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On top of that pressure, she also had Mueller breathingdown her neck. In a very odd twist, he’d reamed her for going off alone intosuch a dangerous situation. He’s also eventually read Derik the riot act forfollowing after her, given that he’d been diagnosed with a concussion that sameday. Yet, Mueller seemed to understand her commitment to her job; he’d offeredher a new contract, essentially officially returning her status as a special agent.His only caveat was that she couldn’t start for another three months. He wantedher to get acclimated to normal life first.
And that was fine with her. She could fix her father’shouse up. She could try to get used to advancements in technology that she wasstill slightly baffled by…things like streaming services that were essentiallyjust a fancy return to cable, doorbell cameras, AI-driven art and writingsoftware, and an overabundance of movie remakes, reboots, and sequels.
It was one of those things that made ten years seem like aninsurmountable amount of time while also being nothing more than a little blipon the radar of life.
On that fifteenth day after coming out of the mines, she wasin the middle of working in the kitchen when she heard a car door close fromoutside. She had the door propped open to allow the paint fumes out, so sheheard it clearly.
She wiped the sweat off her brow and walked to the frontdoor. She was surprised to see Derik walking up the sidewalk. She was even moresurprised to see that he was carrying a small cooler and a pail filled withpaint rollers.
“Hey,” he said, a sheepish grin on his face. “I’ve cometo help.”
“But I didn’t ask for help.”
“Which makes my gesture so much more heroic and dashing.What are we painting today?”
She smiled and opened the door all the way, allowing himin. “The kitchen.”
“I brought sodas,” he said, lifting up the little cooler.
“Got anything harder?”
Derik laughed and shook his head. “Not at this hour, butI have the best ginger ale you can get on the market.”
Morgan couldn’t help but smirk. “In that case, you’rehired.”
He walked in and looked around, taking in the state ofthe house. “Wow, you’ve really done a lot of work here.”
“Yeah, I have. It’s been…therapeutic,” she said,realizing how cliché it sounded.
“No, I get it,” he said, nodding. “So, how have you been?”
She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Trying to keep busy. Howabout you?”
“Good. Mostly worried about you. And much like the lasttime I came to this house, I came bearing news.”
“Not another case, I assume,” she said with a laugh.
Derik smirked. “Well…”
Skunk had made his way into the room to sniff at thevisitor. He wagged his tail as Derik scratched his head with one hand andopened up the cooler with the other. He plucked a ginger ale out and handed itto Morgan. She popped the top instantly and took a huge drink.
She hadn’t had a ginger ale in ten years. Although shewished it were something harder, the sweetness was a welcome addition to her palate.
“Well what?” she asked, afraid that he truly was being serious.
“I’ve been sent to invite you to a meeting. Mueller doesn’tknow about it yet. It’s coming from a bit higher up.”
“From who?”
“Deputy Director Irvin. He wants to meet with you, and Idon’t think he wants Mueller to know.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea. That’s literally all I know. Well, that,and the fact that I’m apparently just an errand boy. Sort of a liaison betweenyou and the bureau. He’s going to send you an email sometime this week and I’vebeen asked to make sure you respond to it. Apparently, you haven’t beenanswering ones from Mueller or Yen.”
“That would be correct.”
As they began to paint the walls, Morgan’s mind racedwith the possibilities. And that, on its own, was monumental. Because it hadbeen a very long time since she’d had any sort of possibilities at all.
