#tacticalempathy

@tacticalempathy

Ross never really liked how everyone was on edge around him. One thing was respect, the other was just fear.

Maybe old age was getting to him, he didn't know.

Many of the folks before him had decorated the Oval Office like it was their personal conquest. Ross though was more minimalist. He had some portraits of leaders of the past he had looked up to, like George Washington and Douglas MacArthur. His medals and certificates from his time in the military being the only really glamorous things in the small space.

But on the desk itself, he just kept one thing....a photo of his daughter. Ross wasn't the type to brag about himself.....but he was proud of his little girl. He just....he missed her a lot.

He saw that she was nervous and had a wry smile.

" Don't worry, I don't bite. And if you think I'm scary, you should have seen the fights I had with The Hulk."

"if you're not here to talk about my uncle's case, i don't want to talk to you." he says, eyeing the badge carefully. he hasn't been fond of cops after what had happened with his uncle -locking up an innocent man and what not- and an FBI agent isn't much different. "i've been trying to get the FBI to reopen his case, but no one answers my calls anymore. please tell me that's why you're here and you're not just here to talk about my case. it's already done with. i served my time."

Hannibal stood position just beyond the yellow tape as it fluttered in the cold November day drizzle. One hand was hooked around his wrist, and his position ramrod as he observed the line of agents moving in and out of the house: muddied steps, muddied carpet, damaged door from the force of entry. Hannibal could almost envision the scene.

Sophia (@tacticalempathy) stood beside him, eyes steady on the same doorframe that he had been staring at for a solid ten minutes. A few blinks, he shifted his head marginally to absorb her presence.

❝ Losing him was the cruelest thing I've ever experienced. ❞

She spoke to no one. Hannibal could detect from her vacant expression that something disturbing had triggered such a statement. A quick glance to the door by the movement of his eyes only before settling back on her.

"Has the past came to visit you just now?"

A gust of biting wind flicked Hannibal's zipped sweater lapels, peaking out from his chequered woolen coat with navy blues and browns. This weather called for layering up. Even though his tie sprang forth professionalism, he held an air that others couldn't help but examine when being out on the field.

Lee had heard of a hostage situation where his travels had taken him for work. So he had decided to take it upon himself to sneak into the building where the hostage situation was going down, while his daughter Clementine kept watch and kept him updated on what was going on outside. Before he arrived at the scene, a hostage had been wounded. Thanks to his daughter, he knew a trade was going on to trade.

A trade between the wounded hostage and an FBI officer. He had a plan, but he had to time things just right. Once the hostage had left the building, he sprung his plan into action. Once the criminal that let the hostage go went to take the FBI officer back to the other hostages at gunpoint, Lee waited for the criminal to loosen his grip on the trigger and then hit a pressure point at the back of his neck to knock him out.

Agent Jenny Shepard of NCIS stopped in front of a nondescript desk. "Special Agent Sparrow," the older woman greeted professionally. A small smile countered the tired look in her eyes. She'd slept very little on the cross-country flight from D.C. to Washington state.

The redhead held a coffee cup in her left hand. It was her third (maybe her fourth) of the morning. She took a sip before dropping her chin slightly. Her ponytail brushed against her leather jacket.

Jane stared at her. She felt--she felt her heart flutter rapidly in her chest, felt her eyes mist over.

"...t-thank you." She felt herself smile. "You're...v-very kind. Um." She sighed. "I w-wish I was more l-like you."

---

Lily figured she could just drop in to the little convenience store on the way home and grab a quick snack and be in and out in a couple of minutes. Of course some idiot had come in to rob the place and been so incompetent he'd still been there when the police showed up.

Now Lily sat on the floor near the front counter. There'd been another woman in the store at the same time, a blonde woman Lily guessed was mid-40s. The guy had found some duct tape for sale and had Lily wrap the other woman up and didn't tell her to stop until she'd used up quite a lot of the roll. Then he'd used it himself to tape Lily's hands together in front of her. At least she wasn't mummified like the other woman. Given a bit of time, she thought she could probably free herself, but she didn't dare try it with an unhinged man with a gun standing nearby watching her.

The phone inevitably rang. The young man Lily guessed was 21 or 22 at the oldest pushed her towards it. "You answer." So that was why she hadn't been wrapped up like the older woman. The guy who'd been working the register had been locked in the backroom. Lily had no idea if he was okay or not. Lily was the smallest of the 3 hostages and maybe he felt like he could control her the easiest.