Page 60 of Call Sign: Thunder
“Well maybe if you spent more time in the office, we wouldn’t have to tackle you the minute you get here,” the woman countered.
“Believe me, you do not want me to spend more time here because if I did, you’d all be fired.”
The quiet guy sitting in the chair finally spoke up. “You really need to stop threatening that. We all know you won’t do it.”
“Try me…”
“Who the hell is this guy?”
The question came from the man in the suit. Zach felt his glare in his bones.
“He’s the guy Senator Benson sent over to interview, that’s who. Remember? I think you said I needed to ‘play nice’ because we can’t piss off a member of the senate’s Armed Services committee.”
“That doesn’t mean you bring him down to The Bunker for Christ’s sake! This is a major security breach.”
“Not if I hire him,” Ryder countered.
“But… you can’t do that. I haven’t done a background check yet. I haven’t had Doc administer any of the psych tests. He hasn’t taken the physical or provided any supporting certs on his skills. Hell, he could be part of a fucking sleeper cell for all we know!”
“You seriously need to stop drinking so much coffee,” Ryder deadpanned. “I don’t need any of that shit to know he’s a good fit for my team, and Harvard… I hate to remind you, it ismyteam. So… you can collect up any paperwork you need to in order to dot the i’s and cross the t’s — or run tests to your hearts content, but at the end of the day… my gut is still the best decision maker I have.”
Zach could feel all of the eyes in the room slowly moving in his direction after Ryder’s impassioned speech. On the one hand, he was thrilled to have won over a man like Helm’s so quickly, but since he still didn’t have the first clue what it was they actually did here, it seemed a bit premature.
“I don’t remember you offering me a job?” he finally said.
“That’s because I haven’t yet. But I do have a proposal of sorts.” He held up the briefcase still attached to his wrist and added, “I’m in need of a pilot. We’ll be gone one… two days tops. Think of it as an appointment at a tailor. We both get to try each other on for size — get a taste of what working together would be like — and at the end, we each decide if it’s a good fit or not.”
Other than the fact that he was supposed to report back to active duty the next day, Zach liked the idea. The intense man in the suit standing near the doorway was less impressed with the plan.
“This is a legal nightmare. He hasn’t even signed an NDA yet, let alone the liabilities involved if he were to get injured while on an active job.”
“See, that’s why I hired you, Harvard. As our lawyer and head of human resources, you get to take care of all of those boring details. You have about an hour, maybe two, before we need to leave.”
“An hour?! You’re…”
Ryder interrupted. “You’re gonna say I’m insane, and I’m going to compliment you and say that you always pull through and make impossible things happen. So let’s just skip to the part where you leave and get busy, okay?”
The guy, who he suspected wasn’t really named Harvard, looked like he wanted to complain, but instead heaved a sigh, spun around, and walked out with an audible huff.
Zach had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. He had a feeling he would hate being on the receiving end of a Ryder Helms ass-chewing, but they sure were entertaining to watch.
Ryder moved on to the attractive woman standing closest to his desk next. “What is it exactly you are upset about today, Doc?”
“You know exactly what I’m upset about. It’s the same thing I was upset about the last time you were in the office. And the time before that. Axel is on the edge…”
“Excuse me?” Ryder interrupted her.
She looked confused for a second before adding, “Wrathis too close to the edge. He needs to be put on medical leave. He’s a danger to himself and others.”
“Bullshit. The only people he’s a danger to are the fucking bad guys.”
“You’re wrong. He refuses to go to therapy sessions. He refuses to even talk to me anymore. I know he’s your friend, but that’s clouding your judgement. He doesn’t belong on this team.”
Ryder’s gaze had turned colder with each sentence the woman Zach assumed was an actual doctor had said.
He finally answered. “There is absolutely nothing you can say to me that’s going to make me take Wrath off active duty. Is he dangerous? Yes, but you of all people know exactly why that is and those reasons do not preclude him from doing his job.”
“You’re making a mistake,” the doctor argued.
