The Project 01 - White Jade

nothing? "
    " Are we done, Nick? "
    " Yes, but… "
    Selena turned and walked out. The door to the range slammed behind her.
    He tried to figure out why she was angry. She ' d done fine with the pistol and the MP-5. She ' d put fifteen rounds of .45 armor piercing right in the center of a man sized silhouette and never flinched. She ' d picked up the tricks of the MP-5 in record time and had cheerfully chopped those silhouettes into confetti, so what was so different about grenades?
    He thought about it. A grenade compromises our humanity. It 's a symbol of all the forces that make us turn our backs on what Abe Lincoln called the better angels of our nature . All packed up in a nice, olive green package . Selena hadn't been trained to kill, as he'd been. She hadn't learned to set civilization and conscience aside because self-preservation and accomplishing the mission demanded it.
    You thr ew a grenade, everything within a fifty foot radius was DOA. A grenade was indiscriminate . It wasn't like a pistol. With a pistol, there was an illusion of control, targeting a specific threat.
    Carter thought about that kid in Afghanistan , who couldn't possibly understand what he was doing . What could be more evil then grenades in the hands of children? How could anyone think God wanted that?
    The afternoon had turned into a black hole. He began stripping the weapons to clean them. Ronnie walked in.
    " What ' s with Selena? "
    " What do you mean? "
    " She just went by without a word, looking pissed. You have an argument or something? "
    " I wouldn ' t call it that. "
    " How did she do with the we a pons ? "
    " She did well. If we get into something, I think she ' d hit what she was shooting at. She didn ' t like grenades much. "
    " You think she should come along? It could get pretty hairy out there. "
    " You don ' t think she should go? "
    " She's a woman and she's a civilian. She's not combat trained. She could get herself or us killed if we run into opposition."
    " We need her. Without her we might not be able to figure out how to get into that complex. She's been under fire twice and she didn't lose it. Selena can take care of herself. "
    " Yeah, but she ' s never done anything like this. If we have any trouble she could be a real liability. "
    " I guess we ' ll have to make sure that doesn ' t happen. "
    " You going to be able to keep your feelings for her out of this? "
    " Don ' t go there. You know me better than that. "
    Ronnie rolled his eyes at the ceiling, took a breath. They began cleaning the guns in silence.
    After a while, Carter said, " How you coming on the logistics? "
    " All set. I ' ve got us a vehicle and everything we need. We ' ll transport to Dyess from Andrews , transfer over and be on our way as soon as Harker gives the word. "
    " Going to be an interesting trip. "
    " Roger that, buddy. I always wanted to see Tibet . "
    Carter found Selena upstairs. They walked out to the parking lot and got into her rented car. The ride back to the apartment was silent. One look at her told him he'd better not push it.

Chapter T hirty

    Back in the apartment she disappeared into the bathroom . Carter heard her running a bath. He poured himself a double Jameson's and sat down. His land line rang.
    " It ' s Shelley, Nick. "
    His sister only call ed when there was a problem or she want ed something.
    " We need to talk about Mom. "
    " How ' s she doing? "
    " She almost set the place on fire yesterday. I went over there and she ' d left the soup on the stove and forgotten about it. The pan was burned through, the kitchen was full of smoke and she was sitting in the living room watching TV. She hadn ' t a clue. "
    " I thought those new drugs were helping. "
    " Those drugs are a rip off, that ' s what I think. Two hundred and fifty bucks a month and you get burned soup. George says it ' s a crime, you can ' t even deduct it. "
    " The soup or the drugs? "
    " Oh, that ' s real funny, Nick. You ' re not the one who has to clean up after her. "
    She started in about his general anti-social tendencies and lack of family responsibility. Never mind the money he sent to help out. Never mind the times he'd flown out to be with his mother and see if there was something he could do. Never mind that he cared about his mother more than Shelley did, in spite of her self-righteous indignation. He ' d heard it all before.
    He cut her off. " What do you want, Shel? "
    " Want? " She was getting angry, like most of the times they talk ed . "