put the bag on someone like that. The final score had been one badly shot-up Marine, and sixteen dead Arabs, plus two live captives for the Intel pukes to chat with. It had ended up being more productive than anyone had expected. The Afghans were brave enough, but they weren't madmen
—or, more precisely, they chose martyrdom only on their own terms.
“Lessons learned?” Broughton asked.
“There is no such thing
as too much training, sir, or being in too good a shape. The real thing is a lot messier than exercises. Like I said, the Afghans are brave enough, but they are not trained. And you can never know which ones are going to slug it out, and which ones are going to cave. They taught us at
Quantico
that you have to trust your instincts, but they don't issue instincts to you, and you can't always be sure if you're listening to the right voice or not.” Caruso shrugged, but he just
went ahead and spoke his mind. “I guess it worked out okay for me and my Marines, but I can't really say I know why.”
“Don't think too much, Captain. When the shit hits the fan, you don't have time to think it all the way through. You think beforehand. It's in how you train your people, and assign responsibilities to them. You prepare your mind for action, but you never think you know what form the action is going to take. In any case, you did everything pretty well. You impressed this Hardesty guy—and he is a fairly serious customer. That's how this happened,” Broughton concluded.
“Excuse me, sir?”
“The Agency wants to talk to you,” the M-2 announced. “They're doing a talent hunt, and your name came up.”
“To do what, sir?”
“Didn't tell me that. They're looking for people who can work in the field. I don't think it's espionage. Probably the paramilitary side of the house. I'd guess that's the new counterterror shop. I can't say I'm pleased to lose a promising young Marine. However, I have no say in the matter. You are free to decline the offer, but you do have to go up and talk to them beforehand.”
“I see.” He didn't, really.
“Maybe somebody reminded them of another ex-Marine who worked out fairly well up there . . .” Broughton half observed.
“Uncle Jack, you mean? Jesus—excuse me, sir, but I've been dodging that ever since I showed up at the
Basic
School
. I'm just one more Marine O-3, sir. I'm not asking for anything else.”
“Good,” was all Broughton felt like saying. He saw before him a very promising young officer who'd read the Marine Corps Officer's Guide front to back, and hadn't forgotten any of the important parts. If anything he was a touch too earnest, but he'd been the same way once himself. “Well, you're due up there in two hours. Some guy named Pete Alexander, another ex-Special Forces guy. Helped run the
Afghanistan
operation for the Agency back in the 1980s. Not a bad guy, so I've heard, but he doesn't want to grow his own talent. Watch your wallet, Captain,” he said in dismissal.
“Yes, sir,” Caruso promised. He came to his feet, into the position of attention.
The M-2 graced his guest with a smile. “Semper
Fi, son.”
“Aye, aye, sir.” Caruso made his way out of the office, nodded to the gunny, never said a word to the half-colonel, who hadn't bothered looking up, and headed downstairs, wondering what the hell he was getting into.
HUNDREDS OF
miles away, another man named Caruso was thinking the same thing. The FBI had made its reputation as one of
America
's premier law-enforcement agencies by investigating interstate kidnappings, beginning soon after passage of the Lindbergh Law in the 1930s. Its success in closing such cases had largely put an end to kidnapping-for-money
—at least for smart criminals. The Bureau closed
every single one of those cases, and professional criminals had finally caught on that this form of crime was a sucker's game. And
—or, more precisely, they chose martyrdom only on their own terms.
“Lessons learned?” Broughton asked.
“There is no such thing
as too much training, sir, or being in too good a shape. The real thing is a lot messier than exercises. Like I said, the Afghans are brave enough, but they are not trained. And you can never know which ones are going to slug it out, and which ones are going to cave. They taught us at
Quantico
that you have to trust your instincts, but they don't issue instincts to you, and you can't always be sure if you're listening to the right voice or not.” Caruso shrugged, but he just
went ahead and spoke his mind. “I guess it worked out okay for me and my Marines, but I can't really say I know why.”
“Don't think too much, Captain. When the shit hits the fan, you don't have time to think it all the way through. You think beforehand. It's in how you train your people, and assign responsibilities to them. You prepare your mind for action, but you never think you know what form the action is going to take. In any case, you did everything pretty well. You impressed this Hardesty guy—and he is a fairly serious customer. That's how this happened,” Broughton concluded.
“Excuse me, sir?”
“The Agency wants to talk to you,” the M-2 announced. “They're doing a talent hunt, and your name came up.”
“To do what, sir?”
“Didn't tell me that. They're looking for people who can work in the field. I don't think it's espionage. Probably the paramilitary side of the house. I'd guess that's the new counterterror shop. I can't say I'm pleased to lose a promising young Marine. However, I have no say in the matter. You are free to decline the offer, but you do have to go up and talk to them beforehand.”
“I see.” He didn't, really.
“Maybe somebody reminded them of another ex-Marine who worked out fairly well up there . . .” Broughton half observed.
“Uncle Jack, you mean? Jesus—excuse me, sir, but I've been dodging that ever since I showed up at the
Basic
School
. I'm just one more Marine O-3, sir. I'm not asking for anything else.”
“Good,” was all Broughton felt like saying. He saw before him a very promising young officer who'd read the Marine Corps Officer's Guide front to back, and hadn't forgotten any of the important parts. If anything he was a touch too earnest, but he'd been the same way once himself. “Well, you're due up there in two hours. Some guy named Pete Alexander, another ex-Special Forces guy. Helped run the
Afghanistan
operation for the Agency back in the 1980s. Not a bad guy, so I've heard, but he doesn't want to grow his own talent. Watch your wallet, Captain,” he said in dismissal.
“Yes, sir,” Caruso promised. He came to his feet, into the position of attention.
The M-2 graced his guest with a smile. “Semper
Fi, son.”
“Aye, aye, sir.” Caruso made his way out of the office, nodded to the gunny, never said a word to the half-colonel, who hadn't bothered looking up, and headed downstairs, wondering what the hell he was getting into.
HUNDREDS OF
miles away, another man named Caruso was thinking the same thing. The FBI had made its reputation as one of
America
's premier law-enforcement agencies by investigating interstate kidnappings, beginning soon after passage of the Lindbergh Law in the 1930s. Its success in closing such cases had largely put an end to kidnapping-for-money
—at least for smart criminals. The Bureau closed
every single one of those cases, and professional criminals had finally caught on that this form of crime was a sucker's game. And