Zero Option. Don Pendleton

a heartbeat.

      “If you’d feel more comfortable, I’ll hand it over,” Bolan said evenly.

      “That won’t be necessary, sir. Thanks for your cooperation.” The agent turned his gaze on Brognola. “Same concession goes for you, as well, Mr. Brognola. Would you both come this way.”

      The agents led the men to a thickly carpeted hallway that deadened the sound of their passing. They paused at the door to the Oval Office. One of the agents tapped on the door, which was opened by one of the White House staff members who spoke briefly to the agent before withdrawing. He reappeared moments later, beckoning to Bolan and Brognola.

      “The President is ready to see you.”

      Bolan let the big Fed step inside first, then followed close behind. The staff member retreated, closing the door behind him, leaving the men alone with the President of the United States.

      The Man came from behind his desk, holding out a hand to greet Brognola. The President’s jacket was draped over the back of his chair behind the desk and his sleeves were rolled partway up his arms.

      “Hal,” he said.

      “Sir.”

      The President turned his attention to the Executioner. It was a rare happening for the President to actually meet the man he was in the habit of sending out to do dangerous work on behalf of the nation. Before he even had words with Bolan, the President realized this was someone he could trust. The soldier had a presence, a quiet confidence that reached out and confirmed his devotion to country and duty. It was a rare thing, especially in the current climate of mistrust and deceit, and despite being hailed as the most powerful man in the world, the President found he felt safe being in the same room as Mack Bolan.

      “Glad you could make it, Striker,” the President said, holding out his hand.

      Bolan took it, feeling the firm grip of the President.

      “Did Hal fill you in with the details?”

      “No, sir,” Brognola interrupted. “I wanted this to come directly to him when the three of us were together.”

      “There’s fresh coffee over there. Help yourselves before we start.” The President crossed to the tray resting on a small table and poured himself a mug. “Anyone?”

      “Black for me,” Bolan said.

      “Nothing for me just now,” Brognola said.

      Bolan took the mug the President handed him. He waited until the Man had taken his place behind his desk, then settled himself in one of the comfortable chairs facing the desk. Brognola sat on his left.

      “Cards on the table, gentlemen,” the President said evenly. “We have a problem brewing and you, Striker, however you want to call it, seem to have become involved.” The President allowed himself a quick smile. “Not the first time that has happened, either.”

      “No, sir.”

      “Hal has given me the details of your involvement from the start, up to the present, so we don’t need to go through that again. I also understand that your people at Stony Man are working on material Striker brought back with him, Hal?”

      “Yes, sir, and we do have some feedback already,” Brognola said. “It’s a little early to give us definite connections, though.”

      “Cards on the table?” Bolan interrupted, leaning forward in his seat. He caught Brognola’s warning glance but chose to ignore it. “I’m picking up a feeling of urgency, so I’m going to play my hand.

      “From evidence I picked up in Nassau and the people who were waiting for me at the airport, we came up with two names. The man in charge of the team who took Jess Buchanan and attacked Jack Grimaldi is an ex-military man named Calvin Ryan. The other man is Paul Meeker. Meeker was part of Ryan’s special-ops team. Their commanding officer in the army was Colonel Orin Stengard, and Stengard is a known associate of—”

      “Senator Eric Stahl,” the President said. He glanced at Brognola. “Hal? What do you make of this?”

      “Right now they’re just names and tenuous connections, Mr. President.”

      “But in the context of what I’m about to explain to Striker, don’t you feel those connections are too strong to ignore?”

      “As we’re off the record and this goes no further, my personal feelings are that Stengard and Stahl are involved right up their necks, Mr. President. On past records concerning their political and personal views, I have to admit to being downright biased against them.”

      The President nodded. “That wasn’t too hard to say, was it, Hal?”

      Brognola glanced across at Bolan. “Happy now?”

      “Getting there.”

      The President placed his coffee mug on the desk. He looked directly at Bolan.

      “One thing Senator Stahl and I agree on is the defense of the United States. Where we part company is on the application of any defense system. Eric Stahl is a ‘shoot first, consider the implications after,’ kind of a man. I have no problem with having the best defense system available so that we can, as a nation, be in the position of having full protection in times of crisis. I do not see a defense system as a means of threatening and bullying other nations. That isn’t going to get us anywhere.

      “However, we live in parlous times. We moved into a new era in the wake of September 11. No doubt about that. The world has changed. We need to change with it. Peace, however defined, has to be worked at. It’s going to take a hell of a lot of talking, and in the meantime there are still going to be those states and groups, terrorists if you will, who refuse to take the quiet option. So, gentlemen, we need to be able to protect ourselves from the rogue states until such times come that allow us to step back from the firing line. We owe that to the people of the United States.

      “Three years ago a project was conceived and initiated by the U.S. The project is called the Zero Option. In simple terms Zero is a self-sustaining, orbiting weapons platform. Its purpose is to act as a defensive deterrent. Because of its capability no potential enemy of the United States would be able to launch anything against us. Once Zero detects a launch, it responds by targeting it with its own built-in missile system. The incoming missile would be destroyed while it was still in flight. Zero is equipped with detection and tracking capabilities of the highest specification. The system has been tried and tested. The tracking system is locked into the Slingshot satellite ring we put up earlier.”

      “We had a run-in with the Chinese and the North Koreans over that,” Brognola said.

      “Some run-in,” Bolan commented. “From the way you’re talking about Zero, Mr. President, I’m guessing this orbiting platform is up and running.”

      “Construction and final interior equipping was completed six months ago. There was a great deal to do. You have to appreciate the sophistication of the interior systems. Once all that had been given the all-clear Zero came partially online. A secondary function of Zero is information gathering and transmitting to our Earth command station. Coupled with Slingshot, Zero can pinpoint any known location, listen and see what’s going on. That part of the Zero platform is already operating. We have, in essence, the best observation station in existence.”

      “That isn’t the whole story, sir?”

      The President glanced in Bolan’s direction. “No. Zero’s primary function is still on hold. And it will be until the final piece of the puzzle is in place. That brings me to why you’re here. But first I have to explain the way Zero will be controlled. A somewhat unique way.”

      “To do with Doug Buchanan?”

      “Doug Buchanan will be Zero’s guiding hand and decision maker. The platform can perform its mechanical functions, yes, but every one of those operations requires a command decision initiated by human intelligence. An intelligence that can assess the parameters and reach a decision based