Ms. Lahiri’s gaze dropped to her notepad. “Before we get started, I have some concerns I’d like to discuss.”
Tower nodded. “Please, go ahead.”
In a blink, the fear he’d seen disappeared from her eyes. In its place, Connor saw the confidence of a successful, Harvard-educated attorney.
“The people I’ll be interviewing are victims of terrible violence—arson, rape, murder. I’d like to do my job without adding to their trauma. That means no camo or visible military garb and, if at all possible, no guns.”
Connor blinked.
What had she just said?
Noguns?
Connor fought the impulse to laugh, exchanging glances with Jones and Cruz, who were just as surprised as he was.
Seriously. No guns?
Connor had to give Tower credit. The man kept his game face, seeming to consider Ms. Lahiri’s ridiculous request.
“Obviously, we want you to be able to complete your mission. We’ll wear street clothes. That’s not a problem. Most protection details wear regionally appropriate street clothes over body armor, not camo. But I won’t send my men into the camps without firearms. That would be a dereliction of duty. I won’t risk your life—or theirs.”
Damn straight.
Ms. Lahiri’s chin went up. “Surely, there must be other options—nonlethal weapons like Tasers or pepper spray.”
Connor’s gaze met Tower’s.
Yeah, what the fuck, man?
Mr. Meijer cut in. “Shanti is concerned that people, particularly women, will be afraid to speak with her if she’s accompanied by armed men. Also—I think you should know—she is uncomfortable around soldiers and firearms due to family history.”
She didn’t deny it. “I know what they can do.”
Yeah, so did Connor. He’d been on the receiving end of bullets. Still, most people felt safer with a Cobra team around specificallybecausethey were armed.
Tower nodded. “That’s good to know. I understand your concerns, Ms. Lahiri. Here’s the problem: If anything goes sideways at the camp, the enemy won’t be packing Tasers or pepper spray or baseball bats. They’ll carry rifles. Of course, you could always decline our services and search for another team.”
Whoa. Way to lay it on the line, Tower.
Mr. Meijer shook his head. “No, no. We respect your judgment.”
Ms. Lahiri looked anything but satisfied.
Did she expect them to protect her from men with automatic weapons without being able to return fire?
“Ms. Lahiri?” Tower waited, his gaze fixed on her.
“Can you conceal your weapons? The Secret Service doesn’t walk around carrying openly, and they protect our presidents.”
Tower looked like he was considering this.
Oh, come on, man. No way.
“We might be able to accommodate you on that, depending on how the situation seems on the ground,” Tower said after a moment. “However, the point of carrying a weapon is to be ready to use it. They won’t do you any good otherwise. We will, of course, do all we can not to impede your work or intimidate anyone.”
“Thank you. I would appreciate that.”
Tower handed Meijer and Ms. Lahiri each a folder. “Inside, you’ll find information about Cobra—who we are, how we operate—as well as a list of precautions we expect Ms. Lahiri to take while we’re in the field. I want to go through those now.”