The Religion War Read Free Page A

confirmation, preferring not to have that image in his mind for the rest of his life.
    The tank-limo took a hard right turn outside the building, bowling Cruz, Waters, and the portable into the left side door. Ames accelerated toward H2, the emergency headquarters.
    Cruz pressed a button that slid a barrier in place between the driver and passengers. Then he grabbed the portable from the floor of the limo and punched in the unlock code, revealing an elaborate control panel with a display screen. Cruz glanced at Waters, looking for a reaction, and saw nothing save his usual indecipherable blankness. Cruz punched in the GPS coordinates of the Department of Defense building they had just left, where the NATO representatives were still waiting, clueless about what had transpired in the past three minutes. Cruz selected a payload large enough to level the building, but not much more, and looked again at Waters. The lieutenant had shifted his position to free up his service revolver, or maybe it was just to be more comfortable, or maybe to better see. Cruz couldn't tell. He let Waters see exactly what he was doing on the portable.
    "Why?"Waters asked.
    It wasn't much of a reaction, but it was something. Cruz preferred feeling resistance no matter what he was doing, so he could enjoy the feeling ofplowing it aside. "Someone back there is a mole.That's the only way the old man could have known our exact battle plans. I don't have time to find out who it is, and frankly, it doesn't matter. I don't need any of them. Hell, the world is better off if I don't have to stop and explain every bullet to those idiots."
    "How do you plan to explain it to the world?" Waters asked calmly, as if requesting an extra slice of cheese on a sandwich.
    "I won't have to explain anything. The world will assume it was an attack from one of al-Zee's fanatics."
    Cruz was right. Hundreds of buildings had blown up in the past two years alone.The military had stopped analyzing the remains of each explosion long ago, assuming correctly that they all were the work of al-Zee. No one would request an inquiry about this blast because al-Zee would be the universally presumed perpetrator.
    Cruz knew that this explosion would extinguish the last shred of pacifism from the Christian world. He would have complete freedom to prosecute the war as he pleased. No committees. No second-guessing. Just certainty. He needed that now because his plans for extermination would not survive a consensus vote.
    "They're soldiers," Cruz said, trying to justify himself. "This is what they signed up for.They don't get to choose who kills them or why."
    Cruz thrived in this sort of situation. It was what set him apart from other leaders. Minutes earlier he had identified a grave threat. Now he was one button away from turning the situation to his advantage. He viewed all destruction as opportunity.
    Waters let his right hand drop down to the seat next to his service weapon. Cruz got the message, and responded with more explanation. This was a line that Cruz had never crossed. He had killed his share ofpeople who, in his opinion, deserved trilling. He had sent his own troops on missions from which he knew they wouldn't return. But this was different. "This is global war, Lieutenant.There are no rules, except the ones you invent and live to talk about. If we're not willing to kill our own soldiers to gain an advantage in this war, we're no match for al-Zee."
    "None of the generals were in the room when you moved the battle platform near Washington, "Waters pointed out, having noticed the change himself when he first entered the room to announce the old man in the lobby.
    Cruz stared at him, furious that he hadn't realized it himself. Waters had a point. No one could have told the old man about the latest change. Maybe the old man made a lucky guess. Clearly it wasn't all luck,because the old man was said to know the battle plans in detail.
    "Waters, tell me the world will be better ifthe NATO