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She’d fallen back asleep sometime around five and was woken up by her son at 8:15. He was late for school and she was late for work. Normally this would have created a panic, but when Ke
After dropping Tommy off at school, she unfolded her copy of theTimes and read the article while her driver brought her straight to Langley. She read it twice and both times she smiled. Rapp had been right about two things. The first was that Rich definitely thought he was going to win a Pulitzer for the story, and the second was that this was going to be fun.
When she stepped off the elevator just outside her office, her administrative assistants were both on the phone. Pink call messages as thick as a deck of playing cards were waiting for her. Sheila, with the overdone makeup and the red hair, gave her a look that saidHelp. Ke
Sitting at the table were Deputy Director of Intelligence Charles Workman, Deputy Director of Operations Jose Juarez, and Deputy Director Roger Billings. All three men sat in silence with their hands resting on the polished wood surface of the long table. They were obviously waiting for her to speak first. Ke
Ke
All three men declined by shaking their heads. Ke
Juarez was sitting on her left. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced this morning. She was sure Tom Rich had probably called him for a comment last night, and she was also certain he had said nothing. As for the two men on her right, Ke
To become the director of the CIA you needed to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. There’d been many presidents in tune to the fact that they needed people like Juarez around to balance out all the ass kissers who were so enamored of the office. The Senate was a different story, though. Especially the older senators who’d been around for three terms or more. They had a sense of entitlement, and often perceived disagreement as a sign of disrespect. Juarez did not get along with these men, and he made no effort to disguise his dislike of them. Workman and Billings, on the other hand, worked very hard to curry favor from this crucial block of senators.
Billings was Ke
Billings gave Ke
Ke
“I have read the article.”
“And?” Billings asked.
She studied the two men on her right, and saw two worried civil servants who had devoted their entire adult lives to what they thought was an honorable and worthy cause. They did not want to see their Agency embroiled in another scandal.
“It’s interesting.”
“Interesting,” Billings repeated. He did not attempt to hide his disbelief. “You’re about to be burned at the stake, andinteresting is all you have to say.”
The right corner of Ke
“Four senators have already called me this morning,” Billings said.
“And I’ve talked to two,” added Workman.
Ke
“I stopped counting.”
“And what have you told them?” Ke
He fidgeted in his chair and said, “I told them the truth.”
“The truth, I’ve found, can be very subjective around here.”
“Not on this one, Irene.”
“Then let’s hear it. Tell me what I need to know.”
“I know you and Mitch are close, but I’ve been warning you for I don’t know how long that sooner or later he’s going to get us all into a lot of hot water.”
Juarez leaned back in his chair and scowled at his counterpart from the intel side of the business. “I’m sure you’ll find some way to save your own ass, Chuck.”
“Don’t defend him, Jose. Do you know how many times I’ve sat here and heard you complain about him?”
“There’s a big difference between keeping our disagreements within the family and shooting your mouth off to some reporter.”
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You run the intel side, Chuck. You don’t need some knuckle dragger like me to explain things to you.”
“Are you implying that I spoke with this reporter from theTimes?”
Jose grabbed his copy of theTimes and read, “According to an anonymous senior CIA official, Mitch Rapp’s methods and lack of control have been a growing concern for some time.” Juarez slammed the paper on the table and said, “It sounds like you wrote it yourself.”
Workman’s pale complexion turned bright red and he snapped, “How dare you accuse me of having anything to do with this.”
Ke