“Surprised I hadn’t seen him at the facility before,” said Reel inquiringly.
“He was just called back in from temp duty elsewhere,” answered Marks.
“By Evan Tucker?” asked Robie, swinging his arms loosely and popping his neck as they ran along at a comfortable pace.
“Don’t know for sure, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. Viola is a high-level asset. He wouldn’t be called in by a midlevel grunt. And I certainly didn’t do it as the DD.”
“So why wouldn’t Tucker rely on you to do the dirty work?” Robie wanted to know.
Reel added, “Did you refuse to waterboard us?”
Marks ran along for another thirty feet before answering. “He never asked me to.”
“And if he had?” Reel persisted. “What would you have done?”
“I never agreed with torturing bad guys, much less our own agents.”
“Well, undoubtedly Tucker was aware of that,” said Robie. “And didn’t bother to ask you to do it. Obviously, Viola had no issue with doing it.”
“No, he didn’t. He would never decline to execute a direct order. He’s not wired that way.”
“But how could Tucker ever expect us to sign a confession?” said Reel. “Even if we were tortured?”
“He’s not really CIA,” answered Robie. “He was never in the intelligence field. His appointment to head up CIA was a political payback. He probably thought waterboarding works on everyone.”
“As if a coerced confession is valid,” noted Reel. “And he wanted us to sign it, despite the bullshit he tried to feed us back there.”
“I don’t think he was going to use it in a court of law,” said Marks.
Reel shot her a glance. “What, then?”
Robie answered. “Probably proof to the president that we were bad guys.”
Marks added, “And maybe the president signs off on your official termination. Not the kind where you clear out your desk and are escorted to the exit.”
“If Tucker thought that was going to happen and he’s running CIA, America is in a world of trouble,” observed Reel.
“I don’t know,” said Robie. “Maybe he just wanted to kill us.”
“He might just want us to feel the pain,” said Reel.
“Mission accomplished there,” said Robie.
Reel stopped running and the others pulled up and looked at her.
“Which brings us back to the question of why you’re doing what you’re doing, Deputy Director,” she said.
Marks jogged in place, keeping her body warm and loose. “I’m a team player, Reel, make no mistake about that.”
“But?”
“But I draw the line at certain things. Waterboarding our own is one of those things.”
“Anything else?”
“Tucker said he wanted me to push you right to your limit and then beyond. He really wanted to see if you were fit for duty and redeployment. Either you could cut it or not. I assumed that was his goal. To find that out.”
“And now?”
“And now I don’t know. His instructions had undertones that maybe he didn’t want you to see the outside of this place again.”
“And you chose to, what, ignore them?” said Reel.
“I chose to think he couldn’t mean that,” said Marks.
“Or convinced yourself that he couldn’t,” said Robie.
Marks started to run again and the pair followed her.
“So where does all this leave us?” asked Reel.
“I don’t know,” admitted Marks. “But I can tell you that from now on I will train with you.”
“Why?” asked Robie.
“To be our guardian?” suggested Reel.
“I’m just going to train with you.”
“This is not your problem or your fight, DD,” said Robie. “Don’t hang your career on this. You don’t deserve the possible fallout.”
“I’m the DD, as you pointed out, Robie. And the DD is responsible for her assets in the field. Well, you two are part of those assets and it’s my responsibility to look out for you.”
“So you’re setting yourself up for a pissing contest with Evan Tucker over this?” exclaimed Reel. “Number one against two has a predetermined outcome.”
“Maybe,” replied Marks cryptically. “But then number twos tend to try harder.”
Reel said, “You looking to make an enemy of Tucker?”
“I’m not intentionally making an enemy of anyone. What I’m trying to do is my job.”
“I thought your job was to follow orders,” said Robie.
“My job is to perform my duties as a DD to the best of my abilities. I intend to do just that.”