State of Siege - Tom Clancy [46]
"Unfortunately," Herbert said, "as angry as it makes us all, the threat to the delegates and to Paul's daughter doesn't fall under those parameters. Saving her is a luxury we may not be able to afford."
"A luxury?" Rodgers said. "Jesus, Bob, you're talking like a goddamned Camp Fire girl!"
Herbert glared at Rodgers. "That was my late wife. She was the Camp Fire girl."
Rodgers looked at Herbert and then looked down. The ventilators in the ceiling sounded very loud.
"Since the subject has been raised," Herbert continued, "my wife was also a victim of terrorists. I know what you're feeling, Mike. The frustration. I know what Paul and Sharon are feeling. And I also know that Lowell is right. The place for Op-Center in this fight is on, the sidelines."
"Doing nothing."
"Surveillance, tactical assistance, moral support-if we can contribute those, they aren't nothing," Herbert said. was "They also serve who only stand and wait," was Rodgers said solemnly.
"Sometimes, yes." Herbert patted the arms of his wheelchair. "Otherwise, you could end up sitting and waiting. Or worse." Rodgers glanced at his watch. Lowell Coffey had made valid legal points. And Rodgers's stumble about Yvonne Herbert had given her husband the right to sermonize. But that didn't make either man right.
"I've got about fifteen minutes to meet the plane," Rodgers said quietly. "Bob, I've already put you in charge. If you want to stop me, you can." He looked at Liz Gordon. "Liz, you can have me declared mentally unfit, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, whatever the hell you want. If you do, I won't fight either of you. But barring that, I won't stand and wait. I can't. Not while a band of murderers is holding kids hostage."
Herbert shook his head slowly. "This one's not that black and white, Mike."
"That's no longer the issue," Rodgers said to him. "Are you going to stop me?"
Herbert stopped shaking his head. "No," he said. "I'm not." "May I ask why?" Coffey asked indignantly. Herbert sighed. "Yeah. In the CIA, we used to call it respect."
Coffey made a face.
"If a superior wanted to bend the rules, you bent them," Herbert went on. "All you could do was try not to bend "em so far that they came around and bit you in the ass."
Coffey sat back. "I expect that from the Cosa Nostra, not the lawful government of the United States," he said unhappily. "If we were all so damn virtuous, lawful government wouldn't be necessary," Herbert said.
Rodgers looked at Liz. She was not happy either. "Well?" Rodgers said.
"Well what?" Liz said. "I'm not a brick in Bob's wall of silence, but I'm not going to stop you. Right now, you're being headstrong, impatient, and you're probably acting out, looking to hit someone hard for what your captors did in the Bekaa Valley. But unfit? From a psychological standpoint, not a legal one, I can't say you're unfit."
Rodgers looked back at Herbert. "Bob, will you try to get me into the CIA shell?"
Herbert nodded.
Rodgers looked at Coffey. "Lowell, will you go to the CIOC? See if they'll call an emergency meeting?" Coffey's thin mouth was. tight, and his polished fingernails were tapping the table. But above all, the attorney was a professional. He hooked back his sleeve and looked at his watch.
"I'll call Senator Warren on his mobile phone," Coffey said. "He's our most sympathetic ear over there. But those people are tough enough to reach on a weekday. On a weekend, at night-was "I understand," Rodgers said. "Thanks. You, too, Bob."
"Sure thing," Herbert replied.
Coffey was already looking up the phone number on his electronic pocket directory as Rodgers looked over at Matt Stoll and Ann Farris. The technical genius was staring intently at his folded hands, and the press liaison was quiet, her expression noncommittal. He thought he might get her approval since he was trying to help Paul Hood, but he wasn't going to ask. He turned toward the door.
"Mike?" Herbert said.
Rodgers looked back at him. "Yes?"
"Whatever you need, you know you've got