We dont expect you to be perfect, Jack.

Thank you, sir.

And I have to catch a flight out to California.

Safe trip, Judge, Ryan said as he walked out of the room. Jack entered his office and closed the door before he let his face slip out of neutral.

Oh, my God, he breathed to himself. If it had been a simple, straight lie from Judge Moore, it would have been easier to take. But it hadnt been. The lie had been carefully crafted, and must have been planned, must have been rehearsed. We havent planted any car bombs.

No, you let the Navy drop them for you.

Okay, Jack. Now what the hell do you do?

He didnt know, but he had all day to worry about it.

Whatever lingering doubts they might have had were eliminated by Mondays dawn. The people whod come into the hills hadnt left. They had spent all night at a base camp of their own, just a few klicks to the south, and Chavez could hear them blundering around now. Hed even heard a single shot, but whatever it had been aimed at wasnt a member of his squad. Maybe a deer, or whatever, maybe a guy slipped and let one go by mistake. It was ominous enough all by itself.

The squad was tucked into a tight defensive position. The cover and concealment were good, as were the fire lanes, but best of all their position was unobvious. Theyd refilled their canteens on the way and were far from a water source; anyone hunting soldiers would look for the reverse. Theyd also look for a spot on higher ground, but this one was almost as good. The uphill side was dense with trees and could not be approached quietly. The reverse slope was treacherous, and other paths to the overlook point could be seen from the squads position, allowing them to wait for their chance and move out of the way if necessary. Ramirez had a good eye for terrain. Their current mission was to avoid contact if possible; and if not, to sting and move. That also meant that Chavez and his comrades were no longer the only hunters in the woods. None of them would admit to being afraid, but the wariness factor had just doubled.

Chavez was outside the perimeter at a listening/observation post which gave him a good view of the most likely avenue of approach to the rest of the squad, and a covert path back to it, should he have to move. Guerra, the operations sergeant, was with him. Ramirez wanted both SAWs in close.

Maybe theyll just go away, Ding thought aloudin a whisper, really.

Guerra snorted. I think maybe we yanked their tail one time too many, man. What we need right nows a deep hole.

Sounds like they stopped off for lunch. Wonder how long?

Also sounds like theyre sweeping up and down like they think theyre a fucking broom. If I guess right, well see them over on that point, then theyll come down that little draw and head back up right in front of us.

You may be right, Paco.

We oughta be movin.

Better to do it at night, Ding replied. Now we know what theyre doing, we can keep out of their way.

Maybe. Looks like rain, Ding. You suppose maybe theyll go home steada gettin wet like us fools?

Well know in an hour or two.

Its going to blow visibility to shit, too.

Roger that.

There! Guerra pointed.

Got em. Chavez put his glasses on the distant treeline. He saw two of them at once, joined by six more in less than a minute. Even from a few miles away it was obvious that they were huffing and puffing. One man stopped and took a drink from a bottlebeer? Ding wonderedright out in the open, standing up like he wanted to be a target. Who were these scum? They wore ordinary clothing with no thought of camouflage, but had web gear just like Chavez. The rifles were demonstrably AK-47s, mainly folding-stock.

Six, this is Point, over.

Six here.

I got eightno, ten people carrying AKs, half a klick east and downhill of the top of hill two-zero-one. Theyre not doin much of anything at the moment, just standing there, over.

Where are they looking, over.

Just jerkin off, sir. Over.

Keep me posted, Captain Ramirez ordered.

Roger. Out. Chavez went back to his glasses. One of them waved toward the top. Three others headed that way with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

Wassa matta, wittle baby don wanna cwime da widdle fucking hill? Ding asked. Though Guerra didnt know it, he was quoting his first platoon sergeant from Korea. I think theyre gettin tired, Paco.

Good. Maybe theyll go home.

They were tired, all right. The three took their own sweet time going up. Once there, they shouted down that they hadnt seen anyone. Below them, the others stood mostly in the clearing, just stood there like fools, Ding noted in some surprise. Confidence was a good thing in a soldier, but that wasnt confidence, and those werent soldiers. About the time the three climbers were halfway down, clouds blotted out the sun. Almost immediately thereafter rain started to fall. A major tropical thunderstorm had built up on the western side of the mountain. Two minutes behind the rain came lightning. One bolt struck the summit, right where the climbers had been. It hung there for a surprisingly long fraction of a second like the finger of an angry god. Then others started hitting everywhere, and the rain started falling in earnest. What had been unrestricted visibility was now a radius of four hundred meters at most, expanding and contracting with the march of the opaque, wet curtains. Chavez and Guerra traded a concerned look. Their mission was look-and-listen, but now they couldnt see very far and could hear less. Worse, even after the storm passed, the ground around them would be wet. Leaves and twigs wouldnt crackle when people stepped on them. Humidity in the air would absorb sound. The inept clowns theyd been watching could therefore approach much closer to the outpost without notice. On the other hand, if the squad had to move, it could move faster with a lower risk of detection, for the same reasons. As always, the environment was neutral, giving advantage only to those who knew how to take it, and sometimes imposing the same handicaps on both sides.

