“Just so you know, it’s not a freebie. I expect the same in return. Figure it’s the only way we survive this.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter
7
EVAN TUCKER STARED ACROSS AT her. They were in a SCIF at Langley. Technically, Langley was one big SCIF, or Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, but Tucker had become paranoid and had demanded an extra layer of protection from prying eyes and ears at keyholes.
Tucker’s waist had thickened over the last month and his hair had turned whiter. In fact, he seemed to have aged even more since his meeting with the president in the Situation Room complex.
Amanda Marks looked back at him.
“So it’s a go?” asked Tucker. “I told the president it was.”
&n
bsp; “They both agreed to it, so I’d say yes. It’s a go.”
“Like they had a choice,” muttered Tucker.
“Well, they did. It just wasn’t much of one.”
“And you have eyes on them now, just in case? They’re slippery, Marks, trust me. I speak from experience.”
“I’m sure you do, sir. To tell the truth, we lost them for a bit this evening. It seems they wanted a quiet word with one another.”
Tucker came halfway out of his seat. “You lost them?” he exclaimed.
“Only temporarily, Director. They went their separate ways and we regained surveillance. Robie is at his apartment and Reel is staying at a hotel.”
“Don’t let that happen again. You have carte blanche in the way of assets to throw at this sucker, Marks. Do what you have to do. But do not lose them again.”
“Understood. And now a question for you, Director?”
“I’m listening.”
“What outcome do you want on this exactly?”
“They’re going to the Burner Box.”
Marks nodded, crossed her legs, and placed her hands in her lap. “I understand that. But what exactly is the endgame here?”
“You put them through their paces. You put them through their paces hard. I want to see if they still have it. And I’m not simply talking about shooting straight and kicking someone’s ass. By what they just accomplished I have little doubt they’re fully qualified there, but I don’t want that personal assessment to cause you to let up on them one iota, Amanda.”
“Rest assured, it will not. I was a trainer at the Burner for two years. I do not let up on anyone, most of all myself.”
“What I’m most concerned about,” began Tucker, “is what’s going on up here.” He tapped his head. “You know what Reel did?”
“I know the allegations.”
“They’re not allegations,” he snapped. “They’re facts. She’s admitted to them.”
“Yes, sir,” she said quickly.
“And Robie was sent after her, disobeyed orders, and joined forces with her. Under any other scenario they would both be in prison right now. Hell, Reel should be executed for treason.”
“Granted that, sir. But the men she killed, weren’t they also traitors?”
“That was never proven. That is an allegation, but from a less than trustworthy source.”
“My apologies. I spoke with APNSA Potter and—”
“Potter just came on board and doesn’t even know where the damn bathrooms are in the White House. He’s the national security advisor, Marks. He works for the president. You, you work for me.”
“Indisputably,” she replied. “Which gets me back to what you want to accomplish here.”
“If they pass the Burner they’ll be deployed on a mission that is currently shaping up. It is a mission to end all missions, and I have to know that they’re ready for it, because there is no margin for error.”
She looked at him curiously. “We have lots of teams that can do those sorts of missions.”
“Consider it done, sir.” She turned and left.
As soon as the door was closed Tucker rose and poured himself a drink from the small bar in a cabinet behind his desk. A bar behind a desk at CIA seemed very Cold War-ish. But he didn’t care. With this job one needed a belt of booze every once in a while. Well, perhaps more often than that.
He envisioned having to stand up at an AA meeting one night and say, I’m Evan Tucker. My job is to keep all Americans safe. And I’m a raging alcoholic.
He sat back behind his desk.
There were forces aligned against him here, he was aware of that. Someone had tipped off Reel and Robie about the mission in Syria.