Honorable Enemies (1994) by Joe Weber Read Free Book Online

hand."
    "Not a bad place to spend your vacations."
    "No kidding," Callaway continued as the captain jockeyed the throttles forward and released the brakes. "Her aunt died three or four years ago and left Susan the home, so she lives there when she's in Honolulu."
    Steve nodded and looked out the window while the heavily laden jet accelerated to rotation speed, then lifted gracefully into the smoggy sky.
    Across the aisle, the rumpled Japanese passenger appeared to be absorbed in his Chicago Tribune. From his relaxed pretense, it wasn't apparent that his pulse was racing from the tidbits of information he had overheard.

    Chapter 5.
    WASHINGTON, D . C .
    The President, followed by his Secretary of State, Bud Tidwell, walked ramrod-straight into the renovated Oval Office and sat down behind his well-organized desk.
    The stark difference between weekday and weekend Washington was clearly evident this morning. The cars and buses that choked the avenues were in sharp contrast to the empty parking lots and deserted streets of the weekend. The working citizenry of the nation's capital were flooding into the heart of the metropolitan area from all their widely scattered suburban homes.
    "Okay," the portly Commander in Chief declared, "we've got to get a handle on this situation. The Japanese people need reassurances that we'll find and prosecute the person, or persons, responsible for attacking the tour boat at Pearl."
    Tidwell nodded his agreement.
    "By the same token," the President went on, "we expect them to show a sense of urgency in pursuing the sonsabitches who killed the retirees in Osaka. It's hard to believe that the Chukaku-Ha is still operating after they launched incendiary projectiles at the Imperial Palace and fired rocket bombs at the Narita Airport.
    "What kind of idiots run their police force?" the President blurted. "They should have cleaned out the terrorists years ago."
    Tidwell sat down in one of the three chairs that had been arranged in front of the cherrywood desk. The Japanese Ambassador and a special envoy, who normally dealt with the U . S . Ambassador to Japan and the Under Secretary of State, were waiting to meet with the President and his Secretary of State.
    The American Ambassador, who was considered a has-been figurehead by many members of the Administration, had suddenly fallen ill and was recuperating during an extended leave of absence.
    "I agree about taking a strong stance where the terrorist group is concerned," Tidwell replied in his usual confident tone, "but I would like to cover a few unrelated issues before we speak with the Ambassador."
    "This ongoing flap about the trade issues?" the President shot back with a disgusted look.
    "I'm afraid so," Tidwell lamented, "and the continuing plutonium shipments from France."
    Robert S. "Bud" Tidwell was a consummate statesman who believed in a no-nonsense approach when dealing with foreign governments. "We need to talk about those problems, and the information and telecommunications infringement on the previous agreements we signed."
    Tidwell removed his spectacles and allowed his shoulders to sag. "You've gotta know the lights in the Kasumigaseki district have been burning through the nights while their leaders are doing the same thing we're doing . . . debating the next steps to take in this latest standoff."
    "I'm sure you're right, Bud," the President said emphatically. "Both sides are eventually going to have to face these things head-on."
    He swiveled in his chair to look outside, then turned back to Tidwell. "However, the incidents at Pearl and Osaka have ripped open some deep wounds from the past, and the prevailing mood has the potential to set off a series of major international confrontations."
    "No question about it," Tidwell cautioned and took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "We're sitting on a giantpowder keg, and I think it's time we push for a summit."
    "Bud" the President smiled approvingly--"I was thinking the same thing.