Read Online Empire by Orson Scott Card - Free Book Online

being at Hain’s Point,” said Coleman. “That was just a bonus for them.”
    â€œThe question is, do I go public about the plans I submitted, so the FBI can start trying to trace the leak?”
    â€œLove those headlines: ‘Presidential Assassination Planned in Pentagon,’ ” said Coleman.
    â€œOr do I sit tight and let the Pentagon quietly set me up as the scapegoat?”
    â€œEither way, your career is over,” said Coleman. “Sir.”
    â€œYou sure lucked out with
this
assignment,” said Reuben.
    â€œHell of a first day on the job, sir,” said Coleman.
    Then it was time to stop pretending this wasn’t tearing them up.
    â€œWe’ve been under fire together,” said Reuben. “My friends call me Rube.” He knew that Coleman probably wouldn’t be able to bring himself to use the nickname. Not with a superior officer.
    â€œMy friends call me Cole.”
    The lieutenant coughed. “Sirs, I’m being asked to bring you in for debriefing. I believe those are your bullets in the bodies down there, right?”
    â€œWell, technically not our bullets,” said Reuben. “They were borrowed weapons.” He was still in the black humor of combat.
    So was Cole. “We did aim the weapons from which they were fired, and we did pull the triggers.”
    â€œAre they all dead?” asked Reuben. “We were under pressure and moving, and I’m afraid we probably shot to kill.”
    â€œThey were strung with grenades,” said the lieutenant. “They weren’t going to be taken alive.”
    â€œLucky thing we didn’t hit any of the grenades,” said Cole, “or there’d be no body left to identify.”
    There was the unmistakable sound of several grenades going off in series down by the Tidal Pool.
    â€œBastards!” shouted the lieutenant. Then he ran down the hill toward the chaos of mangled bodies and screaming survivors.
    â€œThey booby-trapped themselves,” said Reuben, sick at heart. “Apparently killing the President wasn’t enough.”
    â€œYou didn’t plan all of this,” said Cole. “You couldn’t have planned for a White House insider.”
    â€œBut I did,” said Reuben. “I said they either had to have a devastatingly powerful weapon, or reliable intelligence—not only about whether the President was in residence, but also exactly where he was inside the building.”
    â€œYes, but putting that in the plan doesn’t give them the resources,” said Cole. “They can’t just magically say, Alakazam, and they’ve got a White House source.”
    But there
was
a guy in the White House who knew all about Reuben and his projects. “I thought I was on two different assignments,” said Reuben. “One from my day job at the Pentagon, one from my White House guy.”
    â€œShit,” said Cole. “They were working you from both ends.”

FIVE
WRECKAGE
    If you wait to take action until you are certain of the enemy’s position, strength, and intentions, you will never act. Yet to act without knowledge is to plunge forward into a trap (if your enemy is aggressive) or waste your strength on meaningless maneuvers (if your enemy chooses to avoid you).
    â€œWhile the lieutenant is busy, I have an errand to run,” said Major Malich. “You can come with me or not.”
    â€œDo I get to know where?” asked Cole. And because he thought that made him sound like a little kid on a car trip, he added, “I promise not to ask if we’re there yet.” Then he winced. This wasn’t the time for attempts at ingratiating humor. He wished he knew Major Malich better. They’d just been in a firefight together, but Cole still had to worry about what impression he was making.
    Malich turned away from him. “They’re going to want to debrief me. That will tie me up for about a week, and