Net Force - Tom Clancy [84]
Man! He most surely did not want to forget this moment.
Life might never get any better than this.
And even as he thought it, he realized that there were ways it could get better. If he could figure out a way to move half an inch to his left, it would get better instantly. That half inch might as well be a light year, though. He wasnt completely stupid with bravery.
Sunday, October 3rd, 6 a.m. Sarajevo
First squad, flank left! Second squad, take the rear!
Small-arms fire rattled, bullets chopped bark from trees, dug furrows in the ground. They were in a city park-what was left of one-and the attack had been unexpected.
John Howard opened up with his tommy gun, felt it buck in his hands as the fat and slow.45s went off.
Sir, weve got-ah-!
The lieutenant went down, a stray round in the neck.
Where were they coming from?!
Third squad, suppressing fire at five oclock! Move! Shoot-!
His men began falling, their armor wasnt working, they were getting their butts kicked-!
Washington, D.C.
John Howard jerked the VR gear off and dropped it in disgust. He shook his head. Crap.
Upstairs, his wife and son slept. It was still hours away from when theyd get up, get dressed and go to church. He hadnt been able to sleep, so hed come down to the computer to run battle scenarios. He should have stuck to chess or Go-every combatsit hed tried had been a loser.
He stood, walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He took out a carton of milk and poured himself a small glassful. Put the carton back. Sat at the table and stared at the glass of milk.
He was, he realized, depressed.
Oh, not clinically depressed, nothing to run to a shrink about, but definitely glum. He didnt understand it. There wasnt any reason to feel that way. He had a beautiful wife, a great kid, and a job most military officers would kill to have. He had just come back from a mission in which all of his objectives had been achieved, he had not lost a single soldier while under fire and everybody was happy with him. His civilian boss had put him in for a Presidential Commendation. What was the problem?
What was wrong, other than that he wanted to jump into the middle of an all-out shooting fracas?
What kind of attitude was that? No sane man wanted war.
He stared at the milk. It was the test, he knew. Hed never been tested, not really. Hed slipped between the cracks, missed the shooting in Desert Storm, been teaching when the police actions in South America got hot, gotten to the Caribbean dustup a day after the guns had gone cold and quiet. He had spent his adult life as a military man, training, learning, preparing. He had the tools, the skills and the need to use them, to see if they would really work-but there was no place for such things in peacetime.
It was why he had joined Net Force. At least there was a chance hed get dropped into a hot spot. The mission to Ukraine was as warm as it had gotten so far, and while it was better than sitting in an office reading reports, it was lukewarm
Morning.
Howard looked up and saw Tyrone standing there in his pajama bottoms.
Just after 0600, Howard said. What are you doing up so early?
I dont know. I woke up, couldnt get back to sleep.
Tyrone walked to the fridge and got the milk out. Shook the carton, saw that it was almost empty, then drank from it. Grinned at his father. Mom says its okay if Im going to drink it all, he said.
Howard grinned, too.
Tyrone took another sip of the milk, then wiped at his lips. Can I ask you something, Pop?
Fire away.
How do you deal with a force thats bigger and stronger than yours, if it already holds territory you want to occupy?
Depends on the objective, the terrain, the weapons and equipment available, transportation systems, a bunch of things. First you define your goal, then you have to come up with a viable strategy, then the tactics to make it work.
Uh-huh.
When did you