Work Text:
It should have been a bigger scandal: a group of recently fired CBI agents rallies to find a serial killer only for their consultant to murder him. But Red John was tied up in the Blake Association, and there were plenty of very powerful people who wanted that mess to be kept out of the 24-hour media spotlight. So Jane was a wanted man but the rest of the team was free to go.
Rigbsy and Van Pelt were happy to break away and start their own business and Lisbon claimed she was content to accept the role of police chief in a small town in Washington. Cho found himself on a narcotics task force with Sacramento PD. It was work - and he had expected much worse after all they’d done immediately following the dissolution of the CBI - but the assignment grated on him. Too much time spent busting low-level drug dealers and dumb kids carrying and not enough time going after the people at the top pushing the stuff. He was itching for something more but it felt wrong to go after it. Surely this was his penance for his show of defiance that led to Red John’s murder. Not that he would do anything differently if given the chance.
And then a year later, a call came in from Dennis Abbott. The FBI agent seemed to know better than to bother with small talk so after a brief query about Cho’s work with Sac PD, he got right to it.
“How would you like to join the FBI?”
Cho stared at the wall across from his cramped desk in the bullpen. The answer was a clear yes; this was exactly the kind of thing he wanted, a way out and up. The next step in career he had willingly tanked to defend his team. A second chance he thought he’d never get. Any of those thoughts would have been an acceptable response to Abbot’s question. But there seemed to be an obvious barrier to this new path.
“I pointed a gun at you.”
Abbot laughed, a deep rumble through the phone.
“I remember.”
“That isn’t a problem for you?”
“You know, usually it would be a deterrent in recommending someone to Quantico, but in this case I’m willing to make an exception. You’ve got a hell of a record Cho, and I haven’t forgotten what you did for your team. I’m not saying I agreed then or that I do now, but I respect what you were trying to do. And I’d like someone like you on my team. If you’re interested.”
This time Cho didn’t hesitate.
“I’m in.”