generals live.Then I won't push the button.Tell me you think that running a war with twenty-five hens pecking at my ankles, second-guessing every decision, getting their locals all stirred up—tell me that's the best way to win this war."
Waters' expression masked whatever was happening in his mind. Hejust listened, not rejecting, not agreeing.
"How many times have I sent men into situations where I knew they wouldn't come back? That's the soldier's lot. If his death makes the war easier to win, he dies. This is no different. Al-Zee doesn't make his decisions by committee. The only way we're going to kick his ass back into the cave is if I run this war the way it's meant to be run.That means one leader, no second-guessing."
Cruz paused to see the impact of his argument.
"Tell me I'm wrong, damn it! That's an order!" he barked.
"How do you know I'm not the mole? I know your battle plans too,"Waters said.
Cruz stared into Waters' empty eyes, looking for a sign of fear or anger or anything that would be a clue. As usual, there was nothing. "I don't know for sure that you're not the mole," said Cruz, not liking where this line of thought led.
"Whether or not I'm the mole, you have a bigger problem. If you kill the NATO leaders, I'll know you did it. You'll always have that hanging over you; I'll have the power to bring you down.You'll have to kill me too just to know the secret is safe."
Waters made sense. Cruz didn't have an immediate answer, but none was needed because he felt Waters' sidearm pressed to his temple.
"Give me the portable, "Waters said calmly.
Cruz moved his eyes but not his head. This was trouble. Cruz reasoned that his best chance of getting out of this situation was to comply, for now, and hope his instinct provided him with a next step. Waters slid the portable off Cruz's lap and onto his own, gun still pressed firmly on the general's temple. Waters looked down at the portable and clicked the Confirm button, engaging the missile. Within seconds a silo in South Dakota glided open and spit out its angry cargo toward a building full of NATO generals and admirals.
Waters bolstered his sidearm, closed the portable, and put it back in its case. Cruzjust watched, not sure what had happened, his silence begging the question.
"Now I don't have anything on you," Waters said. "And if I were the mole, you'd already be dead."
Cruz was enraged, but he still appreciated the ingenuity of Waters'solution. "Remind me to promote you. And then remind me to put a boot up your ass."
----
EMERGENCY HEADQUARTERS
----
As Cruz's limo pulled into H2, the airwaves were crackling with stories about the destruction of the Defense Department building. The steel blast gate dosed behind them as a dozen soldiers surrounded the limo and leveled their weapons at the occupants. They knew it was Cruz's limo, but they were taught to suspect the worst. Nothing came into or out of H2 without challenge. There was no way to know who was with the general, or what their intentions were. Cruz, Waters, and Ames put their hands behind their heads as the guards opened the doors, pulled them out, and inserted the bomb-sniffing sensors.
Waters and Ames were patted down and disarmed immediately. A soldier approached Cruz to do the same but thought better of it, saluting and moving aside. Waters, his identity confirmed, was rearmed and followed Cruz toward the main control room. Cruz's presence scattered people in the hallway, pressing them against the walls, like a destroyer class ship moving through a koi pond. Everyone had heard the news and they knew the implications: Cruz was one war away from controlling most of the world.
Cruz exploded into the control room and barked to the staff, each of them stiffened by his entrance, "Get me on the bird!"
Technicians worked ferociously to eliminate the risk of being asked,"What's taking so long?"They knew the drill.Within minutes Cruz's voice and face would be broadcast onto every television and
Waters' expression masked whatever was happening in his mind. Hejust listened, not rejecting, not agreeing.
"How many times have I sent men into situations where I knew they wouldn't come back? That's the soldier's lot. If his death makes the war easier to win, he dies. This is no different. Al-Zee doesn't make his decisions by committee. The only way we're going to kick his ass back into the cave is if I run this war the way it's meant to be run.That means one leader, no second-guessing."
Cruz paused to see the impact of his argument.
"Tell me I'm wrong, damn it! That's an order!" he barked.
"How do you know I'm not the mole? I know your battle plans too,"Waters said.
Cruz stared into Waters' empty eyes, looking for a sign of fear or anger or anything that would be a clue. As usual, there was nothing. "I don't know for sure that you're not the mole," said Cruz, not liking where this line of thought led.
"Whether or not I'm the mole, you have a bigger problem. If you kill the NATO leaders, I'll know you did it. You'll always have that hanging over you; I'll have the power to bring you down.You'll have to kill me too just to know the secret is safe."
Waters made sense. Cruz didn't have an immediate answer, but none was needed because he felt Waters' sidearm pressed to his temple.
"Give me the portable, "Waters said calmly.
Cruz moved his eyes but not his head. This was trouble. Cruz reasoned that his best chance of getting out of this situation was to comply, for now, and hope his instinct provided him with a next step. Waters slid the portable off Cruz's lap and onto his own, gun still pressed firmly on the general's temple. Waters looked down at the portable and clicked the Confirm button, engaging the missile. Within seconds a silo in South Dakota glided open and spit out its angry cargo toward a building full of NATO generals and admirals.
Waters bolstered his sidearm, closed the portable, and put it back in its case. Cruzjust watched, not sure what had happened, his silence begging the question.
"Now I don't have anything on you," Waters said. "And if I were the mole, you'd already be dead."
Cruz was enraged, but he still appreciated the ingenuity of Waters'solution. "Remind me to promote you. And then remind me to put a boot up your ass."
----
EMERGENCY HEADQUARTERS
----
As Cruz's limo pulled into H2, the airwaves were crackling with stories about the destruction of the Defense Department building. The steel blast gate dosed behind them as a dozen soldiers surrounded the limo and leveled their weapons at the occupants. They knew it was Cruz's limo, but they were taught to suspect the worst. Nothing came into or out of H2 without challenge. There was no way to know who was with the general, or what their intentions were. Cruz, Waters, and Ames put their hands behind their heads as the guards opened the doors, pulled them out, and inserted the bomb-sniffing sensors.
Waters and Ames were patted down and disarmed immediately. A soldier approached Cruz to do the same but thought better of it, saluting and moving aside. Waters, his identity confirmed, was rearmed and followed Cruz toward the main control room. Cruz's presence scattered people in the hallway, pressing them against the walls, like a destroyer class ship moving through a koi pond. Everyone had heard the news and they knew the implications: Cruz was one war away from controlling most of the world.
Cruz exploded into the control room and barked to the staff, each of them stiffened by his entrance, "Get me on the bird!"
Technicians worked ferociously to eliminate the risk of being asked,"What's taking so long?"They knew the drill.Within minutes Cruz's voice and face would be broadcast onto every television and
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