Braedey Martin: Unlimited

Ch 32: A Patriot Act

Washington DC

Amanda Waller was not a woman who took things at face value. If she had been, she wouldn't have been made head of Cadmus; as a result, she accepted General Eiling's invitation to lunch with a grain of salt. She doubted that Eiling had invited her just to catch up; still, that didn't stop her from being polite, even friendly, to her former colleague.

"Wade," she said warmly, as they sat down in the café, "you look well; the last few months have been good to you."

Eiling only nodded, then waited for their food to arrive before speaking. "Mrs. Waller, due respect, this reassignment is a joke; never thought I'd become a desk drone."

After Cadmus had been discontinued, most of their people had been assigned to non-vital tasks; General Eiling had been placed in administrative work, something he hated. Considering how dangerous he and Waller were considered in the minds of the government, it surprised Eiling when it only took him a month to arrange a meeting with his former boss; it would be much more surprising if there wasn't a team of snipers aiming at both of them, courtesy of the CIA, in case it was decided that they needed to be stopped.

"I can't help you there," Waller said sympathetically, "Langley all but scrapped Project Cadmus and insisted on your transfer. We're lucky we're not all in jail."

It was true; after the evidence of their activities came to light, many of the Joint Chiefs had wanted most of Cadmus to face incarceration; some were even calling for execution. Surprisingly, the Justice League had asked for Cadmus to be shown leniency; if they hadn't, there was a good chance that Waller would have faced the firing squad.

"Look," Eiling said, "the only mistake we made was trusting Luthor."

"Wade, you know better than to dwell on the past."

"I'm talking about right now," Eiling jabbed the table in emphasis, "The Justice League is still the single greatest threat to global security."

"I used to believe that too," Waller said, glancing down, "but remember, we used to say the same about the Soviets. Our enemy's never as evil as we imagine; and maybe we're never quite as good."

"Nuts," Eiling glared at her, "don't tell me the bleeding-hearts in Congress got to you."

Waller gave him her old, superior smirk. "I'd eat them alive."

"You would, too," Eiling smiled, "you've got some on ya, Amanda."

"Then listen to me," Waller said, leaning forward, "I'm not the League's greatest fan, but their intentions are good; I can work with them."

"What if you're wrong?" Eiling asked, "What if the metahumans and the aliens aren't on the side of the angels? We won't have any way to defend ourselves. Look what happened last year; Superman and that shapeshifter walked into Cadmus tossed our best men like a salad."

"Oh, for Heaven's sake," Waller said, frustrated with Eiling's stubbornness.

"What's to stop them from doing it again?" Eiling asked, "They're all orbiting us with a space weapon, 'supposedly' decommissioned; that's a much bigger threat than the Russians ever were. If we'd rolled over like this with the Soviet Union, given up our nukes..."

"We'd all be living under a red flag," Waller finished.

"Yes, ma'am, you better believe it. After all our work, what did Cadmus accomplish? You get a reprimand, I'm pushing pencils, and the League gets another base here on Earth, that Metro Tower," Eiling took a breath, "When one side loses ground and the other side gains, that isn't a truce, it's a surrender."