Page 29 of Protect Thy Enemy

I don’t respond, keeping my focus on the road. Anger radiates off me in spades.

When we pull into the lot, I’m the first one out, my movements brisk. The others follow, their footsteps echoing behind me as we head inside for the debrief.

The debriefing room feels colder than usual, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife. Harris sits at the head of the table, flipping through his notes with his signature meticulousness.

“Let’s get right to it,” he says, his tone clipped. “Your first detail was successful. The president delivered the speech without incident, and the device was neutralized before it could cause harm. However...”

His gaze sweeps the room, landing on each of us in turn.

“There were lapses in protocol that could’ve been catastrophic. We’ll address those now.”

He starts with Park.

“Agent Park, the main entrance was your responsibility. Why wasn’t the area cleared thoroughly?”

Park shifts uncomfortably, the dark and silent confidence he usually wears like a second skin notably absent. “It was an oversight, sir. I missed it.”

Harris’s expression hardens. “Oversights are unacceptable. Be grateful today wasn’t worse.”

He turns to me next.

“Grant, you were supervising the sweep. What happened?”

“I take full responsibility,” I say evenly. “The device should have been caught sooner.”

Harris studies me for a moment, his expression unreadable. “See that it doesn’t happen again.”

Finally, his attention shifts to Williams.

Her shoulders straighten, and I see the flicker of defiance in her eyes even before she speaks.

“Agent Williams,” Harris says, his voice sharp but calm. “Your report states you followed procedure. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir,” she replies, her tone steady but clipped.

“Then why didn’t you double-check the area?”

“With respect, sir,” she says, “the main entrance wasn’t my area of responsibility. My focus was on securing the perimeter.”

Her professional and calculated answer is a perfect cop-out. And it grates on me. I grit my teeth to keep from calling her out.

But I’m coming to realize things never go as planned with this woman.

“This isn’t about whose area was who,” I snap before Harris can respond. “It’s about anticipating problems before they happen.”

“Enough, Grant,” Harris says, raising a hand to cut me off. “We’ll address this further during tomorrow’s briefing. Dismissed.”

I catch up with her in the hallway, her stiff posture and quick pace telling me she’d prefer to avoid this conversation.

“Williams,” I call out.

She stops but doesn’t turn immediately. Her expression is guarded when she does, her eyes flashing with irritation. “Sir?”

I step closer, my voice low and clipped. “You need to do better.”

Her jaw tightens, but she holds her ground. “With all due respect, sir, I followed protocol.”

“Protocol isn’t enough,” I snap, taking another step closer. “You’re not here to check boxes. You’re here to anticipate and act before things go wrong.”

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