Communication sucked at the CIA, and just about everything was on a fucking need to know basis. I understood the need for secrecy given our jobs, but the lack of communication went too far and caused more problems than it solved.
At SSI, there were no secrets.No professional secrets. As a result, the team worked like a well-oiled machine.
At the CIA, requests had to be made in triplicate, and approval took forever.
SSI granted most of my requests before I asked for them. John offered a loaner car for safety. They gave us laptops and space to work. Jay offered to stay and help Ryan, cutting into his personal time.
Two things they had in common: their work ethic and the desire to do good in the world. The stages we performed on differed dramatically, but our goals were the same. Save lives.
The CIA had a bunch of fancy sounding goals and gave missions important sounding names, but at the end of the day, it was about saving lives.
“Ready to go on a wild goose chase?” I asked Ryan.
“You mean a wild sun and moon chase?”
“We can call it whatever you want. Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.” He saluted me with his middle finger, causing Jamie to bust out laughing.
“Glad I’m not the only one who gets that salute.”
My curious human side wanted to know more about Jamie getting middle finger salutes when half the company was family, but the logical operative side of me ignored my curiosity and carried on.
Fucking robot.
“How soon can you be ready?” I asked Jay.
“Give us fifteen.”
“To be fully armed and ready to go?” Gibson didn’t hide his doubt.
AJ stood, looked at Jay, laughed, and said, “Give us twelve.”
Jay followed him out, letting his smug grin do his talking.
“You really have to stop assuming we’re not up to the task,” John chided us.
We deserved it.
“Sorry.”
“I’d get moving if I were you,” Jack said. “They won’t let you live it down if you take longer to get ready than they do.”
G looked at his watch. “We have eleven minutes.”
“Let’s not keep them waiting.” The last thing I wanted to do was hand Jay and AJ ammunition.
Because Jack anticipated my needs, he’d printed several copies of the list. I handed a copy to Jay, who was now dressed in black with a plain black baseball cap. His soft body armor was barely visible under his T-shirt, and the thin black leather jacket he wore hid the pistol on his right hip and the two extra magazines on his left.
AJ looked the same.
“How are we doing this?” Jay asked. “One car escort, or two?”
“One is enough. We need you to gather as much intel as you can on anyone you suspect is tailing us.”
“Good thing I brought my camera,” AJ said with a smirk.
Jay handed us comms. “So we don’t need to use our phones.” Once again making my life easier by anticipating our needs.
