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The table was set, the wine poured, and the food dished up. Kennedy picked at her salad while Hurley and Lewis devoured both the salad and the chicken and tomato fettuccine. Lewis ate in near silence while he watched the two joust. He interrupted on three occasions, but only for clarification. When he'd cleaned his plate and poured himself a second glass of wine, he pushed his chair back and was ready to give them his take on the matter. One of the things they had decided at the formation of the group was that they wanted Lewis to have full operational input. Hurley was in charge, but there was some apprehension in Washington over his cowboy attitude. Hurley, to his credit, understood that he had certain weaknesses. Rather than cop an attitude about Lewis's role expanding beyond weeding out the whackjobs, Hurley had told him, "I don't want any bullshit, PC, shrink stuff. You're paid to voice your opinions. Not give me an endless stream of what ifs."
With that in mind Lewis put his glass down and said, "Two mistakes were made and you both know what they were."
Kennedy nodded, while Hurley said, "I can think of one. Her not doing her due diligence. What's the second one?"
"You can't think of a single thing you did wrong today?" Lewis asked.
"I'm not perfect, but this one's not my fault." Hurley pointed at Kennedy. "I am busier than shit trying to see which one of these boys has the right stuff. I'm not responsible for the turds she dumps in my lap."
Lewis was suddenly resigned to the fact that he would have to box Hurley in a little tighter. Clearing his throat, he said, "We're left with two options. Either this kid is really good or you're losing a step." Lewis took a drink and asked, "Which one is it?"
Hurley's jaw tightened. "I haven't lost a step!" In a slightly embarrassed voice he added, "I just underestimated him, that's all."
"And that's what worries me the most," Lewis said in an accusatory tone.
"Don't worry ... I won't let it happen again."
"I'm afraid that's not good enough."
Hurley lit a cigarette and casually said, "Let's not make this into something bigger than it needs to be."
"Bullshit!" Lewis said with genuine fury.
"Come on..." Hurley said trying to shrug the whole thing off.
"Don't 'come on' me--you fucked up today, and you fucked up big-time."
Kennedy leaned back, her eyes wide, unable to hide her surprise at Lewis's strong condemnation.
"Let's not overreact," Hurley said e
asily, trying to take some of the heat out of the conversation.
"Overreact." Lewis leaned forward. "I'm not sure it would be possible to overreact to this situation, and what is really bothering me is that you know it, but you're too pigheaded to admit it."
"It's not the end of the world."
Lewis's indignation was growing with each denial. "You're supposed to be infallible. These guys are supposed to fear you, loathe you, hate your fucking guts, but the one thing they are never supposed to do is lay a shiner on you." Lewis pointed at Hurley's swollen eye. "And they definitely aren't supposed to beat you ... especially not five minutes after they've walked through the gate."
"He didn't beat me," Hurley growled.
"Well ... that's debatable. From what I've heard he had you beat and the only way you got out of it was by cheating."
"Yeah ... well, life's not fair."
"At this stage, Stan, these guys are like young pups. You know that. When we lay down the rules we can't break them. It sends the wrong signal."
Hurley leaned back and stubbornly folded his arms across his chest. "I was suckered into this thing."
"I'm not sure you were, but for a moment, I'll go along with you." Lewis paused briefly and then said, "You're not supposed to get suckered. You're supposed to run these dogs until they're so tired they can barely stand. You're supposed to watch them go after each other ... get a sense of what they're capable of, and then you're supposed bring them into that barn and smack them down, just like when you and I went through boot camp. This is delicate work, God dammit, and you know it. There's a reason why we do things the way we do them, and your ego has no place in the decision process."
"My ego has nothing to do with this," Hurley shot back with a sour look on his face. "I just let my guard down. That's all."
"No," Lewis shook his head, "I'm inclined to agree with Irene on this one. You still see her as a little girl, and you don't give her the credit she deserves. She shows up with this new recruit and because he doesn't fit into your little box of where these recruits are supposed to come from, you decided to skip steps one, two, and three, kick his ass, and send him packing." Lewis sat back, took a drink of wine, and then in a calmer voice asked, "Does it mean anything to you that Thomas signed off on this?" Lewis was referring to the deputy director of operations.
Embarrassed, Hurley said, "I didn't think of that."
"Do you understand the situation you've created?"
