know he was here.
416 OP-CENTER
The FBI had taught McCaskey that if an
agent didn't bring superior firepower to a
situation he should back off until he could muster that
firepower. A standoff always favored the pursuer.
Failure favored the pursued.
But with everything that was at stake, McCaskey couldn't
take the chance of letting Amadori go.
McCaskey looked up and mustered his resolve.
He listened to the general's limping footsteps.
Amadori was approximately ten feet
away. McCaskey would crouch and swing around, try
to pin his legs to the wall, then grab his arm before he
could fire.
Just then, McCaskey heard footsteps behind him.
He turned and saw Father Norberto walking toward
him. That wasn't all he saw. Above the music
room, McCaskey noticed a red eye looking
down from the ceiling.
It was a camera eye. And Amadori was wearing
goggles-Remote Surveillance System
goggles.
The footsteps stopped. McCaskey swore.
He'd been too damn tired to think this through and now
he was at a serious disadvantage. Amadori
knew precisely where he was.
There was nothing to do but retreat. He turned and ran
toward the door that led to the courtyard.
"What is it?" Father Norberto asked.
McCaskey motioned him back. The priest just
stood there, confused.
"Jesus!" McCaskey cried in frustration. He
didn't think Amadori would shoot a member of the
clergy. But a Catholic priest would make the
perfect hostage.
BALANCE OF POWER 417
No one would dare order an attack for fear of
hitting the priest.
McCaskey had to get the priest out of here. Reaching
Father Norberto, he put his arms around him and tried
to move him toward the courtyard door. A moment
later he heard a shot and felt a punch in his
back and then everything went blindingly red.
FORTY-FIVE
Tuesday, 12:21 p.m. Madrid, Spain
It was easy for Aideen to follow the trail of
blood. The drops were so close together they
overlapped in spots. Amadori was losing blood
quickly. What she hadn't anticipated was that the
general would be alone when she caught up to him.
Alone and waiting for her.
Amadori fired once as Aideen came around the
corner. She jumped back as soon as she saw him
and the bullet whizzed by. There was silence after the echo
of the gunshot died. Aideen stood there listening,
trying to determine if Amadori moved. As she
waited, she felt something pressed hard against the
small of her back. She turned around and saw a
man step the rest of the way from a doorway. It was the
major general. He was holding a gun on her.
Aideen cursed under her breath. The officer
was wearing his RSS goggles. He must have been tuned
in to the cameras behind them and spotted her. They'd
separated and now she'd been snared.
"Face front and raise your hands," he commanded in
Spanish.
Aideen did. He relieved her of her gun.
"Who are you?" he asked.
BALANCE OF POWER 419
Aideen didn't answer.
"I don't have time to waste," the major general said.
"Answer and I'll let you go. Refuse and I'll
leave you here with a bullet in your back. You have a
count of three."
Aideen didn't think he was bluffing.
"One," said the officer.
Aideen was tempted to tell him that she was an
Interpol operative. She had never faced death that
seemed so imminent. It had a way of weakening one's
resolve.
"Two."
She doubted that the major general would spare her even
if she told him who she was. But she would
definitely die if she didn't.
Yet by telling the truth, she could very well ruin the
lives and careers of Maria, Luis, and
their comrades. And she would destroy countless other
lives if she helped Amadori survive this
assault.
Maybe she'd been meant to die in the street with
Martha. Maybe there was no escaping that.
Aideen heard the gun bark behind her. She jumped.
She felt blood on her neck. But she was still
standing.
A moment later Aideen felt the major general
stumble against her. She lurched involuntarily as he
fell forward. The two guns clattered on the
floor. She glanced back at the officer. Blood
spurted like a water fountain from the back of his head.
She looked up.
A familiar man was walking toward her, down the
corridor. He was holding a smoking pistol and
wearing a look of grim satisfaction.
"Ferdinand?" she said.
420 OP-CENTER
The
familia
member hesitated.
"No, it's all right," she said. She looked around
quickly. Then she turned her back toward the
surveillance camera behind her. Certain she
wouldn't be seen, Aideen lifted her black mask
just enough for him to see her face. "I'm here with others,"
she said. "We want to help."
Ferdinand continued walking toward her. "I'm glad
to hear that," he said. "Juan and I doubted you back
at the factory, after the attack. I'm sorry."
"I don't blame you. You had no way of knowing."
Ferdinand held up the gun. " This came to me when
your friend caused an uproar before. They took her
away, and also Juan. I want to find them-and I
want to find Amadori."
