“Good. On the other hand, Tom, I have a very upset Defense Secretary. He wants me to nail you to the wall for what you did, but I can’t do that.”
“Sir, I didn’t mean to go against the Secretary—”
“Oh, yes you did, Tom. Don’t lie to me. I know you enjoyed every minute of it, and this time you lucked out. Carl is just going to have to cool off and let it go. I already talked to him earlier today about this problem, and although he didn’t like my answer to his demand, he’s going to go along with it.”
Pruett shifted his weight on the chair. “If you don’t mind my asking, sir. Exactly what is your answer to this problem?”
“Simple, Tom. We keep going in the same fashion as before. Carl stays where he is and you where you are. Both of you are doing a fine job. I understand why Carl acted the way he did. He was simply looking after the interests of this Administration. He was concerned about word getting out on the attack. But I also understand why you acted like you did. You were saving American lives, and you did an outstanding job at that. So that’s it. This whole thing was kept secret from the start and it will remain secret. Lightning is back in one piece and NASA is on the right track once more.”
“Sir, what about the other soldiers? The ones that didn’t make it back?”
“I have already talked to the French President, Tom. There are going to be a few quiet changes occurring over the next few months. The Secretary of State will be meeting with the European leaders to discuss this and other issues in a closed-door session next week. Don’t worry, those soldiers will be buried with honors where they belong, and the people at fault will be brought to justice.”
Pruett leaned back and nodded.
“In regards to your nephew George. I’m truly sorry about what happened. I called your sister-in-law last night to give her my condolences.”
“That was very thoughtful of you, sir.” Pruett inhaled at the thought of his devastated sister-in-law and her two daughters. “She’s trying to cope with the situation as best she can.”
“A terrible thing, Tom. Such a terrible waste.”
“I know, Mr. President.”
The President paused for a moment. “Now, tell me. How is your operative doing?”
“Better, sir. He should be able to walk with a cane in a few weeks. According to the doctors, his leg should be almost back to normal within a year. It was a pretty bad break.”
“I’m glad to hear he’s going to be all right. Take good care of him.”
Pruett smiled. “I already have, sir.”
“Good. Men like Stone are assets to our intelligence community.”
“I know, sir.”
The President got up and extended his hand over the desk. Pruett also rose and shook it.
“You have done your country a great service, Tom. It’s a shame that no one will ever know about it.”
“Well, that’s the way it is in this business, sir. Thank you, Mr. President.”
“No, Tom. Thank you.”
Under an overcast afternoon sky, seemingly endless graves marked the mortal remains of the honored dead. There were rows and rows of them. Some were known, some unknown, but the men buried there had shared a common goaclass="underline" All had lived and died for the preservation of democracy, of liberty, of peace. Several generations lay next to one another, from those who served in the Revolutionary War, to the Mexican War, the Civil War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, and the Middle East. All had come forth when their country had called them. All had served without complaint, without regret. All had died with honor.
Wearing a dark suit and trench coat, newly appointed Paris Station Chief Cameron Stone stood to the side with the help of a cane his doctors told him he would have to use for the coming months. A cast covered his broken leg. He stared at eight coffins; at the eight members of Mambo who had perished in the service of their country. The eight bodies had been secretly returned to the United States by the French government upon completion of a joint investigation that had resulted in the removal from power of prominent figures of the French and German armed forces, and the arrest of members of the French police as well as a number of powerful European businessmen. The EEC leaders had also appointed a new Athena administration, and directed it to continue with the efforts to develop Hermes and Columbus. This time, however, under the watchful eye of government agencies. Europe would continue to grow in the field of space exploration, but it would do so along with other countries in the quest for knowledge to benefit all mankind.
Cameron frowned as the color guard folded the flags that covered each coffin and brought them to the appropriate family members. Pain drowned his soul when he spotted over a dozen kids sitting by eight women, all dressed in black. General Jack Olson was there with his wife. Cameron saw no other high-ranking officials, and he wasn’t surprised. As far as the world was concerned, those eight soldiers had perished during a war exercise in Panama.
He exhaled. At least those eight broken families would never have to worry financially again. Besides the life insurance each family had collected, the EEC had secretly given each family an undisclosed, but sizable amount of money. Two words had come to Cameron’s mind when Pruett told him the money was really coming from Vanderhoff’s confiscated Swiss accounts; poetic justice. Cameron managed a thin smile.
He shifted his gaze to two uniformed men on the far right. Cameron didn’t know them personally, but had seen their photographs in the papers. One was dressed in an all-white Navy uniform, the other wore Air Force blue. They were the astronauts who had taken Lightning on its historic maiden flight. Cameron smiled at the thought of no one ever actually knowing what had taken place in the streets of Paris, the jungles of Guiana, and the depths of space. As far as the world was concerned, Lightning’s flight had been a total success. NASA was on its feet once more. The damaged engine had been quickly hidden under the special tail fairing NASA had put on it less than an hour after landing. The fairing was normally used to reduce drag during orbiter ferry flights. The orbiter would remain like that until it reached the Cape, where Rocketdyne workers already had another SSME ready for installation. The world would never know the difference.
Atlantis reached space a day after Lightning landed at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA simply stated that because of a shift in internal priorities the joint emergency drill would have to be postponed indefinitely. NASA treated the matter lightly, and amazingly enough, so did the press. After all, Lightning’s primary mission had been successfully completed, and as it turned out, Atlantis was also successful in its satellite-deployment mission.
“Are you all right?”
Cameron turned and looked into Marie’s eyes as she reached for his hand and held it tight. Marie had remained by his side during his lengthy recovery. She had accepted an executive position with the new Athena in Paris. Her plane was scheduled to depart Dulles in four hours. Cameron would remain in Washington for two more weeks to complete all his medical checkups before also heading for France.
“Yes, but they’re not.”
“You did the best you could. At least some of the men came back… including you.”
Cameron nodded.
“I’m going to miss you,” she said.
Cameron smiled. “And I’ll miss you, too, but it won’t be for long. I’ll be in Paris in no time.”
Marie also smiled.
Cameron looked up and stared at Kessler and Jones once more. He noticed Kessler turn his head toward him, and then say something to Jones, who also looked in Cameron’s direction. Then the strangest thing happened. Both astronauts snapped to attention and saluted him.