Carnifex

11/8/469 AC, Chabolo, Pashtia

A military headquarters in a theater of war is rarely precisely quiet. The Coalition headquarters here, in the capital of Pashtia, rocked with fury.

Virgil Rivers was as angry as the three stars on his collar allowed and encouraged him to be. "How dare that bastard? How dare he present me this . . . this . . . . this fucking ultimatum."

"It's not an ultimatum, Virg," Ridenhour supplied calmly. Following his retirement from the FSA, he'd taken Carrera's shilling. "And please keep your voice down. It's an advisement. He has information that there will be a nuke or nukes at the Salafis' main base in Kashmir . . . today. He is acting on that. He is asking you to keep the Kashmir Air Force off his back while he does so. If you don't, and he and his force are destroyed, or the nuke gets away . . . on your head be it."

"John," Rivers answered, forcing himself to calm, "we both know that bastard and we both know it's an ultimatum . . . . a fucking order. To me. Doesn't the son of a bitch know he works for me?"

Ridenhour gave a meaningful smile before answering, "The 'son of a bitch' works for nobody but himself. You know that. He did advise me to tell you that a similar message is going to President Baraka in Kashmir, but that it will be delayed a few hours until the attack is well underway. That message will say this attack is with FSC authorization and support. Baraka's no fool, if he doesn't get reports that you have scrambled your own fighters for air cover, he'll draw the obvious conclusion."

"Why couldn't Pat have come to me with this sooner?"

"So you could buck it to Hamilton? So the Foreign Affairs pussies in Hamilton could press for a 'diplomatic solution?' So the nuke or nukes could get away? Be serious, Virg, he's doing exactly the right thing."

"And another thing," Rivers continued, "how the hell does he know this? I've had not a word."

Ridenhour sighed. "Virgil . . . you boys give us a lot of technical intelligence. How often is it both right and timely, hmmm? The Legion gives you a great deal of intel from . . . other . . . . sources. How often is it untimely or wrong?"

That was troubling. Indeed, everyone suspected the ways the Legion obtained its information. No one on the same side, however, was willing to ask because no one wanted to know. The progressives never asked anymore because they were already certain that they did know.

"Why is it," Rivers asked, throwing his hands in the air, "that every time he does 'the right thing' it tends to be really fucking inconvenient for everyone around him?"

"It's more than a trick, I've discovered, Virgil," Ridenhour answered. "It's a genuine knack."