He smiled, but there was a hard glint to it, an edge. I guess you could say Im contrary.
I snorted. That was one word for it.
Are you going to give me even a hint of whats going on here? I asked as we neared the end of the hall.
He shrugged. That depends. Are you going to stop playing Whos Got the Best Poker Face with me?
That surprised a laugh out of me, and I realized that it had been a long time since Id laughed because I couldnt help it and not because someone else was laughing, too.
Michaels smile lost its edge, and for a second, the expression utterly changed his face. If hed been handsome before, he was beautiful nowbut it didnt last. As quickly as the lightness had come, it faded.
I meant what I wrote on that card, he said softly. He nodded to a closed office door to our right. If I were you, I wouldnt go in there.
I knew thenthe way I always knew thingsthat Michael had been in my shoes once and that he had opened the door. His warning was genuine, but I opened it, too.
Ms. Hobbes. Please, come in.
With one last glance at Michael, I stepped into the room.
Au revoir , the boy with the excellent poker face said, punctuating the words with an exaggerated flick of his fingers.
Special Agent Tanner Briggs cleared his throat. The door closed behind me. For better or worse, I was here to meet with an FBI agent. Alone.
Im glad you came, Cassie. Take a seat.
Agent Briggs was younger than Id expected based on his phone voice. The gears in my brain turned slowly, incorporating
his age into what I knew. An older man who took pains to appear businesslike was guarded. A twenty-nine-year-old who did the same wanted to be taken seriously.
There was a difference.
Obediently, I took a seat. Agent Briggs stayed in his chair, but leaned forward. The desk between us was clean, but for a stack of papers and two pens, one of which was missing its cap.
He wasnt naturally neat, then. For some reason, I found that comforting. He was ambitious, but not inflexible.
Are you finished? he asked me. His voice wasnt curt. If anything, he sounded genuinely curious.
Finished with what? I asked him.
Analyzing me, he said. Ive only been in this office for two hours. I couldnt even guess what it is that has caught your attention, but I figured something would. With Naturals, something almost always does.
Naturals . He said the word like he was expecting me to repeat it with a question mark in my tone. I didnt say anything. The less I gave him, the more hed show me.
Youre good at reading people, at taking little details and figuring out the big picture: who they are, what they want, how they operate. He smiled. What kind of eggs they like.
You invited me here because Im good at guessing what kind of eggs people like? I asked, unable to keep the incredulousness out of my voice.
He drummed his fingers over the desktop. I asked you here because you have a natural aptitude for something that most people could spend a lifetime trying to learn.
I wondered if when he said most people he was referring at least in part to himself.
He took my continued silence as some kind of argument. Are you telling me that you dont read people? That you cant tell me right now whether Id rather play basketball or golf?
Basketball. But hed want people to think the answer was golf.
You could try to explain to me how you figure things out, how you figure people out, Cassie, but the difference between you and the rest of the world is that to explain how you just figured out that Id rather get a bloody nose on the basketball court than tee off with the boss, youd have to backtrack. Youd have to sort out what the clues were and how youd made sense of them, because you just do it. You dont even have to think about it, not the way that I would, not the way that my team would. You probably couldnt stop yourself if you tried.
I hadnt ever talked about this, not even with Mom, whod taught me the parts of it that could be taught. People were people, but for better or worse, most days, they were just puzzles to me. Easy puzzles, hard puzzles, crosswords, mind-benders, sudoku. There was always an answer, and I couldnt stop myself from pushing until I found it.
How do you know any of this? I asked the man in front of me. And even if its true, even if I do have really good instincts about people, whats it to you?
He leaned forward. I know because I make it my business to know. Because Im the one who convinced the FBI that they need to be looking for people like you.
What do you want with me?
He eased back in his chair. What do you think I want with you, Cassie?
My mouth went dry. Im seventeen.
Natural aptitudes, like yours, peak in the teen years. Formal education, college, the wrong influences, could all interfere with the incredible raw potential you have now. He folded his hands neatly in front of him. I want to see to it that you have the right influences, that your gift is molded into something extraordinary, something that you can use to do an incredible amount of good in this world.