"All right, Hartfield," a gruff voice called from the office door. "Get off your ass and let's get moving."
Daniel sat down the box he had been carrying and turned around to face the man talking to him, Walter Katzmann, his new partner. The two had just met this morning, Daniel thought -- heck, he had just flown into Redwood Bay this morning -- and already the overweight grump twice his age was giving him a hard time. It was just as well, he figured. He had heard that the Bureau had a habit of pairing Agents just out of training with the gruffest, most jaded people they could find. Daniel wasn't sure if they did that in order to toughen the new Agents up or to try to drum out those that didn't belong, but whatever the case, he knew that it could be a lot worse.
Daniel took a deep breath and walked to the door. "Ready when you are," he said, mustering up as much confidence as he could manage. The best advice he had been given on how to deal with the situation was to just put up with the abuse as best he could and wait until he got reassigned, always making sure to behave professionally but never letting himself be provoked. "I've almost got everything settled on my side of the office," he continued, "so the boxes should all be gone by the end of the day tomorrow, Katzmann."
"Can't come soon enough, I say," Katzmann muttered. "The office was small enough when it was just me in there." The two continued walking through the hallway towards the stairs at the end, heading down to the first floor, where Agent Phillips, the Special Agent in Charge of the Redwood Bay field office, was waiting for them.
"Walter! Daniel!" The corner of Phillips' lips rose in approval as he saw the two round the corner. "Good to see the two of you together at last." He placed his hand around Daniel's shoulder. This, combined with the fact that he was the only Agent that Daniel had ever heard call him by his first name, gave off an almost-fatherly vibe, one that Daniel felt was very out of place, especially for the FBI. "The boys in Washington have been saying some very positive things about you, Daniel," he continued as they walked, "and I had to call in several favors to get you assigned to my office. But I know that you'll be worth the extra effort."
"Well," Daniel said, feeling the faintest bit of sweat start to form on his forehead, "it sounds like I have a lot to live up to. I only hope that I can meet your expectations." As he talked, he felt his body begin to vibrate slightly. At first, he thought it was his heart beating much faster than normal, so he tried to put the sensation at the back of his mind. Something about it, though, felt rather strange.
"I know you will, my son." Phillips was beaming with pride. "And I'm sure you'll find that working in Redwood Bay will be like no place else in the world."
At this, Kelly scoffed slightly. "Heh," he said, as his version of a smile formed on his face. "That ain't the half of it."
Daniel wasn't sure what exactly the two men were referring to. He had barely heard of Redwood Bay before being informed of his assignment last month, and he hadn't gotten to see much of the town so far, but, by his estimation, it sure seemed like your typical moderately-large sized city: a bustling downtown built off of the shores of the bay that the town got its name from, complete with several large skyscrapers, both a basketball arena and a football stadium, and a nice-looking waterfront park. Pleasant enough, sure, but nothing really spectacular. He knew, though, that he would have to at least feign appreciation if he was going to have any chance of being promoted and transferred to a more exciting location, like New York.
"Yes, sir," he replied to Phillips as he nodded enthusiastically. "I think it's already starting to grow on me." As he said this, he again felt the vibrations he had sensed before, only this time, they seemed to be louder. Daniel now was certain that it wasn't his heart. Something was happening outside, something that -- whatever it was -- was getting closer. He looked at the two men next to him, neither of which seemed to be reacting with any sense of shock or surprise.
"Interesting choice of words, Daniel," Phillips patted him on the back as they arrived to the front entrance of the office. He reached out and opened the door outside, letting the sunlight pour in. "So does that mean you have met our 'claim to fame', so to speak?"
Daniel shook his head as the three stepped outside. "Uh, I don't think so, sir. What are you referring to?"
Phillips only smiled, as he lifted a finger into the air. As Daniel winced, trying to adjust to the brightness of the day, he looked in the direction that Phillips was pointing. When he was able to make out the scene after a second or two, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Rubbing them, he blinked several times and then tried to focus again on the massive object in the distance. Sure enough, he had seen it correctly the first time.
"What the hell is that?!" Daniel couldn't hide the surprise in his voice, and nearly fell to the ground, both from shock as well as the now-intense shaking of the ground. He didn't believe he was seeing, for walking down the middle of the street, almost as tall as the buildings themselves, was a …
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