The Dark Tetrad

The president saw the blinking light on his phone and reached for it. Crawford knew Blake was one of the few operatives with clearance to call the president directly. Most every other agent had to go through proper channels, relaying intelligence to officers above their pay grade. Anything POTUS needed to know was typically funnelled to the agency director, who would report it to the president.

But Blake was in a unique position. After thirty years in Russia, with a network of former KGB agents and current high-level Russian military officers at his disposal, he had intelligence nobody could touch. To the president, he was the second-most valuable intelligence agent he knew. The president picked up the phone, placed his hand over the receiver, and gave Crawford a look that said, I’ve got it, thanks. You can leave now. Crawford knew the look. He’d seen it many times before. He bowed his head slightly and left the room.