Patriot Games

real lucky.' Breckenridge waved for the men to follow him into his office. The Sergeant Major plopped down in his cheap swivel chair. Like Jackson, he was a cigar smoker. He lit up something better than what Robby smoked, but it still stank up the room.

'Two things you gotta do. One, I want to see you here every day for a box of.22; that's every day for a month, Lieutenant. You have to learn to shoot better. Shootin' is just like golf. You want to be good at it, you gotta do it every day. You have to work at it, and you need somebody to teach you right.' The Gunny smiled. 'That's no problem; I'll teach you right. The second thing, you have to buy time for yourself if the bad guys come lookin' for you.'

'The FBI told him to drive like the embassy guys do,' Jackson offered.

'Yeah, that's good for starters. Same as in Nam—you don't settle into patterns. What if they try to hit you at home?'

'Pretty isolated, Gunny,' Robby said.

'You got an alarm?' Breckenridge asked Ryan.

'No, but I can fix that pretty easy,' Ryan said.

'It's a good idea. I don't know the layout of your place, but if you can buy yourself a few seconds, and you got that shotgun, Lieutenant, you can make 'em wish they never came calling—at least you can hold them off till the police come. Like I said, the name of the game's just staying alive. Now, what about your family?'

'My wife's a doc, and she's pregnant. My little girl—well, you saw her on TV, I guess.'

'Does your wife know how to shoot?'

'I don't think she's ever touched a gun in her life.'

'I teach a class in firearms safety for women—part of the work I do with the local police.'

Ryan wondered how Cathy would react to all this. He put that one off. 'What sort of handgun you think I oughta get?'

'If you come by tomorrow, I'll try you out on a couple of 'em. Mainly you want something you're comfortable with. Don't go out and get a.44 Magnum, okay? I like automatics, myself. The springs eat up a lot of the recoil, so they're easier to get comfortable with. You want to buy something that's fun to shoot, not something that beats up on your hand and wrist. Me, I like the.45 Colt, but I been shooting that little baby for twenty-some years.' Breckenridge grabbed Ryan's right hand and flexed it around roughly. 'I think I'll start you off on a 9-millimeter Browning. Your hand looks big enough to hold it right—the Browning's got a thirteen-shot clip, you need a fair-sized hand to control it proper. Got a nice safety, too. If you have a kid in the house, Lieutenant, you'd better think about safety, okay?'

'No problem,' Ryan said. 'I can keep it where she can't reach it—we got a big closet, and I can keep them there, seven feet off the floor. Can I practice with a big-bore handgun in here?'

The Sergeant Major laughed. 'That backstop we got used to be the armor plate on a heavy cruiser. Mainly we use.22's in here, but my guards practice with .45's all the time. Sounds to me like you know shotgunnin' pretty good. Once you have that skill with pistol too, you'll be able to do it with any gun you pick up. Trust me, sir, this is what I do for a living.'

'When do you want me here?'

'Say about four, every afternoon?'

Ryan nodded. 'Okay.'

'About your wife—look, just bring her over some Saturday maybe. I'll sit her down and talk to her about guns. Lots of women, they're just afraid of the noise—and there's all that crap on TV. If nothing else, we'll get her used to shotgunning. You say she's a doc, so she's gotta be pretty smart. Hell, maybe she'll like it. You'd be surprised how many of the gals I teach really get into it.'

Ryan shook his head. Cathy had never once touched his shotgun, and whenever he cleaned it, kept Sally out of the room. Jack hadn't thought much about it, and hadn't minded having Sally out of the way. Little kids and firearms were not a happy mixture. At home he usually had the Remington disassembled and the ammunition locked away in the basement. How would Cathy react to having a loaded gun in the house?

What if you start carrying a gun around? How will she react to that? What if the bad guys are interested in going after them, too…?

'I know what you're thinkin', Lieutenant,' Breckenridge said. 'Hey, the Commander said the FBI didn't think any of this crap was gonna happen, right?'

'Yeah.'

'So what you're doin' is buyin' insurance, okay?'

'He said that, too,' Ryan replied.

'Look—we get intel reports here, sir. Yeah, that's right. Ever since those bike bums broke in, we get stuff from the cops and the FBI, and from some other places—even the Coast Guard. Some of their guys come here for firearms training, 'cause of the drug stuff they got 'em doing now. I'll keep an ear out, too,' Breckenridge assured him.

Information—it's all a battle for information. You have to know what's happening if you're going to do anything about it. Jack turned back to look at Jackson while he made a decision that he'd been trying to avoid ever since he got back from England. He still had the number in his office.

'And if they tell you those bike bums are coming back?' Ryan asked with a smile.

'They'll wish they didn't,' the Sergeant Major said seriously. 'This is a U.S. Navy reservation, guarded by the United States Marine Corps.'

And that's the name of that tune, Ryan thought. 'Well, thanks, Gunny. I'll get out of your way.'

Breckenridge saw them to the door. 'Sixteen hundred tomorrow, Lieutenant. How about you, Commander Jackson?'

'I'll stick to missiles and cannons, Gunny. Safer that way. G'night.'

'Good night, sir.'

Robby walked Jack back to his office. They had to pass on the daily drinks. Jackson had to do some shopping on the way home. After his friend left. Jack stared at his telephone for several minutes. Somehow he'd managed to avoid doing this for several weeks despite his wish to track down information on the ULA. But it wasn't just curiosity anymore. Ryan flipped open his telephone book and turned to the «G» page. He was able to call the D.C. area direct, though his finger hesitated before it jabbed down on each button.

'This is Mrs. Cummings,' a voice answered after the first ring. Jack took a deep breath.

'Hello, Nancy, this is Doctor Ryan. Is the boss in?'

'Let me check. Can you hold for a second?'

'Yes.'

They didn't have one of the new musical hold buttons there, Ryan noted. There was just the muted chirp of electronic noise for him to listen to. Am I doing the right thing? he wondered. He admitted to himself that he didn't know.

'Jack?' a familiar voice said.

'Hello, Admiral.'

'How's the family?'

'Fine, thank you, sir.'

'They came through all the excitement all right?'

'Yes, sir.'

'And I understand that your wife's expecting another baby. Congratulations.'

And how did you know that, Admiral? Ryan did not ask. He didn't have to. The DDI was supposed to know everything, and there were at least a million ways he might have found out.

'Thank you, sir.'

'So, what can I do for you?'

'Admiral, I…' Jack hesitated. 'I want to look into this ULA bunch.'

'Yeah, I thought you might. I have here on my desk a report from the FBI's terrorism unit about them, and we've been coordinating lately with the SIS. I'd like to see you back here. Jack. Maybe even on a more permanent basis. Have you thought our offer over any more since we last spoke?' Greer inquired innocently.

'Yes, sir, I have, but… well, I am committed to the end of the school year.' Jack temporized. He didn't want