Trautman paused momentarily before speaking almost painstakingly looking for the right words.
Ortega simply stared silently at him, waiting.
“Listen Ortega, Danforth found out about it purely by chance and he shouldn't have said a single word to you regarding it. In any case, he knows exactly how personal all of this is to me and what I’m planning to do about it. He would do it himself if he was not still on the road to recovery. As far as I’m concerned, well, I don’t know, his participation in it all is a different matter somehow.
Danforth is not like you, Ortega.
He is, well, I would dare say just more prone to accept some of the dirtier aspects of this war than you are.
What I’m going to ask you to do however is downright dirty, Ortega. This target won't be anything like the last four were. This would be very different, so diverse in fact that I really don’t have the right to ask it of you.”
Before going on any further Trautman looked his new team leader straight in the eyes.
“You know how things work in Vietnam. You know how we get things done.
Almost everything we do here is illegal. This whole, damn, never outright declared war, in fact is illegal. What we’re talking about here, well, this is a whole other dimension. This time it would be an entirely different ballgame”
Trautman looked away.
“And you’d be doing it all just for me. Not for this war, not for your country, just for me and me alone”
Ortega didn’t say anything.
Trautman turned to face Ortega again.
“It’s personal, Manuel, and as if being a personal matter wasn’t enough, it’s also wrong. The only reason Rambo volunteered was because in his view something needed to be done about it.
But it's revenge Manuel, pure and simple, and you and Johnny would be on your own.”
Ortega reflected carefully before answering, but when he did, he said:
“Sooner or later we’re all going to be 'on our own' anyway colonel, because that's the way Black Ops are meant to work. That's exactly why you created us. When all is said and done, this is nothing more than just another target”
“Don't let Danforth or Rambo influence your decision in any way Ortega. Once you commit to something like this there's no turning back. You’re selling your soul to the devil if you do it, along with everything else for that matter.”
“I don't care, colonel
“I wanna do it anyway”