Title: Gorgomon
Disclaimer: not my characters
Warnings: AU (that could secretly be canon, you never know); mentions of violence/death
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 430
Point of view: third
Prompt: Any, any + any, one of them is pretending to be a monster and the other is pretending not to be.
"So, Zack," Lance asks cheerfully, sitting down across the table, "how was this week?"
"It was quiet, Dr. Sweets," Zack answers solemnly.
Lance smiles at him, pulling out a notepad and a pen. "Have you thought about what I told you, about the master and logic?"
"Yes," Zack says, nodding. "The Master's logic was flawed. I have realized several points wherein his logic failed."
"The master," Lance tells him. "Don't capitalize it in your mind, Zack. He wasn't your master; he was just a man, as fallible as every other man."
Zack nods again, tilting his head as he thinks about that. Lance waits, gently tapping the pen against the paper. After a moment, Lance says, "Tell me about these points of failed logic."
He takes no notes; he simply listens.
After their session is done, just before Lance unlocks the door, Lance asks, "You still don't want Dr. Brennan to know?"
Zack shakes his head.
"Okay," Lance says, "if you're sure. I'll see you in two weeks, Zack."
That night, Lance flips through the Gorgomon file again, putting a few jotted lines in at the back, for this week's session.
Just before he closes the file, he glances at the picture of Gorgomon sprawled on the ground, Booth's bullets in his chest. He taps his finger against Gorgomon's head, smiling.
(The apprentice is expendable.
Gorgomon's name was Will Daniels, he lived off his master's funds, he had no job, had no friends, had no life.
Gorgomon was a nobody, an invisible man, angry at history for not seeing him.
Gorgomon is both senile and dead; the apprentice is locked away.)
Lance Sweets sleeps easily, and in the morning, he goes to work, profiles on demand for Booth and Brennan, eats a quick lunch, interrogates a suspected killer for Booth, jots down a few ideas for his next book, counsels an agent, has dinner with Daisy, takes a shower, reads a couple case files for tomorrow, and heads to bed.
Life's pretty good and he already knows who's next.