Yoshida smiled and then hit him hard with a right cross. Nic’s vision blurred as the pain exploded across his face. But if there was one thing that Dominic Juliano did exceptionally well, it was taking a punch.

“I think you’re confused,” he said. “You’re supposed to ask me a question before you hit me.”

Yoshida ran a hand through his coal-black hair and said, “You think this is a joke?”

“You see me laughing? I had a friend die today. Not to mention all those sick people who got that way under my watch. I just want to put the people responsible behind bars, and you keep getting in the damn way.”

Yoshida gave a slow nod and took a deep breath. Then he kicked Nic’s chair over. Nic felt weightless and helpless as he fell back to the cold tile floor. He landed in a pool of blood. Yoshida kicked the chair again, this time knocking Nic on his side and bringing him face to face with one of the dead scientists—a woman, blonde hair, mid-thirties, a little short, a little stocky, dimples in her cheeks, adult braces. She reminded Nic of his third-grade teacher, Mrs. Sharon, and he guessed that she would normally have a kind face and a sparkle in her eyes. He got the strange impression that he would have liked her, that she had been a sweet and caring person. No real reason to think that now with her dead eyes, jaw cocked unnaturally to the side, and blood trickling from her mouth. But he couldn’t help but feel a strange connection to her, like he could just sense that she had been good.

Yoshida bent down and spoke into Nic’s ear. “You lost a friend today. I lost a whole room full of them. These people worked for me. I was responsible for them. And believe it or not, you’re not the one who should be hunting these guys, and I’m not the one causing problems. You and your friends are meddling in things that are way beyond your pay grade. You were a soldier once. You understand the chain of command. What would happen if the corporals and sergeants decided that they knew better than the generals and just did whatever they wanted?”

Nic said nothing. He just kept staring at the dead woman.

“That wasn’t a rhetorical question.”

“Sit me up, please.”

“Answer the question.”

“Without the chain of command, it would be chaos. We’d lose, and a bunch of our troops would be killed. But don’t forget that some of the most decisive and famous victories in military history have been when a group of brave men has been cut off from their command by the enemy. When courageous soldiers can do what they know is right in their hearts, miracles happen.”

Yoshida pulled him back into a sitting position. “In that scenario, I’d have to be your enemy, but I’m not. You also would have to be cut off from command or under the direction of a hostile faction. You received your orders directly from the deputy director of the FBI. Are you saying that the deputy director has been compromised? Are you accusing her of criminal wrongdoing?”