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I’d recommended sending Dew Phillips and his team immediately.”

“Dew’s team,” Vanessa said. “By that you mean Perry Dawsey. No way.

We’re not going through that again.”

Murray’s stomach churned. He needed a Tums and p.r.o.nto—he’d sent Dew to g.a.y.l.o.r.d right before he’d walked into the Oval Office.

“We have to send Perry, sir,” Murray said. “Dawsey is the only one who can detect the hosts.”

Vanessa smiled. He hated that smile. Really . . . f.u.c.king . . . hated it.

“But you already know where the Jewells live,” Vanessa said. “And you didn’t get that information from Perry Dawsey, correct?”

He had walked right into that one. So f.u.c.king obvious he hadn’t even realized it.

“Yes ma’am, but they could behave like other infected hosts and run, so we need Dawsey.”

“I see,” Vanessa said. “Well, I would think that if Dawsey had detected this g.a.y.l.o.r.d infection, you would have already said so. So am I right in a.s.suming he did not detect this one?”

“That’s correct,” Murray said. “He feels that . . . uh . . . his ability to detect the hosts is being jammed by some unknown force.”

“So he did not detect it this time,” Vanessa said. “Which means if the Jewells do run, there’s no knowing whether Perry can track them at all.”

Murray’s face felt very hot. “I would say that’s correct, ma’am. But we also don’t know if this jamming will continue, or if he can hear them should he get closer. He’s the only detection a.s.set we have. We need to send him now.”

“What we need to do,” Vanessa said, “is make sure we help the Jewells before it’s too late. After we have them, then bring in Dawsey—under heavy guard—to communicate with the triangles. He can still do that, right, Murray?”

“Yes,” Murray said, although he really didn’t know the answer.

“Then we agree that it’s a bad idea to send Dawsey in first.”

Murray shook his head. “That’s not what I said.”

“Come on, Murray,” she said. “Your tangled web of secrets just isn’t working. We need to stop f.u.c.king around.”

“I hardly think Amos Braun was f.u.c.king around when he died in the line of duty, Miss Colburn.” The words shot out of his mouth before he could control them.

“Of course that’s not what she meant,” Gutierrez said coolly. “Right, Vanessa?”

She glared at Murray. The eyes sent a clear message: You just embarra.s.sed me in front of the president, and I won’t forget it.