica went silent.

“I gotta go” – Monica announced as she rushed out of the café.

She did not see what was written on the piece of paper she crumbled the other day, but she knew that it held some sort of answers. Having arrived home, Monica ran to the hamper in her closet and turned it upside down. A pile of clothes appeared in front of her. After a little while, she found the pants which she wore that day and a crumpled piece of paper in its pocket. Her hands trembled, making it hard for her to straighten the paper without ripping it to pieces.

“Call me if you start remembering” – the note said.

A phone number was scribbled underneath it.

Without thinking twice, Monica dialed the number and waited for an answer.

“Let’s meet. I’ll come to you” – said the voice on the other end of the line and then hung up.

***

“The FBI is onto you. Run” – Special Agent Rojas said as she passed by a table occupied by two dark-haired men with beards.

Without thinking twice, both men stood up and headed for the exit. Monica watched the door behind them close.

“Where are they?” – Special Agent Nunez asked once he joined his partner at the café.

“I don’t know. I was in the neighborhood, so I rushed in here when I heard the intel. They must have already left by the time I came in” – Monica replied, looking out the window to make sure the men were gone.

“Looks like your good luck ran out” – her partner said and shrugged.

The two men that Monica warned were her friends, and so would never want them to get caught. She wondered who could have been the one that tipped the FBI off about the whereabouts of the brothers. She didn’t have the answer yet, but she knew she was going to find out sooner or later.

***

“Why are we meeting? I thought I told you everything there was to know last time” – Tristan said when Monica opened the door for him.

“Apparently not” – Monica answered, slightly annoyed.

“So who do you think it is?” – she asked after telling Tristan about the events from earlier that day.

Tristan shook his head.

“I don’t know. After you jumped to the past to take out your revenge on your enemies, they banned time travel. You’ve been altering the timeline too much” – Tristan said to Monica.

“So you think a rival decided to come back, get their revenge, and teach me a lesson about loyalty?” – she asked her companion.

Tristan shrugged.

“Well, that’s just great” – Monica said and reclined in her armchair.