𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐗 ━ 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓¹

064. false prophet

"I'm Agent Jason Gideon. I'm part of the BAU." He holds out his hand.

"R-Right. Oh, my God. Of—Of course. I read your book. And I did a paper on you for extra credit." I shake his hand.

"I'll have to read it."

"It's an honor to meet you."

"No, the pleasure's all mine. I was the one who read your application for the internship. I've never been more astounded in my entire life."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'm sorry for ambushing you like this. I just couldn't wait until June. I had to meet you, see for myself."

"I appreciate that. And—And I'm honored, really. I can't wait to work with you and your team this summer."

"My team and I can't wait to see your face in the lectures. I have someone on the team who's a genius, just like you. I think you two will get along great. His name is Spencer Reid. He's only a couple years older than you."

"Listen, um, no one really knows I'm leaving except for my family, and I wanna hold off for a little while longer, so-"

"I know."

"You know?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"That's my job as a profiler. Don't worry, I told Clark and his father that I was an old friend of your mom's."

"Well, thank you, sir."

"Anytime. And call me Gideon. Just not in class." Gideon grins.

"Will do." I chuckle.

"So, you named the cattle, huh?"

"Yeah. Spotty gave birth last year. Four of them—Liam, Monty, Lila and Amelia."

"Why give 'em human names?"

"Because animals are the closest thing to us—to humans. And they deserve to be treated all the same. The real monsters are out there. Sadistic, bottom feeding vultures to do the unimaginable just because they can. And I wanna stop it. I'm going to." I keep my eyes on the cow pin.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you." He holds out his hand.

"Likewise." I shake it.

"Now, I'm gonna read that paper you wrote on me and see what you got wrong and what you got right." He half jokes before walking off. "Don't be afraid, Brianna. That's not who you are."

"Wait!" I run after him. "Um..." I stop. "If you have time, I would love to give you a tour. Um, of the town. It's not much, but...there are some cool spots if you know where to look."

"You're driving." He tosses me the keys.

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"I got your call. You didn't get in?" Miles questions as we sit at the Talon.

"No, um, no, I got accepted. They turned down my financial aid, which means I can't go." Lana walks to the cash register and opens it, dropping the letter under the tray.

"Well, wait a minute. Before you commit yourself to pouring lattes in the Sunflower State, why don't you talk to Lex?" Chloe heads over.

"Chloe, I'm not asking Lex for a loan."

"Why not? You know he would happily lend it to you."

"But I wanted to do this on my own."

"Well, selfishly, I would be glad if you decided to stay. But if Lex were in your shoes, do you honestly think that he would let one bump in the road deter him from pursuing his dreams? Call him, babe." Miles kisses Lana.