Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (50 page)

 
          
“OP
Brad Elliott hit his intended target, too—except it turns out it was a Chinese
passenger ship ”
Admiral Balboa
interjected hotly. “Brad Elliott disregarded orders and blew the shit out of a
passenger ferry”

 
          
“Casualties?”

 
          
“The
Chinese report sixty-eight civilians dead, over two hundred injured,” Freeman
said somberly. “Unable to verify it yet, but judging by the videotape, that’s
an accurate number. Rescue efforts are under way, as we can see.”

 
          
“Oh,
God,” the President murmured; then, in a much louder, angrier tone: “What
possible explanation did Elliott give?”

 
          
“The
crew claims that the ferry was towing a barge that made it look like a cruiser
or destroyer on radar, and that the rocket-powered torpedoes launched at the
Duncan
and
]
ames
Daniel
did come from the direction
of that ferry,” Freeman said. “They said they were just protecting the
frigates.”

 
          
“General
Freeman, I wish you’d stop being a mamas boy to Brad Elliott,” Admiral Balboa
exploded. “Technical glitches, wolf in sheep’s clothing, saving the day, spooks
and goblins—forget the damned excuses, because he’s got a million of them. The
bottom line is that Elliott attacked
again
without permission. He didn’t do a complete target assessment and fired two
heavy missiles at a noncombatant.”

 
          
“But
the Megafortresses redeemed themselves,” Freeman went on. “They stayed with the
frigates and helped to fight off a Chinese air attack on the frigates.
According to reports from the
James
Daniel
and the Megafortress’s crew, China launched several formations of
fighters and attack planes, including four heavy bombers with large anti-ship
cruise missiles. Elliott and his wingman in the Megafortresses used their
antiaircraft weapons to shoot down a number of the attackers; Taiwan Air Force
fighters helped to fight off several formations of Chinese fighters.” “None of
this would have happened,” Balboa argued, “if Elliott hadn’t put those two
missiles into that ferry.”

 
          
“I
disagree, Admiral,” Freeman said. “Those fighters and attack planes were on the
scene within minutes of the attack on the ferry. This was a planned attack,
made to look like retaliation for our attack.”

           
“That’s bullshit, Freeman.”

           
“All right, all right,” the
President said. He turned to Freeman and said, “Looks like Brad Elliott screwed
up big-time, Philip. Is he on his way back to Guam?”

 
          
“No,
sir,” Freeman replied. “Both Megafortresses are on station with the
James Daniel
and
Duncan,
in case any Chinese naval vessels try to approach. The
Taiwanese air force is also overhead, in case there are any more air attacks.”

 
          
“Sir,
we’ve got to stop fucking around with these damned B-52 monstrosities and take
command of the region,” Admiral Balboa said, completely abandoning all courtesy
toward his commander in chief. “We need the
Independence
to move into the Strait to assist the frigates in recovery and withdrawal,
right
now.
And we’ve got to initiate
an investigation of that missile attack—Elliott and whoever else screwed up has
to be held liable. Congress, our allies, and the American people are going to
scream bloody murder over this. Elliott needs to have his nuts chopped off!”

           
“Admiral, I warned you, watch your
damned mouth when you’re speaking to the President,” Jerrod Hale snapped.

 
          
“Jerrod,
easy—I’m upset, too,” the President said. “All right. Terminate all the
EB-52
patrols, recall those bombers back
to wherever the hell they came from—hide them away someplace where the press
can’t find them, until we have the spin under control. When they get back to
Guam, I want a full investigation of the incident ...” he paused, then added, “.
. . with the intention of filing criminal charges against Elliott, McLanahan,
whoever was in command of the aircraft that fired the missiles against the
ferry. This is going to be serious.” He paused again, then added, “And get the
Independence
group under way to take up
patrol positions in the Strait. We can use commercial or allied salvage
services to assist the frigates, but the reason we’re moving the
Independence
into the Strait is to help
the frigates.”

 
          
“Yes,
sir."
Balboa nodded and was on
the phone immediately, issuing the orders. “In the meantime, sir, what do you
suggest we tell the press about the attack on the ferry?” Balboa asked. There
was a definite edge in his voice this time, as if he was rubbing the
President’s nose in the filth caused by his decision to send in the EB-52
Megafortresses. “We will
not
blame
this attack on my frigates
—they
obeyed orders and did not open fire, unlike
your
damned thingamajigs.”

 
          
“Admiral
...” Jerrod Hale warned him, picking up on his disrespectful tone of voice.
Balboa glared at Hale, but kept silent by taking an unrepentant sip of coffee.

 
          
The
President did not show any anger at the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“We tell them . . . that we had armed military patrol aircraft in the area that
mistakenly fired on the ferry,” he said. “No elaboration beyond that. We can
report the rest in closed-door briefings if necessary, but no details about the
Megafortresses to the press.” Freeman and Hale nodded; Balboa showed little
reaction. “All right. What else happened out there?”

 
          
“At
almost the exact same time, sir, the Chinese carrier
Mao Zedong
was hit by three torpedoes as it lay at anchor near Hong
Kong,” Freeman replied. The President’s jaw sagged, and he muttered a barely
audible “Ah, shit.” “It was part of Reunification Day celebrations; it carried
a skeleton crew of about a thousand, and approximately a thousand civilians,
most of whom had slept aboard the ship. The carrier reportedly sustained major
damage. Casualties are reported to be heavy.

           
“The carrier responded with an
attack by several helicopters, at which time they attacked and damaged a
Taiwanese
Sea
Dragon-class submarine, forcing it to the
surface. The crew was taken off the sub, and then it was blown to bits and sunk
by gunfire from the carrier
Mao."

