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Chapters (88)
  1. Titles by Mark Greaney
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  6. CONTENTS
  7. Epigraph
  8. CHARACTERS
  9. PROLOGUE
  10. 1
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 5
  15. 6
  16. 7
  17. 8
  18. 9
  19. 10
  20. 11
  21. 12
  22. 13
  23. 14
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. 54
  64. 55
  65. 56
  66. 57
  67. 58
  68. 59
  69. 60
  70. 61
  71. 62
  72. 63
  73. 64
  74. 65
  75. 66
  76. 67
  77. 68
  78. 69
  79. 70
  80. 71
  81. 72
  82. 73
  83. 74
  84. 75
  85. 76
  86. 77
  87. 78
  88. EPILOGUE

“I’m not interested in who’s after me now. I’m here to find out what happened five years ago.”

“I know even less about that.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s Denny, man. He’s been the one orchestrating it all from the beginning.”

“I know that. I also know he told you something. He gave you a rationale for this. You may be Denny’s bitch at CIA, but you are your own man, Matt, you always have been. You proved that in Mexico. Even if Carmichael twisted your arm to get you to come after me, he had a story to go along with it.” Court leaned a little closer, but his face was still in darkness. “Tell me the story. That’s all I want. You do that and I move on.”

Hanley climbed off the bed and started over to a chair across from Court. He kept his hands away from his body, and he moved slowly. It was still nearly pitch-black in the room, other than the occasional lightning strikes that flashed through the curtained windows, and Hanley didn’t even know if Court was holding a weapon on him, but he had been in this line of work too long to advance on a killer without making it plain he posed no threat.

He sat down in the chair. “Court, this road you are traveling doesn’t lead where you want it to go.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, when all is said and done, you are going to wish you didn’t go poking around D.C. to find out why everyone is after you.”

“Why not?”

Hanley heaved a long sigh. He didn’t want to say more, but he knew Gentry wasn’t going anywhere unless he talked. “Because this whole thing is your fault.”

A long pause. “No.”

“Everything you think is just some terrible misunderstanding is not a misunderstanding. You are under lethal authorization because you earned lethal authorization. It sucks, and I’ve been against the sanction from the get-go . . . but it is a legit sanction.”

Court shook his head emphatically. “Not true. I know everything that happened down at street level on my ops, and my conscience is clear. If something went tits-up on a mission it was strategic, not tactical, and I didn’t have a damn thing to do with strategy. I’d fall on my sword in an instant if I fucked up, but I’m not taking the fall for someone else’s mistake.”

Hanley winced, feeling the pain of having to deliver bad news, but also the pain of having to deliver bad news to someone who just might kill the messenger of the bad news.