Free Savages by James Cook Page A

I have to do it every day, Mr. Garrett. If you think I never feel the weight of it, you’re fooling yourself. I can’t tell you how sorry I am about the people that were lost yesterday. But whether we like it or not, we are at war. And in war, people in positions like mine have to make difficult decisions.”
    “Tell that to the families. To the kids without parents and the parents without kids and everyone else.”
    Jacobs shook his head. “As I said, I’m sorry. I really am. And I’m here today to make sure their deaths were not in vain.”
    “By risking more people’s lives.”
    I spoke sharply. “Gabe.”
    The blistering energy of his glare swung around and settled on me. Most people he inflicted The Look upon began sweating and stuttering and backing slowly away. Not me. I was used to it.
    “What?” His voice sounded like a badly tuned diesel motor.
    “Do you really think you’re helping right now?” I said. “You think arguing with the general is going to fix anything? Bring anyone back?”
    Still the glare, but no answer.
    “Didn’t think so. So maybe pipe down and let the man say what he has to say.”
    The glare stayed a moment longer, then lowered. “Fine. General, let’s hear it.”
    A sigh. “As I said, the expedition was intended to force the Alliance’s hand. Make them show their cards. And as you said, Mr. Garrett, it confirmed our suspicions. Now we have the information we need to act. That’s where the two of you come in.”
    He paused for effect. I resisted the urge to wiggle my fingers in the air and say, “Oooooo, dramatic.”
    After a moment, Jacobs said, “Task Force Falcon is still conducting operations along the Alliance border. They are in contact with an intelligence asset with access to the Alliance’s leaders.”
    “When you say asset,” I said, “you mean a spy, right?”
    “Precisely. And not someone we sent in. Someone who turned on their own and came to us.”
    “And how do we know he or she is not just feeding us bogus intel to throw us off?”
    “A lot of reasons, not all of which I can discuss just yet. Suffice it to say, they have very good reasons for wanting to bring the Alliance down. And everything they have told us thus far has turned out to be accurate. The asset has already helped us do severe damage to the Alliance’s leaders by helping us expose what they’re really up to. This has undermined their popularity among the Alliance citizenry, which is why the Alliance is on such shaky ground right now. And we have the asset to thank for most of it.”
    I nodded, figuring that was as much answer as I was getting for the time being. “Fair enough,” I said. “Go on.”
    “Our plan is to insert a strike team into Alliance territory and take out a number of high-value targets. The asset will feed us the locations of the people we’re after. If the mission succeeds, chances are very good the Alliance will crumble. If it fails, the asset will make sure the Alliance does not cover up the attempt, which will force them to acknowledge publicly that they have not normalized relations with the Union. Which, in turn, will likely have the same effect as if the mission succeeded, although to a lesser degree. Either way, the asset remains in place, and we have the leverage we need to continue exerting pressure on the Alliance.”
    “A win-win for you,” I said.
    “For all of us.”
    “Sounds like a suicide mission,” Gabe said. “I never agreed to that.”
    Jacobs pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before responding. “It is not a suicide mission. We have a plan to get you in and get you back out alive. That said, there are always dangers. You know this as well as I do.”
    “Better,” Gabe said.
    The general let the barb go. “What do you say?”
    I looked at Gabe. I knew about his bargain with the general, and I knew why he had made it. But he was right; he never agreed to a suicide mission. My answer had already been decided, although Jacobs