Hammond looked at his watch. “Mine leaves in three hours. Just enough time to gather my bags and hop aboard. After next meeting I may stop a few days in London. If so I may hitch a ride,” he said happily.
“Right! I know a few pubs we can crawl to. Helps take the edge off what we do. Besides, I know of a few from your stop a few years ago who wouldn’t mind sharing a pint or two with us. Could be a fun time. Let me know if it’s a go and you can stay at my flat,” Sir Richard said while slapping Hammond on the back. Hammond grabbed his cover and left the room, but Sir Richard held back a minute. He cornered Dortmund. “Helmut, I was wondering what you thought about someone to lead this parade. Who would you recommend?”
Dortmund laughed and raised both hands. “It won’t be a German, people still have rough feelings, but I had someone in mind to lead it. As a matter of fact, I am going to recommend him to the Chancellor tomorrow,” he said.
“I wonder if we are looking at the same fellow,” Sir Richard said. Dortmund told him, and indeed, they were.
“Good evening, everyone, I am Candice Morton and here are the top headlines. Near riots broke out in Sacramento, California today as residents of the state angrily protested in front of the Governor’s office. Some thirteen million people were impacted by the insurance company scandal and many residents, especially those from the southern California area came to Sacramento to voice their anger. Governor Yost has refused to step down and the Attorney General for California is continuing with his indictment. In the meantime, President O’Bannon, in an effort to aid the people affected by the insurance scandal, has promised additional federal help to get people housed and fed.”
“I have asked the congress to provide three billion in aid to the people of southern California, to help them rebuild and reestablish their lives. At the same time, our military will continue to help the people of this region by providing food and medical aid where it is needed,” O’Bannon said on camera from the White House Press Room.
“President O’Bannon also had this to say about Mayor Patricia Hammond’s efforts during the disaster.”
“Mayor Hammond should be commended. She got her people the help they sorely needed quickly and effectively, and she continues to do what she can where she can. I can say that because of her efforts, the people of San Pedro, California, have been able to recover quicker than anywhere else in California. So, my hat’s off to Mayor Hammond.”
“At the same time, the tent city that has become Los Angeles continues to grow. The Army has provided thousands of temporary shelters for its citizens and only now are the streets becoming passable in some areas. More news after this break.”
Tim Reardon sat in his office sweating out the details of building two aircraft carriers, four destroyers and a cruiser when the buzzer on his phone went off. He grabbed the phone and let out a gruff, “Reardon.”
“Mr. Reardon, there’s an admiral her that asked to speak to you. He doesn’t have an appointment, but says he knows you. His name is Shransky,” said his assistant.
The headache went away and a smiled came to Reardon’s face. “Send him on in, Nancy.”
Vice Admiral Mike Shransky entered the room and was met by Reardon almost at the door. Reardon gave him a bear hug. “Mike! Damn it’s good to see you again. How’s it been?”
“Tim, it’s great. I see you’re still in business,” Shransky joked.
Reardon ushered him to a chair. “Yea, I manage to scratch out a living. What brings you down here? Don’t tell me you want to build battleships again,” Reardon said with glee.
Shransky laughed. “No, but there’s something going on and I’m checking around to see where I need to go. Since you know everybody in the world, I thought I’d come talk to you,” he said.
“Never fails, you navy guys keep running back to us civilians. What can I help you with?”
Shransky became more serious. “Tim, this is one you will have to keep to yourself. We have developed something that is a game changer. It’s a synthetic cloth that actually absorbs RF energy like some sort of sponge. We’ve been working on it up at David Taylor and it’s even more impressive than we realized. Our problem is, with all the things going on, we may need to get this stuff manufactured and on our ships and planes as quick as we can. David Taylor just doesn’t have that capability. So, I guess I need three things. First, I need someone who can take a chemical compound and make the synthetic strands. Second, I need someone who can weave it into a cloth, and third, I need either a kiln or ovens that can heat the thing to at least 450 degrees. It all has to be done in the utmost secrecy and as quickly as possible. Who might you think could do this?” Shransky asked.
Reardon thought a moment. “I can think of a few, but the big problem is actually going to be finding someone with the looms. How big a piece are we talking about here?”
“We calculate the largest piece might just have to be ten feet square or at least 100 square feet. The dimensions may change to fit the ships or aircraft. The actual cloth will need to be doubled since it needs two layers of continuous cloth. We fold it over and then coat it with a plant resin,” said Shransky.
A smile returned to Reardon’s face. “Hang on a second,” he said to Shransky as he picked up the phone. “Nancy, get me Hank Thomas over at Dow Corning, please.” He turned back to Shransky. “Mike, Hank just opened a new facility across the creek to help us with some of our efforts. I know there’s a big chemical component and some of what he does involved some weaving. I don’t think he has any ovens, but I got a shop full of the damn things. Maybe we can work something out.” The phone rang next to his desk and he picked it up. “Hank? It’s Tim. Look, have you got a few minutes, I want to bring somebody by there to talk a little business. He needs to see your operation. Is that okay?” He paused a moment. “Great. Give us about ten minutes and we’ll be there. Thanks Hank,” Reardon said as he hung up the phone.
In just over ten minutes the two men were in Thomas’ office. A half hour later, a sole source contract was begun to begin manufacturing on a much larger scale.
The first ships had left the previous week bound for France. This was the second wave. Under a contract with Hyundai, and two other automakers, eight of the large car carriers made their way through the channel and out to sea along with four cruise ships. Onboard were the tip of the American spear, the First Armored Division and the First Cavalry Division. Nearly emptying their bases in Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, the men and machines were packed into the ships. Like in the Korean War, temporary berthing had to be set up on the upper decks, but down below was a full division of tanks, trucks, guns and equipment. For General Moynahan, it was like what they had gone through in Korea. It would be tight, but well worth it to try and stop the Russians.
The trip was a gamble. If just two of the ships were sunk, a huge part of the American effort would go down with them, but there was no time. The hard part was moving all of the men and equipment at night. Every effort was made to move the troops as secretly as possible. Families were told the men were going on exercises. Reservists were called in to man the bases and make it look as if the divisions were still there. It had been a monumental task, but now it looked like the normal traffic in and out of Galveston. They would have a hard time keeping the secret once the ships turned up in Brest, but that was someone else’s problem.
Moynahan sat back in his cabin and thought about what was going on. The 101st and the 82nd Airborne divisions were going to be leaving for Great Britain in just five days. But he was a little miffed that the first convoy had left from Morehead City, North Carolina, the week before. It carried the Second Marine Division. There was talk about sending the First Marine Division as well. Moynahan grinned. If they were smart they would send Claire Richardson in with them. Between the two of them, they had swept through the North Korean troops as if they were nothing more than tissue paper. It would be nice to see her again, he thought.