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Knightly returned to his seat. “Next time you want to punch someone, maybe you’ll think harder about it before acting.” Aaron didn’t move. “Is there something else?”
“No, sir.”
“Okay then. Off you go. Agent Lewis is waiting for you at your desk.”
* * *
Aaron sulked out of Knightly’s office but smiled when Grace looked up. “That went easier than expected.”
“Liar,” she said, then dipped her head back to her work.
On his way back to his desk, Aaron could see Lewis sitting straight-backed with his hands folded in his lap. He had a boyish face and his leg pumped up and down, showing his nerves.
Lewis glanced up from staring at his hands and caught sight of Aaron. After averting his eyes, he smoothed a hand over his head and stood, reaching out a hand too early to shake Aaron’s. An awkward smile crinkled one side of his face while he kept his hand out, waiting for Aaron to get close enough to reach it. It was still several more steps.
“Special Agent Aaron Pritchard. I’m Special Agent Patrick Lewis.”
“I know who you are,” Aaron said as he squeezed Lewis’s hand. Then he lifted the file Knightly had given him and slapped it on Lewis’s chest. Lewis’s arms retracted too slowly, and he fumbled the file before smacking it against his leg before it could spill its contents on the floor.
“What’s this?”
“Our new assignment. Read it. I want you to know it inside and out.”
“Yes, sir. Um. I just wanted to say that it’s, um, an honor to work with you. I heard about what you did. I mean, the special agent in charge?” He made some sort of raspberry noise, then nodded. “That’s amazing. You are like FBI royalty. I didn’t expect them to put me with you, but I promise you I won’t let you down. I mean, I’ll try not to. I won’t, but I could. But I’ll do my best. My absolute best.”
Aaron sat heavily in his chair. “First of all, forget all that. We’re on equal footing here. I watch your back and you watch mine. Got it? I have to know I can trust you.”
“Yes, sir. You can. One hundred percent.”
“Knightly said you’re new to the field?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long have you been with the FBI?”
“Two years active duty, sir.”
“And what do you do here at the FBI?”
“Research.”
“What kind of field training have you had?”
“You mean besides at Quantico?”
“Yeah.”
“Well … this is it.”
“None at all?”
“No, sir. Not outside of training, anyway. That’s why I’m here. I want to learn.”
“What about firearms?”
“Oh, yeah. They took me through that again. At the firing range. Not in the field.”
Aaron did the kid the courtesy of keeping his facial expression neutral. The only good thing about this situation was that Knightly had given him an assignment he could do in his sleep. He didn’t need Lewis for this, so he could let him tag along and feel important, give him a story to brag about to his coworkers, and then go back to his real job.
