Tom Clancy's Op-center Balance of Power - Tom Clancy [82]
A strong military offensive and paranoia. It was a combination that caused leaders to shut themselves off from all but their closest advisors. It was also a mix that could turn soldiers into indiscriminate executioners. McCaskey wished that Striker were here instead of over the Atlantic, hours away.
No one spoke for a long moment. McCaskey continued to regard Luis. There were three options. The women could stay where they were; they could try to get out; or they could attempt to surrender. If they tried to sneak away and were spotted, they'd probably be cut down. If they attempted to surrender they might also be shot. The safest course seemed to be to stay where they were and use their fake ID's if they were discovered. McCaskey wondered if Luis were going to make the call for them. The Interpol officer was big on taking responsibility for his people's actions and then taking any heat those actions generated. But this wasn't about blame or credit. This was about lives.
"María," Luis said into the speaker, "what do you want to do?"
"I've been wondering about that," María said. "I don't know what the attackers are after. We're seeing prisoners coming out now. Dozens of them. But we have no idea where they're going to be taken. Possibly to be interrogated. I wonder-"
"What do you wonder?" Luis asked.
There was muted conversation on María's end. Then silence except for faint gunfire.
"María?" Luis said.
The conversation stopped. There was only gunfire.
"María!" Luis repeated.
After a moment Aideen came on. "She's not here."
"Where is she?" Luis asked.
"On her way to the factory with her hands raised," Aideen replied. "She's going to try to surrender."
* * *
TWENTY-THREE
Monday, 10:45 p.m.
Washington, D.C.
The phone call from National Security Chief Steve Burkow was brief and surprising.
"The President is considering a radical shift in Administration policy toward Spain," Burkow informed Paul Hood. "Be at the White House situation room at eleven-thirty tonight. And would you please have the latest intelligence on the military situation sent over?"
It was less than an hour since the conference call with U.N. Secretary-General Manni. It had been decided, then, that the status quo was going to be maintained. Hood had been able to lie down and take a short nap. He wondered what could have changed since the call.
Hood said he'd be there, of course. Then he went into the small private washroom in the back of his office. He shut the door. There was a speakerphone set in the wall under the light switch. After splashing water on his face he called Bob Herbert. Herbert's assistant said that he was talking to Darrell McCaskey and asked if this were a priority call. Hood said it wasn't and asked for Herbert to call back when he got off.
Hood had already finished washing his face and straightening his tie when the internal line beeped. Hood was glad to hear it. Like a scavenger drawn to carrion, his tired mind had padded back to Sharon and the kids. He didn't know why-to punish himself, he wondered?-but he didn't want to think about them now. When a crisis was pending, it was not the best time to reassess one's life and goals.
Hood hit the telephone speaker button and leaned on the stainless steel sink. "Hood," he said.
"Paul, it's Bob," Herbert said. "I was going to call you anyway."
"What's Darrell's news?"
"It's pretty grim," Herbert said. "NRO intelligence has confirmed that four helicopters, apparently sent by General Amadori, attacked the Ramirez factory at 5:20 a.m., local time. Aideen Marley and María Corneja were in the parking lot, hunkered down in their car, during the attack. The Spanish troops gunned down about twenty people before taking control of the factory and rounding up others. According to Aideen-who's still in the car and in contact with Darrell-María surrendered to the soldiers. Her hope is that she can find out where Amadori is headquartered and get that information back to us."
"Is Aideen in any immediate danger?"
"We don't think so," Herbert said. "The troops aren't