Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgements
ONE - Monday, 4:55 P.M. Madrid, Spain
TWO - Monday, 12:12 P.M. Washington, D.C.
THREE - Monday, 6:45 P.M San Sebastian, Spain
FOUR - Monday, 7.15 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FIVE - Monday, 8:21 P.M. San Sebastian, Spain
SIX - Monday, 1:44 P.M. Washington, D.C.
SEVEN - Monday, 10:56 P.M. San Sebastian, Spain
EIGHT - Monday, 4:22 P.M. Washington, D.C.
NINE - Monday, 11:30 P.M. Madrid, Spain
TEN - Tuesday, 12:04 A.M. Madrid, Spain
ELEVEN - Tuesday, 12:07 A.M. San Sebastian, Spain
TWELVE - Monday, 5:09 P.M. Washington, D.C.
THIRTEEN - Tuesday, 12:24 A.M. Madrid, Spain
FOURTEEN - Tuesday, 2:00 A.M. Madrid, Spain
FIFTEEN - Tuesday, 2:55 A.M. San Sebastian, Spain
SIXTEEN - Monday, 8:15 P.M. Washington, D.C.
SEVENTEEN - Tuesday, 3:27 A.M. San Sebastian, Spain
EIGHTEEN - Tuesday, 4:19 A.M. San Sebastian, Spain
NINETEEN - Monday, 9:21 P.M. Washington, D.C.
TWENTY - Tuesday, 4:45 A.M. Madrid, Spain
TWENTY-ONE - Tuesday, 5:01 A.M. San Sebastian, Spain
TWENTY-TWO - Tuesday, 5:43 A.M. Madrid, Spain
TWENTY-THREE - Monday, 10:45 P.M. Washington, D.C.
TWENTY-FOUR - Tuesday, 6:50 A.M. San Sebastian, Spain
TWENTY-FIVE - Tuesday, 8:06 A.M. Madrid, Spain
TWENTY-SIX - Tuesday, 8:11 A.M. Zaragoza, Spain
TWENTY-SEVEN - Tuesday, 1:35 A.M. Washington, D.C.
TWENTY-EIGHT - Tuesday, 8:36 A.M. Madrid, Spain
TWENTY-NINE - Tuesday, 9:03 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY - Tuesday, 9:45 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-ONE - Tuesday, 10:20 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-TWO - Tuesday, 4:30 A.M. Washington, D.C.
THIRTY-THREE - Tuesday, 10:32 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-FOUR - Tuesday, 10:46 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-FIVE - Tuesday, 11:08 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-SIX - Tuesday, 11:11 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-SEVEN - Tuesday, 11:19 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-EIGHT - Tuesday, 11:23 A.M. Madrid, Spain
THIRTY-NINE - Tuesday, 5:27 A.M. Washington, D.C.
FORTY - Tuesday, 5:49 A.M. Old Saybrook, Connecticut
FORTY-ONE - Tuesday, 11:50 A.M. Madrid, Spain
FORTY-TWO - Tuesday, 12:06 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FORTY-THREE - Tuesday, 12:12 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FORTY-FOUR - Tuesday, 12:17 P.M. Madrid. Spain
FORTY-FIVE - Tuesday, 12:21 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FORTY-SIX - Tuesday, 12:24 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FORTY-SEVEN - Tuesday, 12:35 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FORTY-EIGHT - Tuesday, 6:50 A.M. Washington, D.C.
FORTY-NINE - Tuesday, 12:57 P.M. Madrid, Spain
FIFTY - Tuesday, 7:20 A.M. Washington, D.C.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
THE BESTSELLING NOVELS OF
Tom Clancy
President Jack Ryan faces a world crisis unlike any he has ever known....
"INTOXICATING ... A JUGGERNAUT."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
RAINBOW SIX
Clancy's shocking story of international terrorism--closer to reality than any government would care to admit...
"GRIPPING ... BOLT-ACTION MAYHEM."
--People
EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Jack Ryan has always been a soldier. Now he's giving the orders.
"AN ENORMOUS, ACTION-PACKED, HEAT-SEEKING MISSILE OF A TOM CLANCY NOVEL."
--The Seattle Times
DEBT OF HONOR
It begins with the murder of an American woman in the back streets of Tokyo. It ends in war....
"A SHOCKER." --Entertainment Weekly
THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER
The smash bestseller that launched Clancy's career--the incredible search for a Soviet defector and the nuclear submarine he commands...
"BREATHLESSLY EXCITING!" --The Washington Post
RED STORM RISING
The ultimate scenario for World War III--the final battle for global control...
"THE ULTIMATE WAR GAME... BRILLIANT!"
--Newsweek
PATRIOT GAMES
CIA analyst Jack Ryan stops an assassination--and incurs the wrath of Irish terrorists....
