Free Show of Force by Charles D. Taylor Page B

by the two marines on duty. Their smiles, after formalities, acknowledged that they considered him their officer-in-charge now that Hamlet was missing. Collier looked every inch a naval officer, right out of the recruiting posters. He was tall and slender, well over six feet and almost the same weight as the day he had been commissioned. His short dark crew cut had turned white, adding to the distinguished appearance emphasized by dark eyes, white teeth, and fairly square jaw. He looked the part of the heroic captain astride the bridge of a fighting ship, though he had rarely been at sea since his early days on the Bagley. His intelligence and quick mind, coupled with his wife's antipathy to sea duty, had brought him seniority through staff channels along with knowledge of the power structure that came with those assignments. The major now in command was an excellent officer, but he simply did not have the charisma to dominate these specially selected men that both Hamlet and Collier had.
    “Has anyone else been on this floor, or attempted to get off the elevator, other than authorized personnel?” he asked.
    “No, sir,” the shorter one answered. “Just the change of the watch at midnight. All signatures and badges checked per your orders.”
    Collier had insisted that his marines be extra careful. It was just an added precaution with the confusion caused by the fire, to ensure as much as possible that the right people showed, that each one could match his signature to that on the card. Even more important, it was also to be sure no one else was missing.
    He went through the motions of signing the book for the marines, showed his own badge, and then went across to the heavy metal door on the other side of the small room. He inserted his badge into the chest-high slot in the door. He then placed his right hand, palm forward, just to the right of the slot. A light glowed briefly under his palm, then the badge reappeared from the slot. He stepped back and the door opened slowly, Reattaching the badge to the lapel clip, he stepped inside, nodding to the marines who were on guard beyond the door. There were four people inside the room seated before the variety of electronic gear that glowed and blinked in the half light.
    “Good morning, Admiral,” one of them murmured. They continued with whatever intricate operations they were completing. The other three acknowledged his appearance respectfully, though none of them moved from their positions.
    “I've just run a check with Jackson at the Pentagon, sir. He said that Admiral Carter will be available momentarily. Something big must be going on, because he said no one from his section was allowed to leave for lunch.” It was now late afternoon in Washington. “He said food was sent in and that their reliefs were also called in this morning. Looks like no one's going to be going home there at the end of the day either.” He turned to look at Collier questioningly.
    “They're right, Cooper,” Collier answered. “Before they're ready I suppose this is as good a time as any to bring you all up to date, since you're going to hear my conversation with Admiral Carter. We're already running into the same problem here.” He wasn't quite sure where to start. After a momentary pause, he began, "From about now, we are all virtually prisoners in the embassy. The fires were started by parties within this building whom we can't yet identify. The reason was simple—they wanted to cut off all our outside communications and, as is obvious to 48 »
    each of you, they've been successful with the exception of this operation, which they're in the dark about.
    “Their spy satellites over the last month have been watching the development of our base at Islas Piedras in the Indian Ocean very closely. While you all know a little about that island, it is not actually a Trident resupply base and was never intended to be.”
    “Well, I'll be damned,” said one of them. “My brother's