“And how long will that take, Madam Envoy? How long?”
“I can be in communication with the Security Council tonight. I will propose this matter be brought to an immediate debate and vote. I can promise you an answer within… forty-eight hours.”
Macintyre shook his head decisively. “No good, Madam Envoy. This operation must be launched within the next two hours or it doesn’t get launched at all. By ‘stretching the envelope,’ as you phrased it, Captain Garrett has delayed the unloading of that tanker by one night. That’s all. Two days from now, Belewa’s oil will have been off-loaded and dispersed out to his backcountry depots.
“I’m not saying that Belewa will win because of it, but I’m guaranteeing that the war in Guinea is going to stretch on for at least another half a year. In that interim, a hell of a lot of people are going to die, both on the battlefield and in those refugee camps.”
Macintyre held up his hand, thumb and forefinger separated by half an inch. “We are this close to seeing the UNAFIN operation become another international bad joke. For the sake of everything we’ve done here and for the sake of effective U.N. intervention in the crises that may follow, I don’t want to see that happen.”
“Neither do I, Admiral! But I have not the authority to unilaterally order this action!” Bey found herself holding her hands out to Macintyre. “Every word you say is true. But I have no options here. By the sacred name of God, give me one that I can work with!”
Macintyre looked down at the desktop for a moment, then back up into Bey’s eyes. An ironic yet sympathetic smile touched his face. “Madam Envoy, I fully understand your feelings just now. I was in this same position myself not too long ago, and it was Amanda Garrett who put me there too. All I might suggest to you now is a UNODIR.”
“I do not know that word, Admiral,” Bey replied, puzzled.
Macintyre gave a grim smile. “It’s not a word actually, Madam Envoy. It’s one of those acronyms that we’re so fond of in the United States military. It’s the first-letter contraction of the phrase ‘unless otherwise directed.’ We use it in situations where we know we have a job that needs to be done immediately, but where we are also hopelessly hobbled by a wad of red tape.
“You draw up a nice neat operational plan and head it UNODIR. Then you kick it on upstairs to your lords and masters… after your operation has been launched and is beyond recall.”
“Ah.” Vavra Bey let the sound of understanding draw out. “And then, Admiral?”
“And then, if all goes well, your lords and masters smile approval upon you for your initiative.”
“And if things do not go well?”
“We have another phrase to cover that eventuality, Madam Envoy. We call it ‘falling on your sword.’”
Bey chuckled. “That is one I have heard before. To speak with utter frankness, I find myself wishing you had dispatched one of those UNODIR missives to me. Judging outcomes is always so much simpler than predicting them.”
“Replying with utter frankness, Captain Garrett and I considered doing just that. However, neither the Captain nor I put much stock in military dictatorship. As officers of the United States Armed Forces, we must be answerable to a civilian authority. We may stretch that limit now and again, but there comes a point we simply can’t go beyond. This must be a decision made by a designated U.N. official. Madam Envoy, we await your orders.”
We await your orders. By all that was holy, she was a diplomat! Diplomats weren’t supposed to give orders. Diplomats were supposed to negotiate and bargain and then step back at the appropriate moment to allow the presidents, kings, and premiers to make the blood decisions. Dear Allah, how had this come to pass?
She turned her chair so that she could look out the office’s window, albeit all there was to be seen was that wall of sodden sandbags. It would be most easy to say no, and she would be right to do so. She and her career would be safe, and the war on the Gold Coast would drag on and thousands more would die. Or she could agree, and the attack could be launched and could fail. Her actions would be judged as wrong and she would face the condemnation of the Security Council and her personal ruin. And yet she would be wrong because she had attempted to bring the agony, death, and suffering to a close.
A novel puzzlement and an interesting philosophical challenge to someone distant enough to enjoy it. Yet it was a puzzle with a simple enough solution for Vavra Bey. She swiveled her chair back to face Macintyre.
“Admiral, I believe the seizure of this oil tanker at Port Monrovia may very well prove necessary. Can your people present me with a copy of the plan for this military action? I will consider it and pass it along to the Security Council with my proposal that action be taken.”
“No problem, Madam Envoy. One will be provided immediately.”
“And, Admiral, how long would you suggest that I consider it before passing it along?”
“Oh, I’d say an hour and forty-eight minutes would be about right.”
“And that most useful acronym again?”
“UNODIR, Madam Envoy. ‘Unless otherwise directed.’”
Upon leaving the U.N. field offices, Macintyre proceeded directly to the headquarters communications center.
“Primary link to Floater 1,” he snapped to the duty systems operator.” Direct line to Captain Garrett.”
“The channel is already open, Admiral. Captain Garrett has been standing by. You can use the communications deck on the watch officer’s desk, sir.”
Macintyre gave an acknowledging nod and scooped up the indicated handset. “Captain?”
“Garrett here,” the well-remembered voice came back. “What’s the word, sir?”
“The word is load and lock. The envoy bought the package.”
A sigh of relief gusted over the phone. “Yes!”
“You can tell your people the show is go.”
“I already have, sir. Our support and diversion elements are already deploying. My dread was having to call them back.”
“Right.” Macintyre glanced at his wristwatch. “I’m showing about one hundred minutes until you initiate your primary time line. I’ve got a helicopter standing by to take me out to the platform, so I should just about be on hand when the fun starts.”
“I’m very glad to hear that, sir.” A guarded tone crept into Amanda’s voice. “Commander Rendino will be standing by to receive you. I regret I will not be present.”
“What are you talking about, Captain?”
“I’m going in with the boarding force, sir.”
“What!” Macintyre exploded. “Leading from the front is all well and good, Captain, but there are limits! The place of the task force commander is in her Combat Information Center, not an assault boat. Dammit, Amanda, you are not Captain Kirk!”
“I’m rather glad you noticed.” A touch of humor tinged her voice for a moment. “Seriously, sir, I agree with you on all points, except in cases of operational necessity. A problem has cropped up with that Algerian tanker. She’s steam turbine powered, and our thermographic scans indicate that her crew has shut down her boilers. Her plant is totally cold. Even if we put a full black gang aboard her, it would take us at least a full hour to get up enough steam to move her.
“We won’t have that kind of time. We’ll have to grab one of the harbor tugboats and tow her out. That’s going to be my job. I’m the only officer in this command who has any tug handling experience.”
“That factor wasn’t in the mission outlines I saw, Captain,” Macintyre said coldly.
“There was no sense in clouding the issues with minor operational details, sir.” The hint of challenging jocularity that had crept into her voice trailed off again into somberness. “However, I will be grateful for your presence on the platform during the operation, sir. If something goes wrong, I… might not be in a position to deal with it effectively. I’m glad to know that home base will be covered.”