executives. No, this guy is going to hang and hang quickly. It’s the only way we have of avoiding an overwhelming push toward a war of retaliation.” Sam stopped and looked around the circle of his men. Looks of confusion seeped into several of their faces. “Here’s the deal,” he concluded, slipping the final piece of the puzzle into place. “Even as we speak here, there’s a constitutional battle being fought for the very soul of our country. If that goes well, and it’d better, then Secretary Marino—”
“Brucius Marino?! I thought he’s dead.”
“Quite the contrary. He’s the one who authorized this mission.”
“They said he killed himself after the impeachment.”
“Afraid that’s demonstrably untrue. All sorts of rumors going on out there right now. And if he is able to claim the presidency—”
Dallas Houston raised his hand. “ Nyet , nyet , nyet . Fuentes is the president—”
“Not if Brucius Marino is alive.”
“He’s been impeached already—”
“That remains to be seen. It isn’t clear the proceedings against him were even legal. In many respects, they were very clearly not.”
Sam quickly told the soldiers of the move to gather the three remaining members of the Supreme Court. After he finished speaking, they sat in stunned silence for a long moment, the helicopter bouncing all around them.
“Holy cattle,” Dallas Houston finally said.
“You got it, baby. Very holy cattle. Do you see now what we’re doing here? Do you really understand? If Secretary Marino is sworn in as president, there’s going to be overwhelming pressure to retaliate for the nuclear and EMP attacks. He doesn’t want to have to do that, but justice must be served. The only way to do that is to capture King Abdullah and take him back to the States. And we haven’t even talked about the fact that King Abdullah is committed to wiping Israel off the earth.
“Knowing what you know now, is there any spot of doubt inside your minds how critical this mission is? Can you see that right now the world is hanging by a thread? We do our job, and we’ve got a bit of hope here. Fail, and I don’t know.”
The group was silent.
“We can do it,” Dallas Houston said.
Sam knelt beside the map in front of them. “And this how.”
*******
His instructions took less than five minutes. When he was finished, the soldiers locked eyes on him.
“That’s it?” Dallas Houston wondered.
Sam shot a look at Bono. “It’s the best we could come up with, given our limited resources and time.”
Houston shook his head.
Bono shrugged with nonchalant confidence. “It’ll work,” he assured his men.
“And you say that because . . . ?”
“Well, for one thing it’ll catch them off guard.”
Houston almost laughed. “That it will, lieutenant. I mean, it’s so absurd, how could you even think of such a plan?”
Bono kept his face serious. “Yeah, OK, it’s less direct than what we usually do. But if everyone does their job, things will be OK.”
“Dude, I wouldn’t describe this as a work of Einstein,” Houston shot back. “I mean, I’ve seen some pretty screwed up plans before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this.”
“You don’t think it’ll work.”
Houston didn’t answer. The look on his face said it all. “I don’t know. I’m not saying it’s completely hopeless, I just wonder you know—I just, you know, I mean, what are we going to face, maybe a hundred of the king’s special security forces?”
Sam shrugged. “Maybe not a hundred.”
“OK, eighty or ninety then?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“And these guys are not slouches. All of them are graduates of the finest training the United States could provide them, I’m sorry to say. All of them are selected for their dedication and ruthlessness. I’ve worked with some of those guys, captain, all of us have. They’re good. And anything they lack in tactics they more than make
“Brucius Marino?! I thought he’s dead.”
“Quite the contrary. He’s the one who authorized this mission.”
“They said he killed himself after the impeachment.”
“Afraid that’s demonstrably untrue. All sorts of rumors going on out there right now. And if he is able to claim the presidency—”
Dallas Houston raised his hand. “ Nyet , nyet , nyet . Fuentes is the president—”
“Not if Brucius Marino is alive.”
“He’s been impeached already—”
“That remains to be seen. It isn’t clear the proceedings against him were even legal. In many respects, they were very clearly not.”
Sam quickly told the soldiers of the move to gather the three remaining members of the Supreme Court. After he finished speaking, they sat in stunned silence for a long moment, the helicopter bouncing all around them.
“Holy cattle,” Dallas Houston finally said.
“You got it, baby. Very holy cattle. Do you see now what we’re doing here? Do you really understand? If Secretary Marino is sworn in as president, there’s going to be overwhelming pressure to retaliate for the nuclear and EMP attacks. He doesn’t want to have to do that, but justice must be served. The only way to do that is to capture King Abdullah and take him back to the States. And we haven’t even talked about the fact that King Abdullah is committed to wiping Israel off the earth.
“Knowing what you know now, is there any spot of doubt inside your minds how critical this mission is? Can you see that right now the world is hanging by a thread? We do our job, and we’ve got a bit of hope here. Fail, and I don’t know.”
The group was silent.
“We can do it,” Dallas Houston said.
Sam knelt beside the map in front of them. “And this how.”
*******
His instructions took less than five minutes. When he was finished, the soldiers locked eyes on him.
“That’s it?” Dallas Houston wondered.
Sam shot a look at Bono. “It’s the best we could come up with, given our limited resources and time.”
Houston shook his head.
Bono shrugged with nonchalant confidence. “It’ll work,” he assured his men.
“And you say that because . . . ?”
“Well, for one thing it’ll catch them off guard.”
Houston almost laughed. “That it will, lieutenant. I mean, it’s so absurd, how could you even think of such a plan?”
Bono kept his face serious. “Yeah, OK, it’s less direct than what we usually do. But if everyone does their job, things will be OK.”
“Dude, I wouldn’t describe this as a work of Einstein,” Houston shot back. “I mean, I’ve seen some pretty screwed up plans before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this.”
“You don’t think it’ll work.”
Houston didn’t answer. The look on his face said it all. “I don’t know. I’m not saying it’s completely hopeless, I just wonder you know—I just, you know, I mean, what are we going to face, maybe a hundred of the king’s special security forces?”
Sam shrugged. “Maybe not a hundred.”
“OK, eighty or ninety then?”
“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“And these guys are not slouches. All of them are graduates of the finest training the United States could provide them, I’m sorry to say. All of them are selected for their dedication and ruthlessness. I’ve worked with some of those guys, captain, all of us have. They’re good. And anything they lack in tactics they more than make
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