Clear and present danger - Tom Clancy [303]
"You must forgive me, Admiral Cutter. You think I am making light of your operation. I say to you honestly that I am not. You have, in fact, accomplished your goal."
"We know. We know that somebody tried to kill you and Escobedo."
"Yes," Félix replied. "Of course. I would also like to know how you are developing such fine intelligence on us, but I know that you will not tell me."
Cutter played the card for all he thought it was worth. "We have more assets than you think, Colonel." It wasn't worth that much.
"I am sure," Cortez allowed. "I think we have an area of agreement."
"What might that be?"
"You wish to initiate a war within the Cartel. So do I."
Cutter betrayed himself by the way he stopped breathing. "Oh? How so?"
Already Cortez knew that he had won. And this fool was advising the American President?
"Why, I will become a de facto part of your operation and restructure the Cartel. That means eliminating some of the more offensive members, of course."
Cutter wasn't a total fool, but made the further mistake of stating the obvious as a question: "With yourself as the new head?"
"Do you know what sort of people these 'drug lords' are? Vicious peasants. Barbarians without education, drunk with power, yet they complain like spoiled children that they are not respected." Cortez smiled up at the stars. "They are not people to be taken seriously by men such as ourselves. Can we agree that the world will be better when they have left it?"
"The same thought has occurred to me, as you have already pointed out."
"Then we are in agreement."
"Agreement on what?"
"Your 'car bombs' have already eliminated five of the chieftains. I will further reduce the number. Those eliminated will include all who approved the murder of your ambassador and the others, of course. Such actions cannot go unpunished or the world is plunged into chaos. Also, to show good faith, I will unilaterally reduce cocaine shipments to your country by half. The drug trade is disordered and overly violent," the former DGI colonel said judiciously. "It needs restructuring."
"We want it stopped!" Even as he said it, Cutter knew that it was a foolish thing to say.
Cortez sipped at his Perrier and continued to speak reasonably. "It will never be stopped. So long as your citizens wish to destroy their brains, someone will make this possible. The question, then, is how do we make the process more orderly? Your education efforts will eventually reduce the demand for drugs to tolerable levels. Until then, I can regularize the trade to minimize the dislocation of your society. I will reduce exports. I can even give you some major arrests so that your police can take credit for the reductions. This is an election year, is it not?"
Cutter's breathing took another hiatus. They were playing high-stakes poker, and Cortez had just announced that the deck was marked.
"Go on," was all he managed to say.
"Was this not the objective of your operations in Colombia? To sting the Cartel and reduce drug trafficking? I offer you success, the sort of success to which your President can point. Reduction in exports, some dramatic seizures and arrests, an intramural war within the Cartel for which you will not be blamed, yet for which you will also take credit. I give you victory," Cortez said.
"In return for… ?"
"I, too, must have a small victory to establish my position with the chieftains, yes? You will withdraw support for the Green Berets you have climbing those horrible mountains. You know - the men you are supporting with that large black helicopter in Hangar Three at Howard Air Force Base. You see, those chieftains whom I wish to displace have large groups of retainers, and the best way for me to reduce their numbers is to have your men kill them for me. At the same time, unfortunately, in order to gain standing with my superiors" - this word was delivered with Richter-scale irony - "my bloody and costly operation must ultimately be successful.