Tom Clancy's op-center_ acts of war - Tom Clancy [137]
"You know what he'll say," Martha replied.
"Damn right I do," Herbert snapped. "He'll tell you to keep Striker on target and your ambition on a short leash."
"My ambition?"
"Yeah," Herbert said. "You save the ambassador and you score big-time brownie points with the State Department. What do you think, I don't know what your career map looks like?"
Martha stiffened with rage as she looked down at Herbert. "You talk to me like that and you'll find some roadblocks on your map--"
"Martha, calm down," Hardaway said. "Bob, you too. You've been up all night. And I'm running out of time here. The Striker issue may be academic in any case. The President plans to decide by seven-thirty this morning whether to destroy the ROC with a Tomahawk missile fired from the USS Pittsburgh in the Mediterranean."
"Aw, Christ!" Herbert said. "He was supposed to give us time!"
"He did. Now he's afraid the Kurds will use the ROC against the Syrians and Turks."
"Of course they will," Abram said, "if they aren't using it already."
"You're assuming they've figured out how," Herbert said. "Getting the ROC up and running isn't like starting a goddamn rental car."
"If someone shows them how, it is," Abram said.
Herbert glared at him. "Watch it, Bill--"
"Bob," Abram said, "I know you and Mike are close. But we have zero intelligence on what the terrorists might have done to persuade our people to talk."
"I'm sure your brother officer would appreciate that vote of confidence."
"This isn't about Mike," Martha said. "There are three civilian hostages as well. They aren't made of the same stuff Mike is."
"Not many people are," Herbert said., "Which is all the more reason to get him the hell out! We need him. And we owe it to the others we sent over there."
"If feasible," Martha said. "It may not be."
"Especially if we give up!" Herbert barked. "Jesus, I wish we were all on the same page here."
"So do I," Martha replied coldly. "The question is whether the hostages are lost to us and whether we should redirect our assets to Damascus."
"Martha's right," Hardaway said. "If that missile is launched we'll have no choice but to abort the Striker mission. Otherwise, the entire unit may get tagged along with the ROC and its crew."
Herbert folded his hands tightly in his lap. "We've got to give Striker time. Even if the Tomahawk flies, it'll take at least a half hour to reach its target. That may be time enough to get the ROC crew out. But if you withdraw Striker, Mike and the others are dead. Period. Is there anyone in this room who disagrees with that?"
No one spoke. Hardaway looked at his watch again. "Two minutes from now I've got to give our recommendation to the President regarding the situation at the palace. Martha?"
"I say we divert Striker," she said. "They're equipped, they're in the field, and they are the only legally defensible option we have."
"Bill?"
"I agree," said Abram. "I also think they're better trained than Delta, certainly better than the Marine guards at the embassy."
Hardaway looked at Herbert. "Bob?"
Herbert rubbed his hands on his face. "Leave Striker alone. They can still get clear of the Tomahawk with a window of five minutes to impact. That gives them at least a half hour to get the ROC crew out."
"We need them in Damascus," Martha said slowly.
Herbert pressed his fingertips to his forehead. Suddenly, he dropped his hands to his lap. "What if I can get someone else to help Paul and the ambassador?"
"Who?" she asked.
"It's a long shot," he said. "I don't know if the Iron Bar will let me have them."
"Who?" Martha repeated.
"People who can be there in about five minutes." Herbert picked up a secure phone on a small table near the wing chair. He pressed an unlit line and told his assistant to put him through to Major General Bar-Levi in Haifa.
Hardaway looked at his watch. "Bob, I've got to call the President."
"Tell him to give me five more minutes," Herbert told the hollow-eyed Assistant Deputy Director of Op-Center. "Tell him I will get Paul and the ambassador