the contrary, there was more than ample proof that the government itself had ties with al Qaeda. If anyone should be attacked, it was them.
Even assuming Raven was there and the attack went well, there were sure to be unforeseen diplomatic consequences, especially since the Russian agent would presumably have to be killed.
“Why kill him?” asked Harker.
Edmund frowned but said nothing. It was Reid who explained.
“Risking a witness, even one who never actually got Raven in his hands, would be foolish.”
Was the weapon worth risking war over, asked the Undersecretary of State. Especially with Russia?
It was a philosophical question, since no one felt it would get that far. But Breanna had her own answer: it might very well be. Based on the information the CIA had reluctantly turned over, Ray Rubeo thought the program was every bit as dangerous as Reid had feared.
Though Rubeo being Rubeo, he had added a host of caveats to his assessment, starting with the obvious fact that he hadn’t inspected the actual software, just some of the technical descriptions.
The real villain was Harker, who’d decided to test the weapon without getting approval from anyone, except Edmund — or she
Or had she?
Washington could be a maze of mirrors, each corridor a twisted path leading to a dead end.
Were Edmund and Harker so wrong to test the weapon there? Whiplash, and Dreamland before it, had tested a legion of cutting-edge weaponry in dangerous situations. They’d lost their share of them as well.
Breanna heard her father’s voice in her head:
“Swift action is what we need,” said Bozzone, the President’s personal counsel. “With the weapon secured, Director Edmund could go before the committee and tell them what happened.”
“More or less,” said Blitz. “More less than more.”
Under other circumstances, the line would have generated a laugh or two, or at least a nervous chuckle. Today it didn’t.
“We say Raven was a secret UAV project being tested in the Sudan,” said Bozzone. “It crashed. We have it back.”
“This is where we were yesterday,” said Blitz, referring to a private debate. “Once we start talking about it, they’ll ask why it’s special, they’ll ask about the assassination program, they’ll ask a dozen questions that he can’t answer truthfully, or at least not fully.”
“And as I said yesterday, the best approach is simply to tell the whole story,” said Bozzone. “As long as the unit is back, there’s no problem. Even Ernst will keep that a secret. And if he doesn’t — well so what? As long as we have the UAV, then we’re the only ones who can deploy it.”
“Acknowledging the existence of a weapon can have bad consequences,” said Reid.
“Gentlemen, thank you,” said Todd, cutting them off. “We’ll make the decision on what will be disclosed when it needs to be made.” She looked around the table, then fixed her eyes on Breanna. “In the meantime, Ms. Stockard, Mr. Reid — have Whiplash recover the missing components. At all costs.”
Chapter 15
Danny drifted between consciousness and sleep. He’d learned long ago to take advantage of the lulls to grab some rest — ten minutes here, a half hour there. They weren’t exactly power naps, but they were better than fighting the fatigue full-on. Tiny sips of energy.
Random thoughts shot through his semiconscious mind. Who cared about the damn flight computer anyway? Couldn’t they just get the hell back home?
He saw his ex-wife in their bedroom. It seemed so warm.
She morphed into Melissa. That was better — much, much better.
His ear set blared with an incoming call on the Whiplash circuit. He jerked back in the seat where he’d dozed off, pulling his mind back to full consciousness. The tent was empty.
“This is Freah.”
“Danny, this is Bree. Can you talk?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“You’re authorized to strike the Brotherhood. You are to secure the control unit to the UAV.”
“All right. Can I use the Marines?”
A small contingent of Marines had been detailed to provide security at the Ethiopia base at the start of the deployment, but Danny had left them on their assault ship in the Gulf of Aden, deciding he didn’t need them.
“Yes. Draw whatever you need. But — you need to attack as quickly as possible.”
“It won’t be until dark. There are a lot of people in that camp, Bree. In the area of two hundred fighters.”
“Tonight, then. The Russian UAV expert is in the camp. He can’t get out.”
She didn’t say “killed,” but that’s what she meant. That actually made things a lot easier.
“All right,” said Danny. “We’ll be ready. One thing, Bree…”
“Yes?”
“You might think about bombing the camp if it’s that critical.”
“We did think about it,” she told him. “There are too many caves to guarantee success. I know you’ll do your best.”
Chapter 16
The Nationals put on a hitting display in the bottom of the sixth, batting around for seven runs and sending the L.A. fans scurrying for the exits. Even the outs were loud — the last drove the Dodger right fielder against the fence, where he managed to hold on despite taking a wicked shot to the back.
“That had to hurt, huh?” said Zen.
“Not much,” said Stoner.
“Not for you, maybe.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just — you have a high pain threshold.” Zen wasn’t sure that Stoner fully appreciated how much stronger he had been made by the operations and drugs.
“Oh.”
The Nats brought in a rookie to mop up in the eighth inning. Zen noticed that Stoner tracked each ball as carefully as if he were a scientist trying to prove some new theory of motion.
“The ball drops six to eight inches as it reaches the plate,” said Stoner after the second strikeout.
“He’s got a hell of a curve, huh?”
“It spins differently than the others.”
“Can you pick that out?” asked the psychiatrist.
“Thirty-two revolutions per second,” said Stoner.
“Thirty-two?” asked Zen.
“On average.”
