execution. First, he didn’t want a blindfold. Second,
he
wanted to give the command to fire. Fidel granted both requests.”
“Damn.”
Christian tried to imagine giving a firing squad the command to shoot him. It seemed like one of those ultimate acts of bravery you never knew whether you were really capable of unless you were in the moment. “That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, right? Well, they ended up burying him in an unmarked grave in the hills outside Havana somewhere. Didn’t even tell his wife where his body was for a while.” Wood hesitated, gathering his thoughts. “Here’s the bottom line. Now that there’s weakness inside the regime, these people who were loyal to Ochoa are trying to take control. Turns out they haven’t forgotten after all and they’ve formed an alliance with a group of civilians who are pro-capitalists. Maybe anti-anticommunists is a better way to put it. Chris, any way you look at it, you’re going to need the Cuban military on your side to win the day down there. You’ll need them afterward, too, and that’s just the way it is. We’ve decided this combination has the best shot at bringing the Communists down and taking Cuba where it needs to go from both the military and private-sector perspectives. We also think this group is the most likely to stay loyal to us, which is probably the most important consideration of all. But we’ve got to act
fast.
We’ve got to let them know we’re a hundred percent committed to them as soon as possible. We’ve told them we’re almost there, but I have one more box I need to check before I dive into the deep end with them.”
“Why
so
fast?” Christian asked.
“The problem, what we’re all
really
worried about here, is that the people who are clinging to power in Cuba right now might look for help from the outside if they decide they can’t hang on by themselves. If they sniff some kind of conspiracy they think actually has legs.”
“
Help
as in a terrorist state,” Christian suggested, anticipating where Wood was going with this. “Like Iran or Syria. Even China.”
Wood pointed at Christian. “
Exactly. China.
I can’t have China putting missiles on the ground ninety miles from Miami. Then I might start drinking something a lot stronger than beer on the job.” Wood grimaced. “And our intel indicates there are those kinds of secret discussions going on. You probably know about that oil deal Cuba signed with China.”
“Just what I read in the newspapers,” Christian said. Which wasn’t exactly true. He knew more than that, but he also knew the best way to get more information was to act as if you didn’t know. Especially when the other person wanted something from you. “Which wasn’t much.”
The president nodded, as if he expected Christian not to know much because everything he was about to say was so hush-hush. “China and Cuba have signed a formal agreement to develop oil fields right off Cuba’s coastline. They’re big fields, too, bigger than what’s being reported in the press. The right side of the aisle in Washington is going nuts on this, of course, but even some of my friends on the left side are getting nervous.”
Which Christian already knew.
“What hasn’t been reported,” Wood continued, “is that we believe there are very secret discussions going on about China basically stepping into the old Soviet Union’s role. Massive loans and subsidies, particularly with respect to the military and agriculture.” President Wood raised his eyebrows. “We all know nations don’t lend other nations billions and billions just to earn interest. There are other, very dark motivations here.”
“Those missiles you mentioned.”
“Right,” the president confirmed. “
First-strike
missiles. Even today, that’s a huge advantage.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, so basically what we’re talking about here comes down to a defensive play. I mean, I would really like to help the Cuban people. They’ve
he
wanted to give the command to fire. Fidel granted both requests.”
“Damn.”
Christian tried to imagine giving a firing squad the command to shoot him. It seemed like one of those ultimate acts of bravery you never knew whether you were really capable of unless you were in the moment. “That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, right? Well, they ended up burying him in an unmarked grave in the hills outside Havana somewhere. Didn’t even tell his wife where his body was for a while.” Wood hesitated, gathering his thoughts. “Here’s the bottom line. Now that there’s weakness inside the regime, these people who were loyal to Ochoa are trying to take control. Turns out they haven’t forgotten after all and they’ve formed an alliance with a group of civilians who are pro-capitalists. Maybe anti-anticommunists is a better way to put it. Chris, any way you look at it, you’re going to need the Cuban military on your side to win the day down there. You’ll need them afterward, too, and that’s just the way it is. We’ve decided this combination has the best shot at bringing the Communists down and taking Cuba where it needs to go from both the military and private-sector perspectives. We also think this group is the most likely to stay loyal to us, which is probably the most important consideration of all. But we’ve got to act
fast.
We’ve got to let them know we’re a hundred percent committed to them as soon as possible. We’ve told them we’re almost there, but I have one more box I need to check before I dive into the deep end with them.”
“Why
so
fast?” Christian asked.
“The problem, what we’re all
really
worried about here, is that the people who are clinging to power in Cuba right now might look for help from the outside if they decide they can’t hang on by themselves. If they sniff some kind of conspiracy they think actually has legs.”
“
Help
as in a terrorist state,” Christian suggested, anticipating where Wood was going with this. “Like Iran or Syria. Even China.”
Wood pointed at Christian. “
Exactly. China.
I can’t have China putting missiles on the ground ninety miles from Miami. Then I might start drinking something a lot stronger than beer on the job.” Wood grimaced. “And our intel indicates there are those kinds of secret discussions going on. You probably know about that oil deal Cuba signed with China.”
“Just what I read in the newspapers,” Christian said. Which wasn’t exactly true. He knew more than that, but he also knew the best way to get more information was to act as if you didn’t know. Especially when the other person wanted something from you. “Which wasn’t much.”
The president nodded, as if he expected Christian not to know much because everything he was about to say was so hush-hush. “China and Cuba have signed a formal agreement to develop oil fields right off Cuba’s coastline. They’re big fields, too, bigger than what’s being reported in the press. The right side of the aisle in Washington is going nuts on this, of course, but even some of my friends on the left side are getting nervous.”
Which Christian already knew.
“What hasn’t been reported,” Wood continued, “is that we believe there are very secret discussions going on about China basically stepping into the old Soviet Union’s role. Massive loans and subsidies, particularly with respect to the military and agriculture.” President Wood raised his eyebrows. “We all know nations don’t lend other nations billions and billions just to earn interest. There are other, very dark motivations here.”
“Those missiles you mentioned.”
“Right,” the president confirmed. “
First-strike
missiles. Even today, that’s a huge advantage.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, so basically what we’re talking about here comes down to a defensive play. I mean, I would really like to help the Cuban people. They’ve
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