A Devil Is Waiting Read Online Free PDF Page A

were fighting in the Taliban ranks.”
     
    “I’m afraid so.”
     
    “That’s bad enough in itself, but the fact that the man leading them was a decorated war hero, that he was chairman of one of the most respected arms corporations in the business—it defies belief.”
     
    “Talbot was a wild young man, hungry for war,” Miller said. “Originally his supplying illegal arms to the Taliban across the border was strictly for kicks, but that led to Al Qaeda blackmailing him.”
     
    “As you can see from our report, he had Dillon’s bullet in him when he crashed his plane into the sea off the Irish coast,” Ferguson shrugged. “An act of suicide to protect the family name.”
     
    “So his mother knew nothing about this Al Qaeda business?”
     
    “No. And she’s now chairman of Talbot International simply because she owns most of the shares.”
     
    “And in the world’s eyes, he just died in a tragic accident?”
     
    Ferguson said, “Of course, Al Qaeda knows the truth, but it wouldn’t be to their benefit to admit to it. Nobody would believe such a story anyway.”
     
    “And thank God for that, and for the part you and your people played in bringing the affair to a successful conclusion,particularly your Sean Dillon and Daniel Holley. I see the Algerian foreign minister has given Holley a diplomatic passport.”
     
    “The Algerian government is just as disenchanted with Al Qaeda as we are,” said Ferguson. “That passport makes him a very valuable asset.”
     
    “Who in his youth was a member of the Provisional IRA, as was Sean Dillon. Men who are the product of extreme violence tend perhaps to believe that a violent response is the only way forward.”
     
    “International terrorism is the scourge of our times, Mr. President, powered by fanatics who insist on extreme views. It’s like a cancer that needs to be cut out to stop it spreading.”
     
    The President said, “As you know, General, I believe in necessary force. But you can’t kill them all. The only way forward is to engage in dialogue with people with extreme views and attempt to reach a compromise. With Osama out of the way, I have great hopes for such an approach.”
     
    “I agree,” Ferguson said. “But what about those who believe in the purity of violence and are willing to bomb the hell out of anyone who refuses to agree with them? Wouldn’t it be better to have people like Dillon and Holley stamp out such a fire before it spreads?”
     
    “Can such actions ever be condoned?” the President asked.
     
    Ferguson said, “In 1947, a brilliant commando leader named Otto Skorzeny was accused of war crimes because he had sent his men into action behind American lines wearing GI uniforms. Many of these men, when captured, were executed out of hand by the American forces.”
     
    “What’s your point?”
     
    “The chief witness for the defense was one of the most brilliant British Secret Service agents operating in occupied France. He admitted he’d been responsible for many operations in which his men had fought and killed German soldiers while wearing German uniforms. He also spoke of his superiors handing out such orders that could only be concluded by assassination. He told the court that if Skorzeny was guilty of a war crime, then he was just as guilty.”
     
    There was a brief silence, and the President said, “What was the verdict?”
     
    “The case was thrown out of court. Skorzeny was acquitted of all charges.”
     
    There was a long silence, and then the President said bleakly, “So what
is
the answer?”
     
    “That the kind of war we now face is a nasty business,” Miller said. “And you can only survive if you play as dirty as the other side. That’s what twenty years of army service during the Irish Troubles taught me.”
     
    The President sighed heavily. “I suppose I could have picked a better time to take up the highest office in the land, but here I am and, by God, I’ll see it through.”