As Kate continued to survey the room, there was a noticeable absence. Noah Quinn. The very man who had given Kate the opportunity to join this team was gone. Transferred. There had been a lot to learn from him, but Quinn used Kate for his own personal gain. It was too bad because he was the best profiler she’d ever met.
When Eva Duncan sat at attention, Kate, whose back was to the door, figured the three wise men were about to enter the conference room.
Unit Chief Cole led the way with Cameron Fisher and Nick Scarborough two steps behind. Interesting that they walked side-by-side, as though both were either reluctant to take the lead or reluctant to give it up.
“Good morning.” Unit Chief Cole stood at the head of the table while Cameron Fisher and Nick Scarborough sat down across from one another. “I’m sorry for the delay. I realize we should’ve started this meeting twenty minutes ago and I know everyone is busy, so please accept my apology.” Cole was in his late 50s and was a brilliant intelligence officer with a career that had spanned decades. “This period of transition has gone smoothly as far as I’m concerned and that is a testament to the leadership of this team, both current and former. Respect was never lost, and a dereliction of duties never considered. We’ve all had time to reflect on the past. Mistakes were made. While it is only human to make mistakes, in this line of work, there is little room for them or the damage they may cause. These mistakes have been owned and every attempt at rectification has been made. However, as a result, changes must also be made, and those changes will go into effect today. From here on out, this team will be headed up by your new Senior Unit Agent, Cameron Fisher. SSA Nick Scarborough will take on a new role. He is still a senior member of this team and as such, deserves the continued respect you all have shown him over the years.” He surveyed the team again. “Any questions?”
“What about Quinn?” Kate had an inkling to what this answer might be, but it needed to be stated in front of everyone—for posterity if nothing else.
“He will not be returning. That isn’t new information, but it is official. This makes you, Reid, our resident profiler. Understanding that you were essentially Quinn’s apprentice, you will still be required to consult with SSA Scarborough and/or Senior Unit Agent Fisher on any of your case findings. There is protocol and it takes time to learn this job. There are no shortcuts. Reid, you will be the one the team turns to for analysis and in-depth profiling. The only difference is, you won’t have Quinn to bounce ideas off of, but you will still have the combined decades of experience both Fisher and Scarborough have to offer. I suggest you use them.”
“Thank you, sir,” Kate replied.
“So, if there are no further questions, we should all get back to the business of the day.” With a wrap of his knuckles on the conference table, Cole excused himself.
Kate was the first to stand and offered her hand. “Congratulations, Fisher. I look forward to our new working relationship.”
“It won’t be any different than before, but thank you, Reid.” Fisher returned the handshake.
Walsh and Duncan left the room with Fisher close behind. It was just Kate and Nick. Just like it had been since a time in her past she didn’t like to recall.
“You okay? You left pretty early this morning.” Nick smoothed back his dark hair that had turned just a little saltier and adjusted his dress pants that still fit perfectly against his trim waist.
He had a few years on the 34-year-old Kate and was now just on the other side of forty. As she looked at him, he appeared the same as he had that day in his car, back in California. Although now he was a little more jaded and suffered from demons that had finally caught up to him. She was all of 28 then. Still young and damaged after the awful events of that year. It was the day he said she would make a great FBI agent. It wasn’t something she decided to tackle until a year later and solely a result of circumstances beyond her control, but he had seen in her then what she would become. Now, she could see that man. The one who had believed in her. The one who had loved her. Only now, he was also the one who had betrayed her. Not in the traditional sense one would think, but in the sense that he hadn’t kept his end of the bargain. He let his demons get the better of him at the worst possible time. A split-second decision to walk inside a bar in the middle of a dangerous investigation in a foreign country, leaving everyone to fear for his safety and their own. His team needed him. She needed him. After spending a year in AA meetings, he fell. Rightly or wrongly, Kate hadn’t yet forgiven him.
She considered his question if she was truly okay and figured it wasn’t time for the truth. “I just needed some time to think and clear my head. A lot of things are changing, and I don’t really know how to take on those changes just yet.”
“You know what to do. You’ve always known what to do. It’s only out of a responsibility to others that prevents you from doing it.”
She formed a closed-lip smile. “Listen, I have to run out for a while. I’ll catch up with you later?”
“Sure.”
Kate walked away and for the first time in a long time, she didn’t look back.
On the drive into work this morning, Kate had received a text message from Noah Quinn. At first, she considered not
