'David knows his stuff and likes to beat you over the head with it,' Rodgers told him. 'Aideen has a solid foundation, somewhat less experience, but a whole lot more tact.'
'Who'd be the better mission leader?' Hood asked.
'In this situation? She would,' Rodgers said. 'I already made that call. She will interact with ordinary people better than he will.'
'Battat is okay with that?' Hood asked.
'To get back in the field? Yeah, he's okay with that,' Rodgers said.
Hood regarded the general. Military people looked at things differently than civilians. Hood liked to have harmony on his staff. Rodgers put the emphasis on efficiency.
'Don't worry about them, Paul,' Rodgers said. 'Battat knows that Aideen will be in charge. They'll be fine.'
Hood hoped that Rodgers was right. He had not anticipated fielding the new intelligence team this quickly, but Op-Center needed people on site. Given the haste, Hood also hoped that he had been right giving Mike Rodgers this assignment. He respected the hell out of the general. He admired Rodgers's ability to command. But Rodgers had suffered a heavy blow with the loss of the Strikers. Psychologically, both Hood and Rodgers were in uncharted territory.
Until recently, Paul Hood had not believed in psychiatry. He felt that character came from dealing with your own problems. Then Harleigh was taken hostage at the United Nations. Op-Center's staff psychologist Liz Gordon and other mental
164
OP-CENTER
health specialists helped see the girl through her blackest days. They gave Harleigh her life back, and they gave Hood his daughter back.
He changed his thinking about psychiatry.
The change prompted Hood to take an unprecedented step of involving Liz in his own decision-making process. A few days before talking to Rodgers about the new intelligence team, Hood had spoken to the psychologist about it. The question he asked her: Would an officer who lost his squad be overly cautious with the next one or more aggressive? Liz told him that it depended upon the officer, of course. In the case of Mike Rodgers, she thought he might be reluctant to take on a new command. He would not want to risk any more lives. If he did accept the post, she believed he might experience a mild form of substitution hysteria. The need to re-create a failure and make it come out right.
Fortunately, this was not a military operation. The participants did not have to stay until the matter was resolved. They collected intelligence until things became too dangerous. Then they left.
'Since everything seems to be set, it's probably a good idea to get them over to Botswana,' Hood continued. 'I suspect things are going to heat up when Bishop Max arrives tomorrow.'
'We can get Aideen and Battat on a plane today,' Rodgers told him. 'Travel documents are being prepared. Right now, I've got them in Matt Stoll's section, reading what we have on the Father Bradbury situation. They're also going over files about Botswana and Albert Beaudin. Bob told me that he and his people might be involved.'
'It's possible,' Hood said.
'I also had a chat with Falah Shibli on the drive over,' Rodgers said.
'How is he?' Hood asked. Falah was an extremely capable and humble man. Those were a good combination in any man. In an intelligence operative they were invaluable. They made him invisible.
'Falah's still working as a police officer in northern Israel,
MISSION OF HONOR
165
only now he's running the department,' Rodgers said. 'He said he has his hands full keeping peace on the Lebanese border, but he'd be happy to take a short leave of absence to do whatever we need.'
'A Moslem from the Jewish state helping the Church,' Hood mused. 'I like that.'
'So does he,' Rodgers told him. 'That's why he offered to drop what he was doing and join the team. I told him I'll let him know if that's necessary. I also talked to Zack Bemler in New York and Harold Moore in Tokyo. They're tied up for the next few days. After that, they said they'd be happy to work with us. But with Maria on the way and the other three ready to go, I feel we have a strong team to field.'
Hood agreed. Those four intelligence operatives had exceptional abilities. Hood had to trust that their collaborative skills would surface when they were required.
When Rodgers was finished, Hood brought the general up to date on his conversations with Edgar Kline and Emmy Feroche. In the middle of that briefing, Stephen Viens called.
'Paul, I think you should come to Mart's office,' Viens said.
'What have you got?' Hood asked.
Viens replied, 'Your missing link, I think.'
TWENTY-FIVE
MISSION OF HONOR
167
Okavango Swamp, Botswana Friday, 12:05 A.M.
According to the beliefs of Dhamballa's Vodun faith, mid- , night was the most spiritual part of the day. It was
