During my years in Washington I had several interactions with the intelligence community, and several friends who had backgrounds with the CIA. Interestingly, if perhaps coincidentally, most of those I knew from the Agency were women. It was, therefore, natural to have Carter’s colleague be a woman from the Agency.
One of my former CIA friends was, like Katherine, a second generation agency employee. Her parents, at least her father, had been with the agency and she told me that, like the army where many young officers are “army brats,” second and third generation CIA officers is not uncommon. I decided to make Katherine a “CIA brat” to emphasize how for so many families public service is truly a calling despite the sacrifices and the risks. During the Cold War era, those in the armed forces dealt with the risks of occasional shooting wars, while those in the CIA and other services of the intelligence community (the “IC”) dealt with different risks on a daily basis.
As for Katherine’s relationship to Carter, I wanted it to be a one of equals where they have much in common, such as athletic ability and a shared value set, but each has different qualities that work best when they work together. Carter is more conceptual, while Katherine is more detailed; Carter easily adapts to changed circumstances, Katherine adapts a bit more slowly. In essence, their initial relationship is similar to that seen between Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in many of their great movies such as their 1942 classic, Woman of the Year. This worked emotionally and mentally well for me as Katherine is a composite of two close female friends who were with the CIA in roles unlike Katherine’s, but her background is largely drawn from one and her personality from the other.
In case you missed it somehow, you can expect more from Carter and Katherine in the future. That date they agree to on the last page is not the end, but an exciting beginning.