Page 97 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

Tanya and Paz got out of the car to watch the crate being off-loaded from the truck, again under floodlights. "We did it," said Paz in a tone of satisfaction. "We now have nuclear weapons." He took out a cigar and lit it.

Sounding a note of caution, Tanya said: "How long will it take to deploy them?"

"Not long," he said dismissively. "A couple of weeks."

He was not in the mood to think about problems, but to Tanya the task looked as if it might take more than two weeks. The valley was a dusty construction site where little had so far been achieved. All the same, Paz was right: they had done the hard part, which was bringing nuclear weapons into Cuba without the Americans finding out.

"Look at that baby," Paz said. "One day it could land in the middle of Miami. Bang."

Tanya shuddered at the thought. "I hope not."

"Why?"

Did he really need to be told? "These weapons are meant to be a threat. They're supposed to make the Americans afraid to invade Cuba. If ever they are used, they will have failed."

"Perhaps," he said. "But if they do attack us, we will be able to wipe out entire American cities."

Tanya was unnerved by the evident relish with which he contemplated this dreadful prospect. "What good would that do?"

He seemed surprised by the question. "It will maintain the pride of the Cuban nation." He uttered the Spanish word dignidad as if it were sacred.

She could hardly believe what she was hearing. "So you would start a nuclear war for the sake of your pride?"

"Of course. What could be more important?"

Indignantly she said: "The survival of the human race, for one thing!"

He waved his lighted cigar in a dismissive gesture. "You worry about the human race," he said. "My concern is my honor."

"Shit," said Tanya. "Are you mad?"

Paz looked at her. "President Kennedy is prepared to use nuclear weapons if the United States is attacked," he said. "Secretary Khrushchev will use them if the Soviet Union is attacked. The same for De Gaulle of France and whoever is the leader of Great Britain. If one of them said anything different he would be deposed within hours." He drew on his cigar, making the end glow red, then blew out smoke. "If I'm mad," he said, "they all are."

*

George Jakes did not know what the emergency was. Bobby Kennedy summoned him and Dennis Wilson to a crisis meeting in the White House on the morning of Tuesday, October 16. His best guess was that the subject would be on the front page of today's New York Times, with the headline:

Eisenhower Calls President Weak on Foreign Policy

The unwritten rule was that ex-presidents did not attack their successors. However, George was not surprised that Eisenhower had flouted the convention. Jack Kennedy had won by calling Eisenhower weak and inventing a nonexistent "missile gap" in the Soviets' favor. Clearly Ike was still hurting from this punch below the belt. Now that Kennedy was vulnerable to a similar charge, Eisenhower was getting his revenge--exactly three weeks before the midterm elections.

The other possibility was worse. George's great fear was that Operation Mongoose might have leaked. The revelation that the president and his brother were organizing international terrorism would be ammunition for every Republican candidate. They would say the Kennedys were criminals for doing it and fools for letting the secret out. And what reprisals might Khrushchev dream up?

George could see that his boss was furious. Bobby was not good at hiding his feelings. Rage showed in the set of his jaw and the hunch of his shoulders and the arctic blast of his blue-eyed gaze.

George liked Bobby for the openness of his emotions. People who worked with Bobby saw into his heart, frequently. It made him more vulnerable but also more lovable.

When they walked into the Cabinet Room, President Kennedy was already there. He sat on the other side of the long table, on which were several large ashtrays. He was in the center, with the presidential seal on the wall above and behind him. Either side of the seal, tall arched windows looked out onto the Rose Garden.

With him was a little girl in a white dress who was obviously his daughter, Caroline, not quite five years old. She had short light-brown hair parted at the side--like her father's--and held back with a simple clip. She was speaking to him, solemnly explaining something, and he was listening raptly, as if her words were as vital as anything else said in this room of power. George was profoundly struck by the intensity of the connection between parent and child. If ever I have a daughter, he thought, I will listen like that, so that she will know she is the most important person in the world.

The aides took their seats against the wall. George sat next to Skip Dickerson, who worked for Vice President Lyndon Johnson. Skip had very fair straight hair and pale skin, almost like an albino. He pushed his blond forelock out of his eyes and spoke in a Southern accent. "Any idea where the fire is?"

"Bobby isn't saying," George replied.

A woman George did not know came into the room and took Caroline away. "The CIA has some news for us," the president said. "Let's begin."

At one end of the room, in front of the fireplace, stood an easel displaying a large monochrome photograph. The man standing next to it introduced himself as an expert photointerpreter. George had not known that such a profession existed. "The pictures you are about to see were taken on Sunday by a high-altitude U-2 aircraft of the CIA flying over Cuba."

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