Tom Clancy's Op-center Balance of Power - Tom Clancy [71]
"Honored by his enemies," Aideen said. "Impressive."
"Actually," María said, "they feared him, which was his intention. When the Moorish stronghold of Valencia surrendered. El Cid violated the peace terms by slaughtering hundreds of people and burning the leader alive. He was not the pure knight that legend has made him-he would do anything to anybody to protect his homeland. It's also a myth that he fought to unify Spain. He fought for Castile. As long as the other kingdoms remained at peace with Alfonso, as long as they paid him tribute, neither Alfonso nor El Cid cared what happened to them.
"General Amadori is an authority on El Cid," María continued. "But I've always detected in his writings the desire to be something more."
"You mean, to be El Cid," Aideen said.
María shook her head. "El Cid was a glorified soldier of fortune. There is something more to General Amadori than waging war. If you read his essays in the political journals you'll find that he is a leading proponent of what he calls 'benevolent militarism.' "
"Sounds like a fancy name for a police state," Aideen said.
"It is," María agreed. She took a long drag on her cigarette then flicked it out the window. "But he has given the models of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia a new-old twist: militarism without conquest. He believes that if a nation is strong, there is no need to conquer other nations. Those nations will come to him to trade, to seek protection, to be aligned with greatness. His power base will grow by accretion, not war."
"So General Amadori doesn't want to be like Hitler," Aideen said. "He wants to be like King Alfonso."
"Exactly," María replied. "What we may be seeing is the start of an effort to make Amadori the absolute leader of Castile and to make Castile the military hub of a new Spain. A hub which will dictate to the other regions. And Amadori has chosen this time-"
"Because he can move troops and influence events while appearing to stop a counterrevolution," Aideen said.
María nodded.
Aideen looked out at the brightening sky. Her eyes lowered and her gaze ranged across the beautiful fishing village. It seemed so peaceful, so desirable, yet it had been corrupted. Here, in less than a day, over a dozen people had already died or been brutally injured. She wondered if there had ever been a time, since people first descended from trees and began despoiling Eden, if manifest destiny had ever come cheaply.
"The price in blood will be very high before Amadori can realize his dream," María said, as though reading Aideen's mind. "I am Andalusian. My people and others will fight-not to keep Spain unified but to keep Castile from becoming the heart and soul of a new Spain. It's a rivalry which dates back to the time of El Cid. And unless we find a way to stop men like Amadori, it will continue long after we're gone."
No, Aideen decided. There had never been a time when people graciously accomodated other people and other ways. We were still too close to the trees for that. And among us, there were too many bull-apes who were unhappy with the size and makeup of the tribe.
But then she thought about Father Alcazar. There was a man still trying to do God's work while in the grip of his own suffering. There were good people among the territorial carnivores. If only they had the power.
But if they did, Aideen asked herself, wouldn't they wield it like all the rest?
She didn't know-and after being awake for nearly twenty-four hours this wasn't the best time to ponder the question. However, as she sat there squinting out at the blue-gold sky, thinking about what María had just said, she was reminded of another question.
Think about it, Martha had said to her when they were still back in the U.S. Think about how you handle someone's agenda.
Just the way Rodgers had said, Aideen thought: with a better agenda.
The trick now was to come up