Executive orders - Tom Clancy [537]
What is this? Daryaei demanded, allowing his deadly rage to show for once. Ordinarily, it was enough that people knew it was hidden there, somewhere.
It's a sham. After the initial shock, his chief of intelligence had taken the time to get a feel for the reality of the situation. That is a regiment. Each of the six divisions in the Army of God has three-in two cases, four-brigades. And so, we are twenty to their one. Did you expect that the Americans would not respond at all? That is unrealistic. But here we see they have responded. With one regiment, moved in from Israel, and sent in the wrong place. With this they intend to frighten us.
Go on. The dark eyes softened slightly, merely simmering rather than dangerously hostile.
America cannot deploy its divisions from Europe. They are contaminated. The same is true of their heavy divisions in America. So we will face the Saudis first of all. It will be a great battle, which we shall win. The rump states will surrender to us, or be crushed-and then Kuwait will stand alone, at the top of the Gulf, with its own forces and this American regiment, and then we shall see about that. They probably expect us to invade Kuwait first. We will not repeat that error, will we?
And if they reinforce the Saudis?
Again, they have the equipment for but one brigade in the Kingdom. The second is afloat. You talked to India about that, did you not? It was so normal that he might have predicted it, the chief UIR spook thought behind outwardly cowed eyes. They always got nervous just before things started, as though expecting everyone to follow the script they'd written. The enemy was the enemy. He didn't always cooperate. And I doubt they have the troops to move. Aircraft, perhaps, but there is no carrier within ten thousand kilometers, and aircraft, though they are an annoyance, can neither take nor hold ground.
Thank you for making that clear. The old man's mood softened.
AT LAST WE meet, Comrade Colonel, Golovko said to the CIA officer.
Clark had always wondered if he'd see the inside of KGB headquarters. He'd never quite expected to be offered drinks there in the Chairman's office. Early in the morning or not, he took a slug of the Starka-brand vodka. Your hospitality is not what I was trained to expect, Comrade Chairman.
We don't do that here anymore. Lefortovo Prison is more convenient. He paused, set down his glass, and switched back to tea. A drink with the man was mandatory, but it was early in the day. I must ask. Was it you who brought Madam Gerasimov and the girl out?
Clark nodded. There was nothing to be gained from lying to the man. Yes, that was me.
You are welcome to all three of them, Ivan your father's name?
Timothy. I am Ivan Timofeyevich, Sergey Nikolay'ch.
Ah. Golovko had a good laugh. As hard as the Cold War was, my friend, it is good now, at the end of it, to see old enemies. Fifty years from now, when all of us are dead, historians will compare CIA records with ours, and they will decide who won the intelligence war. Have you any idea what they will decide?
You forget, I was a foot soldier, not a commander, for most of it.
Our Major Scherenko was impressed with you and your young partner here. Your rescue of Koga was impressive. And now we will work together again. Have you been briefed in?
For Chavez, who'd come to manhood watching Rambo movies, and whose early Army training had taught him to expect going head-to-head with the Soviets at any time, it was an experience which he wanted to ascribe to jet lag, though both CIA officers had noted how empty the corridors were for their passage. There was no sense letting them see faces they might remember in some other time and some other place.
No, mainly we've been gathering information.
Golovko hit a button on his desk. Is Bondarenko here? A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing a senior Russian general officer.
Both Americans stood.