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“And I understand that because it did, your leave got cancelled and you’re taking my place in Ops.”
“Yeah, it’s no big deal,” he said.
“Yes, it is. I’m sorry that happened. This was the last thing I needed, something to show Shepherd that I’m not reliable.”
“You had no control over your appendix rupturing. I’m sure Shepherd is not thinking that.”
“It doesn’t really matter anymore, anyway. I’m sure I’ll be gone after this month since I won’t get my FBI coursework submitted by the end of my probation.”
“Your what?”
“Oh, you didn’t hear about that? I was sure everyone already knew. They placed me on probation last month because I did not complete my FBI coursework and it totally wasn’t fair because I technically have until the end of this month to do it. I’m not even sure what will happen. I don’t know if I’ll just get fired or if I’ll get sent back to my unit, which has deployed and is over in the Middle East; the last fucking place I want to go.”
“No, Laura, I heard absolutely nothing about that. I’m not sure why I would have. Man, I’m sorry.” He’d never heard of anyone at the agency that was put on a disciplinary probation. “Are you having a problem with any particular section I can help you with?”
“Okay, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m not having problems with any of the material.”
“I-I don’t understand,” he said.
He looked very confused.
“Duh, I finished it a long time ago. I just haven’t submitted it.”
“Why would you do that?”
“When I saw on Michael Cooper’s documents that Harrison West was the FBI official who performed the final review and signed off on his credentials, I knew I couldn’t let them get submitted.”
“I’m not following you, Laura.”
“I knew Harrison West when I was in college. He was one of my professors. We have let me call it a history, and it’s not a good one. I should have filed a restraining order against him back then, but I knew graduating and going to OCS Fort Benning would solve the problem. As far as I know, he has no idea where I’m at now, and I absolutely want to keep it that way.”
“Shit, Laura, are you sure it’s the same person?”
“Yes, one hundred percent sure. I knew he worked for the FBI when I was in college. The first day I was in Ops last month, I used the agency resources to pull up his picture in the FBI database. It’s the same scumbag, alright.”
“Did you tell anyone at the agency?”
“No, of course I didn’t. I accessed the FBI database to look at his picture without permission. And let’s face it, I already knew I wasn’t Shepherd’s favorite person because I’d refused the Operator training.”
“Laura, completing the coursework to earn your badge and credentials isn’t something that is just going to go away. They take it very seriously.”
“I know that!” she insisted. “I was at first trying to buy time to figure out what to do. I thought I’d have until the end of September before anyone questioned me about it. I was wrong.” Her heart rate spiked on the EKG.
“Laura, you have to tell Shepherd about West.”
“I’m not sure I can at this point. It will look like I am making excuses.”
“Not if you show him the completed coursework and tell him why you didn’t submit it,” Smith said. “Shepherd is fair, Laura. I’ve worked for him for over four years, and I’ve never seen him treat anyone badly. When you opposed the Operator training, he substituted in Ops training. He could have presented you with an ultimatum, but he didn’t.”
“I’m not crazy about working in Ops either. I’m an engineer, Caleb. I studied hard, and I worked my ass off to succeed at it. It doesn’t matter what year it is, it’s still the boys’ club, especially in the Army. A woman has to work twice as hard as everyone else in that field, and a black woman even harder. I took this job to be an engineer, not an Ops analyst. I don’t want to sit there looking at monitors, worrying that people I know are going to get shot and killed. And I sure as hell don’t want to see it happen.”
“You were an Army officer, Laura,” Smith reminded her.
“Yes, with the Army Corps of Engineers. All our jobs were stateside. I had two more years commitment from my ROTC, and my unit had just gotten word we were going to deploy to the Middle East. That’s why I took this job with Shepherd Security. I didn’t want to deploy to a war zone. As far as I’m concerned, this was a bait and switch scam. Madison never said doing anything other than the PGP Install Project would be asked of me.”
“Laura, you were in the Army, and you knew what kind of unit this was. Everyone in the Army is a soldier first and can be shipped into a war zone at any given time. If you didn’t think it was possible, that’s on you,” he said strongly. “Besides, it’s a matter of getting the mission accomplished and being a team player.”
“You don’t feel like you were suckered? You were a computer geek and first they pull you into Ops and now they’re putting you into the field,” she argued.