The Naturals, #2
Killer Instinct
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
Chapter 4
Overview
Veronica Sterling formally assumes supervision of the Naturals, establishing authority and distancing herself from the team. Cassie profiles Sterling as a fellow profiler, sparking a sharp power struggle. Sterling reveals she’s Director Sterling’s daughter, ex-FBI now Homeland Security, knows Dean, and is evaluating the program. The Naturals face stricter oversight and unresolved tension.
Summary
Lia confirms the newcomer’s identity as Special Agent Veronica Sterling and her claim that she will live with the Naturals. Sterling opens with clinical observations, noting the team’s failure to detect Locke, and coolly identifies each teen—fixating on Michael’s bravado and wound—before declaring she is filling the vacant supervisor role.
Lia challenges the timing and optics of replacing one young female agent with another. Cassie recognizes the Sterling name and links Veronica to the FBI director. Sterling confirms Director Sterling is her father and states she is here for damage control, arriving while Agent Briggs is away.
Dean reveals he’d heard Sterling left the FBI for Homeland Security, hinting they know each other; Cassie notes Sterling’s brief softening toward Dean beneath a hypercontrolled exterior. When Cassie profiles Sterling aloud, identifying her as a profiler who pre-classified the Naturals and prodded their Locke wound to gauge reactions, the room’s tension spikes.
Sterling answers by asserting credentials—criminology degree, youngest FBI Academy graduate, extensive fieldwork, five years in Homeland Security—and draws a hard boundary: Cassie is “just a kid” and may not call herself a profiler. Sterling reframes the dynamic as evaluator versus subjects, orders the mess cleaned up, and warns they will need rest for what’s coming.
Who Appears
- Veronica SterlingNew supervisor; Director Sterling’s daughter, ex-FBI now Homeland Security; profiler evaluating the program; asserts strict authority; has a history with Dean.
- Cassie (Cassandra Hobbes)Profiles Sterling, identifies her as a profiler, challenges her methods, and becomes the focal point of Sterling’s disciplinary pushback.
- LiaConfirms Sterling’s identity, needles her with pointed remarks about replacing Locke, and maintains a defiant stance.
- MichaelMeets Sterling’s scrutiny with bravado and humor; becomes an example in her profiling of the team.
- DeanKnows Sterling’s background; their subtle rapport hints at prior connection; observes her authority.
- Director SterlingReferenced as Veronica’s father; sends her to do damage control and evaluate the program.
- Agent BriggsAbsent on a case; his absence frames Sterling’s timed arrival and takeover.