One Neel was sitting at his desk in the early afternoon when the telephone rang. He’d been working on a sentencing recommendation since nine a.m. Two Chinese-born Americans were pleading guilty to charges that they’d attempted to sell missile guidance software to a Turkish buyer unapproved by the State Department. Neel wanted twelve years, but his division chief thought Neel would be lucky to get the eight he’d offered as the lower bound of the plea deal. The chief, who’d stopped by on his way to lunch, counted off his reasons: first, the defendants were young and naive; second, the FBI had foiled the scheme at an early stage; third, the technology didn’t work. What we had here was run-of-the-mill fraud, said the chief, not a breach of national security. Now Neel was struggling to convince himself that the judge would see things his way.
He was distracted, and a little irritated, when he spoke into the receiver. “Chima, Justice.”
“I’d like us to talk,” a man replied, in a grave voice.
“And you are?”
When he said his name, in that same implacable tone, Neel shivered. The caller worked at the highest levels of the CIA. He was renowned, in government circles, for his celibacy, devotion, and fearsome power. He was one of those men who, in consecrating their lives to the agency, had entered a shadow priesthood. Though they’d never met, the caller—this priest—said he’d been keeping an eye on Neel for years.
“Are you happy where you are?” the priest asked. “Toiling in the trenches of the Justice Department?”
Neel had been a deputy assistant attorney general for most of George W. Bush’s second term. Though he occupied only a small room in a massive building, he hardly considered himself a trench worker.
Before Neel could protest, the priest said he had an offer to make. The Freedom Center, the newest federal intelligence agency, needed a deputy director. The priest said that he
and many others thought Neel was an up-and-comer. Neel had an exemplary record, both as a naval officer and as a federal prosecutor. The priest was fascinated by Neel’s Punjabi bloodlines. Neel could be a pioneer, he said, and a man of great value to his government. He wanted Neel to visit him at Langley. If Neel was interested, that is, in a change.
Copyright © 2025 by Rav Grewal-Kök. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
