Operation Desolation Read Online Free

tried changing the subject. “What have you been working on, Dillon?” He immediately regretted the question.
    â€œWe’re downsizing.” Ritter finished his drink, then waved at the waiter for a refill.
    â€œThey’re outsourcing any new work to avoid permanent hires. Congress is spending money like a drunken sailor but somehow the people I work for have managed to get none of it.”
    â€œYou’re still working, though?” Chuck asked, sounding concerned. No one liked a colleague finding himself out of work, not in this economy. They might be specialized in a growing field but hard landings were all too common.
    â€œMe? Sure.” From a CTI colleague the previous month Jeff had heard that Ritter had failed to keep up with the latest technology. This coupled with his age would make him an unattractive hire. “I guess you two heard about my divorce? Well, it caught me by surprise. I had no idea….” His voice trailed off. “At least haven’t been laid off.” He looked directly across the table at Chuck when he said that.
    Chuck took it personally. “I wasn’t laid off or let go or whatever you want to call it,” he said. “I’d had enough, you know? Tell him, Jeff. You know what the Company was like then, what it’s still like. The bureaucracy is stifling, there’s no appreciation of innovation, an utter lack of foresight, and getting ahead in your career is the number one concern the moment you reach management. I knew 9/11 was coming, so did Jeff, so did a lot of us, but no one listened. Absolutely no one!”
    â€œSorry if I touched a nerve,” Ritter said, holding up a defensive hand.
    â€œI won’t pretend they weren’t happy to see me out the door, you know? But every day I’m out of it, I’m grateful. I haven’t attended a meeting since then. I don’t have bosses. Sure, being on my own has been tough, I’ll admit. I think I’ve been blackballed from my contacts. But there’s plenty of work out there if you want it. What I want, what I really want, is to see some justice at the CIA. Heads should have rolled over their incompetence. Instead, the good guys were shown the door, or went of their own accord when they saw the writing on the wall, you know?”
    Ritter’s drink arrived. Both Jeff and Chuck shook off another. Ritter turned to Jeff. “How about you? Going to tell us how you saved the world?” That last part came out sounding a bit aggressive and jealous, Jeff thought.
    â€œNothing like that. Listen, Dillon, I’m hungry and need to get going. I’ve got work to do yet tonight so let’s have dinner here. Care to join us, Chuck?”
    Chuck shook his head as he slid out of the booth and straightened up. “No. I’ll see you tomorrow, Jeff,” he said pointedly, and stomped off.
    Ritter stared after him with a smirk. “Something I said?”
    Dinner was typical hotel fare. As they ate, Ritter said, “I was surprised to hear just how bitter and disillusioned Chuck has become. He didn’t used to be that way.”
    â€œHe got a raw deal,” Jeff said. “He was one of the Company’s shining stars and his boss was jealous, did everything he could to push him down, shove him out the door. And he is right: no one listened when he tried to warn them about 9/11.”
    Jeff changed the subject and asked more about Ritter, who said he was working on counter measures for a U.S. military project. It was winding down, however, and he wasn’t certain what he’d be doing in a few months. He made light of it though. “They’ll find something for me, they always do.” He sighed, then looked at Jeff pointedly. “Not that I wouldn’t be interested in something else if it was offered.”
    Jeff didn’t take the bait. Neither he nor Daryl was looking to hire anyone and if they were, Ritter didn’t have the