“I don’t believe that I have any idea what you’re talking about,” Anna said, and she didn’t.
The smile vanished, and the director’s eyes became more intent. They seemed like drills then that bored into her. It made Anna feel as if he stripped away her clothes and exposed her flesh. By an act of will, she kept herself from shuddering. What would he do if she hurled the last of her wine into his face? She quickly looked down. What was she thinking? This was the Director of Homeland Security, not a stalking rapist. She needed to rein in an overactive imagination. Maybe work had gotten to her more than she realized.
“Let us speak frankly to each other,” Max said.
She couldn’t speak, but she managed to nod. Maybe her instincts were correct. The way he said that, it sounded ominous. Yet why would the director pick Frobisher’s for a confrontation? It didn’t make sense.
“David is wilting under the pressure,” Max told her.
As one of the stalwarts of the administration, Max shouldn’t say such a thing. It was disloyal. The words shocked her.
While still keeping her gaze down, Anna opened her mouth to retort.
“Now I’m the first to admit that the President made a masterful stroke this winter,” Max said, his voice rising as if to forestall her from interrupting. “I applauded the hard choices he made to give us our glorious victory over the Chinese. The President not only made tough decision but he stuck to them in the darkest hours. I also believe that you helped steady him this winter. He needed you, Anna. And you, too, have worked diligently for the United States of America. You have risen to the challenge when your country needed you. I admire that, and I will never forget your services.”
“What are you talking about?” Anna said, sharply.
The director raised an eyebrow.
Having finally become angry, she lifted her gaze and stared into his eyes. “You’re speaking as if David…why, as if he’s out of the picture somehow.”
The director hesitated before saying, “If you believe I’ve implied that, you’ve misunderstood me.”
That pause wasn’t a mistake. Is he threatening me? Is he threatening David? Why is he saying any of this?
“May I ask you a question?” Max asked.
“I’m not sure I care for any of this,” she said.
“No, I’m sure you don’t. But this is much more than our feelings, Ms. Chen. This concerns our country. I love my country.”
“So do I,” she said.
“I know. It’s the reason I’m speaking to you as I am.”
“And how is that?” she asked.
He smiled once more. This smile seemed more genuine but also more rapacious. “I’ve struck a nerve, have I? Your…shall we call it reserve?”
She kept her gaze on him, and she realized that she was more than angry. She was furious.
“Yes,” Max said, “let us call it your natural reserve. It has vanished because you think I’ve spoken ill about the President.”
“You’re implying he is no longer capable of doing his job,” Anna said.
“Ah,” Max said. “That is an interesting choice of words. I would like to point out that you spoke them. I did not.”
“What is this about, Director?”
“I’ve made you worried, have I? That is interesting. Until this moment, you have likely felt that you’re the only one who realized that David Sims has lost his nerve.”
“I’m not going to sit here and listen to you—”
As she spoke, Max reached across the table and took her right hand. The touch sparked against her, making her stiffen. His grip was surprisingly strong. He leaned closer so his face seemed to fill her world. The touch peeled away the last layer, or maybe scales fell from her eyes. His look had become flinty and his soul unfolded like a poisonous flower. Max Harold was hard and ruthless like a Himmler, like a Robespierre. Understanding that about him…it suddenly frightened Anna.
“You must listen to me carefully,” Max said. “And you must decide who you love more: David or the United States.”
“Ma’am,” Demetrius said. “Are you well?”
Anna tried to tug her hand free, but the director held it too tightly against the tabletop.
Surely, Demetrius saw that. He put a big hand on the director’s left shoulder. “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to release Ms. Chen.”
Before Max could respond, the three Militia bodyguards surrounded Demetrius. To Anna’s horrified astonishment, one of the bodyguards poked a silver barrel against Demetrius’s side. The other two laid hands on the agent’s arm.
“Do you want a fight, Director?” Demetrius asked.
“Get your filthy hand off me,” Max told him. “No one touches me.”
“First you’ll have to release Ms. Chen,” Demetrius said.
Anna sat like a statue, drinking in the details but unable to move, unable to speak. She could see the wheels turning in the director’s eyes.
Abruptly, Max let go of Anna’s hand. She slid it back to her lap. It felt as if the skin was on fire.
Demetrius released the director.
“What are your wishes, sir?” asked the bodyguard with the gun jabbed against Demetrius’s side.
Max brushed his shoulder where Demetrius had put his hand. “Sit down,” he told his men. “But watch him. If he touches me again…” Max looked up at Demetrius. “You men will know what to do.”
“Yes, sir,” the bodyguard said, the one with the gun. He withdrew the weapon and holstered it inside his jacket. Afterward, the three bodyguards returned to their table.
“I will remember this,” Max told Demetrius.
Demetrius didn’t bother replying. He asked Anna, “What are your wishes, ma’am?”
The possible violence had unnerved her. She didn’t know what to say.
“You would do well to hear me out,” Max told her.
“Yes,” she said in a hollow voice.
Demetrius retreated to his post, and he stood in the same place, looking the same as before.
He’s brave
, Anna realized.
He follows his code of honor and nothing can shake it. Am I as honorable concerning David?
“You have misjudged my purpose,” Max said.
“What is it?” she asked. “Why have you told me any of this?”
“Because I love my country,” Max said. “America is in greater danger than ever. You and I both know the President engineered the new danger. Perhaps even more importantly, the President knows this is his fault. That knowledge is eating him alive.”
“You’re referring to the GD and Quebec?”
“Of course,” Max said. “We are now in a two-front war. That never worked well for Germany in the Twentieth Century. I do not believe it will work well for us, either.”
