A hint of a cruel smile appeared on Charles’ features, but his colleagues waited expressionlessly for me to get settled.
Once I was, the Lieutenant Commander and Commander sat back while Charles preened like a peacock. Clearly, he was running the show today. Just my luck.
“Dobbs.” He folded his arms on the table. “You’re here to discuss your actions during your most recent mission to Tehran.”
“Yes, sir.” I fixed him with my gaze.
He narrowed his but didn’t look away. “Your mission was to locate American hostages and extract them, correct?”
“Yes, sir. We achieved both objectives.”
The Lieutenant Commander next to Charles nodded, but the man himself didn’t move a muscle. “You did, but you failed to wait for the order to move forward. According to the report, a firefight broke out before we had cleared the civilians from the area.”
There was no question there, but I answered anyway. “That is correct.”
“Are you aware that gunfire kills people, Dobbs?” He pursed his lips. “Particularly when being fired by hostiles within their own territory.”
“Yes, sir.”
A predatory gleam entered his eyes, and he leaned forward like he was going in for the kill. “In light of that, would you agree that your actions put the lives of the very hostages we sent you to save in danger?”
“No, sir, I would not.” I made eye contact with him first, then with each man beside him. “All the hostages were extracted safe and sound, sir. Their lives were in danger for the entire time they were in that building. Our actions did not place their lives in further danger. We saved them.”
He banged his fist against the table, his face turning an alarming shade of puce. “Your actions drew armed hostiles toward those hostages. Your actions caused said hostiles to fire on those hostages. How in God’s name can you justify something like that?”
“With all due respect, sir,” which, admittedly, wasn’t much, “suggesting that we drew armed hostiles toward the hostages is disingenuous. The hostiles were on the property, already armed and already wielding their weapons against our people. What we did got them away from their captors.”
“Without waiting for the order authorizing you to take any action whatsoever,” he barked. A vein in his forehead bulged, and his hands curled into fists. “Do you understand how the command structure works?”
“I do, sir. We waited for the order, but it never came. A window of opportunity presented itself when all the hostiles vacated the area where the hostages were being kept. After days of surveillance, that was the first time they’d left the hostages alone and none of their captors were in their immediate vicinity.”
“Why do you think that makes it okay to move without permission from your lieutenant?” he ground out.
I raised my chin. “We passed the information on to the lieutenant, but no order was forthcoming. The decision had to be made, and I made it.”
“If you had waited—”
I interrupted him. It certainly wouldn’t buy me any points with the panel, but this was getting ridiculous. “If we had waited, there might not have been another opportunity to get them out safely for days. If at all.”
“You don’t know that,” he spat, the vein visibly throbbing now. The dude was going to have a monster of a headache after this. Between the vein and the mottled appearance of his skin, it seemed the interrogation wasn’t doing his blood pressure any favors. I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for him, though.
I shook my head, rolling my lips into my mouth as I stared him down. “I don’t know that, sir. None of us know what might have happened if we had waited. What we do know is that, as a result of our actions, the mission was a success and the hostages are safe.”
“As a result of your actions?” He scoffed, his eyes widening so much I saw the white all around his irises. Scary shit. “You cocky fuc—”
“I think we can agree you achieved the objectives of the mission,” the Commander cut in. “Whether by your own actions or those of the team you formed part of.”
I nodded, not bothering to point out that it had been my decision that had led to the success of the mission.
I hadn’t done it for the recognition anyway. It just would have been nice not to have been having a pineapple shoved up my ass for making the decision that allowed the team to carry out the mission successfully.