but Vinter had opened his eyes to the reality of Washington. She had shown him that there were times where rules were senseless obstacles. Rapp appeared to have built his entire career and reputation on the same philosophy. As enticing as it was to cut corners, Poole knew he needed to be careful. The U.S. Army was an entirely different playground. One misstep in the eyes of the wrong general and your career was over.
It was the fear of just that kind of misstep that caused Poole to temper what he knew about Rapp. "It's not easy to separate fact from fiction where he's concerned, but if you believe even half of what is said about him, he's an extremely reckless individual." The kind of man that could sink my career, Poole thought to himself.
"Dammit!" Vinter flicked her cigarette into the side of the container, sparks cascading to the ground. "The last thing we need right now is some brute from the CIA screwing this up. I've worked way too hard." Vinter thought of her career at the State Department and all of the sacrifices she'd made to climb the ladder alongside all of the other scheming and plotting diplomats. She'd taken this god-awful posting in Afghanistan for multiple, complicated reasons and one very simple one - because it would further her career. Vinter hated Afghanistan. It was a country filled with people who were stuck in some ancient misogynistic culture that should have died a century ago. The place was filled with hocus-pocus religious fanatics, who had less respect for women than most men had for their dogs.
As much as it bothered Vinter that a bunch of bearded freaks could terrorize women with impunity while the U.S. government stood by, her boss had made it clear that there were other priorities. The orders had come from the White House that with the election bearing down on the administration they needed to accelerate the military withdrawal. The administration was looking for an excuse, any excuse that would satisfy the independent voters. For several years, Vinter had been pushing reintegration as a solution. The original term had been amnesty, but it didn't poll well, so she came up with something more benign. After multiple focus groups and $125,000 to one of K Street's top PR firms, they landed on reintegration. The word had a more clinical sound to it, but more important, it would pave the way for exit and victory.
It was one of those rare moments in Vinter's career when her genius had led to something that she didn't want. It had been nearly a year ago when the secretary of state's assistant told her to come on up to the palatial office for a very important meeting. It started out well enough. The secretary told her the president loved her idea. Vinter had beamed with pride, like a child finally receiving due recognition from a distant parent, and then came the bad part. The president wanted her to take the lead, run with her idea, and make sure it got implemented. Her boss told her, "The president wants you on the ground in Kabul supervising the entire operation. You'll report directly to me. We're putting a lot of power in your hands. The ambassador will be told to aid you in any way you need and the White House is prepared to lean very heavily on the Pentagon and the CIA to make sure they support you. For all intents and purposes you will be running the show in Afghanistan."
Vinter didn't really hear the rest of it; her mind hung up on the part about living in Kabul, as if it were some bone-jarring pothole in an otherwise smooth road. Vinter had traveled to Afghanistan on multiple occasions, and she had long ago decided that she detested the place, but this was a career maker. She knew almost immediately that if she did her year or two in hell she could demand any post she wanted afterward. Her husband was not thrilled that she had failed to consult him on the decision, but she knew he wouldn't have the balls to really stand up to her. And besides, her teenage son was driving her nuts. There was too much testosterone in the house for her liking. She rationalized that it might be the best thing for her to take a break from the two men in her life, and if it caused her marriage to fall apart, that was