Criminal Minds Year-End Meeting: Boom or Bust?

“Gather up, folks! You know the drill. I’ll skip the intro this time since we’ve been doing this for the nth year now,” Jack announced upon entering the conference room.

“Don’t skip it, I love hearing it, and besides, we have a new recruit,” Randy interjected. “That kid over there,” he said, pointing at the guy in the corner.

Everyone’s heads turned to the guy, and he flushed, flashing a forced and quite awkward smile.

Jack let out an exasperated sigh, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Alright, as you know, kid, we have a mission to blow up towns where people make fake New Year’s resolutions,” he said, pausing to glance at the kid. The guy stared back, completely at a loss for words. Jack continued, “But of course, we don’t just blow up towns without a bit of deliberation first.

So, here’s how it works: If you can find at least five people who don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions and couldn’t care less about them, the town will be spared from destruction. As you know, 15 of you will be sent to the target town to monitor the individuals you’ve chosen as your candidates. Observe them, talk to them—do whatever you can to determine whether these people believe in New Year’s resolutions or not. After you’ve gathered your data, y’all will come back here, and we’ll tally it up. If, out of all the candidates, five of them don’t believe in those resolutions, the town lives. If not—boom! Got it, kid?” Jack asked, staring at the guy.

“Uhh… I don’t—” the guy began but was cut off by Jack. “Alright! Let’s get started! We’ll begin with…”

“I’ll go first”, offered Joan.

Jack nodded, “You have the floor, Joan. Give me something.”

“Okay, this guy’s name is Larry. He’s 32 years old, obsessed with veganism and quite an activist too. He started going on and on about food science and how the cows are to blame for everything. But when I asked him the ‘question’, you know what he said? He said he couldn’t wait for New Year’s because it’ll be the start of his journey as a vegan.”

“Boy, I wonder how many New Years will pass before Larry actually starts his so-called journey,” Jack remarked dryly. “That’s 1 point for the ‘boom’ folks”, he added

Randy volunteered next. “My guy here is Dave. A family man, hard-working, leaves early, and comes home late with a beer in hand. At the door, his wife shouts at him, so he drinks more to numb himself from verbal attacks. Poor guy. So, for the coming new year, he swears to stop drinking altogether. That’s his New Year’s resolution. He even invited me to dinner one night. I met his wife, and I could tell right away – it would be really hard for him to pull it off.”

Jack took a long gulp of beer and shrugged. “Yeah, I’m not sure... but we’ll see. That’s 0-2, guys. Next, Emma?”

Emma nodded and began, “Alright, this guy’s name is Julio. He’s very meticulous when it comes to where his money is spent. He doesn’t seem to care about buying food or coffee when he’s out—I feel like he’s saving up for something. I was really impressed, so I asked him if he had any resolutions for the coming year. He said he would start saving money because he has a serious gambling addiction.

I told him, ‘Well, you’re halfway there since you’ve been saving up.’ But then he said he was only saving now because this was his last gamble of the year and promised that next year would be different.”

“And I’d say, that’s 0-3. Next!” Jack replied

Kyle raised his hand. Jack nodded at him.

“This woman’s name is Susan. I believe she’s a food enthusiast because all she talks about are the calories and fat content of every food item she comes across. I don’t understand why, though—if she’s that picky, she’d have a hard time putting on weight. But honestly, she looks way heavier than Jack here,” Kyle said, gesturing toward Jack.

“So, I told her the truth, and she just started screaming at me, ranting about her plan for a strict diet come the New Year, and even threatening that she would beat me in a wrestling match. I had to run away ASAP.”

“I would have paid big time to see that wrestling match and watch your sorry ass get whooped,” Jack shot back at Kyle. “Are we at 0-4?” he asked. Everyone nodded.

The deliberation continued, and the tally reached 0-10 in favor of ‘booming.’ Then Jack’s phone rang—it was Fred calling to give an update. Fred was in charge of procuring and setting up the explosives.

“Yes?” Jack answered.

“I’m almost finished, just a few left,” Fred assured him with a goofy smirk on his face. “This will be phenomenal,” he added.

“What do you mean, phenomenal? We've been doing this every year.” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, uhh… I bought from a different seller this time. Y’all are gonna love this! It’s got a colorful appearance and funny names too,” Fred said gleefully.

“Colorful appear—what the hell are you talking about?” Jack asked, clearly confused.

“Just wait and see. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later!” Fred said before hanging up, leaving Jack looking bewildered.

“That son of a…” Jack muttered under his breath. He groaned in frustration. “Whatever.”

Jack turned back to his team and called out to the new recruit, “You, kid! About time, isn’t it?”

Startled, the kid fumbled with his notes, trying to muster the courage to speak. “I met this guy. He’s 36 years old. His name is Casey. He works at a bar, and, uh... he said he doesn’t give a damn about New Year’s resolutions—” the kid stopped, interrupted by cheers.

The room erupted into applause and a standing ovation at what had been said. “Good job, kid,” Jack said, patting him on the back. “Alright, that’s 1-10! Still in favor of booming,” Jack announced.

Everyone’s smiles disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared.

“Alicia? I know you’ve got something. Let’s hear it,” Jack said, motioning for her to begin. “Yours better be like Casey, or it’s over,” he added.

Alicia took a deep breath and began, “Promise me, guys, you’ll let me finish.” She glanced around, looking expectantly at everyone. “This woman is 40 years old, strong-willed. Her name is Karen—”

“Alright! GAME OVER!” Jack interrupted. “Gather up, folks. Randy, you’re singing this time.”

Jack pulled out his phone and called Fred to give the signal. Fred, grinning ear to ear, readied the timer and set it to 5 seconds. They all waited with childlike anticipation, their eyes fixed on the massive window overlooking the target city.

“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Boom!”

Randy cleared his throat and started singing, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind—”

But they all stopped mid-verse, staring in utter confusion as the scene unfolded before them. Colorful lights danced across the sky, followed by more lights emerging one after another.

Everyone turned to Jack with questioning looks as he stood motionless, letting out a faint laugh that conveyed both bewilderment and disbelief, his gaze darkening with each passing moment.

Randy motioned urgently to his colleagues, signaling them to leave the office. Leaning in, he whispered, “We better get out of here. I know that look”—he pointed at Jack— “it’s a ticking time bomb about to go off.”

#pictureprompt

picture was taken from the contest post see here