Book Excerpt –
Code of Darkness
by
Chris Lindberg
Chapter 12
Deep within the Pentagon,
Edward Armstrong was making edits to a border defense plan when his secretary
buzzed him.
“What
is it, Marlene,” he exhaled, setting down the red-ink pen.
“A
General Dunlap here to see you, sir,” the voice replied through the
speakerphone.
“Hmm,”
Armstrong paused, stroking his chin.
“All right then, send him in,” he finally said, stacking the papers
strewn across his desk and setting them in his inbox.
The
heavy steel door opened, ushering in the tall, broad frame of General Jack
Dunlap. He was dressed in full uniform
as always, presenting the many service marks and medals packed tightly across
his lapels. His clean-shaven, bald head
and neatly trimmed mustache belied his gray, bushy eyebrows. A thirty-year Marine veteran and decorated
war hero, Dunlap had been Armstrong’s acquaintance since the Somalian missions
they’d worked on together some fifteen years before, when Armstrong had been a
military strategist, and Dunlap a Lieutenant.
Now heading up the Pentagon’s special task forces unit, Dunlap was viewed by many as next
in line for promotion to Joint Chiefs.
Armstrong
rose to greet him, then motioned for him to have a seat.
“Edward,”
Dunlap said, nodding as he sat down.
“Jack,”
Armstrong replied. “Haven’t seen you
since the North Korea debrief in December.
How’s the family?”
“Good,
Edward, good,” Dunlap said, a look on his face Armstrong couldn’t identify. He appeared ready to speak when Armstrong
cut in.
“So,
what can I do for you?” he said curiously.
“Edward,”
Dunlap began. “One of the men under my
command was recently tapped for a top-secret operation within our borders. Colonel Nolan Hayes. I was wondering if you knew anything about
it.”
Armstrong
paused, leaning back in his chair.
“I
might,” he answered carefully, folding his hands together.
“Don’t
play games,” Dunlap said sharply. “You
either know or you don’t.”
“I
do,” Armstrong admitted.
“What
are you doing running an operation within the homeland?” Dunlap
questioned. “Is this in a civilian environment?”
“Jack,
as you’ve already said,” Armstrong replied.
“It’s top secret. I’m prohibited
from speaking about it.”
“But
Hayes,” Dunlap pressed. “He’s one of my
men. Why didn’t you come to me
first? At least for a POV? Do you understand the implications of
deploying him inside our borders?”
“We’ve
read the file on him, yes,” Armstrong answered. “He’s the perfect fit for this mission.”
“He’s
also extremely dangerous,” Dunlap
shot back, leaning forward. “Placing
him in a civilian atmosphere puts us at incredible risk.”
“We
know what we’re doing,” Armstrong said flatly.
“His skills make him the only one who can carry out the operation the
way it needs to be done.”
“Edward,
listen to me,” Dunlap said, his tone urgent.
“If it’s not too late already, you need to pull the plug, now.
Hayes should only be deployed in hot zones, deep behind enemy borders,
on the other side of the world. There are plenty of those missions to keep
him busy. Under no circumstances should
he be anywhere near U.S. civilians,
innocents, or even cameras, for that
matter.”
“Jack,
I don’t understand,” Armstrong said, flabbergasted. “He’s the best soldier this country has; a decorated war hero,
just like yourself.”
“He’s
the best soldier we have,” Dunlap said.
“Because he is a killing machine. Yes, he’s killed a lot of our most dangerous
enemies. Hundreds, maybe a thousand. But there have also been scores of civilian casualties, even
American soldiers.”
“That’s
part of war,” Armstrong said. “You know
that.”
“Not
this way,” Dunlap countered. “He has no
regard for human life. Any human life. If you could only see what I’ve seen, you’d
understand.”
“Jack,”
Armstrong said, “I hate to put this argument to bed. But it’s a moot point.
The field leg of the mission began several days ago, without incident, I
might add. The SRC created an antidote
to his condition. To control these … urges he has.”
“Antidote?”
Dunlap asked curiously.
“Yes,”
Armstrong answered. “There’s a shot; he
injects himself twice a day.”
Dunlap
paused, an almost hopeful expression on his face, as if he wanted nothing more
than to be wrong about what he’d said.
“Has the field leg concluded?” he asked.
“No,”
Armstrong answered. “But we’re halfway
there.”
“Then
I hope you’re right; that he’s taking the meds as you say he is,” Dunlap said,
standing up to leave. “And if for any
reason he stops … God help us all.”
_____
Chris Lindberg’s first novel, Code of Darkness, was released in August 2011. You can find out more by visiting www.codeofdarkness.com, or visiting
Facebook and searching on “code of darkness.”
To purchase Code of Darkness in paperback or e-book edition,
please search “code of darkness” on Amazon, iTunes, or BN.com.
You can also email him at chris@codeofdarkness.com – he’d love
to hear from you.
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