The Problem Was That Along With The Rest Of The Un Secretariat Staff, The Ms Unit Had Been Cut By 25 Percent Over The Past Few Years. Moreover, The Ablest People Went Into The Private Sector, Such As Corporate Security And Law Enforcement, Where Pay And The Opportunities For Promotion Were Better.
“We’re Prepared To Go In And End The Standoff,” Mott Said. “But I Have To Be Honest, Ma’am. If We Enter The Chambers With The Intention Of Removing The Terrorists, There Is A Very Strong Likelihowill Of Losses Not Just Of My Team Members, But Among Panicked Delegates And Children.” “We Can’t Risk That,” Secretary-General Chatterjee Said. “Our Chances Would Certainly Be Better If We Waited For Reconnaissance,” Mott Admitted.
“What About Using Tear Gas Against The Terrorists?” Asked Deputy Secretary-General Takahara.
“The Security Council Is A Very Large Room,” Mott Said. “Because Of That, It Would Take At Least Seventy Seconds To Deliver Gas Through The Ventilation System, Slightly Less Time By Opening The Doors And Hurling In Grenades. Either Way, That Would Give The Terrorists Time To Put On Gas Masks, If They Have Them, To Shoot Out The Two Windows To Dilute The Effectiveness Of The Gas, To Kill The Hostages When They Realize What’s Happening, Or To Move To Another Locale With The Hostages As Shields. If They Possess Poison Gas As They’ve Said, My Guess Is ” That They Probably Do Have Masks.” “They’re Going To Kill All The Hostages Anyway,” Said One Of The Undersecretaries-General. Ani Believed That It Might Be Fernando Campos Of Portugal, One Of The Few Militants Who Had The Secretary-General’s Tar. “At Least If We Go In Now, We May Be Able To Save Some Of Them.” There Was Some Loud Murmuring Around The Table.
Secretary-General Chatterjee Quieted It And Returned The Floor To Mott. “My Recommendation, Again, Is That We Wait Until We Have Some Images From The Chamber,” Mott Concluded.
“Just So We Know Where The Enemy And The Hostages Are.
“The Additional Time As Well As Your Pictures Will Be Bought With The Lives Of Delegates,” Said The Man Ani Thought Was Undersecretary-General Campos. “I Say We Go In And End This Matter.” Chatterjee Tabled The Military Side Of The Discussion And Asked If Mott Had Any Other Ideas.
The Colonel Said That Thought Had Also Been Given To Shutting Off The Air And Electricity In The Security Council Chambers Or Of Turning Up The Air-Conditioning To Make The Terrorists Uncomfortable.
But He And The Military Staff Committee Had Decided That Those Actions Would Be More Provocative Than Useful. He Said That As Yet They Hadn’t Come Up With Anything Else. There Was A Short Silence. Ani Noted That The Final Half-Hour Mark Had Come And Gone.
She Had A Strong Feeling What Chatterjee Was Going To Do: Just What She Always Did.
“Although I’m Sympathetic To What Colonel Mott And Undersecretary-General Campos Have Suggested, We Cannot Give The Terrorists What They Want,” Chatterjee Said At Last, Her Husky Voice Lower Than Usual. “But A Serious Gesture Must Be Made To Acknowledge Their Status.” “Their Status?” Colonel Mott Asked.
“Yes,” Chatterjee Said. “Such As What, Ma’am?” Mott Demanded. “They’re Ruthless Killers-Was “Colonel, This Is Not The Time To Express Our Indignation,” Chatterjee Said. “Since We Cannot Give The Terrorists What They Want, We Must Offer Them What We Have.” “Which Is?” Mott Asked. “Our Humility.” “Good Christ,” Mott Muttered.
“This Is Not Your Former Seal’s Command,” Chatterjee Said Sternly. “We Shall “Seek A Solution By Negotiation, Enquiry, Mediation, Conciliation, Arbitration, Judicial Settlement-” Was “I Know The Charter, Ma’am,” Mott Said. “But It Wasn’t Written For This Kind Of Situation.” “Then We Will Adapt It,”, She Said. “The Sentiment Is Correct. We Must Acknowledge That These People Have The Power To Kill Or Release Our Delegates And Children.
Perhaps Bowing To Them Will Gain Us Time And Trust.” “It Certainly Won’t Gain Us Their Respect,” Mott Said. “I Disagree, Colonel Mott,” Takahara Said. “Submission Has Been Known To Placate Terrorists. But I Am Curious, Madam Secretary-General. How Do You Intend To Bow?” Takahara Always Surprised Ani. Throughout History, Japanese Leaders Had Never Been Comfortable With Conciliation-Unless They Were Pretending To Want Peace While Preparing For War. Takahara Was Not Like That. He Was A Genuinely Pacifistic Man. “I’ll Go To The Terrorists,” Chatterjee Said. “I’ll Express Our Interest In Helping Them And Request Time To Arrange An Opportunity For Them To Address Their Requests Directly To The Nations Involved.” “You’re Inviting A Siege, Was Mott Declared.
“I Prefer That To A Bloodbath,” Said Chatterjee.
