Page 4 of PSYCHOlogical

I blushed a little.

I hadn’t mastered the ability to completely conceal my feelings while in his presence and doubted I ever would. Vincent’s ability to evoke emotion with nothing more than a wink of his eye was one of the reasons I found him so fascinating.

I placed my hand on his file. “The field report stated a neighbor armed with an assault rifle held you at gunpoint. It also states he was a former Army Ranger. He had Special Forces training. You weren’t duped by a seventeen-year-old high school kid with his dad’s shotgun. I don’t see where incompetence—”

He chuckled. “I should have seen him.”

“You find that amusing?”

He shook his head lightly. “Not at all.”

“You laughed.”

“I was thinking about the detective that questioned me. He was sloppy. I don’t want to end up like that.”

Each of New Dawn’s operators were tested and subsequently ranked based on their abilities. Explosives, small weapons, evasion, negotiations, surveillance, and foreign language were in the skills categories. Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were in the personality categories.

The testing allowed New Dawn’s brass to determine field skillsets and decide which operators were prone to psychological distress, unrealistic ideas, maladaptive coping responses, a need for stimulation, and lackadaisical behavior.

Vincent’s scores in each respective category were as high as the chart measured. Not only was he the best operator in the program, he was considered by many to be the best operator in existence.

“You’re a very methodical man, Briggs. In no way are your actions during that assignment indicative of sloppy behavior.”

“According to you,” he responded dryly.

“Looking back on it, what should you have done differently?” I opened the file and scanned the field report, making note of Briggs’ perfect penmanship. “He was armed with an AR-15 fitted with a high-capacity magazine and he was hidden from view by the dense shrubbery.” I looked up. “It sounds like he had the element of surprise in his favor. Was there an ample amount of time to react?”

“Obviously not.”

I glanced at the report. “Your sidearm was holstered and concealed by the tail of your shirt. Would it be typical for you to leave a residence with your sidearm brandished?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“Why not?”

“The risk of being identified by any onlookers as being a threat. We’re to appear to be simple civilians. We’re expected to blend in with our surroundings.”

“Let me summarize.” I leaned forward. “In accordance with your training and the behaviors typical of your profession, your sidearm was concealed, and holstered. Upon completing your assignment, you exited the residence, at which time an individual armed with a civilian version of the military’s M-16 pointed his weapon at your chest from approximately seven meters away. He threatened to shoot you if you moved.” I lifted my brows. “Correct?”

“Correct.”

“In that summary, where is sloppy behavior indicated?”

He broke my gaze. “It isn’t.”

“Are you still frustrated?”

“I am,” he said. “It’s unwarranted. I’ll work on accepting it as being what it is.”

“Which is?”

“An event that I had very little, if any, control over.”

I sank into the comfort of my chair and mentally smiled. Now that we’d cleared that hurdle, I needed to convince him that the woman he killed was a threat.

His target, a woman with ties to ISIS, was in the process of recruiting like-minded radicals. Recent intelligence gathered through the testimony of an informant indicated that she purchased enough C-4 to blow the city of Dallas, Texas completely off the map. Upon receipt of the explosives, her intentions were to immediately distribute them to her extremist underlings.

Testimony of the informant wasn’t enough to obtain a grand jury indictment. In the absence of an indictment, an arrest couldn’t be made. Eliminating her prior to the delivery and distribution of the explosives was critical to the Nation’s safety.