“You’re saying, give up,” responded Greene.
“I’m saying, we have to play our cards wisely. It’s a long game.”
“You sound like a defeatist, Harland.”
Perry was surprised by Greene’s tone. He’d disagreed with him countless times before; almost always he had been logical, willing to at least listen to the argument. Now it was clear his mind had already been made up.
“Doing something is better than doing nothing,” continued Greene. “You have to agree.”
“Not necessarily. And not in this case, if we take the long view.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Harland. I think we can give them enough of a bloody nose here that they’ll be deterred. It’s in our best interests to drag it out. I’ll bring Congress around eventually. You needed more weapons; here they are. You don’t think Russian equipment is good enough?”
“George, history suggests — ”
“History is on my side, Harland. Look at the Russians in Afghanistan. What happened there? Carter and Reagan helped the rebels. They drew it out. It helped collapse the Soviet Union.”
“I don’t know that that conflict is a good example,” said Perry.
Greene didn’t respond for a moment. Perry saw him shaking his head, squeezing his lips together. His mind was definitely made up; he was dealing with a recalcitrant subordinate.
“I always follow orders, Mr. President,” said Perry. “My orders here, your orders, were to give you my opinion without prejudice. And that’s what I’ve done.”
“Yes.” Greene was silent again for a few seconds — a very long few seconds. “I’ll consider your advice,” he told Perry. “In the meantime, tell the Vietnamese their weapons are on the way. Someone will forward the details.”
28
Perry was telling him to stop helping Vietnam — now, rather than later.
Was that really the wise thing to do? If they didn’t get some weapons, they had no chance of surviving. There were downsides, certainly. And
He put the handset back, then immediately picked it up.
“Get me Peter Frost, please.”
Frost came on the line moments later. He was still at home.
“Peter, I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, sir, Mr. President. Just about to head in.”
“The project we spoke of regarding the Russian arms — let’s move ahead.”
“Uh, yes, sir. Of course.”
“Problem?” asked Greene, noting the slight hesitation.
“I did take the precaution of having the legal review so we could expedite things.”
“And?”
“Divided opinion.”
“That’s fine.”
Legal reviews had been de rigueur at the CIA for some time. There were more lawyers involved in some operations than officers.
“I should tell you, even Bindi’s opinion was borderline,” added Frost. “And that was our lone positive.”
Bindi was a CIA attorney known for taking very pro-administrative stances. Frost was telling Greene that the weapons procurement and transfer would be on extremely shaky ground legally.
“The nonaggression law of 2011 specifically outlawed third-party sales to allies,” Frost explained. “The three negatives pointed that out.”
“Vietnam is not an ally,” said Greene, switching into his own lawyer mode. “Congress’s refusal to authorize the bill to enter into a treaty with Vietnam proves they’re not an ally. So the law doesn’t apply to them.”
“That was Bindi’s position.”
“Slam dunk. I like that man.” Greene chuckled. “It’s fine, Peter. Don’t worry about it. I take full responsibility.”
“Mr. President…”
Greene waited for Frost to complete his thought. Instead, Frost took a deep breath.
“We’ll make it happen, Mr. President.”
“Very good, Peter. I’m counting on you.”
29
He was in Anna’s apartment, in her room, in her bed. It was nighttime. She wasn’t there.
He got up slowly, body stiff from his ankles to his neck. He turned his head against a knot in his neck, teasing against the pain.
His first step was a stumble, feet moving awkwardly. Zeus pushed his arms back, gathering himself. He was in a fog, his mind in cotton, distant from his body.
Where was Anna?
Zeus stooped down and picked up his clothes from the floor. He dressed awkwardly, off-balance. With each piece of clothing, he regained more of his equilibrium, became more of himself. By the time he buttoned his shirt, all of his senses had returned. He was a soldier again, at least most of him was… Some part remained with her, with Anna, resting in a dream.
Zeus walked into the kitchen. A single candle on the stove provided light. She wasn’t there.
“Damn,” he said to himself. He rubbed his eyes, then the top of his head.
What should he do? He had to get back —
Just then, there was a sound at the door: a key placed into the lock. The door opened; Anna came in with a bag of food. She pushed the door closed behind her, slipping in quietly without looking, so that when she finally turned back and found him staring at her across the kitchen she was startled.
“I got some things,” she said, her voice a soft whisper.
“Good,” said Zeus.
He took a half step to hug her, but she was in motion, moving around the kitchen. Zeus retreated to a nearby chair, pulling it out to sit on and watching as she lit the burner.
Anna put the tea kettle on the burner, then lit another candle, putting it on the table. Zeus caught her hand as she placed it down. She turned and gave him a look of such sadness that he felt as if his heart had been stabbed.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
She managed a smile, then slipped her hand away. She got out two cups, and retrieved a small bottle from her bag.
“I found you coffee,” she told him, holding up a jar of instant. “Good?”
“Thanks.”
