The real-life heroine depicted in "Zero Dark Thirty."

WaPo presents a different image:

The operative, who remains undercover... has sparred with CIA colleagues over credit for the bin Laden mission. After being given a prestigious award for her work... “She hit ‘reply all’ ” to an e-mail announcement of the awards, a ... former CIA official said. The thrust of her message, the former official said, was: “You guys tried to obstruct me. You fought me. Only I deserve the award.”

Over the past year, she was denied a promotion that would have raised her civil service rank from GS-13 to GS-14, bringing an additional $16,000 in annual pay.... The move stunned the woman’s former associates, despite her reputation for clashing with colleagues.

“Do you know how many CIA officers are jerks?” the former official said. “If that was a disqualifier, the whole National Clandestine Service would be gone.”