Clancy, Tom - Op Center 05 - Balance Of Power by Clancy Tom

Author:Clancy, Tom [Clancy, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

a hurry." As Rodgers hurried from the office Hood listened,

disinterested, to the political jabber between Manni, Burkow,

and Lanning. They agreed about how they needed to let Spain

solve this situation themselves but with a level of vocal support

from the U.s. which would be heard by the feuding factions and

could be ratcheted up to a military presence if necessary. A

military presence that could become defensive action but that

was actual y offense designed at helping to preserve the

legitimate government of Spain- It was al very necessary. Hood

knew, but only in terms of posturing-like the United Nations

itself. The real work was going to be done over the next few

hours as they tried to figure out whether Amadori was behind

the unrest. And, if so, how far he had gone in undermining the

government. If he hadn't gone too far, U.s. intel igence and the

military would have to work with Spanish leaders to figure out

how to stop him. That would be difficult to do quietly, but it could

be done. There were templates for that kind of containment in

be done. There were templates for that kind of containment in

Haiti, Panama, and other nations.

But it was the alternative that concerned Hood. The possibility

that, like a cancer, Amadori's influence had spread far into the

workings of the nation. If that were the case, then it might not be

possible to remove the general without kil ing the patient. The

only model for that was the col apse of Yugoslavia, a struggle in

which thousands of people died and the sociopolitical and

economic ramifications were stil being felt.

Spain had nearly four times the population of Yugoslavia. It also

had friends and enemies in neighboring nations. If Spain came

apart the unrest could easily spread throughout Europe. The

breakup could also set an example for other melting-pot nations

such as France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Perhaps even the United States.

The cal ended with an agreement that the Secretary-General's

staff would provide hourly updates to the White House, and that

Burkow would inform Manni of any changes in administration

policy.

Hood hung up the phone feeling more helpless than he had

since he'd first joined Op-Center. He'd had missions go right

and missions go wrong. His team had thwarted terrorists and

coups. But he'd never faced a situation that threatened to set

the tone for a new century: the idea that fragmentation was the

norm rather than the exception and that nations as the world

knew them could very wel be on the brink of extinction.

TWENTY Tuesday, 4:45 a.m. Madrid, Spain Word of Adolfo

Alcazar's brutal death traveled quickly from Maria Comeja to

Luis Garcia de la Vega to Darrel McCaskey. As he was

required to do by law, Luis conveyed news of the homicide to

the Ministry of Justice in Madrid.

There, a high-ranking officer on the night staff quietly passed

the information to General Amadori's longtime personal aide,

Antonio Aguirre. Aguirre-a former staff officer to Francisco

Franco-personal y went to the General's office, knocked once

on the door, and waited until he was invited in. Then he gave the

news to the General himself.

Amadori did not seem surprised to learn of Adolfo's death. He

also did not mourn Adolfo. How could he: the General had not

known the man.

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