“He was chief, until he sanctioned your little world tour and it blew up in his face. Now I’m chief, and before you get any ideas about whining to the Seventh Floor, remember that the police have your DNA and the only thing keeping them from locking you up for the rest of your life is someone telling them where to find you.”
“That’s a real nice speech, Ted, but don’t pretend that Peter went down all by himself. You’ve been waiting to take him out ever since he beat you for the London chief of station job. I’m sure you undermined him every chance you had once the mission went south; and now that it’s turned into a success, here you are trying to reap the gains. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was you who tipped off the Iranians that I was going to Sirjan. So with all due respect, there’s no fucking way I’m working for you.”
Graves stared at Zac for several seconds.
“I’m not asking you to volunteer.” Graves shoved the manila folder across the table. “This is CIA and those are your orders.”
Zac caught the folder and read the name off the cover. “Who the hell is Jake Keller?”
“That’s your new identity,” Graves said. “This is your new life, Jake, and I’m in charge of it, so man the fuck up and do your job.”
The two men stared at each other. Neither one moved for several seconds until Zac picked up the folder and walked to the door.
“OK, Ted. I’ll play your game. But just so we understand each other, if you ever try to stab me in the back, like you did to Peter, I’ll kill you.”
A portion of my royalties from each copy of Warning Light sold goes directly to Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity whose mission is to provide college scholarships and educational counseling to military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty. The organization is dedicated to serving the families of service members who have died as a result of combat casualties, military training accidents, and other duty-related deaths.
If you have lost a parent in the line of duty, or would like to help those who have, please visit FallenPatriots.org.
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