Edge of Honor by Richard Herman Page B

defenses stiffen as the walls rose into place. “Robert, are you abreast of the situation in Poland?” she asked, turning to business.
    “Only vaguely. Economy doing well, standard of living on the rise since becoming a member of the EU, some problems with joining NATO.”
    “The reason I ask is because Lloyd Rudenkowski is resigning as ambassador. I want to appoint you in his place.” Bender looked at her in shock. She knew he wanted to be appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the current chairman retired next year. But she needed him now. “Because of the situation in Poland, I want a competent person heading the mission to Warsaw. I was going to offer Rudenkowski a cabinet position to induce him to resign. But when Treasury did an expanded background investigation, he came up dirty. Very dirty.”
    Bender nodded, not offended in the least by her political maneuvering. “Isn’t Rudenkowski one of Senator Leland’s boys?” Senator John Leland was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and ruled like a feudal warlord. But there was more. Leland had led the attempt to force Turner to resign during the Okinawan blockade. His hatred of Turner and her administration was deep, personal, and irrational.
    Serick grumped. “Leland is North Carolina’s permanent revenge on the United States for losing the Civil War.”
    Turner laughed. It started easy and low and ended like a crystal bell. Her face came alive and her eyes danced with humor. “Stephan has testified before the good senator too many times.”
    “Leland sponsored Rudenkowski and pushed his nomination through the Senate,” Vice President Kennett explained.
    “Leland’s push was more like a ramrod,” Serick added.
    “Getting my name past Leland’s committee will be a problem,” Bender said, hoping his shot for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs was still alive. “He’ll want to even some scores. Especially after Okinawa.” Bender was reminding them of a political reality. His advice and support of Turner had been critical in fending off Leland’s attack on her presidency during the blockade.
    “I don’t think so,” Kennett said. “Leland will be more than glad to forward your nomination to the Senate with a favorable recommendation after I explain things to him.” He handed Bender a folder summarizing the recent investigation into Rudenkowski’s background.
    Inside the folder was a photograph of Rudenkowski being presented the Navy Cross. The accompanying citation and newspaper article described how Lieutenant (jg) Rudenkowski had been in command of a riverine patrol boat in Vietnam. During a two-boat river sweep, he had gone to the aid of the lead patrol boat that was caught in an ambush by the Vietcong. He had attempted to rescue the first boat, but each time was driven off by heavy machine-gun fire from the shore. Only after the lead boat had exploded and all hands lost, and sustaining heavy casualties on his own boat, did Rudenkowski withdraw. Only he and a badly wounded bosun’s mate survived.
    A second photograph in the folder showed a much older Rudenkowski, wearing his Navy Cross, locked arm-in-arm with Senator Leland at an election rally. Underneath that was a financial statement revealing Rudenkowski had contributed more than a million dollars to an election-campaign fund controlled by Leland and his cronies. The final document was a sworn statement by the bosun’s mate on the riverine patrol boat that Rudenkowski had never tried to rescue the first boat and had immediately retreated, leaving the crew to its fate. Two miles downstream, Rudenkowski had taken a wrong turn and stumbled into another ambush. Thinking the bosun’s mate and the rest of the crew were dead, Rudenkowski had returned to base. Because of his wounds, it was six weeks before the bosun’s mate remembered all that had happened. Before he could report the truth, Rudenkowski had reached out and bribed him to confirm his version of the