Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham

Author:John Birmingham [Birmingham, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: General, Fiction, Science Fiction, Adventure, World War; 1939-1945, War & Military, Men's Adventure, Time travel
ISBN: 9780732911997
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2004-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

middle-class white men. But there was no avoiding or denying the stone-cold fact that the rest were a

lucky dip of sorts. Men and women. Some white. Some black. Some Mexican and even Asiatic. And

some? He honestly had no idea. The awe and amazement he‘d felt at the sight of their arrival remained.

But he was a politician, and in his gut, political instincts were also engaged.

Whatever the military consequences of these people‘s arrival, the politics were going to be diabolical.

―Well, Admiral Kolhammer,‖ he said as pleasantly as he could manage, ―you‘d best come in out of the

cold.‖

The room wasn‘t set up for a meeting. Kolhammer had been told that Roosevelt and his advisers would

be at the Ambassador Hotel in LA. Curiosity must have gotten the better of them. There were only a

handful of chairs and two desks, one of which was missing a leg. A stack of books propped up one

corner. There didn‘t even appear to be a reliable power supply. Three naked bulbs hung from wires, but

a single gas lamp was the sole source of light inside the hut.

Actually, that was untrue, he thought, as he stepped through the door. At least half of those present,

including the president, seemed to be smoking cigarettes. Clouds of smoke drifted from their glowing

tips, burning his eyes and throat.

The locals backed away toward the rear of the room as Kolhammer‘s people surged in quietly, nodding

and smiling uncertainly. They took up positions, standing at ease, in the corner to his left.

―I‘m sorry we can‘t offer more in the way of hospitality, Admiral Kolhammer,‖ said Roosevelt, ―but I‘m

afraid that‘s my fault. I insisted on coming out here to meet you. Couldn‘t stand to wait in that hotel.‖

―It‘s really not a problem, Mr. President.‖

Kolhammer wasn‘t sure what to say next. He‘d expected to have another hour or two to compose

something appropriate. He‘d also been thrown by the presence of Eisenhower, and had to fight an

impulse to address him as Mr. President. He really hoped he wouldn‘t have to deal with a young John

Kennedy, Richard Nixon, or George Bush anytime soon.

Before he could blunder into a morass of fatuous small talk, Roosevelt surprised him by saying, ―Please

accept my condolences for your losses at Midway, Admiral. I know they weren‘t as serious as ours, but

we don‘t measure out our grief in teaspoons for the purposes of comparison. I‘m sure you don‘t, either.‖

―No sir, we do not. And thank you. We lost some fine men and women. As did you . . . or, uhm . . .‖

He was about to clarify that inaccuracy, but Roosevelt waved it away.

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