“He wanted to let us know our being here was not part of a personal vendetta. He said we were waterboarded not in order to facilitate a confession, because there was no such thing, but rather to make sure we could withstand it in case we were captured.”
“And did you believe him?” asked Marks.
“Would you?” Reel shot back.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. He’s a more complicated person than I initially thought.”
“I don’t trust him,” said Reel.
“If I were in your position, I wouldn’t trust him either,” replied Marks.
Reel said, “I take it the food and rest and showers were your doing?”
“Well, they certainly weren’t the DCI’s, or Andrew Viola’s initiative.”
“Viola,” said a surprised Reel. “He’s involved in this?”
“I thought you would have recognized his voice at the little waterboarding session. You two overlapped here, right? And I know you were in the field with him on a couple of missions.”
“That’s right, but I didn’t recognize the voice.”
“Probably had your mind on other things,” said Marks dryly. She looked at Robie. “Do you know Viola?”
“Only by reputation. He’s really good.”
“Rock-solid warrior who never wavers from the playbook,” replied Marks.
Reel and Robie exchanged a quick glance. Reel said, “Is that why we’re out here jogging in the middle of the forest? So we can talk candidly?”
“Let me put it this way. I already ran ten miles this morning. So from a physical fitness point of view there’s no reason for me to be out here.”
“So Viola is a team player,” said Robie.
“And you’re not?” added Reel.
“Didn’t say that,” replied Marks. “I am a team player.”
“And the little near-drowning session last night?” noted Reel.
“Not my call. And I wasn’t picked to run it. That’s where Viola stepped in.”
“Surprised I hadn’t seen him at the facility before,” said Reel inquiringly.
“He was just called back in from temp duty elsewhere,” answered Marks.
“By Evan Tucker?” asked Robie, swinging his arms loosely and popping his neck as they ran along at a comfortable pace.
“Don’t know for sure, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. Viola is a high-level asset. He wouldn’t be called in by a midlevel grunt. And I certainly didn’t do it as the DD.”
“So why wouldn’t Tucker rely on you to do the dirty work?” Robie wanted to know.
Reel added, “Did you refuse to waterboard us?”
Marks ran along for another thirty feet before answering. “He never asked me to.”
“And if he had?” Reel persisted. “What would you have done?”
“I never agreed with torturing bad guys, much less our own agents.”
“Well, undoubtedly Tucker was aware of that,” said Robie. “And didn’t bother to ask you to do it. Obviously, Viola had no issue with doing it.”
“No, he didn’t. He would never decline to execute a direct order. He’s not wired that way.”
“But how could Tucker ever expect us to sign a confession?” said Reel. “Even if we were tortured?”
“He’s not really CIA,” answered Robie. “He was never in the intelligence field. His appointment to head up CIA was a political payback. He probably thought waterboarding works on everyone.”
“As if a coerced confession is valid,” noted Reel. “And he wanted us to sign it, despite the bullshit he tried to feed us back there.”
“I don’t think he was going to use it in a court of law,” said Marks.
Reel shot her a glance. “What, then?”
Robie answered. “Probably proof to the president that we were bad guys.”
Marks added, “And maybe the president signs off on your official termination. Not the kind where you clear out your desk and are escorted to the exit.”
“If Tucker thought that was going to happen and he’s running CIA, America is in a world of trouble,” observed Reel.
“I don’t know,” said Robie. “Maybe he just wanted to kill us.”
“He might just want us to feel the pain,” said Reel.
“Mission accomplished there,” said Robie.
Reel stopped running and the others pulled up and looked at her.
“Which brings us back to the question of why you’re doing what you’re doing, Deputy Director,” she said.