Chaapter 3 / Page 7

“All right, so we’ve got our weapons expert and some marines to shoot bad guys. So who’s the computer whiz and team leader?”

“You have such a way with words, Lisa,” snapped the NSA. He flipped the page on the briefing folder to a photograph of a soldier in fatigues. “May I present Major James Harper, United States Special Forces Retired. He will serve in both capacities.”

Brian found it somewhat curious that nowhere on the dossier or photograph was there an indication of service branch or unit designation. There were no insignia like Navy SEAL or DELTA. This Harper seemed as faceless and nameless as the spook sitting next to him. Special Forces was an ambiguous title.

“He was at the top on both lists of available personnel who fit our mission criteria,” continued the spook. “Major Harper is conversant with most information technology likely to be encountered on the mission. He has previously broken into Iraqi computer systems and—”

Lisa Borden looked up from the briefing book. “It says under the psyche profile that he’s a born-again Christian.” She laughed—not a very nice laugh. “You’re going to send some fruitcake Jesus freak on a mission into the desert? What are you, nuts?” Her voice rose with passion and volume. “Everyone knows these type of people favor Israel over everything else over there.”

Brian was unsure whether these type of people or Israel received more derision from Lisa Borden. But then, she was from the State Department, and American Foreign Policy seemed to be dedicated to a mission designed to deify Yassir Arafat and blame Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for most Arab terrorism.

“That’s all we need at the UN. Saddam gets his hands on a Jew-loving, Jesus freak on a black op to one of his presidential palaces. No, gentlemen, I’m afraid State can never approve of this choice. I—”

“Ma’am!” interrupted the Two Star. “I don’t care whether State will approve or disapprove of Jim Harper. From 1980 to 1992, he took care of some this country’s biggest problems. He’s something of a legend in the Spec War community. Most everything we know about the inside of Saddam’s computer network came from Jim, and one of the reasons you’re here today is because Jim Harper stopped a mess like this once before.

“I’ve had men under my command. I wish all of them were like Harper.” Something seemed to boil out of the Two Star who no longer cared about promotion. He was obviously destroying his chance for career advancement. “We are going to send in a team without support, without backup, to find something the Red Chinese gave to a crazy man. Now the only reason we don’t go in with all guns blazing is because we want the Red Chinese to like us. So, we’ll ignore the problem of a sub running loose in the Gulf, and the transmission of a weapon to the Iraqis because it is politically expedient to do so. We’re talking about sending my friend back to hell, and you’re upset because he goes to church.”