Luca was in Yemen, still waiting for the right moment to utter the crucial word.
After returning to the United States to receive direct instructions from Panetta, Joelson first went to Baghdad for a secret meeting with Gao Yi, carrying Panetta's directives with him.
"I've come with a mission!"
Joelson's pride and joy could no longer be concealed. Upon meeting with Gao Yi, he declared that he had received his mission.
Of course, when Joelson said this, it wasn't because he wanted to boast, but rather to inform Gao Yi that he had received Panetta's approval and was no longer just someone remotely controlled by Crawford through Panetta.
If Joelson hadn't received Panetta's approval, he wouldn't have shown up at all, and the most likely possibility would have been that he disappeared forever.
Now that Joelson had come with a mission from Panetta, it meant that he had become Panetta's man. Perhaps not yet trusted enough to be his confidant, but definitely deemed reliable by Panetta.
