Tom Clancy's Op-center Balance of Power - Tom Clancy [61]
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SIXTEEN
Monday, 8:15 p.m.
Washington, D.C.
When Hood called home, neither Sharon nor the kids picked up the phone. The answering machine message came on after four rings; it was Harleigh's from the day before.
"Hi. You've reached the Hood family. We're not home right now. But we're not going to tell you to leave a message because if you don't know that, we don't want to talk to you."
Hood sighed. He'd asked the kids not to leave smart-ass messages like that. Maybe he should have insisted on it. Sharon had always said he wasn't strict enough with them.
"Hey, guys, it's me," Hood said. The conviviality in his voice was difficult, forced. "I'm afraid I'm going to be at the office a while longer. I hope you all had a good first day of spring vacation and that you're out at the movies or the mall or something fun. Sharry, would you please give me a call when you get back? Thanks. Love you all. Bye."
Hood felt a flash of desperation as he hung up. He wanted very badly to talk to Sharon. He hated having this barrier between them and he wanted to make things better. Or at least to make peace until he could sit down, talk to her, and make things better. He tried Sharon's cellular phone but got kicked into the answering system. He decided not to leave a message.
Almost the moment he put the phone in the cradle his private line rang. It was Sharon. He smiled and a weight seemed to rise from his chest.
"Hi there," he said. This time the conviviality was effortless, genuine. There was noise behind her-loud talking and garbled announcements. "You guys at the mall?"
"No, Paul," she said. "We're at the airport."
Hood had been slumped back tiredly in his big leather chair. He sat up. He didn't say anything for a moment; it was a good habit he'd picked up during his political career.
"I've decided to take the kids to Connecticut," Sharon continued. "You won't be seeing them much anyway this week and my folks have been asking us to come up."
"Oh," he said. "How long do you intend to stay?" His voice was calm but his insides weren't. He was looking at the framed family photograph on his desk. The picture was three years old but the smiles on the four faces suddenly seemed to belong to another lifetime.
"I honestly don't know," she answered.
Ron Plummer and Bob Herbert arrived then. Hood held up a finger. Herbert saw that he was on his private line. He nodded and the men turned their backs to the doorway. Ann Farris arrived a moment later. She joined the two men waiting in the hall.
"I guess that depends on-" Sharon said, then stopped.
"On what?" Hood asked. "On me? On whether I want you here? You know the answer to that."
"I know," Sharon said, "though I don't know why. You're never around. We go on vacations and you leave the first day."
"That happened once."
"That's only because we haven't even tried to take another vacation," Sharon said. "What I was going to say is, my coming back to Washington depends on whether I want to watch the kids get disappointed over and over again-or whether I want to put a stop to it altogether."
"That's what you want," Hood said. He had raised his voice and lowered it quickly. "Have you asked them what they want? Does that matter?"
"Of course it matters," she said. "They want their father. And so do I. But if we can't have him, then maybe we ought to settle that now instead of letting this drag on."
Herbert turned back toward the office. His lips were pursed and his eyebrows were raised. Whatever he had was important. As Herbert turned back around. Hood found himself wishing that he could start everything over again. The day, the year, his entire life.
"Don't go up there," Hood said. "Please. We'll figure something out as soon as the situation is under control."
"I figured you'd say that," Sharon replied. Her voice wasn't hard, just final. "If you want to figure it out, Paul, you know where we'll be. I love you-and I'll talk to you, okay?"
She hung up. Hood was still looking out the door at the backs of the heads of his subordinates. He had always regarded Bob and