Free Liberation Day by Andy McNab Page A

of their two hundred other channels and didn’t catch the news. Didn’t catch Congress telling us we didn’t need more capability. Telling us we were just looking for something to replace the Cold War. Know why Congress did that? Because they think that’s what the people think, and they don’t want to upset them, because they don’t want to lose their vote. Now everything is different. Now we have all the nails we need to shut the stable door, but the horse has already bolted.
    “Goddamn it, Nick, why didn’t things change after the terrorist attack on the U.S.S. Cole ? Seventeen American sailors came home in body bags—why didn’t that open their eyes? And what about the bombing of the air force base in Saudi Arabia? Or the embassy staff in Africa? Or our soldiers mutilated and dragged through the streets of Somalia? Why wasn’t anybody letting us do anything then?
    “Because those guys up on the Hill were just too damned busy worrying about the civil rights of pedophiles and rapists, worrying about interest rates on credit cards that the voters use to buy wide-screen digital TVs to make them feel life is good. But those home-entertainment centers don’t seem to get C-Span. Nobody knows what’s going on, and that’s just how Congress wanted to keep it. Then they have the gall to ask us: ‘Why did they attack the innocent people? Why didn’t they go after the military?’ Well, the answer is, that’s a done deal, but no one took any notice.”
    He picked up his mug and looked genuinely sad, the first time I had ever seen him like that. He seemed to be lost in his own world for a while until I cut in. “So now what?”
    “Now?” The mug went down. “We’ve got the money. A billion-dollar down-payment. The problem is finding a way to fight these people. They don’t have anything to defend. It’s not like the Cold War, or any war that we’ve seen before. There’s no real estate to fight over, and the notion of deterrence doesn’t apply to these guys. There’s no treaty to be negotiated, no arms control agreement that’s going to guarantee our security. The only way we can deal with them is to hit them hard and fast and take them down. You know it’s crazy—only a few months ago, they were saying a hundred million for the Navy was too much…”
    He paused and reflected. I wasn’t too sure if this was all part of the performance: George might be sad, but he still had a job to do. “But, hey, you can’t unring a bell, Nick. I’m here because I want you to work for me. For us. Nick Scott would be your cover name.”
    I shook my head. “The deal was one job. You agreed on that.”
    “Events have taken a serious turn these last couple days, Nick.” His voice was steely, his gaze level. “Al-Qaeda has upped the ante, these guys are just programmed for trouble. I can’t tell you how unless you commit. But I can tell you, this is the front page of the threat matrix the president gets to read every day. These are scary days, Nick. Yesterday’s ran to thirty pages.” He looked down at the table and traced a figure eight with his mug. “You know what? At the moment I feel like a blind watchmaker, just throwing the components into the case and waiting to see what works.”
    I didn’t look up, because I knew he was waiting, his eyes ready to ambush mine.
    “I need your help, Nick.” It was a challenge, not an entreaty.
    “Things are good here with Carrie.”
    “Are they?” He gave an exaggerated frown. “I don’t think she took it too well. She’s like her mom.”
    The asshole. Divide and rule. He’d done it on purpose. I forced myself to stay calm. “You didn’t tell her everything, did you?”
    “Son, I don’t even tell God everything. I’ll leave that until I meet him face-to-face. But, right now, I see it as my duty to make sure there’s a big fucking bunch of al-Qaeda ahead of me in the line.”
    He stood up and turned his back to me again as he placed the framed picture back