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The head of the CIA, Jarret Pepper, sat in his office behind a large desk, plagued by a problem. Other than Marshall Hail, only the two people seated opposite him could provide him assistance in finding his missing operative, Kara Ramey.
“Any luck tracking down Ramey?” Pepper asked his staff.
Karen Wesley, the Director of Analysis, was the first to respond, “We lost her trail in Islamabad. She used her CIA passport issued for her last identity, Tonya Merkalov, to gain entry into the country. From there, she simply vanished.”
Paul Moore, the Director of Operations, spoke, “But that doesn’t mean much. She could have used any form of currency to take a bus or a train to just about anywhere in Pakistan.”
Pepper asked, “Did any of our contacts or our Pakistani assets in Islamabad notice a red-haired, beautiful American woman? I mean she has to stick out like a sore thumb in a country like that.”
“No,” Wesley said dryly. “But Kara is no dummy. She probably grabbed the first abaya she came across and draped herself in it. If you think about it, almost every woman in Pakistan is wearing a disguise of some sort. It’s the perfect country for a woman to disappear, willingly or not.”
Moore asked Pepper, “Have you called Hail to ask if he’s heard from her?”
Pepper looked distressed by the question as if the act of calling Hail would cause him great physical pain. But then Pepper admitted, “Yes, I called Hail. He said he hadn’t heard from her and sounded surprised that we hadn’t either.”
Wesley asked, “And how long ago was that?”
“A few days ago,” Pepper replied.
Moore queried, “Does Hail have any idea why Ramey would take off and go rogue?”
“If he did, he didn’t share that information with me,” Pepper answered.
Wesley mused, “Did you ask him if he knew why Ramey would disappear? I mean did you ask him that question directly?”
Pepper pretended to think it over and said, “Yes, I believe I did,” even though he didn’t recall asking that exact question.
“And Hail didn’t know why?” Moore probed.
“Again, if he did, he wasn’t forthcoming with that information.”
Wesley inquired, “And you haven’t called Hail back to check in with him?”
Pepper’s face deflated a little, and he looked somewhat irritated. “Hail promised he would contact me if he heard from Ramey.”
Moore and Wesley exchanged a look of doubt.
“What?” Pepper demanded. “You really don’t think Hail would share that information with me?”
“May I speak freely, sir?” Moore asked.
“Certainly,” Pepper said.
“If your hair were on fire, Hail probably wouldn’t tell you. What makes you think he will help you find your missing agent?”
Pepper huffed, “Why wouldn’t he?”
Wesley answered, “Because you have made it abundantly clear you don’t like the man. We know it. I’m sure Hail knows it. Would you tell Hail if you had heard from Ramey?”
Moore and Wesley were essentially telling their boss he had been dealt a pretty good hand of cards but he’d played it poorly. He had thrown down cards that he should have kept close to his vest. Because he hadn’t kept his enemy close, his hand sucked. This was not the type of thing an egomaniac, especially Jarrett Pepper, wanted to hear.
Pepper gave the criticism a moment of thought before responding, “Don’t forget that we still, and always will, have something Hail needs.”
“And what’s that?” Moore asked.
“Information,” Pepper said with confidence. “It doesn’t matter how much money or how many toys and secrets Hail has, he still needs us much more than we need him.”
Wesley didn’t appear as confident as her boss. She said, “Well, if we intend to find Ramey, we need any information Hail has about Kara’s whereabouts.”
Moore asked a hypothetical. “How do you go about finding an agent who doesn’t want to be found especially in a country as profoundly messed up as Pakistan?”
“I suggest we let that be Hail’s problem,” Pepper stated with a huff of indignation. “She was assigned to him and he lost her. It’s only right he finds her. Especially if he wants more of our intelligence about the FBI’s list of the Top Ten Terrorists.”
Moore and Wesley shared a look of “It’s better than nothing.”
Pepper accepted their nonverbal understanding and continued, “I’ll call Hail to let him know what we’ve decided.”
“I’m sure he’ll love to hear from you,” Wesley deadpanned.