"A HIGH PITCH OF EXCITEMENT!"
--The Wall Street Journal
THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN
The superpowers race for the ultimate Star Wars missile defense system....
"CARDINAL EXCITES, ILLUMINATES... A REAL PAGE-TURNER!"--Los Angeles Daily News
CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER
The killing of three U.S. officials in Colombia ignites the American government's explosive, and top secret, response....
"A CRACKLING GOOD YARN!" --The Washington Post
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS
The disappearance of an Israeli nuclear weapon threatens the balance of power in the Middle East--and around the world....
"CLANCY AT HIS BEST... NOT TO BE MISSED!"
--The Dallas Morning News
WITHOUT REMORSE
The Clancy epic fans have been waiting for. His code name is Mr. Clark. And his work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded, and efficient... but who is he really?
"HIGHLY ENTERTAINING!" --The Wall Street Journal
NOVELS BY TOM CLANCY
The Hunt for Red October
Red Storm Rising
Patriot Games
The Cardinal of the Kremlin
Clear and Present Danger
The Sum of All Fears
Without Remorse
Debt of Honor
Executive Orders
Rainbow Six
The Bear and the Dragon
Red Rabbit
The Teeth of the Tiger
SSN: Strategies of Submarine Warfare
NONFICTION
Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship
Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment
Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing
Marine : A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit
Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force
Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier
Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces
Into the Storm: A Study in Command
(written with General Fred Franks, Jr., Ret.)
Every Man a Tiger (written with General Charles Horner, Ret.)
Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces
(written with General Carl Stiner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)
CREATED BY TOM CLANCY
Splinter Cell
CREATED BY TOM CLANCY AND STEVE PIECZENIK
Tom Clancy's Op-Center
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Mirror Image
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Games of State
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Acts of War
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Balance of Power
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: State of Siege
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Divide and Conquer
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Line of Control
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Mission of Honor
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Sea of Fire
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: Call to Treason
Tom Clancy's Op-Center: War of Eagles
Tom Clancy's Net Force
Tom Clancy's Net Force: Hidden Agendas
Tom Clancy's Ne
t Force: Night Moves
Tom Clancy's Net Force: Breaking Point
Tom Clancy's Net Force: Point of Impact
Tom Clancy's Net Force: CyberNation
Tom Clancy's Net Force: State of War
Tom Clancy's Net Force: Changing of the Guard
Tom Clancy's Net Force: Springboard
CREATED BY TOM CLANCY AND MARTIN GREENBERG
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Politika
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: ruthless.com
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Shadow Watch
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Bio-Strike
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Cold War
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Cutting Edge
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Zero Hour
Tom Clancy's Power Plays: Wild Card
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either
are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and
any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
TOM CLANCY'S OP-CENTERTM: BALANCE OF POWER
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with
Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and S&R Literary, Inc.
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley edition / May 1998
Copyright(c) 1998 by Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and S&R Literary, Inc.
Op-CenterTM is a trademark of Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and S&R
Literary, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission.
For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eISBN : 978-1-101-00364-0
BERKLEY(r)
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY and the "B" design
are trademarks belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.
http://us.penguingroup.com
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Jeff Rovin for his creative ideas and his invaluable contributions to the preparation of the manuscript. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Martin H. Greenberg, Larry Segriff, Robert Youdelman, Esq., Tom Mallon, Esq., and the wonderful people at The Putnam Berkley Group, including Phyllis Grann, David Shanks, and Elizabeth Beier. As always, we would like to thank Robert Gottlieb of The William Morris Agency, our agent and friend, without whom this book would never have been conceived. But most important, it is for you, our readers, to determine how successful our collective endeavor has been.
--Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik
ONE
Monday, 4:55 P.M. Madrid, Spain
"You were way out of line," Martha Mackall said. She was openly disgusted with the young woman standing beside her and it took a moment for her to calm down. Then she bent close to Aideen's ear so the other passengers wouldn't hear. "You were out of line and reckless. You know what's at stake here. To be distracted like that is inexcusable."
The statuesque Martha and her slight assistant, Aideen Marley were holding a pole in the aisle near the front door of the bus. Aideen's full, round cheeks nearly as red as her long hair, she tore absently at the moist towelette she clutched in her right hand.
"Do you disagree?" Martha asked.
"No," Aideen said.
"I mean, good lord!"
"I said no," Aideen repeated. "I don't disagree. I was wrong. Totally and completely wrong."
Aideen believed it, too. She had behaved impulsively in a situation that she probably should have ignored. But like Aideen's own overreaction a few minutes before, this dressing-down from Martha was excessive and punitive. In the two months since Aideen had joined Op-Center's Political and Economics Office, she'd been warned more than once by the other three staff members to avoid crossing the boss.
