"Ali Qadir is a chameleon. He may not look like anything in that photo now. He can be charming, intelligent, and also completely evil. For him to be here in the US, knowing he's a hunted man, means the stakes are very high."
"On that note, let's get to work," Jason said.
As the meeting broke up, Kara said, "Max, Tyler, come with me."
She led them into a break room with fluorescent lights, vending machines, a coffee maker that had seen better days, and a small table with a bowl of fruit on it. She closed the door behind them and turned to face both men.
"Okay," she said, crossing her arms. "Before we go any further, we need to clear the air."
"We don't have time for this," he said.
"I agree," Tyler replied.
"We're making time," Kara said with a stubborn glint in her eye. "Max, you first. What's your problem with Tyler?"
"That's classified."
"You can say something, so talk."
"Joint operation," he said finally, "mission was compromised."
Tyler's face darkened with anger. "You think I sold you out? My team was ambushed, and you weren't where you were supposed to be. One of my team members almost died."
"And my team members were not that lucky. They died at Qadir's hands."
"But you didn't. You survived because my team got there in time to save you."
"My team," Max corrected. "And you weren't even there."
"Because I had to be somewhere else," Tyler snapped.
As silence fell between them, Kara said, "So, neither of you has any proof of anything? Is that what I'm hearing?"
"It was a complicated situation," he admitted.
"Trust is difficult to come by in that part of the world, especially with a spook," Tyler said.
"You were doing the same work," he returned, meeting Tyler's gaze.
Another silence stretched between them.
"So, your teams both got hit," Kara said. "Both teams were compromised. Is it possible it was an outside setup, that the ones who benefited from your mutual suspicion were the terrorists you were hunting?"
"It's possible," he conceded.
Kara turned to Tyler. "What do you think?"
"It's possible," Tyler echoed.
"Good," Kara said. "Then, can we all get on the same side and focus on stopping Qadir? Because that's all that matters right now."
"I can do that," Tyler said.
"Yes," he agreed.
"Then let's go stop a terrorist."
"I'm going to talk to a friend of mine who is well-connected in that part of the world," Tyler said. "I'll let you know what he says."
