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Hey, beautiful! I hope you’re having a great night. Can’t wait to see you again!
Fiona smiled. It was strange to think just last night, she’d been on a date with Mark. He truly was a nice guy. She texted him back and wished him the same, then turned back to Jake, who had his laptop out.
Fiona set up her laptop beside Jake on the couch, and they both got to work. Even though she was still a bit nervous about being so close to him, Fiona couldn’t help but feel excited. They were going to solve this case together.
“Let’s cross-reference the lists again,” Jake said, “and jot down any potentials.”
Fiona nodded. They had the two lists; the entomologists, insect keepers, and exotic pet keepers in Portland, along with the list of Senator Barlow’s potential enemies. There were many items to check, and they had their work cut out for them.
Fiona went through the list of entomologists, insect keepers, and exotic pet owners first. She compared each name to the list of Senator Barlow’s enemies, but found no matches. It seemed that none of them had any connections to the senator aside from Theo, whom they’d already cleared. Fiona sighed in frustration; this was going to be harder than she thought.
She lifted her dry, tired eyes from the screen and looked out at Portland’s skyline before them. She thought back to earlier, when they’d confronted Theo. Fiona had been both nervous and flustered to see him again, but mostly angry. And when Jake had stood up for her and defended her, she’d felt so proud and honored that someone like him was on her team.
She realized then that she’d never formally thanked him.
“Hey, Jake?” she began, and he looked over at her, his brown eyes exhausted and red. “I, um, I never said thank you. For earlier. You defended me to Theo, and I really appreciate that.”
Jake leaned back on the couch and sighed, crossing his arms above his head. “That guy had no right disrespecting you like that. You’re with the FBI now, Red. Maybe you don’t have your official agent badge yet, but you’re one of us.”
Yet.Fiona’s cheeks burned. “Do you think I have it in me?” she asked. “To become an agent like you?”
Jake looked away, thinking on it. “Chief Whittaker sees something in you. He sees something in your mind, and frankly, I do too. I think with some proper training and a physical fitness regimen, you could get fast-tracked to becoming an agent, but that’s the chief’s call, not mine.”
Fiona felt a thrill of excitement run through her. To be an agent, to have a badge and to be part of the FBI team—it was something she never knew she wanted until she started working with Jake.
“Yes,” she breathed, still trying to take it all in. “I want it.”
She felt something inside her stirring; a feeling deep within that told her this would be an experience unlike any other.
The thought of becoming an agent filled Fiona with wonder. She would get to learn about all kinds of different cases and use her skills as an entomologist to help solve them. Even though she was a long way from being physically fit enough to do what Jake could do—chasing down suspects, shooting with precision, and all of that—she felt like she was getting the best hands-on mental training just by working with him.
The possibilities seemed endless, and Fiona’s enthusiasm grew even more when she thought about what Jake had said—that Chief Whittaker saw potential in her mind. It made Fiona feel special, knowing that someone like him believed in her.
But Fiona looked down at her thin frame, reminded that she’d never been the athletic one.
That had been more of her sister, Joslyn’s, thing.
Fiona was always thinner, but she did get the gym membership—if she put her mind to it, she could gain muscle and learn how to fight.
Fiona glanced at Jake. Physically, he was so strong; tall and lean, and she’d seen him run before. As exciting as it was in theory, Fiona knew that being an FBI agent had a lot of physical demands, and it would take more than some added muscle for her to get there.
“Were you always strong?” Fiona asked Jake.
“What, you mean physically?” he asked.
Fiona nodded.
Jake thought on it. “Well, I was into sports in high school. My dad and older brother are firefighters, my mom was too, and I always thought that’d be where I ended up. I started training young, but then when…” He stopped himself. “Well, when I decided I wanted to join the FBI instead, I had the advantage of years of physical fitness before me.”
“What made you switch from firefighting to FBI?” Fiona asked.
For a moment, Jake’s gaze became distant. Then he snapped out of it. “Just became interested,” he said, but Fiona could tell he was hiding something. It wasn’t her business to pry.
“Well, I hope I can get stronger,” Fiona murmured.
“You have a strong mind, and that’s half the battle,” Jake said. But then he grinned and added, “Yeah, you are gonna need a lot more physical training though. And some weight on you. As an agent, sometimes we have to take down people who are way bigger than us. I’ve seen Lauren take down a guy who’s six-foot-three and three hundred pounds, but she knew how to fight and use her smaller stature to her advantage.” Jake smiled. “It takes hard work, but if getting on the field is what you want, then you can do it.”
Fiona smiled. She felt more confident than ever before. She had the determination, and with Jake’s help, she was sure she could make it.
