Mack looked at his secretary of defense.
"But they've applied for membership, " Secretary of Defense Lopez shot back. "And we should allow overflights because Turkey is a NATO member and they've requested our presence. Either NATO means something or it doesn't. Plus, with the public relations beating we've taken over the Dome of the Rock fiasco, we need all the goodwill we can muster." Seretary Lopez wagged his finger, but pointed it at no one in particular. "Not only that, but both the Bush Administration and this administration have endorsed the request from Georgia to join NATO. Plus, I remind my friend the secretary of state that the 82nd and 101st are being deployed to Turkey, not Georgia. The Russians are in Chechnya, not Georgia. So it isn't like our troops are on the Russian border."
"Oh, come on, " Secretary Mauney said. "Georgia's such a tiny nation that there's no significant geographic barrier. What? Fifty to a hundred miles at the most?" Mauney looked at Mack. "Mr. President, rather than risk war, why not just tell the Turks that the Russians are looking for plutonium, that they don't have to worry about a border incursion, and that our buildup is unnecessary?"
A smooth feminine voice joined the fray. "But what if we're wrong in our assumptions, Mr. Secretary?" Cynthia Hewitt, Mack's national security advisor, asked. "Suppose this buildup has more than one purpose?"
"Explain, Cyndi, " Mack said.
"Suppose the buildup has a dual purpose – to find the plutonium and to invade Georgia to bring it back in the Russian fold?"
"Ridiculous, " Mauney quipped.
"Is it?" the sandy-haired Hewitt retorted. "We know Evtimov's staunch opposition against Georgian NATO membership. Their intelligence is notoriously shoddy. Maybe they believe the plutonium is in Georgia and use that as a pretext for an invasion."
"Impossible, " Mauney said. "We've concluded that the plutonium is somewhere on the high seas."
"We know that. The Russians don't know it, " Secretary Lopez retorted.
"Well, then why not just tell the Russians what we think, Mr. President? Why not just tell them we think the plutonium is on this freighter somewhere in the Black Sea? Let me open a dialogue with Foreign Minister Kotenkov. We can seek a joint solution on finding this plutonium. Give diplomacy a chance, sir. Just tell them that the plutonium is on the Alexander Popovich and perhaps they can board it, find the plutonium, and all sides can stand down before someone sets off a thermonuclear device."
"The reason we can't just do that, Mr. Secretary" – the secretary of defense responded in a slow cadence – "is this. What if the Russians don't buy it? What if they claim that their intelligence is better than ours? Suppose they refuse to board or inspect the freighter? If they take that position, then if and when we sink that freighter, the whole world, including the Russians, will know who did it. And if you want a war, Mr. Secretary" – the secretary of defense turned and looked directly at the secretary of state – "just let it get out that we torpedoed one of their unarmed civilian freighters. Remember the Lusitania?"
The British liner Lusitania was torpedoed by German U-Boats in 1915, helping bring the U.S. into World War I.
"And don't forget this. The skipper of the Alexander Popovich has sold his ship's ser vices to terrorists. It must be sunk, even if it isn't carrying that plutonium."
"But -, " Mauney interjected.
"Let me finish, please." Lopez erected his index finger from a balled fist, as if lecturing a classroom full of high school students. "If we tell the Russians what we are thinking, they will demand to know how we know. And whether we reveal our sources or not, we risk exposing our intelligence sources on the ground. We have undercover operatives whose lives would be at risk in the entire country."
Secretary of Defense Lopez stopped talking. Mack looked over at Secretary of State Mauney, expecting a response. None came. Cynthia Hewitt, her gaze sweeping between the president and the secretaries of state and defense, did not speak either. The three spirited participants in this debate had run out of gas. All eyes turned to Mack.
"All right, " Mack said. "The secretary of state makes valid points." Mauney nodded a small smile of appreciation. "However, in the end, getting that plutonium out of terrorists' hands is the very best thing we can do to avoid a nuclear holocaust. The United States is in the best position to do that." He looked at the secretary of defense and the national security adviser. "Alone. Mixing the Russians into the fray only complicates matters. Given their history of institutional paranoia and bureaucratic incompetence, and the grave uncertainty as to how they would respond if we opened a dialogue with them, I'm concerned that we would lose valuable time. Ladies and gentlemen, we don't have time to lose. What we do have is terrorists with plutonium.
"Having said that, the secretary of state's well-founded concerns are valid." He turned to the secretary of defense. "Secretary Lopez, issue an order that no U.S. ground forces are to be positioned anywhere within one hundred miles of the Georgian border without my approval."
Then turning to the secretary of state, he said, "Secretary Mauney, prepare a communique to the Turkish ambassador reaffirming our support for them and explaining my decision to them."
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Also, prepare formal requests to the British government, and all other NATO governments sending forces that all NATO ground forces observe a one-hundred-mile barrier for the time being."
"Yes, Mr. President." The secretary of defense scribbled notes on a legal pad. "What about overflights, sir?"
"The United States Air Force shall patrol the skies of Georgia as requested by the Georgian president, but shall not approach closer than twenty-five miles of the Chechen border."
This brought a wince to the secretary of state's face.
"Rules of engagement, Mr. President?" This was the secretary of defense.
"Use of force is unauthorized by United States aircraft except in self-defense. That means no firing by our planes unless we are fired upon first or otherwise threatened. At that point, U.S. pilots have weapons-free authority to the extent necessary to defend themselves. Anything else?"
No one spoke.
"That is all. For now."
CHAPTER 10
The USS Honolulu
The Aegean Sea
Conn. Sonar. We have contact! Three thousand yards dead ahead! Contact appears to be a ship of the class of Russian freighter Volga River. Bearing zero-two-zero degrees."
"Mr. Smith, " Pete was speaking with Chief Warrant Officer William Smith, who was standing in the control room at the sub's fire control console. "What's your screen showing?"
"Sir, my screen verifies one contact, sir. Mark as Sierra twelve."
"Very well, " Pete said. "Dead slow ahead."
"Dead slow, aye, Captain."
"Coordinates?"
"Twenty-five degrees east, forty degrees north."
"Right on the money, " Pete mused, checking his watch. "Chief ofthe Boat, make periscope depth."
"Making periscope depth, aye, Captain."
"What do you think, Skipper?" Frank Pippen asked.
"I think we've found our ride, Frank."
"I have periscope depth, Captain, " the chief of the boat said.
"Up scope, " Pete ordered.
The stainless-steel vertical cylinder in the middle of the control room hummed and clicked. Pete stepped behind the periscope, grabbed the training handles, and brought his eyes up to the viewfinder. Bright daylight shone above the dark green ripple of breaking waves. In the center of the screen, a long, low-lying ship sat on the water, a dark silhouette against the bright blue behind it.
"She's a freighter, all right, " Pete mused. "Open a hailing channel, Frank."
"Aye, sir, " the XO said. "Conn. Radio. Open a frequency. Channel fourteen."