A long pause. He could almost hear Cantrell’s mind working. “Do not, I repeat, do not proceed to that location.”

“We’re already on our way.”

“Abort, echo five. Abor—”

He ended the call and turned off his phone.

“What the hell was that about?” Harv asked.

“We struck a nerve, that’s what.”

***

Cantrell heard the call end. She redialed but got thrown into voice mail. What the hell did they think they were doing? She picked up the hard line on her desk and hit a preset button.

Former CIA Director Samuel Kallstrom sounded awake but tired. “It’s oh-three-thirty in the morning, Rebecca.”

“Your boys have gone rogue. They’re on their way to your son’s West Coast house as we speak.”

“And that surprises you?”

“You assured me they were good soldiers. Team players who followed orders. We’re about to lose containment.”

She heard her former boss cough away from the receiver. “You lost containment the moment Montez attacked McBride. You’ve got the crime scene at Bullfrog Bay, the Long Beach warehouse, and several of Montez’s men in custody. That’s a hell of a lot more than you had several days ago. Give them a chance to complete the mission.”

“McBride’s got a personal vendetta against Montez. What if he kills him? You’re still on the hook for Operation Echo if Montez has a sleeper system in place. You testified before Congress.”

“I’ve got lung cancer. What’re they going to do? Throw me in jail? The president would never allow it.”

“So where does this leave us?

“Did you ask McBride not to kill Montez?”

“Yes.”

“Then he won’t.”

She needed to play an ace. The CIA was her agency now, not his. “This is bigger than Nicaragua. The scandal could bring down the president. I have a green light.”

He coughed again and she felt a pang of guilt.

“Rebecca, listen to me very carefully. Under no circumstances are you to do that.”

“With all due respect, I don’t report to you anymore. I report to the DNI.”

“I recommended you for the director’s chair, cashed in every favor I owned.”

She sighed, deliberately softening her voice. She’d lost the high ground. “You don’t need to call in any favors. I already told McBride I wouldn’t do it.”

“Thank you for that. Are any of our people watching Dalton?” he asked.