‘So. How they been treatin’ you?’ Steel glanced only briefly at Stratton as he asked him the question. ‘How’s the training comin’ along? I thought you’d be done and gone two days ago.’
‘Stratton’s lucky to be alive,’ Victor said.
‘Come again?’ Steel asked. He looked worried but there was no way of knowing if his expression was genuine.
‘A box of your weapons was booby-trapped. Two of my men are dead, one may not make it and another is seriously hurt.’
‘I don’t believe it!’ Steel exclaimed. ‘When’d this happen?’
‘Yesterday,’ Victor said.
‘Holy cow. You okay?’ Steel asked Stratton, scrutinising him in case he had missed any obvious physical injury.
‘I’ll be fine.’
‘You said booby-trapped. How?’
‘Classic grenade set-up,’ Stratton explained.
‘You’re shittin’ me. Do we know who did it?’
Victor shook his head.
‘Did we lose everything?’
‘We still have sixty per cent of what you sent us.’
‘Wow,’ Steel muttered, getting up to take a turn around the room and looking as if the news had sickened him.
Stratton watched him, wondering if any of his reactions were genuine. He looked like a ham actor who was doing an unusually fine job. It was hard to tell since he did not know Steel well enough. But the display of concern seemed out of character.
The door at the end of the room opened and Sebastian stepped through, together with Louisa.
‘Colonel Steel,’ Sebastian said. ‘Good to see you again.’
Steel turned on the charm. ‘Sebastian.’ He walked over and gave the rebel leader a bear hug. ‘It’s good to see you too. You’re looking great. Hey, I just heard about the explosion yesterday. That’s crazy. We’ve never had anything like that before. Are we looking at government infiltration or something else?’
Sebastian turned away and sat in his chair. ‘Sit. Please.’
Steel sat opposite him.
‘It was probably inevitable that something like this would happen,’ Sebastian said. ‘I’m surprised it did not happen sooner—’
‘Wait a minute,’ Steel interrupted. ‘Sebastian. Excuse me, but I need to be clear on one thing first. Was this internal politics or not?’
‘I don’t know. It’s possible.’
‘Hector?’
‘I would not point a finger at anyone right now,’ Sebastian said.
Steel sat back and stared thoughtfully at the older man, his thoughts appearing to run in several directions. ‘I wanna summarise where we are right now. Do you mind? I need to get my bearings back about all this. You’ve got problems. That means the rebellion’s got problems. There’s a power struggle going on. It looks to me as if you’re being isolated. Would you say that was fair?’
‘I would not argue with that assessment. But it lacks depth.’
‘I know. Sorry. I’m just trying to synopsise it. Before we can come up with a strategy we have to be sure of the ground and the threat. Look, I’ll be honest. I knew a lot about these issues before I got here. It’s part of the reason I’m here. I didn’t know about the attack, though, the booby trap. But it falls in with the symptoms.’
The others were all watching Steel without interrupting him. He was an assertive, overpowering individual, but it wasn’t just that. Any implied or open criticism of what he had to say would simply provoke a diatribe in which he would insist that his personal support and that of his country was the key to the rebellion’s success and that therefore whatever he said was gospel. To be spared that tedious rhetoric people tended not to question him. Yet there was no denying that he did provide substantial aid and political leverage and so he could not be ignored. An air of suspicion hung about him like a mist, nonetheless.
‘Can I throw a theory out there?’ Steel asked.
Sebastian gestured to him to go ahead.
‘Okay. This is classic. You know it, I’m sure. It’s how I see it, anyway. You have five powers, all supposedly equal, your five brigades. They remain even, more or less, because of that balance, that equality. So how do you get rid of one of them, for whatever reason? Say you don’t like a particular commander any more. Doesn’t matter why. He doesn’t like you, you disagree on policy - whatever. This strategy goes back to the Wars of the Roses and beyond. How do you get rid of him without the others punishing you for stepping out of line? The answer’s simple. You need them on your side against him. To achieve that you get them to fear him. One way to do that is to make him stronger than you and the others. It’s difficult for him to resist as well. I mean, everyone wants to be top dog. But it upsets the balance. And what happens? The others turn on him. They band together in order to be able to destroy the one who’s become the strongest. And the one secretly manipulating everything, well, he gets what he wants, which is to get rid of him. I think that’s what’s happening here. Someone made you a threat to the others. And now they are banding together to bring you down.’ ‘Hector?’ Victor muttered.
‘If the cap fits,’ Steel said, sitting back and looking pleased with himself.
Sebastian, Louisa and Stratton sat silently watching Steel.
‘Look, it’s just a theory,’ Steel said, taking a bite of food. ‘I’m full of ’em.’
‘I take it you have solutions for your theories?’ Louisa asked.
‘Yeah, I got solutions. But usually the more difficult the situation the more difficult the solution.’
A quiet descended on the room.
Steel interpreted it as despondency. ‘Hey, don’t let it get you down, guys. My money’s on you. Has been since day one and I’m not about to change. None of those other commanders can pull this rebellion off. That includes Hector.’
Sebastian’s curiosity was piqued. ‘How would you disrupt this plan to isolate me?’
‘Well, I personally believe the concept of five equal brigades was flawed anyway,’ Steel said, getting into it. ‘I’m a soldier and, as you know, direct. They’re not equal. Honeros has half the men Hector does. I don’t trust Bajero. Sandina, well, he’ll go along with whoever has the loudest voice. My point is that there needs to be a stronger brigade for the others to follow and look up to. Don’t forget, it’s the voices of the men in those other brigades that rule, not the brigade commanders. So if they want to isolate you, let ’em. But take advantage of the moment and let’s go do something big. Shit, you got the weapons. You’re halfway there. Your toys are bigger’n theirs. Use ’em.’
‘You’re talking about an independent attack?’ Victor asked.
‘Course I’m talking about an independent attack. It’s not the first time you’ve carried out your own ops, is it?’
‘No, but we always consult with each other.’
‘Then this time you don’t tell ’em until it’s over. Upset the apple cart. Send a message to Hector. Wreck his little parley with Neravista. Remind them all who you are. The voices in the brigades will speak and their leaders’ll have no choice but to join you.’
No one said anything, until Sebastian asked, ‘You have something in mind?’
‘I sure do.’
‘Something you already had in mind before you came here?’ Sebastian added.
‘Yep. Look, Sebastian. I came here to tell you it’s time to turn up the volume. This rebellion has gone stagnant. It’s dragging its feet. I’ll be blunt. You got to get this horsey moving along or else. My people need to know you’re the one to back. They want to see some returns on their investment.’
‘Or you’ll invest elsewhere.’
‘This is a high-stakes game, Sebastian. Frankly, my administration is losing confidence in you. Our next presidential campaign starts in a few months. We’ve got a lotta open boxes lying around the Oval Office. We need to close some of ’em up and put ’em away. This is one of ’em. And it ain’t just us. Your neighbours are also getting tired of it. They want to see some stability or at least the possibility of it - and soon. If you can’t offer it they’ll look to someone who can. It’s that time.’