Cody Mcfadyen [Smoky Barrett Shadow Man (retail) (epub)

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.I’ve had it for some time, and I’ve read it through more than once.” He flips over the pages, summarizing out loud.“Smoky Barrett, born 1968.Female.Degree in criminology.Accepted into the Bureau 1990.Graduated top of her class at Quantico.Assigned to assist in the Black Angel case in Virginia in 1991, administrative capacity.” He looks up at me.“But you didn’t remain on the sidelines of that one, did you?”I shake my head, remembering.I sure hadn’t.I was twenty-two years old, greener than green.Excited about being an agent, even more excited about being a part of a major case, even if it was pretty much just desk work.During one of the briefings, something about the case had stuck in my mind, something in a witness statement that didn’t seem right.It was still turning in my head when I went to sleep, and I awoke with a 4:00 A.M.epiphany, something that was going to become familiar to me in later years.The thing was, it ended up being an insight that broke the case wide open.It had to do with what direction a window opened.A tiny, forgettable detail that became the pea under my mattress and ended up closing the door on a killer.I called it luck at the time and downplayed myself.True luck was that the agent in charge of the task force, Special Agent Jones, was one of those rare bosses.One who doesn’t hog the glory and instead gives credit where credit is due.Even to a green female agent.I was still new, so I got more desk work, but I was on the fast track from that point on.I was groomed for NCAVC—the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, the part of the FBI that deals with the worst of the worst—under the watchful eye of SAC Jones.“Assigned to NCAVC three years later.That’s a pretty quick jump, isn’t it?”“The average agent assigned to NCAVC has ten years of prior Bureau experience.” I’m not bragging.It’s true.He continues reading.“A few more cases solved, glowing performance reviews.And then you were made the NCAVC coordinator in Los Angeles in ’96.Charged with creating an efficient local unit, and repairing relations with local law enforcement that your predecessor had damaged.Some might have thought this was a demotion, but the truth is, you were handpicked for a difficult task.It’s where you really began to shine.”My mind wanders back to that time.Shine is the perfect word.1996 was a year when nothing seemed to go wrong.I’d had my daughter in late 1995.I was appointed to the LA office, a huge feather in my professional cap.And Matt and I were going strong, strong as ever.It was one of those years when I woke up every morning excited, fresh.Back when I could reach over and find him next to me, where he should be.It was everything that the here and now is not, and I feel myself getting angry at Dr.Hillstead for reminding me of this.For making the present all the more bleak and empty by comparison.“Is there a point here?”He raises a hand.“Just a little bit more.The office in LA hadn’t been doing well.You were given carte blanche in restaffing it, and you picked three agents from offices around the United States.They were thought, at the time, to be unusual choices.But they proved out in the end, didn’t they?”That, I think to myself, is an understatement.I just nod, still angry.“In fact, your team is one of the best in Bureau history, isn’t it?”“The best.” I can’t help it.I’m proud of my team, and I’m incapable of being modest when it comes to them.Besides, it’s the truth.NCAVC Los Angeles, known as “NCAVC Coord” or internally as “Death Central,” did its job.Period and always.“Right.” He flips through a few more pages.“Lots of solved cases.More glowing reviews.Some notes that you were being considered to become the first female acting Director ever.Historic.”All of this is true.All of it also continues to anger me, for reasons I can’t quite understand.I just know that I am getting pissed off, coming to a boil, and if this continues, I am going to have an explosive meltdown.“Something else in your file caught my eye.Notations about your marksmanship.”He looks up at me, and I feel blindsided, though I don’t know why.Something stirs in me, and I recognize it as fear.I grip the arms of the chair as he continues.“Your file states that you possibly rank within the top twentieth percentile, worldwide, with a handgun.Is that true, Smoky?”I stare at my therapist, and I feel myself going numb.The anger is disappearing.Me and guns.Everything he’s saying is true [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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