Ghosts of War Read Free Page A

this experiment down.
    Kurt tried one more time. “Sir, what happened in Norway shouldn’t stop us from continuing. We have a couple of targets that pose a clear and present danger to US interests. I’m just asking for Alpha authority. Asking to explore.”
    President Warren said, “No. I’m not even putting it to a vote. Jonathan Billings’s death has caused a firestorm, and like it or not, your attempt to prevent it is wrapped up in that. If we’re exposed, it’ll be catastrophic. You’re still on stand-down.”
    â€œSir . . . did you see the reports of Russian ex-KGB trying to sell uranium to terrorists in Moldova? This is not the time to stop Taskforce activities. If anything, we’ve become more necessary.”
    Palmer scoffed and said, “Come on. The FBI caught them. We found them through traditional channels. The world is returning to level, where traditional means matter more than Taskforce efforts. We didn’t have the Taskforce during the Cold War, and we did okay.”
    Kurt chose his words carefully, not wanting to antagonize a Council member. “Maybe. Maybe not. The FBI broke up a one-time plot, but the shitheads were then put into the host country’s justice system. Ex-KGB. How hard do you think that was? They’re going to be released in months, if they’re not out already, and we got no intelligence from it. Let me hunt those guys and we’ll do some real good.”
    Kurt waited on someone from the Oversight Council to back him up, but no one did, preferring to stare at their hands or the tabletop. The silence stretched out for a beat, then was broken by President Warren. “You may have a point, but at this stage we just can’t risk it.Too many people are curious and looking into our activities. They haven’t found anything yet, but they might, and I can’t give them another thread to start chasing. What happens if something goes wrong on the next operation?”
    â€œSir, it won’t.”
    â€œAnd you can promise that? You did, in fact, recruit and train Guy George, did you not?”
    Kurt had no answer to that, because there was none. The unit, which had begun as an idea in a presidential candidate’s head, had come full circle. President Warren no longer believed.
    After an uncomfortable silence, Kurt said, “Sir, whatever Guy did, at the end of the day, he was right. Secretary Billings is dead because he was stupid, not because Guy George was wrong. Let’s not forget that had he not done what he did, the peace meetings would have been destroyed, and Billings would still be dead. The only reason the Taskforce
could
react was because of Guy.”
    The words held no sway, and Kurt quit trying, spending the rest of the meeting answering multiple questions about the death of Secretary Billings and the status of various cover organizations that might be exposed. After the meeting, he’d walked down the granite steps of the Old Executive Office Building, in the shadow of the White House, feeling like he’d failed his men.
    Driving back to their office, he’d all but mentally given up, but now, entering Blaisdell Consulting, he felt a newborn drive for the unit he’d helped create. A gnawing desire to save it from destruction.
    He exited the car, seeing that George had already keyed entry and was holding open the door. George said, “Hurry up. I don’t want to explain an alarm because I was acting like a gentleman.”
    Kurt slid through the door, walked across the atrium, and pushed the elevator button. When George reached him, he said, “The hardest thing is going to be telling the men. I have a team waiting on an EXORD for a simple bugging operation, and I have to tell them no.They aren’t stupid. They’re going to understand something’s not right.”
    George barked a laugh and said, “If you mean Johnny’s team, I’m sure his stint