“ARE THEY CLEAR?” With elbows resting on the hand-tooled leather surface of his mahogany desk in a room the size of most houses, the man listened through the crackling. “American troops? Inside? How do you know?” He absorbed the answer and glanced at the colorful Chinese wood panels and his eclectic collection of antiques. “If they weren"t close, how could they know they were Americans?” He was growing red. “The Eledorians are still denying involvement. That will work.” He tapped his fingers hard enough to imprint the leather desk pad. “Get them out.”
ARE THEY CLEAR?For a moment, he contemplated the importance of his next call. “There were American troops. I don"t know where they came from. A few of our men were killed. We didn"t change anything.”
“Nonsense. Don"t worry about the dead. W
