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than sex.
    But it wouldn’t be him. He hadn’t been cleared for duty. No way Blake would let him take this on.
    Who, then?
    Names went through his head. Caleb Wilde, no longer in the field but still revered at The Agency…and, now that he thought about it, was that same last name a coincidence? It didn’t matter. Caleb was wrong for the job. His area of expertise had been Europe.
    Zach Castelianos, who’d been with Force Recon and then The Agency. Zach was running his own outfit now, but his specialty had been Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
    He needed someone who knew the jungle. Knew Bright Star.
    Chay could do it, but he was only here on a training mission that he had to complete so he could rejoin their unit.
    Okay. It was time to stop thinking of who wasn’t available and come up with someone who was.
    “Lieutenant? Will you help me?”
    Tanner looked at the general. Despite the uniform, the medals, the stiff military bearing, there was desperation in the man’s face.
    “I will.”
    Wilde closed his eyes, then opened them again. “Thank you.”
    They shook hands. Then Tanner grabbed a pen and pad of paper from the desk.
    “I want to get started immediately.”
    “Of course. Just tell me what you need.”
    “That’s what I’m about to do, General. I’ll need a small office here. Nothing elaborate, but it has to be private. And I’ll give you a list of what equipment I’ll require. Computers. I’ll write down the kind I want. Special satellite access. A couple of fax machines. Full access to you at all times. I’m going to check out some men who I think will… What?”
    Wilde was shaking his head.
    “I’m talking about what you’ll need personally. Pistols. Automatic weapons. Men. How many and with what specialties. And, of course, how to handle insertion into San Escobal. By chopper? Plane? Boat? Or do you think it’s preferable to go in on foot from Belize or Guatemala?”
    “I’ll make all those determinations after I decide on an operative. That’s part of my role as coordinator.”
    “I don’t want you coordinating this operation, Akecheta, I want you heading it up in the field.”
    In the field.
    The adrenaline rush was overpowering. For an instant, Tanner could see the green walls of the rain forest, smell the lush scents of it, hear the sounds and feel the heat.
    Reality set in.
    “You don’t get it, General. It won’t be me.”
    “There’s nobody else who can do this job as well as you, Lieutenant. That’s straight from your captain’s mouth.”
    Why screw around with modesty?
    “I agree, sir, but you misunderstood the captain. I’m trapped here until I get a medical go-ahead. This thing happened to my leg. It’s nothing—hell, it’s no problem at all—but without the doctor giving me a thumbs-up…”
    “She’s given it.”
    Captain Blake walked into the room.
    “You’ve got medical clearance, Akecheta,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “Johnny, I hope you don’t mind, but I figured it might be time for me to show my face.”
    Wilde nodded. “You were right. I just told the lieutenant that I want him on the ground in San Escobal and he’s telling me that’s not possible.”
    Blake looked at Tanner.
    “It’s absolutely possible,” he said briskly. “Turns out the doc made a mistake filling out her latest report on you. She says you’re fit for duty. So does the surgeon who worked on you.”
    Tanner felt a muscle flicker in his jaw.
    Part of him wanted to pump his fist in the air. Part wanted to connect that fist with his captain’s chin. He’d begged. Pleaded. Done everything but get on his knees in supplication when asking to be returned to duty. The answer, always, had been no.
    Now, these two old friends, one of them among the highest-ranked officers in the country, had changed all that simply because they could.
    The realization burned his ass.
    He’d tell these jerks exactly that. Let them know what he thought of rules that kept a man