Quest for Honor by David Tindell Read Free Book Online Page B

and skill of his sailors, the hand-picked crews of the two ships, to bring the mission to a successful conclusion. Of course there were others on board, the security troops from Quds Force and the technicians in charge of the weapons, but they would be little more than passengers until the ships reached their destinations. It was the Navy’s job to get them there. The general said a quick prayer for the admiral and his brave men.
    He prayed for their success, and the success of the other men on board, for if they failed, it could mean the end of everything…for the general, his family, his country.
    Everything would be riding on PERSIAN METEOR.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Wisconsin
    A nnie was pretty quiet on the drive from the air show back to her place, giving him time to think about what had happened at the gate. The rush of the confrontation was wearing off now, and so was the thrill of seeing the protestor’s eyes go wide with surprise and pain. It was a good thing the cop had come by to break it up when he had, or the guy might’ve gotten seriously hurt. Yeah, that clown had started it, with his insults and taunts and his damn finger poking Jim in the chest, but still…
    When they came to a stop in her driveway, she said, “I could whip up some dinner, if you’re interested.”
    “Sure.” He’d just assumed they’d be coming back here anyway, having dinner and then spending the night together again, as had been their routine on Saturdays for the past few months. They alternated between her place and his, although if truth were to be told, he preferred her place out here in the country to his little house in town, and once or twice—well, okay, more often lately—he’d wondered if he might someday be asked to move out here permanently, and if he’d accept the invitation.
    One thing about Annie he definitely liked was her cooking, and even something quick and simple turned out to be quite good. He helped out by making the salads while she busied herself with the main course, a chili macaroni dish recipe she’d seen in his latest issue of Men’s Health. She talked a little bit, too, but it was small talk, about their kids mostly. Nothing about the air show, or what had happened at the gate.
    “Very good,” he said when he put his fork down after the last bite. “More wine?”
    “Sure,” she said, and he poured her half a glass of the Riesling, leaving enough for him to have about a half-glass himself. She’d put away a couple already, and that was unusual. Annie didn’t drink very much and usually had a one-glass limit on wine.
    “Listen, about what happened…”
    “You didn’t have to break the guy’s finger, Jim,” she said, with a flash of those eyes that he knew could very well mean trouble.
    “I didn’t break it,” he said. “Dislocated, maybe, but it wasn’t broken.”
    “He could press charges, you know.”
    “I doubt that. The cop was right there and he didn’t take my name. He saw the guy do what he did. He started it, after all. I just finished it.” Jim felt himself getting defensive, but he didn’t care. Sometimes Annie liked to push people’s buttons, and that was one thing he didn’t like about her. Then again, she was more right than wrong about this one, wasn’t she?
    “You could’ve walked away. Right from the start. Just ignored him.”
    “The guy insulted my brother, he insulted me, and he insulted the United States Army.”
    “Just words, Jim.”
    He set the wine glass down with a little more force than he needed to. “No, not just words. There’s a lot more to it than that. Those characters come out to events like that air show and wave their idiot signs and call people criminals and nobody ever calls them on it, then they go back to their cocktail parties and brag about how tough they are. They have no idea what toughness really is. Well, now there’s one guy who found out.”
    “Yeah, you showed him, Mr. Tough Guy. Did it feel good?”
    Jim remembered the man