“I did what I thought was right, Gerry.”
“Exactly, Jack. But you are not a one-man band. You are an operator and analyst, but you are not an executive. You don’t make the rules, you have to be able to follow orders, and I have to be able to depend on you. Your personal security in the field affects everyone at The Campus, and the well-being of our organization affects the security of the United States of America.”
Jack just nodded. He understood, in theory, but he felt like he’d made the only reasonable calls, considering. “I know, Gerry. And I shouldn’t have gone against directives, but I don’t want to be treated like the President’s son around here.”
“Well, you are. And neither of us can change that.” Gerry drummed his fingers on his desk, then said, “I’m suspending you, Jack. Six months. Take some time, figure out what you want to do, whether or not you want to be a part of this team.”
“Six months?” Jack had been hoping for two weeks.
“Yes. I hope you come back at the end of that time with a new attitude. An appreciation that the risks you take have to be for the good of the unit as a whole. I hope the man who sits before me in half a year’s time will understand his role on the team.”
Jack said, “Does Clark know?”
Gerry said, “I am in charge of The Campus, not John Clark. But to answer your question… yes, he knows. Clark and Chavez are ex-military, they understand that orders and chain of command serve the whole. And they understand your violations should be taken seriously.”
Jack nodded. He was angry, he felt Gerry was going too hard on him, but he understood Gerry had to put his foot down somewhere.
Jack stood, reached across the desk to shake Gerry’s hand. “I’m sorry I put you in this situation. I’m not sure I’ll be back here in six months, but I appreciate the opportunity you gave me here.”
Gerry stood and shook Jack’s hand. “The world in six months is going to need a man like you working in a place like this. Keep that in mind.”
“I will.” Jack headed back to his cubicle to start packing.
Ysabel Kashani sat in the chair next to her hospital bed, looked down at the soup in the styrofoam bowl, and frowned.
Christine von Langer saw the expression from her chair across the room. “I thought you ordered the alphabet soup.”
The Iranian said, “I did. We don’t have this where I am from. I assumed from the name it would have something from every letter of the alphabet in it. You know, asparagus, beans, cilantro… like that.” She just stared at the soup. “But… it just has watery tomato sauce and little letters made out of dough.”
Christine laughed. “Yeah, that’s it.”
Ysabel took a bite. “It’s hot, anyway. The food in Luxembourg was better.”
“You’re in Baltimore now, Ysabel. I can get you some crab cakes, but not from the cafeteria here.”
Ysabel didn’t want to put Christine out. The woman was helping her in so many ways, tending to her dressings better than the nurses, walking with her to the bathroom to keep her steady, keeping her company through the long days and nights cooped up in a hospital room.
But she’d never even heard of a crab cake, and looking down at her alphabet soup, something else she’d never heard of, she thought it sounded amazing right about now.
Jack Ryan, Jr., opened her door, his face hidden by a bouquet of two dozen roses. He saw Christine first and gave her a wink, then lowered the roses and looked at Ysabel.
“Well, look who it is,” she said. Her tone made clear he’d taken his time in coming to see her.
He crossed the room and kissed her passionately but carefully. She still had a bandage on her neck, and the doctors were monitoring her concussion even now.
“Sorry, had to go by the office. I knew you were in capable hands.”
Ysabel said, “Christine has watched me every step of the way. I think I have a friend for life now.”
Christine stood and headed for the door. “And this friend for life knows when it’s time to step out for a few minutes. I’m going to go hunting for crab cakes.”
Jack knelt down next to the Iranian, stroked a hand through her hair while she smiled at him. He asked her how she was feeling and tears formed in her eyes.
She did not reply.
Jack held her close. “This was my fault. I am so sorry I pulled you down into something I didn’t understand.”
She shook her head. “I went down willingly, Jack. You can’t blame yourself. You and I both felt indestructible after what happened to us in Dagestan.” She shrugged. “Luxembourg was a wake-up call, I guess.” With a sad smile she said, “We’re not indestructible. Not at all.”
Jack nodded, then kissed her again.
She said, “Thank you for getting me over here. I was surprised when you suggested it.”
“Johns Hopkins has the best doctors in the world. I should know, my mom is one of them.”
“Yes, she dropped in on me this morning.”
Jack’s eyes went wide. “What? How did she—”
“How did she know about me? Something about you asking your dad about helping with my visa so I could come over and get care. He said something to her, she came looking for me. It was cute. They are very conspiratorial about meeting your very exotic but slightly defective girlfriend.”
Jack had gone to his dad for help getting Ysabel into the country for care, but he hadn’t mentioned they were in a relationship. He guessed his mom just happened to pop in on her to check her out, and now that his mom and Ysabel had had some alone time, there was no doubt both his mom and dad knew everything.
Ryan groaned inwardly, but he hid it.
“You aren’t defective. You are just in the shop for a few repairs.”
He kissed her and she laughed.
Jack wasn’t sure what would happen with him and Ysabel, but he knew he would do everything in his power to make sure she recovered quickly and completely. After that… well, he could always ask Clark and Gerry if they were interested in a multilingual asset who knew tradecraft and had proven herself in the field.
As if on cue, John Clark opened the door, giving a half-knock as he did so. Jack just looked at him for a moment. “Is there anyone who doesn’t know about this?”
Clark laughed. “I was in for a checkup on my back. Ran into Cathy, she mentioned Ysabel. Hi, Ysabel. I’m John.”
The two shook hands. Jack just smiled a little and looked at the door, expecting at any moment to see a bunch of men in dark suits and sunglasses come in as the advance team for a visit from his dad.
Ysabel said, “Oh, Jack, by the way. Your mom invited us over for dinner. Just as soon as I get out of here. Christine is coming, too. Hope that’s okay.”
Jack just laughed. “Sure. That sounds great.”