brewed tea. Individuals and institutions had almost as many colors as the sun. Everything depended on the place, the day, and the circumstances.
There was a time when Op-Center had nourished Rodgers, too.
While the general sat there, he checked his cell phone for messages.
There was one call from psychologist Liz Gordon, checking to see how he was, and one from Paul Hood asking him to call as soon as it was convenient. Hood sounded annoyed. Rodgers smiled. He could guess why. He speed- dialed Hood's direct line. Apparently, he was going to get his confrontation after all.
' 'Loyalty is missing in action, along with honor and integrity,' Hood said angrily, without preliminaries. 'Mike, did you give that quote to a reporter named Lucy O'Connor?'
'I did,' Rodgers replied.
'Why?'
'Because it is true. And don't take it too personally, Paul. I told her it was missing everywhere, not just at Op-Center.'
'How I take it doesn't matter,' Hood said. 'It's how the rest of the team takes it. Mike, I thought we had discussed the circumstances surrounding the budget cut, that you understood '
'Paul, this is not just about me getting shit-canned,' Rodgers said.
'It's about this whole stinking investigation of Admiral Link.'
'Stinking in what way?' Hood asked.
'It's harassment for gain,' Rodgers told him.
'You know us better than that, dammit.'
'I know Darrell better than that,' Rodgers said. 'I'm not so sure about you anymore, and I can't believe he did that without your okay.'
'Yeah, I approved it,' Hood told him. 'Hell, I encouraged it, and with good reason. I didn't suggest the ramping-up, though. I shouldn't be telling you this, but that was Bob Herbert's idea.'
'Bob?'
'Bob,' Hood said.
That took Rodgers by surprise. It also stripped him naked. He looked around with slow, probing eyes. His gaze moved along the avenue, across the street, peered into parked cars and the windows of office buildings. Rodgers knew all the tails Op-Center used. He half-expected to see one of them watching him from behind a hamburger or a paperback book. The thought was also a disturbing reminder of how quickly an ally could become an adversary.
'Look, I'm not going to get into a howling contest in the press,' Hood went on. 'I told Ms. O'Connor that I disagree with your view and left it at that. But I do want to remind you that Op-Center is my first concern '
'I have my dismissal to remind me, thanks,' Rodgers interrupted.
'I thought you understood what went down,' Hood said.
'I do. I thought you understood that I did not like it.'
Both men snapped off the conversation. The crackling cell phone silence was heavy, but it did not hurt. Rodgers felt that Hood was out of line. As he sat there, his eyes continued to search for familiar faces. Aideen Marley, Maria Corneja-McCaskey, David Battat, some of the others that Rodgers himself had trained. His heart ached over what they must be feeling.
'Mike, we both want the same thing,' Hood said. 'Whichever way it goes, we want this to be over as soon as possible. So I'm going to ask you to cooperate by letting Bob's people work '
'Christ, you don't have to ask that,' Rodgers said. 'I know the drill.
Just don't put any of them on me.'
'Of course not.' Hood said. He sounded as though he had been wounded.
