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her.
    “Yes,” she said in a hollow voice.
    Demetrius retreated to his post, and he stood in the same place, looking the same as before.
    He’s brave , Anna realized. He follows his code of honor and nothing can shake it. Am I as honorable concerning David?
    “You have misjudged my purpose,” Max said.
    “What is it?” she asked. “Why have you told me any of this?”
    “Because I love my country,” Max said. “America is in greater danger than ever. You and I both know the President engineered the new danger. Perhaps even more importantly, the President knows this is his fault. That knowledge is eating him alive.”
    “You’re referring to the GD and Quebec?”
    “Of course,” Max said. “We are now in a two-front war. That never worked well for Germany in the Twentieth Century. I do not believe it will work well for us, either.”
    “I was there when we decided to accept GD neutrality,” Anna said. “You were there, too, and you agreed to the idea.”
    “I had no quarrels with the plan. That is correct. The President made the best decision at the time. The Chinese and Brazilians almost broke us this winter. The Colorado battle was closer fought than people realize. The President dealt in such a way so he could concentrate our forces. That was bold as well as wise.”
    “Then why are you—”
    “Let me finish,” Max said.
    Anna nodded, albeit reluctantly. She noticed a waiter turn and look at them. An older waiter tugged on the first waiter’s elbow, pulling him away.
    “The President bought America time,” Max said. “Now, however, the GD acted before we could. We—I mean the President, myself, General Alan—we all miscalculated. We counted the number of GD troops in Quebec instead of analyzing their combat power. The Germans have amazed us and worse, surprised us. Even worse than that, they’re beating us in Southern Ontario. America must take drastic action if we’re to restore the balance.”
    “We have another hard year of war ahead of us,” Anna said. “I understand that.”
    “I don’t believe you do understand.” Max held up a hand. “I have always been impressed with your analytical abilities. You have an insightful way of thinking. And you can read the Chinese—Chairman Hong in particular—better than anyone else can. That is an important asset. However, if the GD continues to grind down our military and gain critical territory…there may be no more years of war ahead of us to wage.”
    “You don’t think we can stop the GD?”
    “Not with the weapon systems presently in place,” Max said. “Therefore, we must move the Behemoth tanks to the Great Lakes region.”
    “You and I both know the President has forbidden that.”
    “Precisely,” Max said.
    Anna shook her head. “I won’t pretend to be a military expert. The President, though—”
    “The President has lost his nerve,” Max said. “That is the salient point. Nothing else really matters. Oh, we can talk about reasons: that the war has ground him down. You’ve seen it. I know you have. The pressure would have destroyed most people by now. The President has my sympathies, in fact.”
    “You don’t mean that,” Anna said. “You don’t care about him as a person.”
    “But I do,” Max said. “Yes. I know people believe me coldhearted and too logical.”
    “Others say you’re power mad,” Anna said.
    “I am misperceived,” the director said. “My intense patriotism gives me the zeal to do whatever I must to protect America. Others interpret that as a desire for power. They are, of course, quite wrong. With all that said, I have found that few people will go as far as I to see my beloved country saved from power-hungry aggression. Can you say as much, Ms. Chen?”
    “You will do whatever you must to save America?” Anna asked.
    “Yes!”
    “Hmm,” Anna said. “A surface reading of such a statement might seem noble. I, on the other hand, can think of many things I would not do. For instance,