Question A

[Jonetta]

The story opens with a bank hostage situation where a young Max Bhagat is faced with a crisis in the negotiations and resolves it unconventionally. What did you learn about him? What was the significance of this event to the story?

[Anita]

He has very good people instincts at a young age. Not something that he could be taught. He trusted his innate instincts about people, and it served him well through his career and especially in this situation.

[Lauren]

I enjoyed this prologue and the insights into Max's character, i.e., that he will do anything to get the job done and won't allow anyone, not even those in authority, to get in his way.

That said, I am not sure what the purpose of this prologue was exactly as it has nothing to do with the actual plot of this book.

[Sharon]

It told me a lot about his personality. He will do what it takes to get the job done. He can read people and adjust his methodology to negotiate with them. It also shows that he has a future in the FBI.

[Jonetta]

I thought, even in that moment, that this scene was all about Max. Even back then, he was pretty fearless and irreverent but also smart and astute. I loved it as I didn’t really know much about him other that through the filtered versions of others.

As to how it relates to the story, I’ll point to that shocking move in a Indonesia when he shot Grady while he was faking being dead. That was a Max move that made sense if you recalled the prologue.