Now she saw why.
"I don't know what you needed to prove," Martha went on. She was still bent close to Aideen. There was anger in her clipped tone. "But 1 never want you doing it again. Not when you're touring with me. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Aideen said contritely. God, she thought, enough already. Aideen had a flashback to a brain-washing seminar she'd once attended at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City. The prisoners were always dunned by their captors when they were at their weakest emotionally. Guilt was an especially effective doorway. She wondered if Martha had studied the technique or came by it naturally.
And almost at once, Aideen wondered if she were being fair to her boss. After all, this was their first mission together for Op-Center. And it was an important one.
Martha finally looked away--but only for a moment. "It's unbelievable," she said, turning back. Her voice was just loud enough to be heard over the powerful engine. "Tell me something. Did it ever occur to you that we might have been detained by the police? How would we have explained that to our Uncle Miguel?"
Uncle Miguel was the code name for the man they were here to see, Deputy Isidro Serrador. Until the women arrived for their meeting at the Congreso de los Diputados, the Congress of Deputies, that was how they were supposed to refer to him.
"Detained by the police for what?" Aideen asked. "Frankly, no. That did not occur to me. We were simply protecting ourselves."
"Protecting ourselves?" Martha asked.
Aideen looked at her. "Yes."
"From whom?"
"What do you mean?" Aideen asked. "Those men--"
"Those Spanish men," Martha said, still bent close to Aideen. "It would have been our word against theirs. Two American women crying harassment to policemen who probably do their own share of harassing. The policia would have laughed at us."
Aideen shook her head. "I can't believe it would have gone that far."
"I see," Martha said. "You know that for sure. You can guarantee it wouldn't have."
"No, I can't," Aideen admitted. "But even so, at least the situation would have been--"
"What?" Martha asked. "Ended? What would you have done if we'd been arrested?"
Aideen looked out the window as the stores and hotels of Madrid's commercial center passed by. She'd recently partaken in one of Op-Center's computerized WaSPs--War Simulation Projects--a mandatory exercise for members of the diplomatic staff. It gave them a feeling for what their colleagues had to endure if diplomacy failed. Casualties greater than the mind could process. That exercise was easier than this one.
"If we'd been arrested," Aideen said, "I would have apologized. What else could I have done?"
"Not a thing," Martha said, "which is exactly my point--though it's a little late to be thinking about it."
"You know what?" said Aideen. "You're right. You're right!" She looked back at Martha. "It's too late. So what I'd like to do now is apologize to you and put this behind us."
"I'm sure you would," Martha replied, "but that's not my style. When I'm unhappy, I let it out."
And out and out, Aideen thought.
"And when I get real unhappy," Martha added, "I shut you out. I can't afford charity."
Aideen didn't agree with that policy of excommunication. You build a good team, you fight hard to keep it; a wise and effective manager understands that passion needs to be nurtured and channeled, not crushed. But this was a side of Martha she'd simply have to get used to. As Op-Center's Deputy Director, General Mike Rodgers, had put it when he hired her, Every job has politics. They just happen to be more pronounced in politics. He went on to point out that in every profession, people have agendas. Often, only dozens or hundreds of people are affected by those agendas. In politics, the ramifications from even tiny ripples are incalculable. And there was only one way to fight that.
Aideen had asked him how.
Rodgers's answer had been simple. With a better agenda.
Aideen was too annoyed to contemplate what Martha's agenda was right now. That was a popular topic of discussion at Op-Center. People were divided as to whether the Political and Economics Liaison worked hard doing what was best for the nation or for Martha Mackall. The truth, most felt, was that she was looking out for both.
Aideen looked around the bus. She could tell that some of the people gathered around her were also unhappy, though that had very little to do with what was going on between the young woman and Martha. The bus was packed with people returning to work after the afternoon lunch break--which lasted from one o'clock to four--as well as camera-carrying tourists. A number of them had seen what the young woman had done at the bus stop. Word had spread very rapidly. The riders nearest Aideen were pressing away from her. A few of them cast disapproving glances at the young woman's hands.
Martha remained silent as the brakes ground noisily. The large red bus stopped on Calle Fernanflor and the two women got off quickly. Dressed as tourists in jeans and windbreakers, and carrying backpacks and cameras, they stood on the curb of the crowded avenue. Behind them, the bus snarled away. Dark faces bobbed in the windows, looking down at the women.
Martha regarded her assistant. Despite the reprimand, Aideen's gray eyes still had a glint of steel beneath her lightly freckled lids.
"Look," Martha said, "you're new in this arena. I brought you along because you're a helluva linguist and you're smart. You have a lot of potential in foreign affairs."