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reasons or grievances they have. Rogues cause international incidents. International incidents can get this country embroiled in unnecessary conflicts. That will not happen on my watch.”
    “But it seems that they acted to avoid just such an international incident,” said Marks. “And they succeeded. I think that’s why they have such powerful allies, starting with the man in the Oval Office.”
    “I’m quite aware of that, thank you. But your friend today can be your foe tomorrow. It all depends on what happens on the ground.”
    “And conditions on the ground can be dictated, as I’m sure you are aware.”
    “You just do your job and see how it shakes out.”
    “And no preference?”
    “If they pass they get the mission. It’ll be the most difficult one they’ve ever attempted so they might die trying. And if they don’t pass the Burner, well, that’s their problem.”
    Marks rose. “Understood, sir.”
    “Do you really understand?”
    She looked taken aback by this. “I’m on your side, Director.”
    “I thought others were on my side too, but it appears they weren’t.”
    “I’m not sure who you’re referring to. I just arrived on the scene and—”
    “That will be all, Marks. I want hourly reports on how my protégés are doing. Make sure I get them.”
    “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. Forewarned, they had taken advantage of that intelligence and escaped a fate that they shouldn’t have. Someone here had done that. Tucker had suspicions of who that might be. But he needed more than suspicions. And he aimed to get it.
    Along with two rogue agents.
    He stared at the doorway that Amanda Marks had walked through a few minutes before.
    He had brought her here principally because she had the reputation of being both a ball buster and a company person through and through. He hoped that she lived up to that rep. If not, she would be assigned to a place in the middle of nowhere, with no possibility of ever getting back.
    But he didn’t really care about her. His fixation was Robie and Reel. Jessica Reel was in his crosshairs. She was the trigger woman on his former DD and an analyst whom she had shot in the back.
    Illegal. Treasonous. Unforgivable.
    Tucker didn’t care what her reasons were. That was why they had courts and judges and juries. And executioners. Reel had taken it upon herself to be all of those things. Then she had jumped right to the execution part. For that she had been allowed to walk free and even given a medal.
    That stark injustice made Tucker seethe.
    Well, he was not without influence or resources. He would use both to make sure that the appropriate punishment was meted out to her. And Robie too, if he was idiotic enough to stick with her.
    The fact was, Tucker knew that he would likely be resorting to his Plan B on the upcoming mission. The odds were very high that Robie and Reel were not going to make it out of the Burner Box. So if justice could not prevail in a court of law, it would still triumph somewhere in the wilderness of North Carolina.
    Tucker knew that he was staking everything on this. The mission he was engaged in with General Pak would be the pinnacle of his career. Or the catalyst for his downfall. For what they were proposing to do was quite illegal, even if the president had signed off on it. Tucker had not believed that the current