Now it was Rodgers who seemed taken aback. It was several seconds before he could answer. "Paul, do you realize what you're saying? I'm not talking about different uses for Striker. I'm talking about a dedicated unit."
"I understand," Hood said.
"But we could never get that into an amended charter."
"Then we don't."
"How would you get the financing?"
"We can learn from some of the mistakes Stephen Viens made," Hood said. "I'll find a way to finance it through here. Ed Colahan can be trusted with that. Hell, I think he'd enjoy it. The CFO's jealous of all your cloak-and-dagger stuff. We've also learned from our mistakes in Turkey. We can review the data, figure out how to use the ROC more efficiently. Keep it in the field permanently instead of only where it's needed."
"A mobile stealth operation," Rodgers said.
"With stealth warriors," Hood said. "It's got possibilities. And you've got the passion to pull it off."
Rodgers shook his head. "What about the actions themselves? I executed a terrorist in Lebanon. It was imperium in imperio, jackboot law. I judged him and I shot him. I'm not going to sit here and tell you for certain that I wouldn't do it again. The lives of innocent Americans come first."
"I know," Hood replied. "And I won't say that I disagree."
Rodgers snickered. "Really? That isn't you, Paul. You're not even for the death penalty."
"You're right, Mike, " Hood said. "But that's the thing you learn about managing a team like ours or a city like Los Angeles or even a family. It isn't about what you're for or against. It's a question of what's best. Mike, you're going to do this anyway. I've already half got a picture in mind of you in desert patriarch robes with a staff in one hand and an Uzi in the other, hunting down terrorists. That wouldn't be the best thing for either of us. I trust you and I want to help you."
Hood reached over to the desk and removed the envelope. He held it out. Rodgers looked at it, but did not reach for it.
"Take it," Hood said.
Rodgers looked at him. "Are you sure this offer isn't about keeping an eye on me so that I don't go off and become the Moses who smiteth?"
"The way you move around," Hood said, "I couldn't watch you even if I wanted to. Actually, what this is about is how to keep Bob away from Martha. He'd love to work on a project like this."
Rodgers smiled. "I'll think about it. I've got a lot to think about. A few hours ago I wanted to drop out of this whole damned race. I had people running to my rescue, not letting me get out of the trouble I created or face the music myself."
"Which is what you've always done," Hood said.
"That's right," Rodgers said. "And proudly so." He fell quiet for a long moment as he sat staring into space. "But then this very old teammate of mine reminded me that even though you run the race alone, it doesn't mean you are alone."
"He was right," Hood said. "Didn't Benjamin Franklin have something to say about that?"
"He told the Continental Congress, 'We must indeed all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.' "
"Right," Hood said. "Who are you to argue with Benjamin Franklin? Besides, didn't he and John Adams and the Sons of Liberty do something not unlike what we're talking about?" He was still holding out the envelope. "I don't want to pressure you, but my arm's getting tired and I don't want to lose you. What do you say? Do we hang together?"
Rodgers looked at the envelope. With a suddenness which surprised Hood, he snatched it back and put it in his pocket. "All right," Rodgers agreed. "Together."
"Good," Hood said. "Now let's see if we can help find a way to save our friend Viens from the vultures."
Hood called Herbert back in, and they sat down to work with a level of enthusiasm and cooperation he'd never before encountered in his group. Hood was not about to thank the PKK for that. However, as they waited for Chief Financial Officer Ed Colahan to arrive with his data, words from a different time and a different enemy flashed through Hood's mind. They were the words of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto. After having led the attack on Pearl Harbor, an attack which was supposed to crush American resistance in the Pacific, Yamamoto was moved to comment, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a steeping giant and fill him with a temple resolve."
After authorizing Rodgers to discuss his idea with Herbert, Hood could not remember a time when any of them were more awake... or more resolved.
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eVersion 4.0 : scanned, fully proofed and formatted by NiHuA Nov 15, 2002.
The End
Tom Clancy's Op-Center 4
Act of War
©1997
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Jeff Rovin for his creative ideas and his invaluable contributions to the preparation of the manuscript. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Martin H. Greenberg, Larry Segriff, Robert Youdelman, Esq., Tom Mallon, Esq., and the wonderful people at The Putnam Berkley Group, including Phyllis Grann, David Shanks, and Elizabeth Beier. As always, we would like to thank Robert Gottlieb of The William Morris Agency, our agent and friend, without whom this book would never have been conceived. But most important, it is for you, our readers, to determine how successful our collective endeavor has been.
-Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik
About the Creators
Tom Clancy is the author of The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Without Remorse, Debt of Honor, and Executive Orders. He is also the author of the nonfiction books Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, and Marine. He lives in Maryland.
Steve Pieczenik is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist with an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations from MIT. and served as principal hostage negotiator and international crisis manager while Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, and James Baker. He is also the bestselling novelist of the psycho-political thrillers The Mind Palace, Blood Heat, Maximum Vigilance, and Pax Pacifica.
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Clancy, Tom - Op Center 04 - Acts Of War Page 42