The Sixth Man (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 5)

“Things usually go well until they stop going well.”

She lowered her glass. “You have doubts? Issues? You know something I don’t?”

He shook his head again. “None of the above. I’m just a cautious man.”

“Nothing wrong with that, but you need balance too. Invoke your wild side from time to time.”

“Four people dead, five if you count Sohan Sharma. That’s wild enough for me.”

She said coolly, “Not losing your nerve, are you?”

“Considering I didn’t kill any of them, no. But one was an FBI agent. That is particularly troubling.”

“There is always collateral damage in situations like this, Harkes. It’s unavoidable. You fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. You know that all too well.”

“That was war.”

“This is war, too. You need to understand that right now. Perhaps an even bigger war. This is for the heart and soul of American intelligence.”

“And you want to run it?”

“I should be the one running it. The agency’s name is Homeland Security, after all.”

“The CIA—,” began Harkes.

“Langley is a joke. The Pentagon listens to no one. The intelligence czar has no power, and don’t even get me started on NSA. It’s all very pathetic.”

“But the E-Program had merit.”

“Stop drinking the Kool-Aid. That was Peter Bunting’s world. He owned the space.”

“And you didn’t.”

“Now you’re getting with the program. Bunting’s an idealistic fool. Can you imagine putting the whole of this country’s security on the back of one analyst?”

“But that’s not really the case, is it? There are still plenty of analysts out there doing what they do. The American intelligence agencies continue to hum along. And Bunting’s company does a lot more than the E-Program. They have their fingers in lots of intelligence pies. But Bunting’s person was tasked with seeing the big picture, connecting the dots. That’s always been lacking across the intelligence spectrum.”

She shook her head. “That is a very dangerous philosophy to have.”

“What, quality over quantity?”

“We give them our hard-earned work and they get the credit for it. How is that fair?”

“I didn’t think fairness was an issue when we’re talking about the nation’s security.”

“I don’t want to discuss this with you anymore,” she said sharply.

“All right. I was just playing devil’s advocate. It’s part of my job.”

“You can be devilish, can’t you, Harkes? You have that reputation.”

“I do what needs to be done.”

“Bunting’s wife attempted suicide. Did you know that?”

“I heard.”

“Bunting must be frantic. I can’t stand the man professionally, but I have to admit, he does care for his family.” Her tone was gleeful.