Line of Control

THIRTY-FOUR

Paul Hood was not surprised that Bob Herbert had been blunt with the woman on the radio. Herbert's wife had been killed by Islamic terrorists. Working with the Pakistani cell had to be ripping him apart.

But what Herbert had told the woman, that he opposed her and her profession, was also a smart and responsible alliance tactic. Strangers tend to be suspicious of indulgence and flattery. But tell someone that you don't like them and are only working with them out of necessity and they tend to trust whatever information you give them.

"You okay, Bob?" Hood asked.

"Sure," he replied. "She got in a good one, though."

"So did you."

"She never felt it," Herbert said. "Zealots have skin like a tank. But it's all right," he went on. "I'm a big boy. I know how this works."

"Sometimes it just strikes a little close to the heart," Hood said.

"Yes, it does," Herbert agreed.

Hood had been through situations like this before with Herbert. The intelligence chief just had to work through it.

"We'll talk more about this later, Bob," Hood said. "Right now, I've got to brief the president. He'll need to know what we're planning."

The intelligence chief was silent for a moment. "I guess that's also bothering me, though. Whether we should really be doing this."

"What?" Hood asked. "Letting Striker go in?"

"Yeah."

"Give me an option," Hood said.

"Dump the problem in the president's lap," Herbert said. "Let him slug it out with the Indian government."

"He won't do that without proof," Hood said. "I'll tell him what our concerns are and what we're going to do about it. I know what he's going to say. He will okay having Striker on the ground for on-site intel, especially since the Indian government has authorized their being there. He's going to give us his blessings to go that far. The rest will be Mike's call."

Herbert was silent.

"But you're still uneasy," Hood said.

"Yeah," Herbert told him. "Let's just go over our command tent options again."

"All right," Hood said patiently.

"We've decided that the Indian government is probably out of the loop on this nuclear option," Herbert said. "So unless we get that Kargil woman, Nanda, in front of a TV camera to explain this was an inside job we have no proof to offer the president or the Indian people."

"That's it," Hood said. "We've also got Indian troops moving in to cut Nanda and the Pakistanis down."

"We assume," Herbert said.

"We have to assume it's search and destroy," Hood pointed out. "The SFF gains nothing by capturing the Pakistanis and letting the truth come out. We need to give the cell a chance to get home."

"God help us," Herbert said.

"Bob, there's a bigger picture than aiding terrorists," Hood said. "You know that."

"I know," Herbert said. "I just don't like it."

"The time it would take us to move this through diplomatic channels could cost the Pakistanis their lives," Hood said.

"And going ahead with this operation can cost Striker their lives," Herbert said.

"That's been true every time they've gone into the field," Hood reminded Herbert. "If Mike or Colonel August has any doubts about this action they can call it off at any time."

"They won't," Herbert assured him. "Not with what's at stake."

"That's probably true," Hood agreed.

"And not with the balls Mike's got," Herbert went on.

"It's more than that," Hood said. "He knows his people. Did he ever run that quote past you, the one from the duke of Wellington?"

"I don't think so," Herbert said.

"I was watching Striker drill one morning and I asked Mike how he could tell when he had pushed his people as far as they could go," Hood said. "He told me that Wellington had a simple way to determine when he had created the best fighting unit possible. 'I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy,' Wellington wrote, 'but, by God, they terrify me.' Mike said that when he felt his people were tough enough to scare him, that was when he stopped."

"Paul, I don't need to be reminded that Striker is the best," Herbert said. "But I'm worried about the jump into the Himalayas. I'm worried about the odds and having to trust terrorists. I'm worried about having no backup for them and, worse than that, no exit strategy."

"I'm worried about all that too," Hood replied. "I'm also aware that we have no other options."

The intelligence chief was quiet for a moment. The silence was uncomfortable. Hood felt as if Herbert were judging him.

Herbert must have felt that too. "I know we're doing what we have to do," he said. "It doesn't mean I have to like it." Herbert's voice was no longer angry or searching. It was resigned.

Herbert said that he would call the NRO to get the exact location of the cell and then give Striker a final update before H-hour. Hood thanked him and hung up.

Op-Center's director rubbed his eyes. Herbert had his personal demons but so did Hood.

Unlike the intelligence chief, Hood had never put his life on the line. He had been a mayor and a financial officer before taking this job. He had sent Striker into danger before but never into an armed conflict. To do that seemed cavalier, hypocritical, cowardly.

But, as Hood had told Herbert, it was also necessary. Paul Hood's personal issues could not affect his professional decisions. He had to be dispassionate. He owed the president and the nation that much.

Hood stopped rubbing his eyes. He was tired inside and out. It did not help that when this was over he had to deal with the closing of the press office. Fortunately, he would be able to minimize his contact with Ann Farris until then. Because this was a military action Hood would instruct her to institute a total press blackout on any Op-Center activities until noon. She would have to shut down the phones and computers. No press department staff would be permitted to answer their cell phones. Queries to the automated main number would go unreturned. As for Hood, he would go into the Tank with Bob Herbert, Liz Gordon, and Lowell Coffey until the crisis had passed.

Then Hood would give Ann Farris the bad news along with his complete attention.

He owed her that much.