Kent 'Rat' Rathman is an agent with the CIA.
Technically he is a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, an experienced and highly decorated member of the Seals, a man who has spent a fair number of his adult years fighting in various parts of the world including a stint in Bosnia attached to the French Special Forces. When his current tour was coming to an end, working with the Navy's Dev Group as a counter-terrorism expert, and it looked like a transfer to become a training instructor, Rathman was less than thrilled for he wanted more action, more challenge. At the same time, the CIA was establishing a new Special Activities Staff, or SAS group, and they needed someone with considerable experience to head it.
Rathman is said to be fairly tall and sinewy, strong without being muscle-bound. He has dark skin which lets him fit in well in many parts of the world though his bright blue eyes, when seen, tend to break any illusions. He is trained to speak several foreign languages like a native, especially Arabic and he can switch back and forth between them without hesitation.
Blessed with a sense of humor, not to mention authentic humility when it comes to his own achievements and abilities, Rathman has had trouble at times with superiors who want more respect from him than he is able to muster. He is seldom outright disrespectful but he has a tendency to smile when he encounters pomposity and if he is asked a question, he will answer it forthrightly, even if the asker really did not desire the truth.
Sharing the stage in this two-book action series is the very intelligent, gutsy, and attractive Sarah St. James, a woman who knows the hallways of bureaucracy like Rathman knows the alleys of the world. She and Rathman are friends with considerable respect for each other. As she has climbed her way to the position of National Security Advisor to the President, that ascent has been helped by her habit of seeking the advice and opinion and facts from people who do the actual work, such as Rathman, as opposed to those who played the promotion game. She takes considerable pride in the fact that when she states an opinion, it is backed with a great deal of thought and facts.
As the two lengthy adventures unfold, attention shifts routinely from the action of Rathman, either alone or with his CIA-sponsored team, and the White House politicing that St.James has to do, making for interesting changes in perspective.