Free Vektor by Steven Konkoly

fundamentalists for weapons of mass destruction. I need a specific, actionable reason to authorize an attack on this facility. If you told me Iranian agents were headed there in two hours to take possession of biological weapons, I’d vaporize the site. I don’t disagree that this is a nasty place that would be better off as a smoldering ruin, but I need to put an end to our little low-intensity conflict with the Russians before it spirals out of control. I understand we’ve lost a CIA officer in Stockholm? What happens to our people when Vektor labs is attacked?”
    Thomas Manning stepped in to answer the president’s question. “Mr. President, I don’t believe Mr. Reese’s disappearance is a retribution-style action. Too much time has elapsed since Stockholm. They’re still trying to piece together what happened to the Russian scientist that could blow the lid off their secret. The Russians can’t afford to draw any attention to this. They’re still sitting on a powder keg up in the Kola Peninsula. Our analysts believe that they won’t respond to a surgical strike limited to the bioweapons facility. This may even give the Russians a way out of the mess they’ve created in the Kola Peninsula. We could even congratulate certain counterparts in their Foreign Intelligence Service on a job well done.”
    “A job well done?” Remy asked.
    “They uncovered and destroyed a rogue bioweapons program responsible for creating the weapon used in Monchegorsk to turn the population homicidal. They had no choice but to suppress the population using military force. At the same time, Putin can publicly express his outrage against the development of biological weapons and announce that Russia will host a summit to develop plans to prevent this kind of a tragedy in the future. Something like that,” Manning said.
    “Or he’ll do nothing and simply stare at me with emotionless eyes the next time we meet,” the president said.
    “Either way, Mr. President, the United States and the world will be a safer place. Frankly, this mission is worth the risks involved, even if it gets messy afterward. What if we fail to stop the next attack against the U.S.?”
    “That’s why we hire the best and brightest to work for our intelligence agencies. To stop these attacks.”
    “It won’t always be enough,” Berg said, creating an awkward pause in the conference.
    “Mr. President, I stand by my team’s assessment. The value of taking this fight to Vektor Labs far outweighs the risks, which can be mitigated the sooner we act,” Director Copley said.
    The president rubbed his face and stared at Karl Berg for a few seconds. The answer had been evident on the president’s face as soon as he lowered his hands, but something caused him some hesitation. Berg wondered how much the president had been told about the missions and decisions leading to the discovery of True America’s plot. Did he know that Berg had initiated a series of questionable covert activities that put the FBI in a position to stop the insane vision of domestic terrorists? Was he trying to gauge whether his words would have any impact on Berg’s course of action?
    “Director Copley,” the president began, “the nation owes this team a debt of gratitude that can never be fully explained, or adequately paid, but I won’t authorize this raid without credible evidence of a more immediate threat. I’d like to approach this from a different angle, using diplomacy instead of mercenaries. If that fails, I will reconsider taking direct action. Until then, all planning activities related to a raid on Vektor Labs must cease.”
    Berg had expected the president to reject their plan, but he hadn’t expected the overt slapdown that came with his less than subtle use of the word mercenaries . He felt his blood begin to rise, and had to use every ounce of restraint he possessed not to respond. These “mercenaries” had saved countless lives and prevented the United States from