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“Nothing over the neires and nothing from official channels, but as you knoe’re a bit out of the Pentagon’s loop right now”
Cabrillo knew that last fact all too well A few h-level access to ston Overholt, Cabrillo’s private security cohter called the Oregon, had become a pariah They had pulled off an operation in Antarctica to thwart a joint Argentine/Chinese bid to annex and exploit a massive new oil field off the pristine coast of the southern continent Fearing the geopolitical risks involved, the US government had told them in no uncertain terms not to attempt the mission
It didn’t matter that they had succeeded spectacularly They were seen as rogue by the new president, and Overholt was ordered not to use the unique services the Corporation provided Ever again It had taken all of Langston’s considerable influence in the corridors of Washington to keep his job following that episode He’d confessed privately to Juan that the president had chewed off so much of his butt he hadn’t been able to sit for a week
And that is what brought Cabrillo and this small team here, to one of the few places on earth never to be occupied by a foreign army Even Alexander the Great had the sense to avoid Waziristan and the rest of the Northern Tribal Regions They were here because a wealthy Indonesian businessman, Gunawan Bahar, had a son who ran away to join the Taliban, in o back in the United States ran off to join the circus Only difference was that young Setiawan hadn’t developed ht him here had told the recruiter in Jakarta that Seti wanted to be a martyr
American runaways became carnies Setiawan’s fate was that of a suicide bomber
Hali continued, “Stoney and Murph have been trolling every database they can lay their hands on since you left” Eric Stone and Mark Murphy were the Corporation’s IT experts, along with their other duties “Nothing much by way of news out of any of the ’stans”
“Tell theear who looks like he’s in a world of hurt”
“I’ll pass it on,” Hali Kasim, the ship’s chief communications officer, said
Cabrillo switched back to the tactical net “Recommendations?”
Linda Ross spoke up immediately “We can’t leave hi to be the star of a jihadist beheading video”
“Eddie?” Juan asked, knowing the answer
“Save him”
“Don’t even ask,” Linc rumbled
“I didn’t need to” Juan still had the target house under observation and wouldn’t shift his focus “What are they doing now?”
“They have him up on his feet,” Linda replied “His hands are tied behind his back A couple of the village kids have come out to see him One of them just spit on him The other kicked hi the kids away Okay, they’re leading hi in the sa, and walking, andHere we go Three houses left of where Seti’s staying”