Jamie returned to the conference room, slipping quietly inside to take his seat at the table while Katie continued to give her verbal report to Nazari and Stirling, with Kyle speaking up to confirm certain points when asked. From the clipped way Nazari and Stirling addressed Kyle, Jamie knew they weren’t happy with hisactions.
Ceres recorded the entire debrief. The oral reports would be helpful later on as a verbal record and for when they wrote up their individual after-action reports. For a mission like this, with multiple fronts and problems that arose in the heat of action, it would take hours tofinish.
Jamie dutifully reported on his actions in the field. When he informed Nazari and Stirling that he’d refused to work with the Pavluhkins any longer beneath the guise of his family’s name, they didn’t exactly look pleased with his decision, but Jamiedidn’tcare.
“The MDF has used my family’s name enough over the past year. Stanislav was playing us for a fool from the beginning. If we’ve managed to outmaneuver him in any way, it was by sheer dumb luck. The Pavluhkin mission is no longer sustainable. I made the call in the field and I feel it was the right call,” Jamie statedflatly.
“It wasn’t yours to make,” Nazari said, soundingirritated.
“It involved my family, so yes, it was. You gave me the choice in the beginning, and I agreed to it then. I don’t agree with it now. The MDF will need to find another wayforward,sir.”
Nazari and Stirling both shared a look Jamie didn’t bother to read. He honestly didn’t care if his decision ruined plans in the pipeline for the MDF. His team and his family had given enough for this mission. In that area, he could concede, his father was right. They’d spent eleven months dancing to the Pavluhkins’ tune and Jamie had cut the puppet strings tying his team to the Russians withoutapology.
Figuring out the future from here on out would be difficult, but Jamie preferred that to the lies they had all grown tired ofliving.
It would mean he and Kyle could no longer be seen in public as they had been—a couple in love, able to touch each other without fear of reprisals. That unintended loss sat heavily with Jamie, but he brushed it aside. He knew Kyle would be okay with returning to their status quo prior to the start of the Pavluhkin mission only because they had no intentions of ever leaving eachother.
“And you thought it was a good idea to reveal your identity to security personnel and the Secret Service, why, exactly?” Stirlingasked.
“It was a field-based decision that I stand by. Ovechkina had sent my gear on ahead at my request,” Jamie said, lying a little to cover Katie. “Larson received it, and he was previously cleared by the MDF. My identity remained classified outside that small group ofpeople.”
He knew the MDF had kept those who had survived and hadn’t been previously cleared to know about his identity on base until Mercedes was able to telepathically put blocks into their minds so they couldn’t speak about what they knew. The nondisclosure agreements were all well and good, but the added mental protection was something the MDF discreetlyemployed.
“We’ll be discussing your arbitrary decision on all of this later. As of right now, the Pavluhkin mission is in flux, but your undercover roles in it have come to an end,”Nazarisaid.
It should have felt like relief, but it didn’t. This fight wasn’t over, and they’d left too many doors open on their end for retribution. Jamie didn’t think Stanislav’s warning about coming after his family was anything but thetruth.
Between Declan Wolcott’s former ties to a United States senator currently under investigation and fighting subpoenas, and the quiet cold war the MDF had going on with sections of the CIA, the risk of their identities being revealed had grown. Politicians of every sort always looked for dirt on their fellow candidates. With his father the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential candidate nomination, Jamie had a feeling that everything his team had done in his family’s name over the past year would come back tohauntthem.
I can’t worry about that right now,Jamie thought to himself as the debriefcontinued.
Thinking about thewhat-ifswould come later, when he had time and a clearer mind to take apart the big picture and figure out the details of what could possiblycomenext.
In the end, the initial debrief finished up around 1030, with everyone ordered to make their way to Medical, where Gracie and her team were waiting toreceivethem.
“Not you, Brannigan. We’re not done yet,” Nazari said as the team got ready toleave.
Jamie caught Kyle’s eye from across the table, unsurprised to see the stubborn look on his face. Jamie had an idea what the director wanted to talk to Kyleabout.
“Sir,” Jamiebegan.
Nazari didn’t let him protest any further than that. “This doesn’t concern you right now, Callahan. You’ll be officially informed of the issuelater.”
“Tell my family I’ll see them soon,” Kyle said as he satbackdown.
Jamie nodded before reluctantly leaving the room, the door sliding shut behind him. The rest of the team milled about in the hallway, waiting for him toappear.
“Think it’s about him killing Cillian?” Madison asked in a lowvoice.
“Of course it’s about that asshole,” Katie muttered, rubbing at hertemples.
“Let’s get to Medical,” Jamie said, already walking toward the elevator. “Katie, you’re heading home after you get checked out. The rest of us will divvy up watch duty for AlexeiandSean.”
“Like fuck I’mgoinghome.”
Jamie looked over his shoulder at her, meeting her exhausted, affronted gaze. “You’re going home because Matthew will bethere.”
She blinked at him in surprise, nearly missing a step. Annabelle bumped into her and murmured a quietapology.
