The Transfer

A sign?

The candles in the cathedral are burning low. Prentiss realized that she is now staring at an empty cathedral. The FBI agents were gone, and even Father Varg was not at the altar anymore. She sighs, time flies when you have nothing to do and everything to think of. She looked at her watch. Gasp! She's been in the cathedral for 3 hours, unknowingly.

She stood up and smiled at Father Varg, who is walking up to her.

"Hi dear, I've noticed you a few times, but I've never introduced myself. I'm Father Varghese. You can call me Father Varg."

"Hi Father, I'm Emily Prentiss. Emily will do. Nice to meet you." Prentiss put on her smile, showing all her white teeth, she is in a good mood after feeling at peace.

"You have been here for 3 hours, is there anything I can do for you?" Father asked Prentiss.

"No, I'm fine, thank you. I just felt at peace being here. I hope I'm not disturbing you?" Prentiss asked.

"It's fine. You're welcome here anytime. God has a plan for you, Emily, plans to give you hope and a future. So, do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. May peace be with you."

"Thank you, Father. I think I've been here long enough. If you will excuse me." Prentiss said.

"Sure. Be safe, Emily. Come back anytime!" Father Varg replied.

Prentiss walked towards her car and drove to the nearest McDonald's drive-thru. Her stomach is rumbling, and it's been ages since she has a taste of fast food.

She ordered a fish burger with extra fries and a sundae. She is in the mood for dessert, and she feels like she needs to reward herself for finding the peace. After paying at the checkout counter, she drove home.

She parked at the garage and walked in her house, or should she say the house that the CIA gave her which she was barely living there due to the undercover assignments. There is a regular maid who comes to clean every fortnight, so it wasn't a surprise that the house is clean.

The door creaks open and Prentiss on the lights. Finally home. She put her food on her dining table and went to shower. Feeling refreshed, she walks down to the dining table and starts munching on the food.

After throwing away the McDonald's packaging trash, she sits on her couch and scrolls through channels aimlessly. Suddenly, a news flash on the US News showing an FBI agent asking the people of France to be aware of a serial killer at large, killing couples.

Prentiss sighs and thinks, "What's with me and the FBI today. Is this a sign?"

Feeling determined, Prentiss turned off her TV and walked into her home office. She plugged her laptop into a charger and on it. She quickly typed a short but concise resignation letter to the CIA. After she's satisfied, she quickly emailed it before she changed her mind.

She also looked up vacancies for the FBI and decided to save it for later. Feeling accomplished, she closed her laptop and went to prepare herself for bed.

Knowing that sleep won't come anytime soon, she took out a book 'Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut'.

There was a bright light, and Lauren opened her eyes. Ian was sleeping soundly next to her. She smiled and kissed him. Ian opened his eyes and smiled at her.

Suddenly, they heard a small voice calling them. Declan was at their bedroom door. Lauren smiled at him and asked Declan to join them on the bed.

When she turned, she saw Ian holding a gun, pointing at both of them. His eyes were dark, and his body language showed anger. He is angry. He shouted at both of them.

'You traitor! If I can't have my son, you can't have him either!' Ian shouted.

Shots were fired.

Prentiss woke up from her dream. Another nightmare. She is drenched in sweat, and her book was thrown on the floor. She must've fallen asleep halfway reading through. She sighed, bent down and picked up the book to put it on the nightstand.

Then, she stood up and walked to her kitchen to grab a glass of water. After feeling hydrated and her heartbeat is back to normal, she opened her cabinet and found a bottle of Bowmore 1957 Scotch Whiskey tester given by her dad's friend. She took her wine glass and poured it in. She wonders how much it will cost if it is introduced to the market.

Suddenly, her alarm rang. She was jolted out from her daydream as she walked to her bedroom to turn off her alarm, which was set at 6 am.

At least I don't need an alarm soon. Prentiss thought.

She saw her phone light up, signaling notification coming through. She squinted her eyes in the dark and unlocked her phone.

2 unread email.