“Secret Service protocols won’t allow for that,” replied Reel. “But I don’t think they’re unhappy we’re going. I think the First Lady wants us to spend some time with her son, who’s going through a rocky time right now.”
Marks nodded while Tucker just shook his head in exasperation. He said, “Well, while you’re on your little holiday I want to hear from you every day. You don’t work for the Secret Service or the First Lady. You work for me. Is that understood?”
“Never doubted it for a moment, sir,” said Reel, with a slight edge to her voice. “So long as you’re the DCI,” she added.
As the meeting broke up, Tucker demanded that Reel remain behind. Robie glanced at her questioningly, but she nodded and he reluctantly left.
When the others had gone Tucker sat back down and motioned Reel to do the same.
“I’ll stand if it’s all the same to you.”
“Do you want me to order you to sit? For Christ’s sake, Reel, can’t you just do what I say without making it an issue every damn time? You undercut my authority whenever you pull shit like this.”
She gave him a stony look but sat.
“This won’t take long,” he said.
“Fine with me,” she said.
He stared at her while she looked back at him impassively.
“You hate my guts, don’t you?” he said.
“I don’t think my feelings toward you have anything to do with my job.”
“Of course they do. Without respect there’s nothing.”
“If you say so.”
“I have never been confronted with a more complex problem than you. Never.”
“Glad I could be there for you.”
“I’m being serious, so cut the jokes.”
She sat up a bit straighter but said nothing.
He held up two fingers. “My DD, James Gelder. And an analyst named Doug Jacobs.”
Reel said nothing.
“You killed them both.”
Reel folded her arms over her chest.
“They worked for this agency. Gelder was my friend. They’re dead because of you.”
Sensing where this was going, Reel started to speak, but Tucker held up his hand. “Just — just let me finish,” he said. “It’s taken me long enough to get to the point. Let me have my say and then you can respond.”
Reel sat back, evidently put out by this request.
Tucker continued. “I’ve looked into every facet of the case, everything. And my conclusion is that, even though I don’t want to believe it, Gelder, who I thought was my friend, and Doug Jacobs, who had sworn allegiance to this country, were traitors. They were planning an event that, if it had taken place, would have sent this world into an apocalypse.”
He pointed a finger at her. “You prevented that from happening. You and Robie,” he amended.
Reel’s expression had softened. She was watching her boss closely now.
“I can’t say that I agree with your method. Guilty until proven innocent. But I think I see now why you did what you did. They killed a man who meant a lot to you. There was no direct evidence against them. If you hadn’t acted, the world as we know it would be gone.” He gave a long, resigned sigh. “As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I think you did the right thing, Reel.”
Reel’s lips parted and her eyes revealed her surprise.
Tucker looked away from her and studied the table. He said, “Your actions since then were nothing short of remarkable. You and Robie fought through every imaginable obstacle and put your lives on the line again and again. You stopped the coming global disaster while everyone else, myself included, had hands over our eyes and thumbs up our asses. And as reward for that, I sent you and Robie into Syria basically to die. I still can’t believe that I did what I did, setting up two of my agents, my best agents, to get killed. There is no excuse and I’m ashamed of myself. I truly am. And yet you survived that. And you came back home and got your medals and I’ve been thinking of ways to nail you ever since those hunks of metal went around your necks, including trying to literally drown your asses at the Burner Box.”
Tucker grew silent, but Reel seemed disinclined to say anything.
He said, “I have learned what went down with you and the scum who happened to be your father. I know what he tried to do. I know what you did to stop him and save Julie Getty’s life. And I know the risk involved in going to North Korea and doing what you and Robie accomplished. It was nothing short of miraculous. Any other team would’ve been dead.”
He grew quiet again, but for a shorter time now.
“So, I said all that to really say, thank you, Agent Reel, for your service. I was in the wrong and you were in the right.”
He extended his hand, which she shook.
“I’m not sure what to say, Director,” she said. “I think I understand how hard this was for you to do.”
“The problem is, Reel, it shouldn’t have been that hard. I’m just too damn stubborn. Look, I know people see me as an outsider. I didn’t come up through the intelligence field. I’m a political appointee. Didn’t know my ass from a hole in the ground. I get that. I worked hard to come up to speed, I really did. But I made mistakes. And you were the biggest one. So, my apologies again.” He paused. “And when this threat from North Korea has been neutralized, I plan on stepping down and letting the president appoint my successor.”
She looked shocked by this. “Are you sure about that, sir?”
“Even if I wanted to stay, I couldn’t. A higher authority than me has made it very clear that my stint at the agency is coming to a close.”
Reel knew exactly who the “higher authority” was, but only said, “I see.”
“And I’m not a young guy, Reel. I’ve got other things I want to do in life. In truth, this job is a killer, it really is. You jump from crisis to crisis. Success to disaster. The highest peaks and the lowest valleys. My gut is one big acid burn. I think I’ve aged more in this job than I did in the previous thirty years of my life. But I don’t want to leave until this thing is resolved. And I didn’t want to leave without telling you what I just have.” He paused again, glanced at her nervously, and said, “That’s all I wanted to say. You can head out now.”
As they rose, Reel said, “So why did you just bust our asses in the meeting?”
“For now at least I’m still the DCI. And I’m concerned that you will not be where I need you to be. That’s why. But with that said, I hope you have a relaxing time in Nantucket.”
“Thank you, sir. I hope I will too.”
Chapter 67
The seas were choppy, though in the twin-hulled high-speed catamaran it was hardly noticeable. Chung-Cha sat in her seat in the heated space while Min had her face glued to the window looking at the frothing water.
It had occurred to Chung-Cha that Min had never been on a boat of any kind before. Until recently she had never ridden in a car or a plane or a train. The young girl had come a long way in a short time.
As the island of Nantucket appeared out of the mist, Min resumed her seat next to Chung-Cha. The ferry was only about half full, mostly with older people returning to the island. Chung-Cha smiled occasionally at some of them but did not say anything.
The ferry passed by the man-made breakwater and headed into the harbor. A few minutes later they were docked and the passengers filed off the boat. Chung-Cha held Min’s hand as they went down the gangplank. The ferry’s captain tipped his hat and said, “Enjoy your visit.”
Chung-Cha smiled. “We plan to.”
They continued with their rolling bags to the car rental office, where Chung-Cha produced her license and her reservation and credit card. They drove off a bit later in a small white SUV. As the sun was setting to the west, burning the sky into reds and golds, Min stared out the car window and said, “What are we doing here, Chung-Cha?”