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Authors: James Patrick Hunt
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commandos, Special Forces soldiers, and Navy SEALs. There were also a few ex-members of the British Special Air Service (SAS), the French Foreign Legion, and Chilean soldiers who had enforced martial law under Augusto Pinochet. Anders’s goal was to build a five-thousand-man army.
The media often sought out Anders for interviews. He rarely granted them. He did not like or trust reporters, even the so-called conservative ones. He believed most of them were defeatists or anti-American. His refusals to be interviewed sometimes led reporters to say things about him that he didn’t think were true. One journalist surmised that he was “trying to build the world’s most powerful mercenary army.” Another charged him with wanting to make Ghosthawk the “fifth column” of the United States armed forces—that is, army, navy, air force, Marine Corps, and Ghosthawk.
They don’t understand, Anders thought. He was no more a threat to the United States than UPS was to the U.S. Postal Service. His venture was capitalist, not imperialist. And he believed he would be the last person ever to betray his country.
Now he sat behind his desk in his house at his Tennessee compound and regarded his number two.
Anders said, “I just saw A. Lloyd two days ago.”
“I know,” Troy said. “But it’s been confirmed.”
“What happened?”
“According to the police, he went to see his girlfriend at an apartment. Before he got there, a man broke in and tied her up and locked her in the bathroom. Gelmers showed up about a half hour later. They had words. Gelmers went to the bathroom, ostensibly to check on the girl. She said he went back out and she heard a scuffle, then a shot. A muffled shot.”
“Which means the killer was probably using a silencer.”
“Yeah.”
“You think it was Reese?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
Kyle Anders sighed. He didn’t like to be called “sir.” He requested that Troy call him Kyle. He was funny about things like that. Anders didn’t like the word
sir
or the use of military ranks or even harsh language. He had no reservations about having lobbyists like A. Lloyd line up prostitutes for men as gifts of persuasion. Yet he personally disapproved of adultery and what he considered to be the coarsening of American culture.
“Don’t call me ‘sir,’” Anders said, “please. I think it was Reese, too. I wonder what A. Lloyd told him.”
“We can only guess. Kyle, I think this is my fault.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of the men who let him escape. They obviously underestimated him.”
“Do you blame them?” Troy said, “The man is fifty years old. We’ve got men in their mid-thirties trying to pass our physical-endurance tests and failing. And these are former Green Berets, not rent-a-cops.”
“You’re talking about physical endurance. But there are more important factors. Like the ability to read a situation. Adaptability. Resourcefulness.”
“You’re saying you’d take him on here?”
“No. I’m saying we underestimated our quarry. That’s why it’s more important than ever that he be eliminated.”
Troy said, “He doesn’t know about you. You weren’t on the screen when he went in.”
Anders was briefly taken aback. He was always sensitive to any suggestion that he had not been in combat, or a soldier of consequence. After a moment, he decided no offense had been intended and that the remark had been inadvertently directed to his youth.
Anders said, “But he will know about me in time. He’ll find out about our ties to Gelmers. And to Preston. So we’re presented with a difficult situation. We have to find him before he finds us.”
Troy said, “Maybe he won’t even try. Maybe he’s left the country by now.”
“No,” Anders said. “He’ll go after Preston. And when he does, we’ll be waiting for him.”
Later that evening, Anders placed a call to one of his contacts in the CIA. Over the past few years, Anders had paid this contact
The media often sought out Anders for interviews. He rarely granted them. He did not like or trust reporters, even the so-called conservative ones. He believed most of them were defeatists or anti-American. His refusals to be interviewed sometimes led reporters to say things about him that he didn’t think were true. One journalist surmised that he was “trying to build the world’s most powerful mercenary army.” Another charged him with wanting to make Ghosthawk the “fifth column” of the United States armed forces—that is, army, navy, air force, Marine Corps, and Ghosthawk.
They don’t understand, Anders thought. He was no more a threat to the United States than UPS was to the U.S. Postal Service. His venture was capitalist, not imperialist. And he believed he would be the last person ever to betray his country.
Now he sat behind his desk in his house at his Tennessee compound and regarded his number two.
Anders said, “I just saw A. Lloyd two days ago.”
“I know,” Troy said. “But it’s been confirmed.”
“What happened?”
“According to the police, he went to see his girlfriend at an apartment. Before he got there, a man broke in and tied her up and locked her in the bathroom. Gelmers showed up about a half hour later. They had words. Gelmers went to the bathroom, ostensibly to check on the girl. She said he went back out and she heard a scuffle, then a shot. A muffled shot.”
“Which means the killer was probably using a silencer.”
“Yeah.”
“You think it was Reese?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
Kyle Anders sighed. He didn’t like to be called “sir.” He requested that Troy call him Kyle. He was funny about things like that. Anders didn’t like the word
sir
or the use of military ranks or even harsh language. He had no reservations about having lobbyists like A. Lloyd line up prostitutes for men as gifts of persuasion. Yet he personally disapproved of adultery and what he considered to be the coarsening of American culture.
“Don’t call me ‘sir,’” Anders said, “please. I think it was Reese, too. I wonder what A. Lloyd told him.”
“We can only guess. Kyle, I think this is my fault.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s the fault of the men who let him escape. They obviously underestimated him.”
“Do you blame them?” Troy said, “The man is fifty years old. We’ve got men in their mid-thirties trying to pass our physical-endurance tests and failing. And these are former Green Berets, not rent-a-cops.”
“You’re talking about physical endurance. But there are more important factors. Like the ability to read a situation. Adaptability. Resourcefulness.”
“You’re saying you’d take him on here?”
“No. I’m saying we underestimated our quarry. That’s why it’s more important than ever that he be eliminated.”
Troy said, “He doesn’t know about you. You weren’t on the screen when he went in.”
Anders was briefly taken aback. He was always sensitive to any suggestion that he had not been in combat, or a soldier of consequence. After a moment, he decided no offense had been intended and that the remark had been inadvertently directed to his youth.
Anders said, “But he will know about me in time. He’ll find out about our ties to Gelmers. And to Preston. So we’re presented with a difficult situation. We have to find him before he finds us.”
Troy said, “Maybe he won’t even try. Maybe he’s left the country by now.”
“No,” Anders said. “He’ll go after Preston. And when he does, we’ll be waiting for him.”
Later that evening, Anders placed a call to one of his contacts in the CIA. Over the past few years, Anders had paid this contact
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