The general thought about that for a moment and nodded again. “Deal,” he said. Stafford managed to lift his right hand long enough for them to shake on it.
At that moment the other Suburban came back up the field, its smashed-in front bumper dangling dangerously close to the ground. It drew abreast of where they were standing, and a soldier in full MOPP gear got out. He held the cylinder carefully in both hands.
“Sir?” he said.
“That’s it, soldier. Give it to the captain. Remind him that it’s not binary-safe.”
“Yes, sir, General. But sir?”
“What?”
“It isn’t hot anymore, General.”
Carrothers stepped forward and ran a ringer along the frosty metal. He looked over at the house for a moment an4 nodded. “I’ll be damned. Okay, take it to the captain. Tell him they can button up the helo as long as this thing remains cool to the touch.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” The soldier got back into the Suburban and the vehicle went on up the hill, where the captain walked down to meet it.
The general frowned as he watched them go.
“Well, it was in the freezer,” Stafford said.
“Did you see the burns on Carson’s hands? It wasn’t in the freezer that long, Mr. Stafford. Yet it has frost on it now. Well, I’ve got a helo to catch.”
He nodded once, turned away, but then he stopped and turned around. “Mr. Stafford,” he said.
“Yes, General?”
“That girl. Jessamine, is it? She was terrified back there. When they went into the house to face Carson? That girl was white-faced, her knees were shaking, and she looked like she was about to throw up.” He paused and looked over at the house again. “If somebody did burn out Carson’s circuits, Mr. Stafford, I don’t believe it was that girl.” Then he turned away toward the waiting vehicles.
Stafford stared after him. The Blackhawk lifted off in a clatter of rotors, tilted forward, and then buzzed over the field, straining for altitude across the face of Howell Mountain, accompanied by the Cobra.
In a minute they were gone, and the silence in the field was profound.
Stafford looked over at the house, where Gwen Warren and Jessamine were waiting for him on the front steps. Even from this distance, he could make out those lustrous green eyes.