Arctic Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

like a petty thief and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs look like a private first class. And that was why Maddux was so worried about this meeting.
    Maddux had gone outside the chain of command only a few times in his twenty-year career as the leader of the Falcon division, and he’d gotten away with it each time. But this target was different, very different. If Carlson ever found out about this work-around, there’d be hell to pay, and Maddux would probably pay that debt to the devil with his life. So he was praying to Godeverything was going off without a hitch—even though he wasn’t at all religious.
    “Which Falcon actually broke the Boston situation for us?” Carlson asked. “Was it Troy Jensen?”
    “Yes,” Maddux answered, making certain his eyes remained glued to Carlson’s.
    “He’s been one of your top people for several years.”
    “He has,” Maddux agreed brusquely. He wanted to get back to the other thing. “Roger, we need to talk.”
    Carlson’s expression turned serious. “What is it, son?”
    Maddux loved that over the last two decades Carlson had become his surrogate father. He’d hated his own father for a host of brutal reasons—almost as much as he hated that priest—and he hadn’t shed a tear when the man had died of lung cancer a decade ago. He couldn’t have gone to the funeral even if he’d wanted to because it would have been a perfect opportunity for his enemies to identify him. But his relationship with Carlson had allowed him to easily disengage from his father’s painful struggle, and feel no guilt at all for doing so. He and Carlson had their moments, but he loved the old man.
    Which made all of this so much harder.
    “Everything all right?”
    Maddux appreciated how Carlson had recognized instantly that the subject change involved something crucial. “Is President Dorn really on our side? Can we really trust him?”
    Carlson eased back onto the couch and groaned. “This again, Shane? I told you, I looked into the situation. This is turning into an exhausting topic.”
    “Sorry, Roger, but I’m getting a lot of intel indicating that President Dorn believes Red Cell Seven is more of a liability to him and his administration than an asset. There’s even some evidence that he wants to shut us down. And that’s coming from several sources.” Exhausting was one of those code words Carlsonused when he felt disrespected. And disrespecting Roger Carlson was very risky. “Including my Falcons,” Maddux added. He hadn’t communicated that eye-opener to Carlson yet, and he knew it would have a dramatic impact.
    “That’s ridiculous,” Carlson snapped. “I can’t believe you’d say that. I can’t believe you’d use your Falcons to manipulate me.”
    “
What?
Are you questioning my team’s credibility? Are you questioning mine?”
    “Sorry,” Carlson said quickly, grimacing apologetically. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
    Incredible, Maddux thought. He’d never seen the old man back off anything so quickly. There had to be at least a kernel of doubt in Carlson’s mind too.
    “Look, Shane, we’ve been over this several times. President Dorn’s only been on the job for nine months. The Oval Office still has that new car smell for him. Wait until the one-year anniversary. Everything will be fine by then. I promise.”
    “But if the president’s so damn appreciative of us figuring out what was heading for Boston, how could he have any doubts about how valuable we are to him and the country? I wouldn’t be picking up any of these rumors.”
    “Have patience, son,” Carlson advised paternally. “Give Dorn a little more time. He’s young and, unfortunately for everyone, very inexperienced. He’s new to how things work in Washington. He wasn’t a senator or a congressman before he was elected commander in chief. He was a damn civil rights lawyer. He’ll come around.” Carlson chuckled softly. “You’re putting too much faith in those guys of yours,