Executive orders - Tom Clancy [477]
Bob's a tough son of a bitch, but he's an honest son of a bitch. That also means that he will honestly burn you at the stake if he thinks you have it coming. Always remember that, the chief of staff advised.
Donner and Plumber lied, Jack said aloud. Damn.
Everybody lies, Jack. Even you. It's a question of context. Some lies are designed to protect the truth. Some lies are designed to conceal it. Some are designed to deny it. And some lies happen because nobody gives a damn.
And what happened here?
A combination, Mr. President. Ed Kealty wanted 'em to ambush you for him, and he suckered them. But I got that treacherous bastard for you. I'll bet that tomorrow there will be a front-page article in the Post exposing Kealty as the guy who suborned two very senior reporters, and the press will turn on him like a pack of wolves. The reporters riding in the back of the plane were already buzzing about it. Arnie had seen to it that the NBC news tape had run on the cabin video system.
Because he's the one who made them look bad
You got it, boss, van Damm confirmed, tossing off the remainder of his drink. He couldn't add that it might not have happened without the attack on Katie Ryan. Even reporters felt sympathy on occasion, which might have been decisive in Plumber's change of heart on the matter. But he was the one who'd made the carefully measured leaks to Bob Holtzman. He decided that he'd have a Secret Service agent find him a good cigar once they got on the ground. He felt like having one right now.
ADLER'S BODY CLOCK was totally confused now. He found that catching cat-naps helped, and it also helped that the message he was delivering was a simple and favorable one. The car stopped. A minor official opened the door for him and bowed curtly. Adler stifled a yawn as he walked into the ministry building.
So good to see you again, the PRC Foreign Minister said, through his interpreter. Zhang Han San was there again, too, and made his own greeting.
Your gracious agreement to allow direct flights certainly makes the process easier for me. Thank you for that, SecState replied, taking his seat.
Just so you understand that these are exceptional circumstances, the Foreign Minister observed.
Of course.
What news do you bring us from our wayward cousins?
They are entirely willing to match your reductions in activity, with an eye toward reducing tension.
And their insulting accusations?
Minister, that issue never arose. I believe that they are as interested as you in returning to peaceful circumstances.
How good of them, Zhang commented. They initiate hostilities, shoot down two of our aircraft, damage one of their own airliners, kill over a hundred people, whether by deliberate act or by incompetence, and then they say that they will match us in reducing provocative acts. I hope your government appreciates the forbearance we are showing here.
Mr. Minister, peace serves everyone's best interests, does it not? America appreciates the actions of both parties in these informal proceedings. The People's Republic has indeed been gracious in more than one way, and the government in Taiwan is willing to match your actions. What more is required than that?
Very little, the Foreign Minister replied. Merely compensation for the deaths of our four aviators. Each of them left a family behind.
Their fighters did shoot first, Zhang pointed out.
That may be true, but the question of the airliner is still undetermined.
Certainly, we had nothing to do that that. This came from the Foreign Minister.
There were few things more boring than negotiations between countries, but there was actually a reason for that. Sudden or surprise moves could force a country into making impromptu decisions. Unexpected pressure caused anger, and anger had no place in high-level discussions and decisions. Therefore, important talks were almost never decisive, but were, rather, evolutionary in nature, which gave each side time to think through its position, and that of the other side, carefully, so to arrive at a final communiqué with which both sides