"Amadori went this way," Aideen said. She
pointed as she stopped to pick up her gun. She also
picked up the major general's gun and goggles.
The dead man's blood was cooling on the back of
Aideen's neck and she used the sleeve of her
black shirt to wipe it off. She felt sick as
she walked away. Not because the man had died; he'd
been ready enough to kill her. What bothered her was that
neither the general nor the major general had had a hand
in the event that brought Op-Center into this situation in the
first place, the murder of Martha Mackall. To the
contrary. These people had killed the men behind the murder.
The crime for which they were being hunted was having
orchestrated a coup against a NATO
ally-a coup that, ironically, a majority of the people in
Spain might have supported had it been put to a
vote.
v
BALANCE OF POWER 421
Martha was wrong,
Aideen thought miserably.
There are no rules. There's only chaos.
Aideen and Ferdinand started off after Amadori.
Aideen was in the lead, Ferdinand a few paces behind
her. Aideen checked the gun she'd retrieved. The
safety was switched off. That bastard of a major
general
had
been ready to shoot her in the back.
The corridor ahead was empty. They hear
d a shot
and quickened their pace. Aideen wondered if someone
else-possibly Maria?-had found Amadori. The
trail of blood continued around the corner. They
followed it, stopping short as they entered the hallway
leading past the music room. They saw General
Amadori standing there with a gun in his white-gloved
hand. The gun was being held to someone's head. It
took a moment for Aideen to realize who the general
was holding in front of him.
It was Father Norberto. And at his feet was another
man lying faceup. He wasn't moving.
It was Darrell McCaskey.
FORTY-SIX
Tuesday, 12:24 p.m. Madrid, Spain
When Father Norberto had entered the courtyard
outside the palace, he didn't believe the
soldiers were going to hurt him. He could see it in
their eyes, hear it in their voices.
He had no such illusions about this man, the one who
had just shot the American in the back. The officer
had a gun pressed under his jaw and was holding his
hair tightly with the other hand. The man was bleeding.
He did not have the time or disposition to talk.
"Where is the major general?" Amadori shouted.
Aideen dropped the major general's goggles and
gun and kicked them into the hallway. "He's dead.
Now let the priest go."
"A woman?" Amadori yelled. "Damn you, who
is making war on me? Show yourself
now!"
"Let
the padre
go. General Amadori," Aideen said. "Release
him and you can have me."
"I do not negotiate," Amadori yelled. He
took a quick look behind him. The door to the courtyard
was only a few yards away. He pulled off his
goggles and threw them to the floor. Then he pressed
the gun harder against Father Norberto's throat and
continued
BALANCE OF POWER 423
backing toward the door. "My soldiers are still
outside, watching the perimeter while their brothers
fight. When I call them they'll come. They'll
hunt you down."
"You'll shoot me if I show myself."
"That is correct," said Amadori. "But I'll
release the priest."
The woman was silent.
Throughout his years in the priesthood, Norberto had
talked to grieving widows and parishioners whose
brothers or sisters or children had died. Most of them
had expressed the desire to die as well.
Despite his own loss, Norberto didn't feel
that way. He did not want to be a martyour. He
wanted to live. He wanted to continue helping
others. But he wasn't going to let a woman die
for him.
"My child, leave here!" Norberto cried.
Amadori pulled tighter on his hair. "Don't
talk."
"My brother, Adolfo Alcazar, believed in
you," Norberto said. "He died in your service."
"Your brother?" the general said. He continued
walking. He was just a few feet from the door.
"Don't you realize that the people who killed Adolfo
are here?"
"I know," Norberto said. "One of them died in my
arms, just as Adolfo did."
" 'Then how can you take their side?"'"
"I haven't taken their side," Norberto said.
"I am on the side of God. And in His name-1
beg you to call off this war."
"I don't have time for this," Amadori snapped.
424 OP-CENTER
"My enemies are the enemies of Spain. Tell
me who the woman is and I'll release you."
"I won't help you," Norberto said.
"Then you'll die." Amadori groaned as he
reached the door. He was obviously in pain. Still
holding the priest, he stepped into the gleaming
sunlight and turned toward the southern gate. "I
need assistance!" he yelled. He looked back
quickly to make sure Aideen hadn't
moved.
The soldiers on the other side of the courtyard had
their guns pointed toward the arches. They turned
to look at the door. Suddenly, one of the soldiers
stepped from behind the gatepost.
"Stay where you are, sir!" the soldier yelled.
Amadori glanced toward the arches. He saw two
people crouched there, a bleeding man and a woman.
"Get your unit back out here," Amadori shouted.
"Secure the courtyard!"