The storm lasted all afternoon, dropping several inches of rain. Lightning touched down within a hundred yards of the sergeants, an experience new to both and as frightening as an artillery barrage, with its sudden burst of light and noise. After that it was just wet, cold, and miserable as the temperature dropped into the upper fifties.

Ding, look left front, Guerra whispered urgently.

Oh, fuck! Chavez didnt have to ask aloud how theyd gotten this close. With their hearing still affected by the thunder, and the whole mountain sodden, there were two men, not two hundred meters away.

Six, this is Point, we got a pair of gomers two hundred meters southeast of us, Guerra reported to his captain. Stand by. Over.

Roger, standing by, Ramirez answered. Be cool, Paco.

Guerra keyed his transmit switch by way of reply.

Chavez moved very slowly, bringing his weapon closer to a firing position, making sure the safety was on but leaving his thumb on the lever. He knew that they were the nearest thing to invisible, well concealed in ground cover and sapling trees. Each man had his war paint on, and even from fifty feet away they would look like part of the environment. They had to keep still, since the human eye is very effective at detecting movement, but as long as they did, they were invisible. This was a very practical demonstration of why the Army trained people to be disciplined. Both sergeants wished they had their camouflage fatigues, but it was a little late to worry about that, and the khaki cloth was brown with rain and mud anyway. By unspoken agreement, each man watched a discrete sector so that they wouldnt have to turn their heads very much. They knew that they could speak if they did so in whispers, but they would do so only for really important information.

I hear something behind us, Chavez said ten minutes later.

Better look, Guerra answered.

Ding had to take his time, over thirty seconds to rotate his body and head.

Uh-oh. There were several men putting bedrolls down on the ground. Stayin for the night.

It was clear what had happened. The people theyd been watching had continued their patrol routine and ended up straddling the observation post with their night camp. They could now see or hear over twenty men.

This is gonna be a fun night, Guerra whispered.

Yeah, and I gotta take a leak, too. It was a feeble attempt at a joke. Ding looked up at the sky. The rainfall was down to sprinkles now, but the clouds were just as thick. It would be dark a little early, maybe in two hours.

The enemy was spread out in three groups, which wasnt entirely stupid, but each group built fires for cooking, which was. They were also noisy, talking as though they were sitting down for a meal in some village cantina. That was good news for Chavez and Guerra. It allowed them to use their radio again.

Six, this is Point, over.

Six here.

Six, uh . . . Chavez hesitated. The bad guys have set up their camp all around us. They dont know were here.

Tell me what you want to do.

Nothin right now. I think maybe we can walk on out when it gets dark. Well let you know when.

Roger. Out.

Walk on out? Guerra whispered.

No sense gettin him all worried, Paco.

Hey, mano, Im fucking worried.

Bein worried dont help.

There were still no answers. Ryan left his office after what appeared to have been a normal days work of catching up on correspondence and reports. Not much work had actually been accomplished, however. There were too many distractions that simply hadnt gone away.

He told his driver to head for Bethesda. He hadnt called ahead, but going there would not seem to be too much out of the ordinary. The security watch on the VIP suite was as strong as ever, but they all knew Ryan. The one by the door gave him a sorrowful shake of the head as he reached for the door. Ryan caught that signal clearly enough. He stopped and composed himself before going in. Greer didnt need to see shock on the faces of his visitors. But shock was what Jack felt.

He was barely a hundred pounds now, a scarecrow that had once been a man, a professional naval officer whod commanded ships and led men in the service of their country. Fifty years of government service lay wasting away on the hospital bed. It was more than the death of a man. It was the death of an age, of a standard of behavior. Fifty years of experience and wisdom and judgment were slipping away. Jack took his seat next to the bed and waved the security officer out of the room.

Hey, boss.

His eyes opened.

Now what do I say? How are you feeling? Theres something to say to a dying man!

How was the trip, Jack? The voice was weak.

Belgium was okay. Everybody sends regards. Friday I got to brief Fowler, like you did the last time.

What do you think of him?

I think he needs some help on foreign policy.

A smile: So do I. Gives a nice speech, though.

I didnt exactly hit it off with one of his aides, Elliot, the gal from Bennington. Obnoxious as hell. If her man wins, she says, I retire. That was really the wrong thing to say. Greer tried to move but couldnt.

