“Very funny. I was just thinking about Freddy. The poor guy was just back from his third tour in Iraq. It’s a shame to think about surviving that, only to die a pointless death on an out-of-commission oil rig!”
George looked at the lifeless body lying on the deck and, to his surprise, found himself fighting back tears as well. George put his arm around Dwight’s shoulders. “I’m truly sorry about Freddy. It’s a shock to me, too. After seventeen years in the military, he’s the first person who has died carrying out one of my orders. I never knew how I would react, and I hoped I would never find out.”
Leona came and stood at George’s side. “It’s awful, George, but if it’s any consolation, his death was by no means pointless. He helped to keep our mission secret.”
“I know. Still, I feel responsible.”
“She’s right, you know,” said Dwight. “Helping to keep our mission secret and to defeat these drug-running scumbags may well be the most important thing Freddy ever did.”
George nodded. “We’ll include Freddy and his family in our prayers tonight.”
“Thanks, George. I’ll make sure his remains get back to his family and that they know he helped put these scumbags out of business.” Dwight turned to the crew who had gathered around the bodies of Bill and Ronnie. “Toss this trash over the side, boys. The sharks need to eat, too. And weigh ‘em down. We don’t want ‘em floating up. And get the recovery net down — we’ve got a fighter to recover in about three hours.”
Chapter 30
At 1800 hours, the captain called a meeting of all crewmembers, including the twelve teams going ashore from Platform Alpha.
“Ladies and gentlemen, to repeat the phrase of a famous American president, this is it — a date that will live in infamy. To those of you leaving us here, may you have fair winds and following seas. You’re all highly trained, highly skilled, and highly dedicated. You are a testament to those who make a positive difference in the world. You can forever be proud of the part you are playing to maintain world peace and to save perhaps millions of lives.
After you leave here, there can never be any communication with another team. You are on your own. You all know your targets, but as you have been briefed, there is only one thing that can trigger your use of the weapons for which you take responsibility. Should such an event take place, God forbid, do not hesitate — perform the duty you have been trained to carry out.
Never reveal the location of your warheads to anyone other than your teammate. Do not reside with your teammate. Within your team you may develop your own protocols and your own means of communication. If each team develops its own protocols, there will be no pattern that can be detected by those searching for us. Remember to contact your teammate at least every other day. A missed communication may indicate your partner has been captured. Should such an event occur, move your warheads to an alternative location, and go into hiding immediately. If you are the captured teammate, resist your interrogators for as long as possible, at least twenty-four hours. Give your teammate time to relocate.”
George looked around the room at his dedicated team members. “If anyone has any questions, comments, misgivings, or doubts please see me after the meeting. Godspeed and good luck to us all.”
After the meeting, John Ellis, the nuclear weapons expert, approached the captain and said, “Captain, I’d like to go with you on the Louisiana. You are still going to have twelve teams and sixty warheads aboard, and you’re going to be dropping off teams periodically over the next several weeks. I’d like to be there to watch over the warheads and to refresh each team’s training regarding arming and disarming procedures before they disembark.”
The captain had reviewed the information from John’s background investigation in great detail and had not found anything negative in his history. He liked John, and in the two days they had spent together on Platform Alpha, the captain had come to respect his knowledge and professionalism.
“Thanks, John,” answered the captain. “We would love to have you. If you don’t mind, we will keep you aboard until all of the warheads have been sent ashore.”
“No problem, Captain. It will be an honor to serve under your command.”
That evening, the captain and the XO each recorded a video message on DVDs. The captain and the XO each took his own DVD and left a copy of each with Dwight as a backup in case the Louisiana was sunk before completing her mission.
The captain ordered the XO, “If anything happens to me or my DVD, use yours.”
“Aye-aye, Captain.”
Once darkness came, SF-1 was mounted on the Louisiana’s deck, and SF-2 was remounted following her successful first combat mission. As the last deck hatch was closed, and George descended the stairway from Platform Alpha to the top of the Louisiana’s conning tower, Dwight looked down from above and with a parting salute said, “Adios, George. Live long and prosper.”
At 0300 hours, the Louisiana got underway for her final mission.
Chapter 31
Dwight stood at the head of the ladder and watched the Louisiana take on ballast and begin to submerge. He visually swept the horizon and the sky overhead and could not see any lights or any stars. It was still overcast. On Platform Alpha, only the deck edge lights were on to keep the men from falling off the deck. There were only a few men up and moving around. One of those men was Remy McGillivray, a good old Alabama boy, and Dwight called out to him, “Remy! Hey Remy!”
Dwight had recruited Remy especially for this mission. He wasn’t well educated, but what Remy lacked in book learning he made up for in common sense. Remy laid down the line he had been coiling. “Yeah, Dwight?”
“We need to get the RV crated. Let’s get started.” The RV was an empty reentry vehicle taken from one of the Louisiana’s ballistic missiles. This particular RV, a cone about forty-eight inches long, was the last one to have its DOE package removed and disarmed by John Ellis the night before. Although the RV itself was not a radioactive component, it carried a slight amount of residual radioactivity picked up from the now-removed warhead. “Get Junior and pack it up for a long trip.”
Remy smiled at the mention of a long trip and shouted back, “You bet!” Remy was descended from Creek Indian warriors, and although he was not getting in the fight personally, he knew what the plans were for the RV and approved. If he couldn’t take the battle directly to the enemy, he would do whatever he could to assist those who were.
“Junior!” Remy shouted in the direction of the storage shed. “Hey Junior. Let’s get packin’.”
Dwight watched as Remy walked over to the storage shed and grabbed the handle of a pallet jack, which was supporting a crate marked with the familiar yellow and black radiation labeclass="underline" “DANGER — RADIOACTIVE”—and on another line—“Radiation Probes — Count: 36”. The probes were used in downhole drilling operations to log the oil and gas content of the different strata. This particular shipment was headed for the new wells being drilled by GenCon in the Red Sea off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Remy and Junior opened the crate and loaded the RV into the bottom, nestled between support blocks. Over the top, Remy placed a layer of rigid foam. The rigid foam had pockets, which Junior filled with six radiation probes. Remy and Junior placed two more layers of rigid foam and probes on top of the RV, bringing the total contents of the crate to eighteen probes covering and concealing one empty RV. They screwed on the wooden top and sealed the edges with sealing tape.