“I need your professional assessment on one of my guys. Not a damn thing wrong with his performances; in fact, he’s top of the heap in Team Six.”

Swanson raised an eyebrow. Six was the elite of the elite, the guys who finally nailed Osama bin Laden. Nobody got into that secretive, handpicked bunch without exceptional skills.

“Petty Officer First Class Ryan Powell is maybe the best shooter we’ve got. He can punch holes in the ten-ring with either hand, and even while holding a weapon upside down. We picked him for the Special Warfare Development Group a few years ago because of exceptional performance. He is still sort of young, twenty-seven, but is just the kind of pup we love to groom for better things. He’s got all the skills: powerful, can swim forever, and has the reflexes of a cat after a bug. His teammates call him Captain America.”

“Sounds like your typical Team Six Superman. What’s the problem?” Kyle sipped the water.

Rockhead ran a palm across the bristly hair on his tanned scalp as ropy muscles worked in his forearms. “My gut is the problem, Gunny. You know how Superman has problems with that kryptonite shit? Well, I’m looking past the fitness reports. There’s something missing with Powell, and I can’t put my finger on it. I want you to work out in the Ghost House with him tomorrow, get up close and personal, put him under pressure, and give me a personal reading.”

“What will I be looking for, Rock?”

“I’m thinking Superman has turned coward.”

Kyle let that comment sit undisturbed for a while, but it was if a small elephant had just taken the third chair at the table. Swanson considered SEALs to be among the best fighters on the planet, so the Rock worrying that one of his best boys might be cracking up came as a shock. Some electric country music filtered out to the deck from the bar inside. “So, why me?”

“I want an outsider’s unofficial viewpoint that can be kept between the two of us. If you think he’s fine, he stays. I don’t want to ruin his reputation and career and usefulness, but not everyone is cut out for this work, and I can’t put other lives in jeopardy because this guppy has lost his nerve.”