She shook her head but then curled her lower lip. “Honestly, I can’t promise that. There’s always a quid pro quo with these things and he certainly will be expected to share anything he knows with us in exchange for a new life in America. And, guys, don’t we want to know about the weapon? To defend against it, we need to understand it, right?”

“But will CIA’s Skunk Works try to build such a weapon?” Jed pressed.

“I . . . I don’t know what DS&T will do. I don’t know what the big bosses will say. Last week I was a field officer in Peru. If I’m being honest, I’m way out of my league here. I don’t even know if I’m going to have a job when we get back. Look, I want to say no, to believe that we wouldn’t, but I can’t look you  straight in the eyes and make that promise . . .” She let her voice trail off.

Jed nodded. Nisha was right about this. They needed to be sure such a horrifying weapon wasn’t replicated. That felt above his pay grade, but Nisha had challenged him with a leadership question that he’d failed to think of. Ben wouldn’t have missed it. A leader’s job was to think about future outcomes and repercussions two and three steps down the road. To consider unintended consequences and what-if scenarios.

I didn’t think about any of those things . . .

He sighed.

“I’m glad you brought this up, Nisha,” he said as he rose. “I’ll run this matter up our internal chain of command.”

“And your organization will be different?” Gayle challenged defensively.

“Without a doubt,” Jed said with a smile meant to disarm. “We serve a different Higher Authority.” She nodded, but her face still looked confused. “Gayle, I really appreciate your honesty here. And I really appreciate you saving our bacon in Hong Kong. I know you put it all on the line for us. I really hope it doesn’t come back and bite you.”

She nodded, her smile now genuine but her eyes heavy with worry.

“Is he awake yet, Bex?” he asked over his shoulder before heading forward again.

“Jed, I swear . . .”

He chuckled and waved a hand.

Nisha’s worry about the long-term disposition of Dr. Zhao was a concern, but first things first. They needed to learn about the weapon, locate it, and destroy it.

That wasn’t being shortsighted or mission-centric.

That was triage.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR

BREAK ROOM

TRINITY LOOP COMPLEX

0522 HOURS LOCAL