“I’m used to waiting for your calls, Brodie. The anxiety comes from your call.”
“Yes, sir. I hope I don’t disappoint you.”
“You never do. All right, tell me about the shoot-out in the whorehouse.”
“The—? Oh, right… Well, maybe it was more of a shout-out. Worley may have misunderstood—”
“Did you kill anybody?”
“There was some gunfire.”
“Okay… I guess I don’t need to know the details at this time.”
“Correct.” So you don’t have to report to General Hackett what you don’t know.
Dombroski reminded him, “I gave you some instructions on how to handle this tonight. I advised caution.”
“Yes, sir. You are on record for that.”
“Your problem, Scott, is that you revert to your aggressive combat training and forget what you learned as a criminal investigator.”
“You’re absolutely right, Colonel. Ms. Taylor would agree with that.”
Ms. Taylor said, “I agree, Colonel. But Mr. Brodie, from what he told me and what I observed, handled the situation with…”
“Bravery and courage,” suggested Brodie. “Resourcefulness, and the minimal use of force.” Except for the AK-47.
“All right,” said Dombroski. “I just hope you haven’t created an international incident.”
“It was a whorehouse,” Brodie reminded him. “It’s not like I shot some government officials or anything.”
“God forbid.”
“Right. So—”
“You’re coming home. Worley is nervous. You need to book the next flight out of Caracas. To anywhere. You have to leave the country. Tonight.”
“Colonel—”
“Do not check out of your hotel. But leave nothing behind that could be compromising. Do as Worley instructed you to do with your guns and your—”
“Colonel—”
“Do not interrupt me, Mr. Brodie. This is not a suggestion—it is an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You can be sure that our fugitive has heard about the brothel incident, so you have managed to alert him, but not apprehend him.”
“Yes, sir, but I have—”
“That was the worst possible outcome. You will not get a second chance to find him.”
“Actually—”
“The mission is blown, Mr. Brodie, and you blew it.”
Taylor said, “Colonel, if I may speak—”
