“How ’bout a cup of coffee?” Woods asked.
“Yeah. That sounds good.” They began to walk. “You ever come close to just buying it? Flying into the water or something?”
“Once. Scared the hell out of me.”
“Dangerous business, Trey.”
“Keeping the world safe for democracy.”
“I’m saying.”
Congressman Lionel Brown liked to have his staff meetings every day at 0730. Not 7:30, 0730, just like he was still in the Navy. Admiral Brown wasn’t like other members of Congress. He was a Naval Academy graduate and a retired Vice Admiral. His last job in the Navy as AIRPAC had taken him to North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado, California, the peninsula that forms San Diego Bay and sits across the water from the city. After retirement, Brown had moved to Washington, D.C., and worked in the defense industry. A beltway bandit, as they were called.
While in Washington he had been able to observe how the government operated. He had seen how military policy was made by people who had never served a day in the military. It had distressed him so much he’d decided to move back to Coronado, where he had kept a home, and run for Congress. Prior to his election there hadn’t been a single former flag officer or general in Congress. He had come to Washington with one agenda item — to make sure Congress knew what it was doing in the decisions it made about the military. Nothing else mattered to him. Just defense. The Speaker had wisely placed him on the House Armed Services Committee, and through attrition and retirement, he was now the senior member and the chairman. Considered defense-oriented, but rational, he was well regarded on both sides of the aisle.
He sat at the head of the conference table on the edge of his seat as he always did. He believed in daily staff meetings of thirty minutes to make sure everyone was on the same page. His schedule was passed around and problems that had come up the day before were identified and someone was assigned to solve each one. The meeting was over at 0800 whether all business was completed or not.
This meeting had been short, with all business completed at 0750. The Admiral was in a good mood. He pushed his thick, graying brown hair away from his forehead and put his reading glasses into his suit coat pocket. “Anything else for the good of the cause?” he asked his staff.
Jaime Rodriguez hadn’t planned on saying anything, but there was time. “We received an interesting letter the other day,” he began tentatively.
“Why didn’t you bring it up in constituent correspondence?” the Admiral asked absently.
Jaime knew he should have. That was why he was bringing it up now. “It didn’t strike me as being that important then, but it keeps coming to mind.”
“What was it?”
“From a Navy Lieutenant—”
“Constituent?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s his command?”
“Excuse me?”
“Where is he? Where is he currently stationed?”
“A carrier.”
“Ship’s company or an aviator?”
“Um… I’m not really sure.”
“What ship?”
“I don’t really remember, sir. Sorry, I hadn’t intended to bring it up. Since we had some time…”
“What’s so interesting about it?”
“It was about this Sheikh guy. The new terrorist?”
The Admiral nodded.
“He thought he had a way of hitting back at this guy.”
“What’s that?”
“He thought we should declare war.”
“Against whom?” the Admiral asked, amused.
“Against the Sheikh himself.”
Admiral Brown looked confused. “How could we do that?”
“It’s pretty interesting. He did his homework. He sent it by e-mail. He attached a memo from a priest—”
“A priest?”
“Yes, sir — claimed he had some expertise in ethics. It’s an analysis of whether it would be a just war, mentions Aquinas, and Grotius—”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, sir, but he also talked to a JAG officer about the legality of declaring war against one man. The JAG guy looked at it and said it could be done. Nothing that would keep us from declaring war against one man, a terrorist, or his whole organization for that matter. Then we could send the entire military after him. Wherever he is. And if someone is protecting him, or guarding him, then international law would allow us to go through them too.”
Admiral Brown looked at Jaime, his legislative director, carefully. He was clearly pleased. He loved new ideas. “A Lieutenant?”
“Yes, sir.”
“A very clever Lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir.”
Admiral Brown glanced around the room. “What do you think about this idea?” he said to no one in particular.
Nobody said anything. Jaime finally replied, “I think it’s incredible.”
Brown nodded and checked his watch — 0800. He stood. “Tim?”
“Vacation.”
“Have him research it. This is the kind of thing that might respond to some good thinking.” To Jaime he said, “You’ll need to do a reply.”
Sheepishly Jaime said, “Sir, I already sent a reply back to him. I sent him a form letter about terrorism.”
The Admiral frowned but then he said briskly, “All right… Let’s get on with the business of the day.” Then he had another thought. “Jaime, why this Lieutenant?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Why did he care about it enough to write?”
“You know that bus attack? Where the Navy officer was killed?”
“Sure.”
“It was his roommate.”
“Want me to get your mail too?” Woods asked as he changed into his uniform in his stateroom.
Big nodded, lying there with his eyes closed.
“You should have let me help you carry those rugs. I thought that was the whole idea.”
Woods locked the stateroom door behind him and headed aft toward the ready room. It was deserted except for the duty officer. Woods leaned over and looked in his mailbox. He pulled out two news magazines, a post card, a sports weekly, and two letters, one from his mother and… his heart skipped, one from the House of Representatives. He looked at the envelope, not sure whether to open it or bring it back to the stateroom. He decided to take it where he could find some privacy and not have somebody looking over his shoulder. He hurried back to his stateroom, slamming the door behind him. “Big! Look!” he said breathlessly.
Big rolled over and peered at Woods sideways, examining the envelope. “I can’t read it.”
“It’s from Congressman Brown,” Woods said excitedly. “I just e-mailed him!”
“Doesn’t take long to print a form letter.”
“You’re missing this one, Big.”
“Open the letter.”
Woods stuck his finger under the flap and tore the top of the envelope. He opened the single sheet. “It’s on his letterhead, and signed by him personally.”
“Read it.”
Lieutenant Sean Woods, USN
Fighter Squadron One Zero Three
FPO New York, NY 10023
Dear Lieutenant Woods:
Thank you for your recent letter. I share your concern about terrorism. It is a scourge on civilized societies. I agree it is no way to achieve even a worthwhile end; it demonstrates the inhumanity of the terrorist by his disregard for human life.
I have taken several steps to combat terrorism, both here and abroad. I have endorsed the bill recently introduced in the House by Congressman Black, which strengthens the FBI and its ability to track terrorists. I have also cosponsored the Act to End International Terrorism. That act will do two things, first, increase the ability of our intelligence-gathering agencies, including the CIA, to monitor terrorist activity abroad, and second, facilitate cooperation among INTERPOL and other international police and intelligence agencies making it easier for them to share information and planning on how to deal with terrorists.