“—stuff it! I don’t care what Myers would’ve done. Myers is out. This is a Task Force mission now! If you don’t like it, call your new boss. Stark will tell you the same thing. Stay out of our way.”

“Sir,” Franks didn’t so much as raise his voice, but he still managed to sound dangerous. “With all due respect—”

The other man was oblivious to just how lethal Franks could be. “I don’t want your opinion, Agent. MCB is glorified crowd control and I don’t see any witnesses here for you to intimidate. Man your little roadblocks and write your press releases. If we need a trigger pulled, we’ll call you. Until then we’ll do the heavy lifting.”

Franks wasn’t deterred. “This smells like Decision Week—”

“The Task Force will make that determination after we inspect the evidence. Not you. Mr. Stricken wants you back in Las Vegas. You’re too stupid to make policy decisions.”

I was shocked that Franks didn’t simply reach over and pull the man’s arms off. I wasn’t aware that you could insult Franks that directly and live. But Franks stood there, absolutely motionless and just took it. How powerful were these Unicorn people?

“Director Myers was deluded. The president made his call. They keep you around to kill things, Agent Franks, not for your brains. You’re a relic. You’re a monster that’s been given too long of a leash. Your handlers have given you too much leeway for too long. You’ll shut up, get in line, and do what you’re told. Get that through your thick, armor-plated skull, and we’ll all be better off.”

“You need me,” Franks said, so quietly that I could barely pick it up.

“If it was up to me, we’d dismantle you and bring back the Nemesis Project.” The stranger was actually stupid and prideful enough to laugh at Franks.

Franks’ manner changed. Just a little shifting of his stance, but I could sense the sudden danger from where I was. Franks had just switched from Obsequious Government Employee Mode to Kill Your Ass Mode. This ought to be good. The new guy must have caught the subtle difference too, as the laughter quickly died. The agent gently placed one large hand on the stranger’s shoulder.