“I was there when we decided to accept GD neutrality,” Anna said. “You were there, too, and you agreed to the idea.”
“I had no quarrels with the plan. That is correct. The President made the best decision at the time. The Chinese and Brazilians almost broke us this winter. The Colorado battle was closer fought than people realize. The President dealt in such a way so he could concentrate our forces. That was bold as well as wise.”
“Then why are you—”
“Let me finish,” Max said.
Anna nodded, albeit reluctantly. She noticed a waiter turn and look at them. An older waiter tugged on the first waiter’s elbow, pulling him away.
“The President bought America time,” Max said. “Now, however, the GD acted before we could. We—I mean the President, myself, General Alan—we all miscalculated. We counted the number of GD troops in Quebec instead of analyzing their combat power. The Germans have amazed us and worse, surprised us. Even worse than that, they’re beating us in Southern Ontario. America must take drastic action if we’re to restore the balance.”
“We have another hard year of war ahead of us,” Anna said. “I understand that.”
“I don’t believe you do understand.” Max held up a hand. “I have always been impressed with your analytical abilities. You have an insightful way of thinking. And you can read the Chinese—Chairman Hong in particular—better than anyone else can. That is an important asset. However, if the GD continues to grind down our military and gain critical territory…there may be no more years of war ahead of us to wage.”
“You don’t think we can stop the GD?”
“Not with the weapon systems presently in place,” Max said. “Therefore, we must move the Behemoth tanks to the Great Lakes region.”
“You and I both know the President has forbidden that.”
“Precisely,” Max said.
Anna shook her head. “I won’t pretend to be a military expert. The President, though—”
“The President has lost his nerve,” Max said. “That is the salient point. Nothing else really matters. Oh, we can talk about reasons: that the war has ground him down. You’ve seen it. I know you have. The pressure would have destroyed most people by now. The President has my sympathies, in fact.”
“You don’t mean that,” Anna said. “You don’t care about him as a person.”
“But I do,” Max said. “Yes. I know people believe me coldhearted and too logical.”
“Others say you’re power mad,” Anna said.
“I am misperceived,” the director said. “My intense patriotism gives me the zeal to do whatever I must to protect America. Others interpret that as a desire for power. They are, of course, quite wrong. With all that said, I have found that few people will go as far as I to see my beloved country saved from power-hungry aggression. Can you say as much, Ms. Chen?”
“You will do whatever you must to save America?” Anna asked.
“Yes!”
“Hmm,” Anna said. “A surface reading of such a statement might seem noble. I, on the other hand, can think of many things I would not do. For instance, I would not sacrifice babies.”
“Then you should step down from power and make way for those of us who will see a tough and dirty job done to the finish.”
“Would you care to give me a for-instance?” she asked.
“Of course,” Max said. “Not only am I able to face the truth, but I am able to speak the truth as I’m doing here with you. A for-instance is the use of tactical nuclear weapons.”
“I see,” Anna said, as her stomach tightened. “Do you happen to recall Alaska? Do you remember how it turned the world against us and left us almost without an ally?”
“My memory doesn’t go back so far,” Max said. “Yet I do recall Santa Cruz and Monetary Bay. Several key nuclear explosions blunted a Chinese amphibious invasion. Without those nuclear weapons, we might have lost California, and that would have been a disaster. The President saw the need then and made the right decision. Now, in Southern Ontario, tactical nuclear weapons used judiciously could change the dynamics for us.”
“The President has forbidden the use of nuclear weapons on land,” Anna said.
“Naturally, I’m aware of that, Ms. Chen. With his decision, he has consigned the U.S. to the dustbin of history.”
“Others might say he has agreed to help save the world from destruction and a bitter nuclear winter.”
“Words,” Max said. “Those are fancy words for surrender. I for one do not intend to let conquerors take my beloved country away from us. No. The time has come for hard decisions. We must halt the Germans and drive them out of Quebec.”
“The President is in full agreement with that.”
“More words,” Max said. “He forbids the military the Behemoths they need and the nuclear weapons to do the task. Instead, he causes a bloodbath—”
Anna’s eyes flashed. She leaned toward the director. “He causes nothing of the sort.”
“American and Canadian soldiers are dying by the thousands, by the tens of thousands in Ontario,” Max said, “and still we fail to take the necessary action to solve the crisis.”
“The strategic reserve has moved to Southern Ontario,” Anna said. “David considers sending half the East Coast defenders north to the Great Lakes. I would call that drastic action.”
“Ms. Chen,” the director said. “You must listen to me. Stripping the East Coast is a foolish decision in face of what awaits us in Cuba. The President once made hard, even bitter choices this winter. He did not shrink from what needed doing. Now the momentous nature of the conflict has paralyzed him. I believe the knowledge that he let the Germans into Quebec—that he is responsible for the present bloodletting—”
“How dare you say such things?” Anna said.
Max sat straighter, squaring his shoulders with pride. “I will dare anything for my country.”
“No! You are—”
“You must listen to me,” Max said. “The President is taking half-measures and he is stripping away soldiers to put out a fire in one place that will open us to worse actions later. It is just like his Quebec decision all over again.”
Anna sat back. She could feel the cushion depress against the wood. The director’s mind was set in stone on this. It was time to find out exactly why he’d come here. “What do you suggest?” she asked.
“First, we need to move the Behemoths east.”
“Weren’t you listening the other day?” she asked. “The Behemoth Regiment is a shell of what it once was. We need time to refurbish it with new tanks. Moving the regiment won’t help in Ontario, but its disappearance on the plains might help to unleash the Chinese in Oklahoma. The few good Behemoths we do possess make a constant show of patrolling no man’s land between the PAA and us.”