Free Special Talents by J. B. Tilton

instead of being one of them. And Secretary Napolitano said I'd be getting paid just like a regular agent. And no monkey suit. Who could argue with that?"
     
    He turned to Janet.
     
    "Speaking of getting paid, what say you and I get together and celebrate my newfound legitimacy?"
     
    "I thought we had that all settled in the diner the other night?" Janet asked, looking suspiciously at Rowe.
     
    "I'm only suggesting dinner," said Rowe. "Or if you prefer, lunch. You chose the place. Some place very public I'm sure. I'll be a perfect gentleman. Since we're going to be working together we might as well get to know each other."
     
    "Well," said Janet, thinking for a moment. "Lunch only. Nothing else. And you pay."
     
    "Me? Whatever happened to women's lib?"
     
    "A bit before my time. The way I was raised, if you ask someone out, it falls on you to pay. That's the deal."
     
    "Well, okay, but we'll have to wait until I get my first check. I'm a little short right now."
     
    "Jack," said Scarborough, "stop by the disbursement office and see about getting Mr. Rowe an advance on his first paycheck. I'm sure he could use it."
     
    "You know, you're not really so bad after all," said Rowe, smiling at Scarborough.
     
    Scarborough just rolled his eyes at Rowe.
     
    "I'll let you know when I'm free," Janet said.
     
    As they headed on down the hallway they heard Rowe talking to the agent with him.
     
    "You know, that cute little redhead at the reception desk seemed to be checking me out when I came in. I wonder if she's free tonight?"
     
    "Boy, he really thinks he's some kind of lady's man, doesn't he?" Janet asked.
     
    "Well, he's in for a real treat," said Scarborough, smiling.
     
    "Oh?" questioned Jeremy. "How so?"
     
    "Maggie, that receptionist he mentioned? She's not interested in anyone with a Y chromosome."
     
    The three just laughed as they headed up the hall.
     
    Jeremy, Janet and Scarborough sat in a food court at a local mall. All of the necessary paperwork had been completed on Jeremy and Janet and they were now officially working for the Department of Homeland Security. Their next order of business was to decide how to proceed.
     
    "I've all ready been given a list of potential candidates," said Scarborough. "Background checks have all ready been done on most of them and they've been cleared for us to check out."
     
    "Any indication what special talents they might have?" Jeremy asked.
     
    "On some," said Scarborough. "On others just some odd behavior or unexplained occurrences. It might take a while but we need to check out each one of them. I think most of them will end up being a wild goose chase. But we might find one or two who fit our criteria. If they do then it will be up to you to evaluate them and decide if they're worth including."
     
    "That's a little difficult with only one short meeting," said Jeremy. "Often something can come up only after weeks or months of therapy. As I told the Secretary in her office that day, building trust requires time. You have to earn someone's trust. And short of saving their life or something major like that, it takes time."
     
    "We all understand that," said Scarborough. "And it's quite possible you'll clear someone and we'll find out later they aren't suitable. It happens even with normal agents. Some people just aren't cut out for this type of lifestyle or career. We can only do our best and hope it works out."
     
    "You mentioned psychological testing," Jeremy said.
     
    "Oh, you won't have to go through that. Neither will Janet. She's all ready had hers because of her job at the research center. The psychological testing is only for the other people we select for the team."
     
    "I'm aware of that," said Jeremy. "I only wanted to say I'd like to see what kind of psychological test it is. I might be able to help fine tune it and get better results. Sometimes those test can be somewhat generalized. I could help make sure it fits our needs."
     
    "That's not a bad