"Well, it would seem that he's the man for the job, wouldn't it?" the President asked rhetorically, clearly relieved at the evening's news. "And now?"
"And now, Mr. President, we try to settle this one down once and for all."
The phone rang just then. Durling lifted it. "Oh. Yes, Tish?"
"There's an announcement from the Japanese government that they have nuclear weapons and they hope—"
"Not anymore, they don't," Durling said, cutting off his communications director. "We'd better make an announcement of our own."
"Oh, yeah," Jones said, looking at the wall chart. "You did that one in a big hurry, Bart."
The line was west of the Marianas. Nevada was the northernmost boat. Thirty miles south of her was West Virginia. Another thirty and there was Pennsylvania. Maryland was the southernmost former missile submarine. The line was ninety miles across, and really extended a theoretical thirty more, fifteen to the north and south of the end-boats, and they were two hundred miles west of the westward-moving line of Japanese SSKs. They had just arrived in place after the warning from Washington that the word had been leaked somehow or other to the Japanese.
"Something like this happened once before, didn't it?" Jones asked, remembering that these were all battleship names, and more than that, the names of battlewagons caught alongside the quays one morning in December, long before his birth. The original holders of the names had been resurrected from the mud and sent off to take islands back, supporting soldiers and Marines under the command of Jesse Oldendorf, and one dark night in Surigao Strait…but it wasn't a time for history lessons.
"What about the 'cans?" Chambers asked.
"We lost them when they went behind the Bonins, sir. Speed and course were fairly constant. They ought to pass over Tennessee around midnight, local time, but by that time our carrier—"
"You have the operation all figured out," Mancuso observed.
"Sir, I've been tracking the whole ocean for you. What d'ya expect?"
"Ladies and gentlemen," the President said in the White House Press Room. He was winging it, Ryan saw, just working off some scribbled notes, never something to make the Chief Executive comfortable. "You've just this evening heard an announcement by the Japanese government that they have fabricated and deployed nuclear-tipped intercontinental missiles.
"That fact has been known to your government for several weeks now, and the existence of those weapons is the reason for the careful and circumspect way in which the Administration has dealt with the Pacific Crisis. As you can well imagine, that development has weighed heavily on us, and has affecled our response to Japanese aggression against U.S. soil and citizens in the Marianas.
"I can now tell you that those missiles have been destroyed. They no longer exist," Durling said in a forceful voice.
"The current situation is this: the Japanese military still hold the Marianas Islands. That is not acceptable to the United States of America. The people living on those islands are American citizens, and American forces will do anything necessary to redeem their freedom and human rights. I repeat: we will do anything necessary to restore those islands to U.S. rule.
"We call tonight on Prime Minister Goto to announce his willingness to evacuate Japanese forces from the Marianas forthwith. Failure to do so will compel us to use whatever force is necessary to remove them.
"That is all I have to say right now. For whatever questions you have on the events of this evening, I turn you over to my National Security Advisor, Dr. John Ryan." The President walked toward the door, ignoring a riot of shouted questions, while a few easels were set up for visual displays. Ryan stood at the lectern, making everyone wait as he told himself to speak slowly and clearly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this was called Operation TIBBETS. First of all let me show you what the targets were." The cover came off the first photo, and for the first time the American people saw just what the nation's reconnaissance satellites were capable of. Ryan lifted his pointer and started identifying the scene for everyone, giving the cameras time to close in on them.
"Holy shit," Manuel Oreza observed. "That's why."
"Looks like a pretty good reason to me," Pete Burroughs observed. Then the screen went blank.
"We're sorry, but a technical problem has temporarily interrupted the CNN satellite feed," a voice told them.
"My ass!" Portagee snarled back.
"They'll come here next, won't they?"
"About fuckin' time, too," Oreza thought.
"Manny, what about that missile thing on the next hill?" his wife wanted to know.
"We're preparing copies of all these photos for you. They should be ready in about an hour or so. Sorry for the delay," Jack told them. "It's been rather a busy time for us.
"Now, the mission was carried out by B-2 bombers based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri—"
"Staging out of where?" a reporter asked.
"You know we're not going to discuss that," Jack said in reply.
"That's a nuclear-weapons platform," another voice said. "Did we—"
"No. The strike was carried out with precision-guided conventional munitions. Next card, please," Ryan said to the man at the easel. "As you can see here, the valley is largely intact…" It was easier than he'd expected, and perhaps better that he'd not had much time to worry about it, and Ryan remembered his first time delivering a briefing in the White House. It had been harder than this one, despite the blaze of TV lights now in his face.
"You destroyed a dam?"
"Yes, we did. It was necessary to be completely certain that these weapons were destroyed and—"
"What about casualties?"
"All of our aircraft are on their way back—might already be there, but I haven't—"
"What about Japanese deaths?" the reporter insisted.
"I don't know about that," Jack replied evenly.
"Do you care?" she demanded, wondering what sort of answer she'd get.
"The mission, ma'am, was to eliminate nuclear arms targeted on the United States by a country that has already attacked U.S. forces. Did we kill Japanese citizens in this attack? Yes, we did. How many? I do not know. Our concern in this case was American lives at risk. I wish you would keep in mind that we didn't start this war. Japan did. When you start a war you take risks. This is one risk they undertook—and in this case they lost. I am the President's National Security Advisor, and my job description is to help President Durling safeguard this country first of all. Is that clear?" Ryan asked. He'd allowed just a little anger to enter his reply, and the indignant look on the reporter's face didn't prevent a few nods from her colleagues.
"What about asking the press to lie in order to—"
"Stop!" Ryan commanded, his face reddening. "Do you wish to place the lives of American servicemen at risk? Why do that? Why the hell would you want to do that?"
"You bullied the networks into—"
"This feed is going worldwide. You do know that, don't you?" Ryan paused to take a breath. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would remind you that most of the people in this room are American citizens. Speaking for myself now"—he was afraid to look to where the President was standing—"you do realize that the President is responsible to the mothers and fathers and wives and children of the people who wear our country's uniform for their safety. Real people are at risk today, and I wish you folks in the press would bear that in mind from time to time."
"Jesus," Tish Brown whispered behind Durling. "Mr. President, it might be a good idea to—"
"No." He shook his head. "Let him go on."
The Press Room became silent. Someone whispered something sharp to the standing journalist, who managed to take her seat, flushing as she did so.