“You’re becoming increasingly paranoid. You know that. Right?”
“You never told me your name was Magnolia.”
“That’s irrelevant.”
“But it shows that you keep secrets from your superior officer.”
“Call Dombroski. On speakerphone.”
“Okay…” He pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. As he waited for service, he said to her, “We’ll see if Dombroski and Worley have spoken, and if Worley has convinced our boss to call us home.”
She didn’t reply.
“The thing about information is that you have to guard it carefully when you’re in the field, because if you share it with people and it somehow falls into the wrong hands, it can get you killed.”
Taylor nodded, but Brodie wasn’t sure if she was agreeing with him or just humoring the paranoid schizophrenic she’d found herself working with.
He added, “You can appreciate that after your tour of duty in Afghanistan.”
Again she nodded, then said, “I understand.” She suggested, “Sit next to me so we can both talk to Dombroski.”
Brodie stood, sat next to her on the couch, accessed Signal, and dialed, except for the last digit. He said, “You have my permission to say what you want. But protect your sources. And protect yourself. Assume everyone talks too much. Also, we don’t know what Dombroski tells Worley, or vice versa. I will tell Dombroski about Mercer’s possible whereabouts, but we will not mention the name of Kavak. That’s our secret. Know what you need to redact, and what you need to report. Okay?”
She nodded.
He hit the last number, and the phone rang as he put it on the coffee table and turned it on speaker. He said to her, “Remember, I did mention Flagstaff to Dombroski, so let’s see if he brings it up, or knows anything.”
She stared at the ringing phone and said, “If Dombroski can’t tell you about Flagstaff, I can.”
He looked at her.What?
Dombroski answered, “I’ve been waiting for your call.”
Neither Taylor nor Brodie replied.
“Hello? You there?”
Brodie said, “Here… I have Ms. Taylor on speaker.”
“Good evening, Ms. Taylor.”
“Good evening, Colonel.”
Dombroski said, “I would have called you sooner, Brodie, to see if you were both still alive, but Brendan Worley called me and assured me you were.”
Brodie replied, “Alive and well.”
“But not on your way to Quantico with our fugitive.”
“No, sir. We’re in our hotel.”
“Have you spoken to Colonel Worley since you called him earlier?”
“No, sir. We needed to speak to you first. That is the protocol.”
“Indeed it is. So why has it taken you so long to call?”
Brodie replied, “Ms. Taylor and I were preparing a clear and concise briefing for you.” He added, “I hope we didn’t cause you any anxiety.”
