Page 19 of PSYCHOlogical

“What portion of that was in your intel sheet?” he asked. “I haven’t had time to look.”

“None of it, Sir.”

His eyes narrowed. “Not one iota?”

“That is correct, Sir. Other than the city, that is.”

“Frag Wallace’s worthless ass when you get a chance,” he deadpanned.

It was all the invitation I needed.

“Will do, Sir,” I responded. “First chance I get.”

* * *

I peeked inside Doc Rhoades’ door. “Are you busy?”

Sharpening one of her many pencils with an old-school hand-held sharpener, she looked up. Her eyes smiled. “Never too busy to talk to you.”

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “My head is in a good place, but I’m a little frustrated right now. Just wanted someone to talk to before I go on assignment.”

She swept the pencil shavings into her palm and dumped them in the trash. “I’m here to listen.”

I sat down. “AD Wallace asked me about Shepard’s mental health a few weeks ago. The next thing I know, Shephard has been reassigned to a detail in Somalia. Mental health reports come from one place, and one place only. I’ll be blunt.” I crossed my arms. “Did the directive to ship Shephard out come from you?”

“I don’t have the authority to make such recommendations,” she responded. “I provide a copy of my bi-monthly mental health reports to AD Wallace, who in turn provides them to Director Martin as he sees fit. So, Director Martin sees only a portion of my reports. Only what Wallace sees fit to show him. After Martin’s review, they go to DNI’s office.”

“It’s obvious that there was something in your report that caused Wallace to raise a red flag. I guess my concern is this.” I sharpened my glare. “How long will it be before there’s something similar in my file?”

“The differences between you and Shephard are vast,” she responded. “Shephard’s actions and decisions put this program—and every man in it—at risk.”

“That’s your opinion.”

“That, Briggs, is fact.” She crossed her arms in a huff. “There are reasons Shephard’s actions were listed as putting the program at risk, and your arrest in Texas never made it as far as your personnel file. Shephard was a loose cannon.”

“Give me an example,” I demanded.

“You know I can’t do that.”

I glared.

“In the grand scheme of things, how does Shephard’s absence change things?” she asked. “I realize you were close to him, but I don’t see how his reassignment changes things for you. Help me understand why you’re so frustrated.”

I needed to know what changes came about to warrant his reassignment. Convincing her to reveal that information wasn’t going to be easy.

“I have an assignment in a few days that will require me to take two men with me. Shephard was one of those men assigned to that mission. Shephard’s saved my ass more than once. Of the four men that are left, none have his combat experience, his courage, or his uncanny ability to identify and eliminate a threat.” I stood and turned toward the door. “I’m not happy about this. Not at all.”

“Don’t do this to me,” she said.

“Do what to you?” I faced her and glared. “You did this to yourself.”

“You have a job to do, and I have a job to do,” she said. “My job is to prepare accurate reports on the mental health of the men in the program, and then provide the reports to Wallace for review. What happens from there is out of my control.”

I took a step toward the door.

“Briggs…”

I took another.