“Well, first off, Montez is not the only interrogator subcontracted for this kind of work during the past decade. I know that’s not a pretty thought, but—”

“I know the score, I get that. But still… Montez?”

“Like I said in your hospital room, he never blew the whistle on our involvement in Nicaragua. He’d proven himself trustworthy. Yes, I know how that sounds. But he was also completely deniable, which is not unimportant.”

Nathan acknowledged the point.

“Also,” said Cantrell, “although I hate to say this, he was extremely good at his job.”

“Look,” Nathan said, “I’m not armchair quarterbacking anyone here. I understand both sides of the enhanced interrogation argument and both have merits. I’m just wondering why it all fell apart so dramatically.”

“When the new administration took power, one of the things the president was briefed on was Ironclad’s function as a rendition operation. Well, needless to say, the president was… how can I say this delicately? Concerned. He didn’t like the setup for a number of reasons. Although he never came out and said it, his primary reason was damage control. He was worried about fallout if the operation leaked. He didn’t want Ironclad smearing his presidency, then or ever. I’m not making any judgments on the president’s decision, that’s not my job. My job is to implement his foreign policies, whether I agree with them or not.”

“Did the CIA fund Ironclad?”

“Not exactly. As you know, the Kallstroms are independently wealthy. Not just wealthy, downright rich. They personally funded the resources to set up and operate Ironclad. Private jet charters for moving prisoners, a fake office in Hungary, shell companies, like the ones supposedly studying clean coal, arranging safe houses and subcontractors to deal personally with interrogators like Colonel Montez. You name it. It allowed the president total deniability.”

“So with Montez, in terms of transporting prisoners to their interrogation, dealing with Montez, then disposing of them, it was Kramer, pretty much alone?”

“Correct. Kramer set everything up and handled the day-to-day operations. We, the CIA, logistically supported him through an insulated contractor, Duane Dalton.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just kill Montez when the president pulled the plug?” he asked.

“Normally, yes, but as we discussed in the hospital, many operatives like Montez have sleeper systems in place to protect themselves in the event they die, or even disappear for X amount of time. Blackmail traps set to release damaging info to the media. We sent a man down to Tobago to capture him alive. Unfortunately, that mission failed and Montez went on the offensive.”

“So Montez started with Kramer because that’s the only person he’d had any contact with?”