"Hello, Marlene." Lt. Marlene Montoya, USN, looked up from her desk, and smiled.
"Ted! Glad you could stop by."
"Well, your message was a little tense." Arsenal took a seat across from her. "You said you had some information for the Jihad?"
"Yeah." Marlene tossed him a manila folder. With a practiced fluid motion, as if he were picking up a hand of poker cards, Arsenal picked it up and paged through it. "These photos were taken by our spy satellites yesterday. As you can see, the Lyrans, backed by B'Harnite forces, have taken control of Argentina."
"And, officially, the US can't get involved," Arsenal stated.
"Right. That's why I'm turning to you." She looked him straight in the eye. "Ted, there's a lot of weird shit going on down there. There's a report in that folder about genetic experimentations that's happening at a site inland."
"Damn. Another Purple Genesis Pit."
"That's what I'm thinking as well. Will the Jihad be able to do anything about the situation down there?"
"Well," Arsenal stated, closing the folder, "I can't make any promises yet. But I have the feeling this is going to be one hell of a fight."
"What do you think, Pat?"
"How the hell did this happen without any warning?" Pat asked.
"It was a blitzkrieg," Arsenal replied. "Lasted only a week. Nobody expected it. Brazil and Bolivia are scared stiff. They're next in line, strategically."
"And after that," Pat added, "us."
The word hung in the air between them.
"We're gonna have to tell the rest of the Jihad about this," Arsenal stated. "The US and Canadian governments are reluctant to get involved over what they deem an internal matter. No matter what, it's gonna be us."
"What do you have in mind?" Pat asked.
"That depends on what you have operational," Arsenal stated with a wry grin.