Cross Down

Dr. Alex Cross earned his Ph.D. in psychology from Johns Hopkins University before working at both the FBI and the DC Metro Police as a detective and criminologist. He studies criminal psychology and has penned a book titled Dark Minds, Dark Desires: Case Histories of the Criminally Insane. He is well-known by friends and foes for his crime-solving ability. When Maynard’s men hit Cross, the Boss’s dialogue is used to characterize Cross: “The man who solved more serial-killer cases than anyone else in the FBI? The guy who works with the FBI, Secret Service, and Homeland Security and who has written books on crime and psychology?” (60). Because Cross is shot and gravely wounded early in the novel, however, he is hardly present in Cross Down and exists to motivate Sampson.

In this novel, Cross’s characterization makes him a part of the magician archetype. He represents the fundamental understanding of the “universe” in the series, he makes things happen, and in this book, his discarded pieces of paper allow him to magically save the day, despite being in a coma for part of the action. His theory about the terrorist attacks provides proof and impetus for Sampson to solve the mystery and prevent a coup.

General Grissom is the novel’s antagonist and the mastermind of the coup that is the ultimate aim of the many foes Sampson faces. He is an authoritative type of villain often seen in political thrillers. Grissom is presented as an honorable soldier, well respected by those around him. His followers willingly die for the cause Grissom espouses, and he leads an army of insurrectionists who do his bidding without question.

He is a straight talker who quickly assesses the merits and weaknesses of the men and women around him. As such, he easily commands groups. Chapters told from his perspective are concise yet brimming with observation. Those around Grissom respect him. Sampson thinks, “[i]f there’s a service ribbon for kissing political asses, it’s notably absent on General Grissom’s dress uniform” (15).

Grissom’s only son Nathan was a US soldier killed by an IED in Afghanistan. Grief-stricken, his wife died by suicide a year after their son’s death. Overwhelmed by the pointlessness of these losses, Grissom blames the United States government. He views the government as ineffective and the cause of America’s decline. Given the chance, Grissom believes he can course correct the nation, restoring her glory and avoiding pointless losses like the death of his son. Grissom is a dynamic character, whose views were altered by his experiences.

Grissom is the crux of the disgruntled employee motif and an authority villain because of the destruction his schemes wrought. His former goodness qualifies him also an anti-villain. He honestly believes that he is saving the country from nefarious forces, but he fails to understand how his actions are authoritarian.

President Kent is the former governor of Maine and a career politician. He is characterized by Grissom as indecisive and weak. Throughout the novel, Kent defers to General Grissom, only asserting himself in the most extreme circumstances. General Grissom thinks, “[t]his president also has the same weakness as his two predecessors: he wants to be liked by all the people he serves” (3). It is this “weakness” that prevents President Kent from enacting martial law early in the novel, despite General Grissom’s pleas. The stress of the presidency wears on Kent. He says, “[y]ou ever see the side-by-side photos of presidents on the day they’re inaugurated and the day they leave office? It’s all there, all the burdens, all the decisions, in the lines on their faces and their white hair” (12). President Kent is the foil to General Grissom’s character. What Grissom characterizes as “weakness” is simply the opposing force to Grissom’s authoritarianism.

Elizabeth Deacon is a former CIA field agent who transitioned to contract work for the CIA. Deacon is quick-witted and strong-willed, and she is respected by the members of her team. When she seeks transport to Afghanistan, she is equipped with one of only two supersonic jets with extraordinarily little turnaround time. This is a demonstration of her reputation in the agency and her political pull in the community.

Confronted with the news that her former cross-border team is being killed, she jumps into action, trusts no one, and helps piece together the mystery that surrounds their mission two years prior. She risks her life in the service of the preservation of the US government and has no qualms about it.

Deacon is a divorcee whose ex-husband is Gerrold Mason, one of the chief aids in General Grissom’s conspiracy to overthrow the government. Mason is the vice president of Global Security Services, the firm responsible for using advanced weaponry to demolish the village of Mir Kas in Afghanistan. At the end of the novel, Deacon has been gravely wounded and is in a coma, her survival uncertain.

Deacon’s characterization casts her as a potential accomplice to the plot to overthrow the government. When Maynard discovers that the Boss is a woman, Deacon and the other women in powerful positions become latent suspects. Sampson repeatedly distrusts Deacon, even though she goes out of her way to help him figure out who is killing off their team and how that is connected to the terrorist attacks. She destroys evidence, but because the narrative never reveals her interiority, her motivation for that action is not clarified until later when she explains herself to Sampson.

Deacon is Sampson’s sidekick in this novel. Her hero classification is somewhere between willing hero and anti-hero. She raises a gun to shoot a fleeing man in the back, a plot device that keeps her status regarding the terrorist attacks murky. She shows little response when the men she fought with are murdered, which positions her as potentially working against them. She insists that she always pays her debts, but she also hides information. Regardless of her muddy ethics and motives, Deacon’s contributions strengthen Sampson’s heroism.

Two years before the novel’s opening, Elizabeth Deacon of the CIA leads a team of six military men across the border from Tajikistan to Afghanistan to meet with a warlord, place sensors, and pay off a local. While on this mission, several members see things that don’t add up. One former member of the team, a soldier named Mel Carr, uncovers that the members of the team are being killed by the shadowy forces behind the domestic terror attacks. When fellow soldiers’ murders are ruled “suicides,” a rival soldier tells Carr he’ll be a “suicide” too. This sparks the suspicion that the team is being wiped out. Carr warns Sampson, who in turn warns Deacon and Paco Ruiz. Ruiz is murdered as he receives the news from Sampson, and Carr is killed shortly after. The only remaining member is Gary Bastinelli, who has retired and turned into a prepper in remote New Hampshire. Bastinelli helps Deacon and Sampson escape from an attack but will not aid them in their mission to uncover the forces behind the domestic attacks. These characters and their mission serve as a method of characterization for Sampson and Deacon as well as a point of support for the theme of The Military as Untouchable in American Political Discourse due to their mission and subsequent disposability.