Leyla stood and frantically tugged at the hem of her skirt. All heads in the room turned toward the door as the security guard entered the room. Hilda's stern profile quieted the titter immediately. Leyla covered her chest with her arms as Hilda overshadowed her.
Hilda was my favorite member of the security detail; she was point guard for her NCAA college basketball team, and I'd recruited her personally. More than six feet tall, she kept her long blonde hair coiled in a tight braid atop her skull. She was every inch the Valkyrie her name suggested, with ice blue eyes and fair complexion contrasted by her black pantsuit. She covered Leyla's shoulder with one huge palm and escorted her from the room.
I slipped on an ear pod to kept tabs on their conversation while they walked, patched through to the microphone in Hilda's lapel. While they took the elevator to ground floor security, I took the stairs to my private monitoring station in a shaded, enclosed cubicle just a few feet from where Leyla would be debriefed.
I listened to Leyla ramble: "Oh my god, I can't believe that happened. That's never happened before. You have to believe me. This job means everything to me. I admire everyone that works here so much, especially June, she's been my hero for years, even since high school. I can't lose this job, please, can I just call June and apologize right now? I don't have my phone. Where's my phone?"
My cubicle afforded me multiple angles to watch their approach to the enclosed security office. Hilda maintained a firm grip on Leyla's tricep. Leyla had fixed her skirt, but her blouse remained untucked, held in front by a few haphazard buttons she'd managed to secure. She hadn't retrieved her blazer.
Hilda kept her silence as they entered the empty security office; she shut and locked the door behind her. Leyla was led to a dark corner of the office. Hilda pointed at a low table. "You are to remove every article of clothing and place them in a pile on the table. I will watch you closely, and then I will examine your person. If you are carrying any illegal material, such as drugs, and you attempt to hide or destroy them, you will be terminated and remanded to police custody."
Leyla's mouth hung open. She put her hand on the table, as if to keep from toppling over. "You mean I'm not fired now?"