           
“Jesus,” the
President muttered. “What does the ROC say about it?”

           
“
Taiwan
hasn’t issued any statements so far,” DCI
Robert Plank responded woodenly. The President looked surprised, then
frustrated, then angry at the news. “We know that a couple Taiwanese subs have
been shadowing the
Mao
since it
returned to Hong Kong after the attack on Quemoy—we’ve got two subs in the
vicinity as well, although we were careful to stay out of Hong Kong waters.
Apparently the Taiwanese navy decided the
Mao
was too inviting a target and decided to be heroes and sink the son of a bitch.
Their plan backfired.”

 
          
“Simultaneously,
it appears that a Taiwanese C-130 transport plane was detected near Lang-Ch’i
Army Base, twenty miles west of Matsu Island—over the Chinese coast,” Freeman
went on, shaking his head in disbelief. “China claims that Taiwan was
attempting either to drop a bomb on the base or insert spies or commandos into
the area. The transport plane was shot down. Mainland China retaliated by
launching rocket attacks on the Matsu Islands, the Taiwanese island chain
located just off the Chinese mainland northwest of Taipei.”

 
          
“What
in hell is Taiwan up to?” the President asked. “Have they gone crazy? This is a
damned nightmare! I want. . . Holy shit, look at that!” They looked—and they
were stunned beyond belief. There on CNN was a fuzzy, grainy black-and-white
photograph—of the EB-52 Megafortress! The announcer said that the photograph
had just been received by the Chinese News Agency, who had gotten it from the
People’s Liberation Army Air Force. It was a head-on shot, so it was difficult
to make out details or get any solid identification—but for the men in the
room, the identification was painfully easy. The B-52 fuselage, the unusual
tail surfaces, the pointed nose, the weapons pod—it was the EB-52 Megafortress,
all right.

 
          
“Very
nice gun camera picture—of a top-secret stealth attack plane! ” Balboa said
sarcastically. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag now, isn’t it?” “Save it, Admiral,”
the President said irritably. He noticed Jerrod Hale answering the phone on his
desk—shit, he thought, it’s starting already! Thirty seconds after the pictures
were shown on CNN, the phone calls were coming in hot and heavy. “The official
response about those photos is going to be ‘no comment.’ Is that clear?” Hale
caught the President’s attention. “What?”

 
          
“State
Department is getting flooded with calls from the foreign ministries of Japan,
Russia, North Korea, Iran, about a dozen others— they all want to know if we’re
at war with China and if we have a fleet of those Megafortresses deployed
around the world‘ready to strike,” Hale said. “They all want an explanation.”

 
          
“We
can expect calls to start coming in from Congress, too,” the President said wearily.
“All right, Jerrod, I’ll start making calls—the Japanese prime minster first,
then the Leadership, then Russia, then any other Asian allies that want a call.
North Korea can go screw itself in the corner. What about Taiwan? What’s Lee’s
explanation, dammit?”

 
          
“As
best as we can figure without talking to President Lee,” Freeman said, “Taiwan
wanted to knock that carrier out of commission, then cripple Lang-Ch’i Army
Base, which is the main staging point for China’s invasion force for the Matsu
Island chain.”

 
          
“One
plane? One bomb dropped by a transport plane? What kind of damage can one
transport plane do?” the President asked.

 
          
“The
transport was a C-130 Hercules,” Freeman replied, “and Taiwan has the BLU-82
bomb in its inventory—that’s a 15,000-pound fuel- air explosive bomb. It’s
enough to level anything aboveground for a radius of two miles. We don’t have
any verification that Taiwan employed a Big Blue, but it would be a logical
weapon to use against Lang- Ch’i Army Base.”

 
          
“Hold
it, hold it—we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” the President said irritably,
getting more and more confused. “Why hit this Lang-Ch’i base? Were the Chinese
getting ready to invade Matsu? Was it supposed to be a preemptive strike to
avert an invasion?”

 
          
“The
PRC attacks on Matsu and Quemoy have been expected for many months, ever since
the Chinese war games in 1996,” Freeman replied. He searched his notes, then
added, “China had deployed the 117th and 134th Marine Divisions, both reserve
units, to Lang-Ch’i last year; they deployed the 54th Group Army, including the
165th Airborne Regiment, as well—nearly two hundred thousand troops in that
area alone.”

 
          
“Under
the circumstances, I wouldn’t blame Taiwan for lashing out in these two areas,
if in fact they did,” the President said. “So did China take Matsu?”

           
“Latest word is that no PRC troops
have been landed on Matsu,” Freeman replied, “but China has a very limited
amphibious landing ship fleet, so a massive marine invasion was not anticipated
right away Matsu Air Base was bombarded and heavily damaged. But overall it
appears that China is showing a bit of restraint.”

 
          
That
was a bit of welcome relief, however little. “What in hell is going on around
here?” the President repeated. “Is Taiwan trying to goad China into attacking?
If so, it’s a suicidal plan.”

 
          
“Mr.
President, the first thing I’m noticing here is the coincidental placement of
these video cameras on both the carrier and the ferry,” Plank said. “They’re
obviously not civilian models—they look almost broadcast quality. Both cameras
recorded the weapons impacts as if they knew exactly where they’d hit—they
weren’t photographing persons or events on deck, but pointed out over the side.
China also got those tapes to the CNN bureau in Beijing in an awful damned hurry—they
didn’t even bother to review the tapes themselves, as if they
knew
what would be on them. And the
observation that General Freeman made earlier—that those Chinese attack planes
showed up within a half hour of the strike on the ferry—well, it looks
suspicious.”