State of Siege - Tom Clancy [69]
Georgiev watched them go. Whether he liked it or not, this had changed things. Crime is a mood-intensifying effort. Close quarters heightens emotions, and an unexpected drama makes things even worse.
"You have to let me send her out of here." Georgiev turned. The Asian woman was standing beside him. He hadn't even heard her approach.
"No," he said. He was distracted. He had to refocus, get his men back. Push the United Nations harder. And he thought he knew how. "But she's going to bleed to death," the woman said. Georgiev walked toward one of the duffel bags. He didn't want the girl to die because it might incite a rebellion. He pulled a small blue case from inside and came back. He handed her the box. "Use this," Georgiev said.
"A first aid kit?" the woman said. "That isn't going to help." "That's all I can give you."
"But there may be internal bleeding, organ damage-was the woman said. Downer waved and caught Georgiev's eye. The Australian was pointing toward the door.
"You'll have to make do," the Bulgarian said to the woman and motioned Vandal over. When the Frenchman arrived, Georgiev told him to make sure the Asian woman didn't try to get out. Then Georgiev walked toward the stairs.
He stepped up to Downer. "What is it?"
"She's here," the Australian whispered thickly. "The secretary-general. She knocked on the bloody door and asked to come in." "Is that all she said?" Georgiev asked. "That's all," Downer told him.
Georgiev looked past the Australian. Focus, he told himself. Things had changed. He had to think this through. If he let Chatterjee in, her efforts would become focused on getting the girl medical attention, not on getting them the money. And if he did let the girl out, the press would find out that a child had been hurt, possibly killed. There would be increased pressure for military action, despite the risks for the hostages. There was also the chance that the girl might became conscious in the hospital. If she did, she could describe the distribution of the men and hostages to security personnel.
Of course, Georgiev could let the secretary-general in and refuse to let the girl out. What would Chatterjee do, risk the lives of the other children by refusing to cooperate? She might, Georgiev thought. And just having her challenge his authority in here might embolden the captives or else weaken his influence among his own people.
Georgiev looked back at the hostages. He had told the UN how to contact him and what to say when they did. His instincts told him to go downstairs, get another one, and have him make the same speech the last delegate had made. Why should he change his plan, let them think he lacked resolve?
Because situations tike these are fluid, he told himself.
Then it came to him, suddenly, like his best ideas always did. A way to give Chatterjee what she wanted without compromising his demands. He would see her. Only not in the way she expected.
Washington, D. C. Saturday, 11:33 Part.
Most of the time, Bob Herbert was an easygoing man. Over a decade and a half before, his injuries and the loss of his wife had tossed him into a depression that lasted for nearly a year. But physical therapy helped him to overcome selfpity, and getting back to work at the CIA bolstered the sense of selfworth that had been destroyed in the Beirut embassy explosion. Since helping to organize and launch Op-Center nearly three years before, Herbert had enjoyed some of the greatest challenges and rewards of his career. His wife would have found it very amusing that the chronic grouch she had married, the man whose spirits she'd always tried