One Rough Man

sit in the back and sort out what the hell was going on.

Once outside of the Arlington complex, I told Kurt everything I knew. I ended with Ethan’s analysis and the attempts on our lives.

“So, we definitely have two terrorists, probably still in Norway, who think they have a catastrophic weapon and are intent on using it. On top of that, some sorry sons of bitches here in the U.S. want to ensure they succeed.” I waited a beat, then said, “Well, I’m finished. I think that’s enough information to work on. I’m ready to get out of this business. How soon before you can launch the Taskforce?”

Kurt’s expression gave me a sinking feeling. He appeared to be considering what to say, which meant it probably wasn’t going to be good. When he finally spoke, it was like cracking open a rotten egg.

“Pike, look, I don’t think there’s anything the Taskforce can do about this. I can’t just launch willy-nilly, whenever I feel like it. There’s the Oversight Council to think about. This is more of a problem for one of the Special Mission Units.”

I was speechless. I’d thought he was going to say he couldn’t do anything for two or three weeks, not that he wouldn’t do anything at all. I finally spit out, “What the hell are you saying? Terrorists are about to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people. We may be on the verge of World War Three. Ethan was skinned alive for this information, and you’re worried about some pissant council oversight?”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jennifer flinch at my statement, then stare into the rearview mirror trying to catch my eye. I ignored her.

Kurt caught the look, apparently realizing we were now treading on classified information in front of a civilian. He held up his hands. “Pike, calm down. You know how it works. That’s the way it is, and I’m not going to talk about it here.”

“Fuck that. Read her on later. She’s lost her fucking uncle and about lost her own life for this. She’s not going to run around spouting at the mouth, and I want an answer. I’ve earned an answer.”

He said nothing for a minute, making up his mind. “All right. You know the answer. Our unit was not designed for and is not capable of a rapid-alert scenario. That’s why the damn Delta Force exists. It takes us months to develop the infrastructure and cover to penetrate a sovereign country and take down a target without it being exposed as an American operation. We can’t simply pick up and haul ass to Norway like an invasion force. It would compromise the unit.”

“Who gives a shit? Jesus, what’s more important? Four people have died already. Two more were shot attempting to stop me from seeing you. I can’t believe you wouldn’t gladly throw the unit away to do this. I can’t understand where you’re coming from.”

“Pike, it’s more than the Taskforce. If we get compromised it will bring down the president. Not only that, but his entire administration, and would literally shock the nation to its core. Do-gooders would seize the opportunity to muzzle every other action against the terrorist threat. You think Internet wiretaps are hard to do now? After this, they won’t exist at all. In fact, it’s not hyperbole to say the best thing that could happen for Al Qaeda is for the Taskforce to be discovered in a foreign country killing terrorists. It would make Lillehammer look like a mild error in judgment.”

I knew all about Lillehammer, and the irony wasn’t lost on me that these terrorists had gone to the same country that caused Israel’s Wrath of God operation to blow up in their face. In June of 1973, Israel had sent a hit team to the small town in Norway to kill Ali Hassan Salemeh, otherwise known as the Red Prince, the man responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes. Instead of getting him, they killed an innocent Moroccan waiter by mistake. Rapid police work uncovered the Israeli connection, with several of the agents being arrested before they could get out of the country. The repercussions were immediate and profound, starting with the permanent dismantling of the Wrath of God teams and ending with Israel being vilified on the world stage, compared to the very terrorists they sought to kill.

I didn’t buy the argument. “Sir, I get where you’re coming from, but there’s a higher purpose here. Israel was simply conducting an attack based on revenge. We’re trying to preempt a WMD attack, to save countless lives, for Christ’s sake. It’s not the same thing, even if we get compromised. The repercussions are worth it. Would you rather have World War Three or some egg on the president’s face?”

“Pike, we don’t even know if the WMD is real. All you have is what Ethan gleaned from a single paragraph. It doesn’t make it fact.” He paused for a moment, then his tone softened. “Look, I get that there’s a threat out there, but the Taskforce isn’t the correct tool to use against it. Let me get this information into the system. Let the CIA and the Special Mission Units handle it. That’s what they do.”

“Jesus Christ! You sound like all the jackasses that said the Taskforce doesn’t need to exist. You know what happened with the first effort to create our unit. You put this information into the system and we’re going to get our wheels spinning for weeks, until someone believes it’s a true, distinct threat. You said it yourself. It’s just a paragraph on a piece of paper and the word of a discredited operator. Nobody is going to take that seriously, and we don’t have time to prove it. We can’t waste a week developing corroborating evidence to convince the National Command Authority to launch. That bomb’s going off before then.”

I looked at Kurt to see if anything I said was registering. When I didn’t get a response, I threw out my final trump card.

“In fact, because the Taskforce operates without constitutional constraints, we’re the only element that can execute. Everyone else will be waiting on DEPORDS and presidential findings. Please. I’m begging here. Think about what you’re saying.”

“Pike, I have a greater obligation to the nation. If you had something besides simple extrapolation of what you think is going on, I might do something. I simply can’t jeopardize the entire presidential administration and the future defense of the nation based on what you think.”

I grunted, sick of the conversation.

“Get back to Arlington. Drop Kurt off,” I said to Jennifer.

Turning back to Kurt, I said, “I’m not the only one who believes there’s a bad fucking event coming. Someone tried very hard to keep me from talking to you. I guess they could have spared all the death and destruction, since you don’t give a damn in the first place.”

I could tell the words stung, but Kurt held firm.

“What’re you going to do now?”

“I’ll go to Norway and save the fuckin’ world by myself — without any help from your Taskforce.”

“You can’t get on a plane. You’ll be arrested from the Homeland Security database.”

That answer caused me to start swearing like a sailor and punching the seat in front of me.

Kurt put a hand on my shoulder. “Hold on. Look, I can’t launch a force, but I can support you from here. I’ll get you to Norway on one of our aircraft. Give me those e-mail addresses. I can have them monitored 24/7. You said you deleted the meeting message, right?”

That mollified me a little. “Yeah. It’s gone. They couldn’t have made that meet, so I’m thinking they’re still hanging around waiting.”

“Good. I’ll keep an eye on the e-mails. When they set up a new meet, I’ll relay the information to you. Give me an e-mail address.”

I didn’t have one. Jennifer turned around. “I have one. Will any address do?”

“Yeah, I don’t care what it is.”

Jennifer gave him a Hotmail address.

Kurt said, “Good enough. We’ll monitor this 24/7 as well. If you need any analytical help, send us an e- mail.”

Kurt reached into his pocket, pulling out his worldwide pager. “Here. If you find them, and confirm there is a weapon, use this. You remember how, right?”

“Yeah. I remember.”

“You alert us back here, and I’ll assume you’ve found something. I’ll launch a team your way.”

He held the pager in his hands, not yet passing it over. “Pike, I meant what I said. Don’t press this button just because you believe something’s going on. Don’t use it for your own personal vendetta. Once I launch, and we get compromised, there’s an even chance that the U.S. government is going to go through a seizure. Make sure it’s worth it.”