The debrief session had been convened as soon as Jack had reported in.
Kendall, Vaughn, and 4 other senior analysts were present. Jack was
relieved to see that Sydney was occupied elsewhere. Jack had given a
carefully edited version of the mission and its outcomes, but there was no
editing the fact that the mission had been an abject failure.
"Let's see if I can summarize this, Agent Bristow," said Kendall. "Your mission was to retrieve a Rambaldi artifact and return. Instead, we lost 2 Marine helicopter pilots, freed the only asset we had with reliable intel on Rambaldi, and handed Sloane everything he needs to achieve his objectives. Does that just about capture it?" he finished testily.
Jack's jaw tensed. It appeared to have slipped Kendall's mind that Jack had questioned the wisdom of the mission in the first place. "You left out that the mission plan was flawed from the start, and that we were compromised before we landed," he said tersely.
"Is there anything else you'd care to add to your report?" It was obvious to Kendall that Jack had excised portions of the story from his account. His decisions did not stack up with the facts as presented.
"No."
Kendall glowered at him for a moment, then made a decision. "Alright. Everybody, we're going to take a break, and reconvene in an hour."
When the group reconvened, Jack was surprised to see that Devlin had joined the meeting. He had not been heavily involved in Alliance ops for months.
"Agent Bristow," Kendall began, taking over the debriefing from the analysts, "I'd like to review a couple of the points you covered earlier. I've asked Director Devlin to join us as I'd appreciate his opinion as well." Jack glanced over at Devlin, who was looking at him impassively. Not much help likely from that direction, thought Jack.
"Jack, you've stated that you believe that the ambush at your extraction point was a result of a leak in the mission plan. Was Irina Derevko aware of the extraction location and time at any point prior to your rendezvous?"
Jack could see where this was going. "Yes," he calmly, "but she had no opportunity to communicate it to anyone else."
"So at no point were you separated?"
"No."
"Did you fall asleep at any point?"
"Yes, I slept for two hours."
"This was after you removed the C4 necklace?"
"Yes."
"And as she could no longer be tracked, Ms. Derevko was restrained during that time?"
Jack's heart sank. "No," he said quietly.
"So, for all you know, she could have contacted Sloane and alerted him to the pickup?"
"She didn't do that."
"Answer the question."
"Yes, it would have been possible for her to do that," he admitted.
"Thank you. Now, you stated that when you were trying to escape from the ambush at the extraction point that you considered all options, and determined that the best course was to lead them away from Ms. Derevko."
"Yes."
"Could you tell me what other options you considered?"
"We could have stayed together. My assessment was, given the number of individuals pursuing us, that capture was inevitable. Staying together would have only guaranteed that Sloane had access to Derevko's intel."
"Anything else?"
"I could chosen to escape and allow Ms. Derevko to be captured. This had the same flaw as the previous option."
"So you believed your priority was to prevent Sloane from gaining access to Derevko's intel?"
"Yes."
"Any other options you considered?"
"There were no other options."
"Let's just think together for a moment, Agent Bristow, shall we? You were escorting the head of an international crime syndicate, who possessed information that, in the wrong hands, was prejudicial in the extreme to the interests of the United States. Who had been charged with murder and treason. Who had not the slightest interest in returning to CIA custody."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Had it been anyone else, you would have shot him through the head before allowing him to collaborate with Sloane."
There was an oppressive silence in the room. Jack's reputation for ruthlessness, for making tough decisions in high-pressure situations, was well known.
"I didn't," he began haltingly, "I didn't believe Irina would join forces with Sloane."
"But you were wrong, weren't you?"
Pause.
"Answer the question."
"Yes."
"Let's see if I can summarize this, Agent Bristow," said Kendall. "Your mission was to retrieve a Rambaldi artifact and return. Instead, we lost 2 Marine helicopter pilots, freed the only asset we had with reliable intel on Rambaldi, and handed Sloane everything he needs to achieve his objectives. Does that just about capture it?" he finished testily.
Jack's jaw tensed. It appeared to have slipped Kendall's mind that Jack had questioned the wisdom of the mission in the first place. "You left out that the mission plan was flawed from the start, and that we were compromised before we landed," he said tersely.
"Is there anything else you'd care to add to your report?" It was obvious to Kendall that Jack had excised portions of the story from his account. His decisions did not stack up with the facts as presented.
"No."
Kendall glowered at him for a moment, then made a decision. "Alright. Everybody, we're going to take a break, and reconvene in an hour."
When the group reconvened, Jack was surprised to see that Devlin had joined the meeting. He had not been heavily involved in Alliance ops for months.
"Agent Bristow," Kendall began, taking over the debriefing from the analysts, "I'd like to review a couple of the points you covered earlier. I've asked Director Devlin to join us as I'd appreciate his opinion as well." Jack glanced over at Devlin, who was looking at him impassively. Not much help likely from that direction, thought Jack.
"Jack, you've stated that you believe that the ambush at your extraction point was a result of a leak in the mission plan. Was Irina Derevko aware of the extraction location and time at any point prior to your rendezvous?"
Jack could see where this was going. "Yes," he calmly, "but she had no opportunity to communicate it to anyone else."
"So at no point were you separated?"
"No."
"Did you fall asleep at any point?"
"Yes, I slept for two hours."
"This was after you removed the C4 necklace?"
"Yes."
"And as she could no longer be tracked, Ms. Derevko was restrained during that time?"
Jack's heart sank. "No," he said quietly.
"So, for all you know, she could have contacted Sloane and alerted him to the pickup?"
"She didn't do that."
"Answer the question."
"Yes, it would have been possible for her to do that," he admitted.
"Thank you. Now, you stated that when you were trying to escape from the ambush at the extraction point that you considered all options, and determined that the best course was to lead them away from Ms. Derevko."
"Yes."
"Could you tell me what other options you considered?"
"We could have stayed together. My assessment was, given the number of individuals pursuing us, that capture was inevitable. Staying together would have only guaranteed that Sloane had access to Derevko's intel."
"Anything else?"
"I could chosen to escape and allow Ms. Derevko to be captured. This had the same flaw as the previous option."
"So you believed your priority was to prevent Sloane from gaining access to Derevko's intel?"
"Yes."
"Any other options you considered?"
"There were no other options."
"Let's just think together for a moment, Agent Bristow, shall we? You were escorting the head of an international crime syndicate, who possessed information that, in the wrong hands, was prejudicial in the extreme to the interests of the United States. Who had been charged with murder and treason. Who had not the slightest interest in returning to CIA custody."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Had it been anyone else, you would have shot him through the head before allowing him to collaborate with Sloane."
There was an oppressive silence in the room. Jack's reputation for ruthlessness, for making tough decisions in high-pressure situations, was well known.
"I didn't," he began haltingly, "I didn't believe Irina would join forces with Sloane."
"But you were wrong, weren't you?"
Pause.
"Answer the question."
"Yes."
