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Chapters (53)
  1. BALANCE OF POWER
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About The Creators
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY

It was all very necessary. Hood knew, but only in terms of posturing-like the United Nations itself. The real work was going to be done over the next few hours as they tried to figure out whether Amadori was behind the unrest. And, if so, how far he had gone in undermining the government. If he hadn't gone too far, U.S. intelligence and the military would have to work with Spanish leaders to figure out how to stop him. That would be difficult to do quietly, but it could be done. There were templates for that kind of containment in Haiti, Panama, and other nations.

But it was the alternative that concerned Hood. The possibility that, like a cancer, Amadori's influence had spread far into the workings of the nation. If that were the case, then it might not be possible to remove the general without killing the patient. The only model for that was the collapse of Yugoslavia, a struggle in which thousands of people died and the sociopolitical and economic ramifications were still being felt.

Spain had nearly four times the population of Yugoslavia. It also had friends and enemies in neighboring nations. If Spain came apart the unrest could easily spread throughout Europe. The breakup could also set an example for other melting-pot nations such as France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Perhaps even the United States.

The call ended with an agreement that the Secretary-General's staff would provide hourly updates to the White House, and that Burkow would inform Manni of any changes in administration policy.

Hood hung up the phone feeling more helpless than he had since he'd first joined Op-Center. He'd had missions go right and missions go wrong. His team had thwarted terrorists and coups. But he'd never faced a situation that threatened to set the tone for a new century: the idea that fragmentation was the norm rather than the exception and that nations as the world knew them could very well be on the brink of extinction.

TWENTY

Tuesday, 4:45 a.m.

Madrid, Spain

Word of Adolfo Alcazar's brutal death traveled quickly from María Corneja to Luis García de la Vega to Darrell McCaskey. As he was required to do by law, Luis conveyed news of the homicide to the Ministry of Justice in Madrid. There, a high-ranking officer on the night staff quietly passed the information to General Amadori's longtime personal aide, Antonio Aguirre. Aguirre-a former staff officer to Francisco Franco-personally went to the General's office, knocked once on the door, and waited until he was invited in. Then he gave the news to the General himself.