The Generals by W.E.B. Griffin

to the commanding general as directed, sir,” Hanrahan said, and raised his hand in salute.
    General Boone’s jowls had begun to sag. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and cold, and there were bags beneath them. He returned Hanrahan’s salute, and said, softly, “You may stand at ease, General.”
    Hanrahan assumed a position just slightly less formal than “Parade Rest,” but stiffer than “At Ease.”
    “Your reputation precedes you, General,” General Boone said.
    “I regret the circumstances, sir.”
    “I have heard the Air Force’s version of what they feel is your ‘inexcusable’ conduct,” General Boone said. “I will now listen to yours.”
    “No excuse, sir,” Hanrahan said.
    “This isn’t West Point, General,” Boone said. “That ‘no excuse’ business doesn’t wash with me.”
    “I assume full responsibility, General,” Hanrahan said.
    “You’re beginning to annoy me, General,” General Boone said. “I did not ask for a paraphrase of ‘no excuse, sir.”
    “I was asleep when the incident occurred, General,” Hanrahan said. “If I had been awake, I would have forbidden Colonel Lowell to do what he did.”
    “So it’s Lowell’s fault?”
    “If I may continue, sir,” Hanrahan said. “I would have forbidden him to do what he did, and I would have been wrong.”
    “That’s interesting,” General Boone said. “You’re saying you believe what Colonel Lowell did was justified?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Explain that, if you will.”
    “Colonel Lowell was directed to report to General Jiggs as soon as possible. Twenty minutes ago, he was told the field was closed even to an aircraft with a Code Seven aboard. If he had complied with that order, he would have had to land at Tampa International. If he had done that, I would probably be just now arranging for a vehicle to bring us here. It would be another hour and a half before we would arrive. And his aircraft, should I need it, would be at Tampa International, not here. Both we and the airplane are here, now.”
    “Why would you need his airplane?”
    “Colonel Lowell has offered me his airplane, if I should need one,” Hanrahan said. “I don’t know that I will, but that was, I am sure, part of his reasoning.”
    “The end justifies the means?” Boone said, and without giving Hanrahan a chance to reply asked, “Are you sure MacDill was notified a Code Seven was aboard the aircraft?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “They neglected to inform me of that,” Boone said. “But there was no bona fide emergency?”
    “No, sir, there was not.”
    “Lowell just decided he was going to land whether or not the Air Force wanted him to, is that it?”
    “Yes, sir,” Hanrahan said. “In compliance with his order.”
    “He was a little late in complying with his orders, wouldn’t you say, General? General Jiggs has been looking for him for three days.”
    “There was some kind of a communications breakdown, General,” Hanrahan said. “For which I am sure Colonel Lowell feels personally responsible. But I must say in his defense that I don’t hold him responsible for that, and that I don’t think there was thirty seconds wasted once he understood that he was supposed to be here.”
    “That brings us to you,” General Boone said. “Inasmuch as Special Forces is being represented by the XVIII Airborne Corps liaison officer, what are you doing here?”
    “I am the senior Special Forces officer, General,” Hanrahan said. “I believe it is my place to be here.”
    “The XVIII Airborne Corps liaison officer was among the first to arrive,” General Boone said. “Three days ago. When did you change your mind, General, about your place being here?”
    “I was not aware of the situation until this afternoon, General.”
    “And what is it that you feel Special Forces can contribute to this operation with you here that it could not represented by XVIII Airborne Corps?”
    “We have had recent experience in Cuba, General. If nothing else,