Zero Day

Both Puller and Cole are motivated by duty. Puller lives by rules: Men don’t cry; Puller men are always in control; follow your orders and accept the limitations imposed by authorities. For the most part, he thrives within those boundaries—he is successful at his job and content with his role as a soldier serving others rather than giving the orders himself.

Cole is more inner-directed. Her one superior—the Drake County sheriff—is detached from his role and leaves the investigation to Cole without interference. Without the rigidity imposed on her from above, her sense of duty arises from a motive of love—she loves the land and the people she grew up with, and her passion is to guard and protect them. Cole’s dedication prompts her to stay with Puller as he disarms the bomb, resulting in her death; if she had left when Puller told her to go, she could have been out of range of the falling debris that killed her.

Puller’s sense of duty evolves to be informed not just by rules and orders but by love for real people. He violates his orders and warns Cole of the bomb threat because he feels she is entitled to know, and he tells her that if she decides to warn the town, he not only won’t stop her but will help her because it would be the right thing to do. He leaves the final decision to Cole, judging that she has the moral authority to make the choice. He is finding a balance between his orders and his internal values.

Puller is aware of male hostility toward women in the military and the civilian police force. When he first sees Cole interacting with her subordinates, he reflects that women in the Armed Forces still encounter hostility, disrespect, and insubordination, and it appears that the pattern extends to police. Cole’s subordinates follow orders, but they do so with an attitude of resentment. While Puller recognizes the behavior, he doesn’t interfere or attempt to rescue her. He shows her the respect of letting her deal with it, which she does effectively enough. She makes her subordinates respect her and lets the resentment roll over her. Any attempt by Puller to interfere would undermine her authority.

Baldacci also shows examples of women who benefit from support from men when it’s done appropriately. Lieutenant Strickland describes Colonel Reynolds as her mentor and friend. Men in positions of power can provide support to women by assuming mentoring roles as they often do with younger men, sharing experience and advice, but not undermining the woman’s authority by interfering directly with her subordinates.

All of the female characters in positions of authority are presented as being competent and effective, with the same strengths and making the same mistakes as men. Puller expects neither more nor less of women. For example, he gives General Carson a second chance because he believes in second chances, not because she is a woman. He shows the same forbearance for Dickie Strauss and would do so for anyone else.

Some of the difficulty for women in military and para-military organizations stems from the belief that physically, women are at a significant disadvantage in combat. If that is true in combat, such physical features are irrelevant in command positions, but for some men coming from fields where strength and aggression are valued, females may still seem like interlopers even in roles where their physical disadvantages don’t matter. In Cole’s job, for example, weapons, technology, and the availability of rapid backup compensate for physical disadvantages. The women in Zero Day are depicted as extremely competent at their jobs. They still sometimes encounter resistance from men under their command, but men like Puller and Colonel Reynolds are able to respect them for the assets they have and not denigrate them for the characteristics they lack.