Then you find her, and kiss and make up. If you have to kiss her ass at noon on the Bennington quad, you do that. When are you going to learn to bend that stiff Irish neck of yours? Ask Basil sometime how much he likes the people he has to work for. Your duty is to serve the country, Jack, not just the people you happen to like. A blow from a professional boxer could not have stung worse.

Yes, sir. Youre right. I still have a lot to learn.

Learn fast, boy. I havent got many lessons left.

Dont say that, Admiral. The line was delivered like the plea of a child.

Its my time, Jack. Some men I served with died off Savo Island fifty years ago, or at Leyte, or lots of other parts of ocean. Ive been a lot luckier than they were, but its my time. And its your turn to take over for me. I want you to take my place, Jack.

I do need some advice, Admiral.

Colombia?

I could ask how you know, but I wont.

When a man like Arthur Moore wont look you in the eye, you know that something is wrong. He was in here Saturday and he wouldnt look me in the eye.

He lied to me today. Ryan explained on for five minutes, outlining what he knew, what he suspected, and what he feared.

And you want to know what to do? Greer asked.

I could sure use a little guidance, Admiral.

You dont need guidance, Jack. Youre smart enough. You have all the contacts you need. And you know whats right.

But what about Politics? All that shit? Greer almost laughed. Jack, you know, when you lay here like this, you know what you think about? You think about all the things youd like another chance at, all the mistakes, all the people you might have treated better, and you thank God that it wasnt worse. Jack, you will never regret honesty, even if it hurts people. When they made you a Marine lieutenant you swore an oath before God. I understand why we do that now. Its a help, not a threat. Its something to remind you how important words are. Ideas are important. Principles are important. Words are important. Your word is the most important of all. Your word is who you are. Thats the last lesson, Jack. You have to carry on from here. He paused, and Jack could see the pain coming through the heavy medications. You have a family, Jack. Go home to them. Give em my love and tell them that I think their daddy is a pretty good guy, and they ought to be proud of him. Good night, Jack. Greer drifted off to sleep.

Jack didnt get up for several minutes. It took that long for him to regain control of himself. He dried his eyes and walked out of the room. The doctor was on his way in. Jack stopped him and identified himself.

Not much longer. Less than a week. Im sorry, but there never was much hope.

Keep him comfortable, Ryan said quietly. Another plea.

We are, the oncologist replied. Thats why hes out most of the time. Hes still quite lucid when hes awake. Ive had some nice talks with him. I like him, too. The doctor was used to losing patients, but had never grown to enjoy it. In a few years, we might have saved him. Progress isnt fast enough.

Never is. Thanks for trying, doc. Thanks for caring. Ryan took the elevator back down to ground level and told the driver to take him home. On the way they passed the Mormon temple again, the marble lit with floodlights. Jack still didnt know exactly what hed do, but now he was certain of what he had to accomplish. Hed made his silent promise to a dying man, and no promise could be more important than that.

The clouds were breaking up and there would be moonlight soon. It was time. The enemy had sentries out. They paced around the same as the ones whod guarded the processing sites. The fires were still burning, but conversation had died off as weary men fell asleep.

Just walk out together, Chavez said. They see us creep or crawl, they know were bad guys. They see us walkin, were some of them.

Makes sense, Guerra agreed.

Both men slung their weapons across their chests. The profile of each would be distinctively wrong to the enemy, but close up against their bodies the outlines would be obscured and the weapons could still be ready for immediate use. Ding could depend on his MP5 SD2 to kill quietly if the necessity arose. Guerra took out his machete. The metal blade was blackanodized, of course, and the only shiny part was the razor-sharp edge itself. Guerra was especially good with edged weapons, and was ever sharpening his steel. He was also ambidextrous, and held it loosely in his left hand while his right was on the pistol grip of his M-16.

The squad had already moved to a line roughly a hundred meters from the camp past which theyd be walking, ready to provide support if it were needed. It would be a tricky exercise at best, and everyone hoped that it wouldnt be necessary.

kay, Ding, you lead off. Guerra actually ranked Chavez, but this was a situation where expertise counted for more than seniority.

Chavez headed down the hill, keeping to cover as long as he could, then angling left and north toward safety. His low-light goggles were in his rucksack, back at the squads hideout because he was supposed to have been relieved before nightfall. Ding missed the night scope. A lot.

The two men moved as quietly as they could, and the soaked ground helped, but the cover got very thick along the path they took. It was only three or four hundred meters to safety, but this time it was too far.

They didnt use paths, of course, but they couldnt entirely avoid them, and one of the paths twisted around. Just as Chavez and Guerra crossed it, two men appeared a mere ten feet away.

What are you doing out? one asked. Chavez just waved in a friendly sort of way, hoping that the gesture would stop him, but he approached, trying to see who it was, his companion at his side. About the time he noticed that Ding was carrying the wrong sort of weapon it was too late for everyone.