“Besides, We Must Secure One Thing At A Time. If We Can Achieve A Postponement Of The Deadline, Perhaps We Will Be Able To Find The Means To Defuse The Situation.” “May I Remind You,” Said Takahara, “The Killers In Dicated That No Communication Would Be Acknowledged Other Than Word That The Money And Transportation Were Theirs.” “It Doesn’t Matter If They Acknowledge,” Chatterjee Said. “Only That They Listen.” “Oh, They’ll Acknowledge, All Right,” Mott Said. “With Gunfire. These Monsters Shot Their Way Into The Security Council. They’ve Got Nothing To Lose By Shooting A Few People More.” “Gentlemen,” Said Chatterjee, “We Can’t Pay The Ransom, And I Will Not Permit An Attack On The Council Chamber.” It Was Obvious To Ani That The Secretary-General Was Growing Frustrated. “We Are Supposed To Be The Finest Diplomats In The World And, At Present, We Have No Options Other Than Diplomacy. Colonel Mott, Will You Accompany Me To The Security Council?” “Of Course,” The Officer Said.
He Sounded Relieved. Chatterjee Was Smart Going Out With A Soldier At Her Side. Speak Softly, And Carry A Big Stick. Ani Heard Coughs And The Sound Of Chairs Being Moved. She Glanced At Her Computer Clock. The Secretary-General Had A Little Over Seven Minutes Until The Deadline. That Was Just Enough Time To Get To The Security Council Chamber. The Bug Would Arrive Shortly Thereafter. Ani Removed Her Headphones And Turned To The Phone To Call David Battat. The Line Was Secure, Run Through An Advanced Tacsat 5 Unit Inside The Desk.
The Phone Beeped As She Reached For It. She Picked Up The Receiver. It Was Battat.
“You’re There,” Battat Said.
“I’m Here,” Ani Said. “Canceled My Hot Date And Came Over As Soon As This Broke.” “Good Girl,” The Forty-Two-Year-Old Atlanta Native Said. Ani’s Fingers Went White Around The Phone. Battat Wasn’t As Bad As Some Of The Others, And She Didn’t Think He Meant To Be Demeaning. It Was Just Something He’d Gotten Used To In The Spy-Club-For-Men. “The Attack Just Broke On The News Here,” Battat Said. “God, I Wish I Were There. What’s Happening?” The Young Woman Told Her Superior What Secretary-General Chatterjee Was Planning. After Listening To The Plan, Battat Sighed. “The Terrorists Are Gonna Waste The Swede,” He Said.
“Maybe Not,” Ani Replied. “Chatterjee Is Pretty Good At This.” “Diplomacy Was Invented To Powder Tyrants’ Behinds, And I’ve Never Seen It Work For Very Long,” Battat Said. “Which Is One Of The Reasons I’m Calling. A Former Company Man Named Bob Herbert Phoned About Twenty Minutes Ago. He’s With The National Crisis: Management Center And Needs A Place For His Swat Team To Crash. If They Get A Go-Ahead From Above, They May Make A Move To Get The Kids Out. The Boys Up Here Have No Problem With Them Using Dsa As Long As They Keep Our Noses Out Of It. You Should Expect A General Mike Rodgers, Colonel Brett August, And Party In About Ninety Minutes.” “Yes Sir,” She Said.
Ani Hung Up And Waited Before Returning To Her Headphones. The News About The Ncmc Team Was A Surprise, And It Took Her A Moment To Process It.
She Had Been Monitoring Secretary-General Chattedee’s Conversations For Three Hours.
No Mention Had Been Made Of Military Action By The United States. She Couldn’t Believe That The United States Would Ever Become Involved Militarily In An Action At The United Nations Compound.
But If It Were True, At Least She Would Be Here To Watch It Unfold. Maybe She Could Have A Hand In Organizing The Attack Plan. Under Ordinary Circumstances, It Was Energizing To Be At The Center Of What The Cia Euphemistically Called “An Event,” Especially When There Was A “Counterevent” In The Offing. But These Were Not Ordinary Circumstances.
Ani Looked At The Computer Monitor. There Was A Detailed Blueprint Of The United Nations Along With Icons Representing The Presence Of All The Bugs.
She Watched The Progress Of The Bug Following Chatterjee. It Would Catch Up To Her In Less Than A Minute. She Slipped The Headphones Back On.
These Were Not Ordinary Circumstances Because There Was A Group Of People Inside The United Nations-A Group Depending On Her To Monitor Everything The Secretary-General Said And Planned. A Group That Had Nothing To Do With The Cia.
The Group Was Led By A Man She Had Met While She Was Looking For New Recruits In Cambodia. A Man Who Had Been A Cia Operative In Bulgaria And Who, Like Her, Had Become Disenchanted With The Way The Company Treated Him. A Man Who Had Spent Several Years Making International Contacts Of His Own, Though Not To Help Him Gather Intelligence. A Man Who Didn’t Care About A Person’s Sex Or Nationality, Only About His Or Her Ability. That Was Why Ani Had Come To The Office At Seven O’clock. She Had Not Come After The Attack Began, As She’d Told Battat.