"You want me to WHAT?" Jack demanded, outraged.
Jack had now been with him for 4 months. Sloane had decided it was time for a small test. He smiled thinly. "You heard me, Jack. I need a maximum effect terrorist event on US soil. I need to divert the US authorities for a little while."
"Anything particular you had in mind?" asked Jack, his voice arctic.
"You're in charge of tactics. But I need your answer in a week and I would think civilian body count would figure prominently in your calculations."
"And if I refuse?"
"Leave anytime you want, Jack," said Arvin, waving his hand dismissively. "Just make sure you take Sydney with you."
Sloane watched as Jack stalked angrily out of the room. He suspected he knew where Jack was heading.
**
Jack stood by Sydney's bedside, holding her hand disconsolately. The long flight to Hong Kong had been one steady internal battle, and Jack was weary. He had raged against fate, raged against the choices he had made in his life that now placed him in this position. He wanted to talk to Sydney, to explain, but he knew that even if she were conscious she wouldn't understand.
Mockingly he recalled the old joke about a man and a woman at a party.
Man: "Madam, would you sleep with me for a million dollars?"
Woman: "Why, yes, sir!"
Man: "Madam, would you sleep with me for a dollar?"
Woman, offended: "I am not a whore, sir!"
Man: "We have already established what you are, madam. We are just negotiating the price."
Sloane had established what he was. What was his price? Jack wondered bitterly.
**
Jack walked back into Sloane's office one week later and slapped a file onto his desk. "Here's your strategy. Maximum effect," he said coldly.
Sloane watched Jack closely. His face gave nothing away, but the tightness of his jaw suggested how much effort it was taking for him to maintain control. Sloane picked up the file and began to review it. His eyebrows shot up. "A nuclear plant?"
"Indian Point, NY. 20 million people within a 50 mile radius," Jack said tersely. "A minor incident there would create wide-spread panic on the Eastern Seaboard."
"Not exactly a soft target," mused Sloane considering. "Security there would be Level One."
Jack shrugged. "But penetrable. It's all there. It would work. And certainly divert US authorities."
Sloane flipped through the file. It was indeed all there. Estimated civilian casualties – 5000. He could hardly contain his glee. He had no intention of using it, of course. Even he had his limits. But that Jack had provided it – there was no question about it, Sloane thought to himself. Jack was in all the way.
Sloane looked back up at Jack. "Good work, Jack. But our priorities have shifted. We no longer need this diversion." He passed the file back. "Maybe another time."
Back in his office, Jack slumped into his chair in relief. The bluff had worked. Even Sloane had limits. It must have been a test. Carefully he shredded the Indian Point file.
Then, with shaking hands, he unlocked his bottom drawer and pulled out the file that he had truly dreaded giving Sloane, the backup in case Sloane had called his bluff. Explosion at a shopping mall in suburban Los Angeles. Estimated casualties – 85. Hastily he crammed that file, too, into the shredder, then put his head in his hands.