“Yeah, well, d’you ever read that story where they photographed the inside of a nuclear explosion?”

“Yeah, yeah, and they saw the face of Satan. It was cool. But they were looking in the wrong place. I’ve already seen the real Satan. His name is Pope, and he’s going to cut off your dick and use it as a swizzle stick if we’re late getting back for the test run.”

“You’re right. Of course you’re right. Just let me get this Snickers bar.”

ADMIRAL’S QUARTERS, USS HILLARY CLINTON, 1148 HOURS, 15 JANUARY 2021

Admiral Kolhammer’s cheeks ached from the effort of maintaining the anodyne grin he had fixed in place. A reasonable man, he kept repeating to himself. I am a reasonable man.

“You would have to agree though, wouldn’t you, Admiral . . .”

Kolhammer held up his hand. “No, I would not, Ms. Duffy.”

The reporter smiled as she sucked the end of her pencil. She wore dark, wine-colored lipstick, and it accentuated the disconcerting gesture. “You don’t even know what I was going to say,” she protested mildly.

“I’m just saving you time by pointing out that I don’t have to agree with whatever it is you’re about to say,” Kolhammer explained as equably as he could manage. Every time this woman confronted him, he felt as though he were trapped in a torture that never ended.

He was rarely able to enjoy the luxury suite that had been set aside for his quarters on the Clinton, and it irked him that this obnoxious woman was ruining the few minutes’ break he’d taken today. He should have listened to Lieutenant Thieu, his PR officer. If he’d given her a few minutes on the flag bridge, Duffy would have been floundering in his natural environment, surrounded by his people and overwhelmed by the pace of activity. In contrast, the admiral’s quarters were like a serviced apartment in an expensive hotel. No doubt she felt right at home here.

He resolved to be less generous in the future.

“Well,” she continued, oblivious to his chagrin, “it doesn’t take a master’s in international relations to see that sending a white man’s force to intervene in a religious civil war is a recipe for disaster. Regional governments like Malaysia may be desperate for the U.S. to deal with the Indonesian problem, but you would have to agree that they’d be reluctant to contribute their own forces. Especially since this action will be denounced throughout the Muslim world as another Christian crusade.”

Still Kolhammer managed to keep the mask of civility in place. Clearly this woman was no fool. She had obviously done her research, and her line of questioning wasn’t far from the hard truth he faced in trying to manage this first-rate clusterfuck of a mission.