Conspiracy

46

Rubens was so angry he pounded his desk. He barely kept himself from shouting. “Lia left a bug in the police chief’s office because he was rude to her?”

“You know Lia,” said Telach, frowning uncomfortably.

“It’s one thing for her to trash-talk someone and quite another to leave a bug in his office.”

“Well, she did both.”

“We’re not overseas, Marie. We can’t be leaving audio devices in people’s offices— especially the police.”

“I didn’t tell her to. But—”

“There’s a but?”

“The operatives are trained to work a certain way. That’s what she’s doing. If she were in Vietnam—”

“She’s not in Vietnam. Why did she even bother?”

“It’s just standard procedure. She’s not used to working in the U.S.”

As angry as he was, Rubens realized that Telach was right. The Deep Black operatives had been trained to operate overseas, under very dangerous conditions, where the rules of engagement — what could or couldn’t be done under different circumstances — were much looser. Listening in to other people’s conversations was something they did all the time. America was a very different environment, and the ops and support team had not been trained to operate in it.

Admittedly, the lines could be difficult to discern. Examining the contents of a public-access computer was OK, because it was by definition open to the public and there was no expectation of privacy, the same as walking down the street. But a computer in a home was different; Desk Three needed permission to access it.

My fault, thought Rubens. Ultimately, my fault. I haven’t properly prepared my people.

What would Senator McSweeney and his committee say to that?

“Disable the bug immediately,” Rubens told Telach. “Lia is not to place any more surveillance devices without my ex-plicit approval. If she has a problem with that, have her talk to me.”

“Yes, Chief.”