Page 8 of Jael

Deborah pushed a grim smile up her face. She knew how the meeting would go. But she was not a woman to back down in the face of a challenge.

“There’s too much at stake to worry about things like feelings,” she said.

“Is that what you’re going to tell him?”

“Danny’s a smart man.”

“And he’s had time to stew.”

“He’s not the stewing type,” she said.

“How do you know? It’s been—what—ten years?”

“Or thereabouts.”

“He’ll laugh in your face. Or worse, he may have let himself go. Sure, he was good for the work you gave him back then, but what if he’s spent the last decade playing video games and drinking beer?”

“He hasn’t.”

Barak narrowed his eyes. “This is a done deal, isn’t it?”

“I’ve made up my mind, if that’s what you mean. I’ll do what I need to do to make it happen.”

“So before I walked in, you knew what you were going to do. What was the point of this meeting?”

“I left some wriggle room for a change if you’d brought me something useful. I gave you your chance.”

Barak stood stiffly and paced the room. “It won’t work.”

“You’re defeated before we even begin? Perhaps you’re not the right person to continue leading this taskforce.”

He turned on her then, his face contorted in anger and indecision. He knew he’d failed her, but she could see he didn’t have it in him to rise up and be the leader she’d hoped he’d one day become. He was a good agent, but when it came down to it, she needed more.

“I hope you’re not threatening me,” Barak said.

“No threat. All I need is for you to be a team player. When Danny comes back, you give him whatever support he requires.”

“He won’t work with me. Not again.”

“You made that bed yourself. Now you have to lie in it. If you would have recognized why I chose to use him back then, you wouldn’t have burned your bridges.”

“I did what I had to to protect the bureau. He could have been a liability.”

Deborah rose slowly. She was done arguing. “But he wasn’t.”

“None of us could have known that. I was watching your back.”

“No, you weren’t. You were watching your own. This is happening. If you don’t like it, request a transfer. I’ll approve it.”

Barak’s fists tightened at his side. “Fine. I’ll be available for this idea of yours. But when he refuses to come back, what are we going to do then?”

“He won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’ll persuade him.”

Chapter 3

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