There was a long silence. And then Matthias’s voice changed, growing softer and grimmer. “That soldier is full of state secrets, Jim. The knowledge he’s accumulated is worth a shitload to our enemies. So, news flash, it’s really not a case of what you or he wants. It’s what is best for us—and before you go all bleeding-heart indignant on my ass, the ‘us’ is not you and me, or XOps. It’s the fucking country.”

Jim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. And I’ll bet all that patriotic bullshit gives Uncle Sam a hard-on. But it doesn’t do shit for me. The bottom line is . . . if you were in the civilian population, you’d be a serial killer. Working for the government means you get to wave the American flag around when it suits you, but the truth is, you do what you do because you enjoy picking the wings off of flies. And everybody’s an insect in your eyes.”

“My proclivities don’t change a thing.”

“And because of them, you serve no one but yourself.” Jim brushed at the pair of burn marks on the front of his shirt. “You’ve taken XOps over as your own personal death factory, and if you’re smart, you’ll duck out yourself before some of these ‘special assignments’ come back to bite you on the ass.”

“I thought you were here to talk about Isaac.”

Little too close to a nerve, huh? “Fine. He’s smart, so he can keep himself out of enemy hands, and he’s got no incentive to turn.”

“He’s alone. He has no money. And people get desperate quick.”

“Fuck that—he’s got a sterling record and he’s going to disappear.”

The corner of Matthias’s mouth inched up. “And how would you know that. Oh, wait, you’ve already found him, haven’t you.”

“You can let him go. You have the power to do this—”

“No, I don’t!”

The explosion was a surprise, and as the words faded in the same way the gunshots had, Jim found himself looking around the room for verification that he’d heard that right. Matthias was all-powerful. Always had been. And not just in his own eyes.

Hell, the bastard had enough clout to turn the Oval Office into a mausoleum.

Now Matthias was the one leaning in over the corpse. “I don’t give a fuck what you think about me or how your inner Oprah has spun this whole situation. It is not about what I want. . . . It’s what I’m compelled to do.”

“Innocent people have died.”

“So that the corrupt could! Christ, Jim, this whaaawhaaa bullshit coming from you is ridiculous. Good people die every day and you can’t stop it. I’m just a different kind of bus mowing them down—and at least I have a larger purpose.”