morning. Then I spent the whole day in a videoconfer-
ence with those assholes in Langley.”
“Well, I’m sorry I upset your day.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, son. Some of your tactics might
give me heartburn, but you ain’t got enough horsepower
to put a dent in my day. I think you underestimated Har-
ruck. That boy went to bat for you big-time.”
“What do you mean?”
“He used his friend, the humanitarian worker, to do
some digging. Turns out that little girl you saved wit-
nessed Bronco and Mike on the scene of Warris’s tor-
ture, and they failed to report any of it.”
I frown. “Then Warris can burn them, maybe get
me off?”
He shakes his head. “We called in Warris. He made a
336 GH OS T RE CON
deal with the CIA to keep his mouth shut, so long as
they helped him burn you.”
“He admitted that?”
“No, Bronco and Mike did. I can’t get to those two,
but I’m kicking Warris out of the Army for conduct
unbecoming.”
“So Warris wanted to bring me down with the CIA’s
help. His plan backfires, and he gets burned himself.”
“Enough justice for today.”
“Ramirez might disagree. Doesn’t he count?”
“An Article 118 murder charge is out of the question.
However, integrity’s what you do when nobody’s look-
ing. You won’t find thatin the UCMJ. That’s why War-
ris is history.”
“What about me? Am I free?”
“You’re going on temporary duty to Walter Reed for
evaluation.”
“What? You think I’m crazy?”
“Nah. I might if you’d answered that phone. Scott,
you bivouacked a long time in that fucking valley of
woe. Let’s placate them for now, okay?”
I sigh deeply.
“Look, son, this has been tough for all of us.”
“Tough? A hangover is tough. This has been a god-
damned nightmare, and yeah, maybe I should sit my ass
in a psych ward so I can decide whether I want to do this
anymore . . .”
“Are you kidding me? When you get out of the hospi-
tal, I’m promoting you to major. You’ll be general by the
CO MB AT O P S
337
time I get through with you. I told you the Army’s
changing, and we old-school boys need to adapt.”
I couldn’t hide my twisted grin. “One minute I’m
going to Leavenworth, the next I’m being promoted.
I’m crazy. The system’s crazy . . .”
Keating crosses to the kitchen, lifts my empty scotch
bottle. “You’re crazy drinking this crap. We only drink
Glenfiddich single malt. Didn’t I teach you that?”
“You did, sir.”
“All right, then, pack your bags, soldier.”
“I will. But first I want you to read something.”
I hand him the note written by James McNurty, Jr.
He reads it, then looks up, a sheen now in his eyes.
“Being a soldier is a great honor,” I remind him. “But
are we honoring the profession? Or maybe, just maybe,
they’re asking too much of us. Just a little too much.”
He takes a deep breath, returns the letter, then says,
“Hurry up and pack. Then we’ll get some real scotch.”
Novels by Tom Clancy
THE HUNT FOR R ED OCTOBER
R ED STOR M R ISING
PATR IOT GAMES
THE CAR DINAL OF THE K R EMLIN
CLEAR AND PR ESENT DANGER
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS
WITHOUT R EMORSE
DEBT OF HONOR
EXECUTIVE OR DERS
R AINBOW SIX
THE BEAR AND THE DR AGON
R ED R ABBIT
THE TEETH OF THE TIGER
DEAD OR ALIVE
(written with Grant Blackwood)
SSN: STR ATEGIES OF SUBMAR INE WAR FAR E
Nonfiction
SUBMAR INE: A GUIDED TOUR INSIDE A NUCLEAR WARSHIP
AR MOR ED CAV: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AR MOR ED CAVALRY R EGIMENT
FIGHTER WING: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIR FORCE COMBAT WING
MAR INE: A GUIDED TOUR OF A MAR INE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT
AIR BOR NE: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIR BOR NE TASK FORCE
CAR R IER: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIRCR AFT CAR R IER
SPECIAL FORCES: A GUIDED TOUR OF U.S. AR MY SPECIAL FORCES
INTO THE STOR M: A STUDY IN COMMAND
(written with General Fred Franks, Jr., Ret., and Tony Koltz)
EVERY MAN A TIGER
(written with General Chuck Horner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)
SHADOW WAR R IORS: INSIDE THE SPECIAL FORCES
(written with General Carl Stiner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)
BATTLE R EADY
(written with General Tony Zinni, Ret., and Tony Koltz)
TOM CLANCY’S HAWX
TOM CLANCY’S GHOST R ECON
GHOST R ECON
COMBAT OPS
TOM CLANCY’S ENDWAR
ENDWAR
THE HUNTED
TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL
SPLINTER CELL
FALLOUT
OPER ATION BAR R ACUDA
CONVICTION
CHECK MATE
ENDGAME
Created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik
TOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER
TOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE
OP-CENTER
NET FORCE
MIR ROR IMAGE
HIDDEN AGENDAS
GAMES OF STATE
NIGHT MOVES
ACTS OF WAR
BR EAK ING POINT
BALANCE OF POWER
POINT OF IMPACT
STATE OF SIEGE
CYBER NATION
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
STATE OF WAR
LINE OF CONTROL
CHANGING OF THE GUAR D
MISSION OF HONOR
SPR INGBOAR D
SEA OF FIR E
THE ARCHIMEDES EFFECT
CALL TO TR EASON
WAR OF EAGLES
Created by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg
TOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS
POLITIK A
COLD WAR
RUTHLESS.COM
CUTTING EDGE
SHADOW WATCH
ZERO HOUR
BIO-STRIKE
WILD CARD
Document Outline
Cover_Page
Praise
Other_Books_by_Tom_Clancy
Title_Page
Copyright_Page
Acknowledgments
Epigraph_Page
Prologue
Chapter_One
Chapter_Two
Chapter_Three
Chapter_Four
Chapter_Five
Chapter_Six
Chapter_Seven
Chapter_Eight
Chapter_Nine
Chapter_Ten
Chapter_Eleven
Chapter_Twelve
Chapter_Thirteen
Chapter_Fourteen
Chapter_Fifteen
Chapter_Sixteen
Chapter_Seventeen
Chapter_Eighteen
Chapter_Nineteen
Chapter_Twenty
Chapter_Twenty-one
Chapter_Twenty-two
Chapter_Twenty-three
Chapter_Twenty-four
Chapter_Twenty-five
Chapter_Twenty-six
Chapter_Twenty-seven
Chapter_Twenty-eight
Chapter_Twenty-nine
Chapter_Thirty
Epilogue