McCaskey nodded.
'In about ten minutes, Paul is going to send EdgV Kline
324
OP-CENTER
the same coordinates Matt gave Aideen,' Rodgers said. 'A few minutes after that, the Spanish soldiers will begin heading toward the spot as well.'
'Have you heard anything from over there?' McCaskey asked.
'Aideen?'
McCaskey nodded.
'Nothing.'
'Have you given them any additional instructions?' meCaskey pressed.
'No,' Rodgers said.
McCaskey gave Rodgers a moment to add to that. He did not, damn that stubborn son of a bitch. Rodgers knew what McCaskey wanted to hear. That Maria could withdraw at that point.
'Do the Spaniards know that my wife is with this Leon Seronga character?' McCaskey said.
'Kline has been told,' Rodgers assured him. 'He will pass that information along. It's to the advantage of the Vatican Security Office to have a Spanish-speaking ally on site. Especially one who has been trailing Seronga.'
'Look, Mike, there's something I've been wanting to ask you,' McCaskey said.
'Shoot.'
'I assume Maria will make the call whether to terminate, not the greenhorns?' McCaskey asked. The FBI liaison was getting angry again. He could feel it in his shoulders, in his arms and fingers, along the line of his jaw. He wanted to move, to strike out.
'Aideen decides for the team, but Maria can decide for herself,' Rodgers replied. 'And Darrell-I need you to do something for me. I need you to back off David and Aideen.'
'Why?' McCaskey said. 'Last time I looked, I was still drawing pay from Op-Center. I've got a voice here.'
'You do,' Rodgers said. 'But it's an emotional one, and that doesn't help us. Battat and Aideen are good people.'
'They're green,' McCaskey insisted.
'Darrell-'
.MISSION OF HONOR
325
'I've read their dossiers,' McCaskey went on. 'They haven't logged enough solo field hours to qualify for a CIA junior recon post.'
'Battat has,' Rodgers said.
'Right,' McCaskey said. 'The guy the Harpooner clocked in the field.'
Rodgers did not look happy. McCaskey did not care.
'Aideen Marley spent a few days in the field with Maria,' McCaskey went on. 'A few days. That was less than ninetysix hours in a support capacity. And yeah. Technically, Battat has put in the time. If you count his entire career, which has a big midsection where he sat in an office in New York City. Over the last five years, he spent even less time in the field than Aideen, a total of three days. That was also in a support capacity.'
'They distinguished themselves in both cases,' Rodgers said.
'How do you figure that? Maria did most of the work in Spain, and Battat barely survived in Baku,' McCaskey said.
'Battat's opponent did not survive,' Rodgers said pointedly. 'That's a win in my book. And Aideen proved she's a quick study. Maria personally commended her work in Europe.'
'Then why does having them out there with my wife fill me with very little confidence?' McCaskey asked.
'I'm not going to answer that,' Rodgers said.
'I will,' McCaskey said. 'Because I know Maria. If you let her stay with this mission, she's going to watch their asses, not her own!'
'I don't agree, but we won't get anywhere debating any of this,' Rodgers said. He rose. 'Darrell, you've been looking for a fight on this ever since it started. I'm not going to give you one. Now, I've got to go see Paul-'
'Mike, I need you to do me a favor,' McCaskey said.
'Darrell, I won't order her back,' Rodgers said.
'You have to,' McCaskey said. 'Maria's carried this far enough. I want you to get her out.'
'I can't,' Rodgers said emphatically.
'Why?' McCaskey shot back. He leaned' on me desk.
326
