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“I am sorry for what happened to you,” the Boss said, his tone surprisingly gentle and sincere. “I am. But I have a job to do, and so do you. Fortunately for you, you are as talented of an agent as you flatter yourself to be, and it doesn’t go unnoticed that you’ve brought to justice several killers who would certainly have killed many more had you not been there to stop them. So, despite your flagrant disobedience, I will allow you to remain in the field.”
“Thank you, sir,” Faith said, relaxing, “you won’t regret it.”
“But,” the Boss said, “you will report to Special Agent Clark.”
Clark’s head snapped up in alarm. Faith stared at the Boss in shock.
“You heard me,” the Boss said. “You will report to Clark a minimum of once per day with a summary of your day’s activities. At any time he sees fit, he can call or visit you to ensure you’re being honest with your account. If he issues you an order, you will follow it as though it came from me. Actually, you will follow it much better than the way you follow my orders.”
“Sir, please,” Faith said. “I can’t work with a babysitter.”
“Tough shit, Bold,” he said. “I can’t trust you to keep your nose clean, so Clark will wipe it for you until I’m convinced you can do it yourself. You’re on probation, Bold. It’s this or a desk.”
Faith took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said through gritted teeth, “I’ll report to Clark, sir.”
“Good,” the Boss said. “And if I so much as catch you reading a news article about the copycat killer, I will personally take your badge and gun from you, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Outstanding. Get the hell out of my office.”
Faith stood to leave. Clark followed Faith and Turk out of the office, and when they were out of the Boss’s line of sight, Clark stepped closer and said, “Faith, listen, I—”
Turk lunged at Clark suddenly, barking and snapping at him. Clark leaped back, alarmed as Faith threw herself on top of Turk and said, “Turk! Stop it!”
The other agents in the office looked at them, and Faith saw the knob of the Boss’s office door turn. She stood up quickly and when the Boss stepped outside to see what the commotion was, Clark said, “It’s fine, everything’s fine. I accidentally stepped on Turk’s tail, and he yelped. No big deal.”
The others returned to work, and the Boss went back into his office. Clark glanced at Turk, then at Faith, then left for his desk.
Faith watched him walk away for a moment, then left the office, pulling Turk with her. She tried to tell herself that there was nothing to read into in Turk’s behavior. After all, he had made mistakes.
He rarely made mistakes.
What was it that Turk thought he sensed about Clark?
