'They're running now,' Rodgers replied.
'At full capacity?'
'Full enough,' Rodgers replied. 'Op-Center has always been about the people, not the technology.'
'Heart, not hardware,' Stone remarked.
Rodgers nodded once in agreement.
'That's good to hear. We believe in that, too,' Stone said, raising a fist in a show of solidarity, 'which is why the senator and the admiral are convinced you will be an enormous asset to the party and to a future Orr administration. I hope you are still enthusiastic.'
'More than ever,' Rodgers replied.
'Truly?' The general's tone seemed a little too affirmative. It almost seemed like a challenge or a threat.
'Don't interpret quiet observation as disinterest,' Rodgers said.
'Contemplation moves power from here,' he held up a hand, 'to here,' he touched a finger to his temple. 'It does not lessen a man's strength.'
'Ah. That is the scholar talking,' Stone observed. He knew that Mike Rodgers held a doctorate in world history. The general had obtained it after two combat tours of Vietnam.
'To tell the truth, Eric, it's more of the soldier in me,' Rodgers said. 'I have participated in a number of wars and conflicts. I learned that if one moves too enthusiastically, he could put his foot on a land mine.'
'I guess I was lucky,' Stone said. 'When I wore my country's uniform, we were at peace. We were always wary but unafraid. We were also optimistic, whatever the situation, whatever the alert status.'
'I am always optimistic,' Rodgers assured the younger man.
'Really?' Stone clasped him on the shoulder and laughed. 'Forgive me, General, but you look as though you came for a funeral.'
Rodgers fixed his eyes on Stone. 'Actually, this is not my funeral face,' he said. 'If you want to see that, you will have to be with me on Saturday.'
'Saturday? What is happening then?' Stone asked.
'We bury Mac McCallie,' Rodgers said. 'He died in the e-bomb blast at Op-Center.'
'Oh. I am sorry,' Stone said, removing his hand. 'I have been rather tied up here. I had not heard there were casualties.'
That was a lie. Stone knew everything about the explosion he had ordered. And he was furious at himself for the funeral comment. It proved Rodgers's point about careless haste causing problems. It gave the general a moral victory.
It gave Mike Rodgers first blood.
'As for being unafraid, Eric, fear has never driven me to be cautious or watchful,' Rodgers went on. His tone was more aggressive now. What had begun as Stone sizing up the general had been turned around, like a classic military counteraction. 'The apparent lack of chaos does that.
It is always there, hidden. Disraeli said that peace has occasioned more wars than the most ruthless conquerors. Peace makes us complacent. We stop looking over our shoulder. One job of any leader is to sniff out that lurking danger. To stir it up if necessary, to free it so it can be crushed.'
'That sounds like warmongering,' Stone said.
'It is,' Rodgers replied proudly. 'I have always felt it is better to flush out the enemy before he has a chance to power up.'
'While you are sniffing and flushing, do you also look over your shoulder?' Stone asked. 'Do you know what is behind you right now?'
His own tone was slightly confrontational now, but he did not care.
