Balance of Power

out of here before I get summoned.”

“When will you be back?” Herbert asked.

Hood looked at the monitor. He stood over the keyboard. “I’ll see you at the service for Martha,” he said.

He looked at Rodgers then. The general’s eyes were sharp and unblinking. He understood.

“I can tell you this, though,” Hood continued. “Darrell was right. Good can come from madness. Through all the crises we’ve had to deal with, I couldn’t have been blessed with a greater team.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Herbert said.

Hood smiled. Still smiling, he e-mailed his resignation to the White House. Then he turned from his desk, threw a respectful salute at Mike Rodgers, and walked out the door.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Tom Clancy is the author of The Hunt for Red October, Red Storm Rising, Patriot Games, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Without Remorse, Debt of Honor, and Executive Orders. He is also the author of the nonfiction books Submarine, Armored Cav, Fighter Wing, Marine, and Airborne. He lives in Maryland.

Steve Pieczenik is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist with an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations from M.I.T. and served as principal hostage negotiator and international crisis manager while Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance, and James Baker. He is also the bestselling novelist of the psycho-political thrillers The Mind Palace, Blood Heat, Maximum Vigilance, and Pax Pacifica.