The soldier pulled the field radio from his belt and
called for reinforcements. As he did, the woman behind
the arch aimed at Amadori. The general angrily
swung the priest around so he was facing her. The
woman held her fire; gunshots from the soldiers
quickly drove her back behind the arch. Amadori
looked back into the palace to make sure the other
woman hadn't come from around the corner.
She had not. She didn't need to.
Darrell McCaskey was lying on his side
halfway down the corridor. He was facing
Amadori and holding the gun Aideen had kicked
into the corridor.
Father Norberto looked in as well. He didn't
un BALANCE OF POWER 425
derstand. There was no blood, yet he'd seen the
general shoot this man in the back.
Amadori began to turn the priest around. But
McCaskey didn't give the general a chance
to maneuver Father Norberto between them. And he
didn't fire to wound the general. He put two quick
shots into Amadori's temple.
The general was dead before he reached the ground.
FORTYSEVE caret I
Tuesday, 12:35 p.m. Madrid, Spain
"You took one of the bulletproof vests," Aideen
said as she ran toward McCaskey.
"Never travel without it," McCaskey said. He
winced as she helped him to his feet. "I put it
on before I came here. After he shot me-I
figured I'd lie low and wait for something like this."
"Glad I didn't just kick out the goggles,"
Aideen said.
Ferdinand ran past them to the priest. Father Norberto
was standing just inside the doorway, staring down at the
body of General Amadori. He knelt and began
to say a prayer over the dead man.
"Father, he doesn't deserve your blessing," Ferdinand
said. "Come. We must go."
Norberto finished praying. Only when he
made the sign of the cross over the general did he
rise. He looked at Ferdinand. " "Where are
we going?"'"
"Away," Ferdinand said. "The soldiers-was
"He's right. Father," Aideen said. "We don't
know what they're going to do. But we should be somewhere
else when they do it."
McCaskey held onto Aideen's shoulder while
he
BALANCE OF POWER 427
drew several painful breaths. "We've also got
to let the boss know what's going on as soon as
possible," he said. "Where's the team?"
" "They encountered some resistance after the flushout,"
she said. "They withdrew."
"Can you get to them?"
Aideen nodded. "Can you walk?"
"Yes, but I'm not going with you," McCaskey said.
/>
"I can't leave Maria."
"Darrell, you heard what Amadori said,"
Aideen declared. "More soldiers are on the way."
"I know," McCaskey said. He smiled
faintly. "All the more reason I can't leave her."
"He won't be alone," Father Norberto told
her. "I'll stay with him."
Aideen regarded them both through her mask. "There
isn't time to argue. I'll get the word out. You
three take care."
McCaskey thanked her. As she turned and ran
toward the grand staircase, McCaskey hobbled
toward the priest.
"I'm sorry about this," he said in English, pointing
to Amadori's body. "It was necessary."
Norberto said nothing.
Ferdinand put his gun in his waistband. "I'm going
to look for my friend Juan," he said. He regarded
McCaskey. " 'Thank you, sir, for ridding
Spain of this would-be
caudillo.""
McCaskey wasn't exactly sure what
Ferdinand had said, but he got the gist of it.
"jDe nodal"
he said. "You're welcome."
428 OP-CENTER
Father Norberto suddenly put his hand around
Ferdinand's neck. He squeezed hard.
"Padre?"
Ferdinand said, confused.
"Your friend is in there," Norberto said. There were
tears in his eyes as he pointed toward the
music room. "He's dead."
"Juan dead? Are you certain?"
"I am certain," Norberto said. "I was with him
when he died. I was with him when he confessed his sins.
He died absolved of them."
Ferdinand shut his eyes.
Norberto squeezed harder. "Everyone has the right
to absolution, my son, whether they have slain one or
they have slain millions."
The priest released Ferdinand and turned away. He
walked toward McCaskey, who had limped past
them and was peering cautiously out the door.
McCaskey didn't know what the exchange had
been about, but it didn't sound pleasant.
"What should we do?" Norberto asked.
"I'm not sure," McCaskey admitted.
He watched the soldiers as they watched him. The
reinforcements were just arriving from an entrance further
along the courtyard. It looked to McCaskey as
if they were carrying gas niters. They must have been part
of the group that went after Striker.
Once again McCaskey felt helpless. The
Interpol spotters might not realize that Amadori
was dead, that a show of force from local police units
might be enough to shut the heart of the revolution
down. Especially if it came before the soldiers could
rally behind a new leader.
BALANCE OF POWER 429
Clancy, Tom - Ballance of Power Page 40