He estimated one in a million that one of these ships would pass by so close within the vast size of the Pacific Ocean. Yet, this near impossible probability occurred during the 688’s most vulnerable period; the sprint leg of her sprint-drift transit tactic employed so successfully by U.S. submarines. Zhukov found the target through pure luck.
Later, he would dwell on this. This is too good to be true. Then it came to him. A great prize, the 688, but what of counterattack? Worth the risk? Zhukov stalks much bigger game, the submarine refit bases. Destroying one of those meant neutralizing all the units that subsisted there. Risk of getting killed by this lone 688 must not be taken.
The eager Vasiliy announced, his hand upon the firing key, “Ready to fire, Captain.”
The captain ordered in his firmest voice, “Check fire! We’ll let this one slip away. We’ve far more important fish to fry.”
Vasiliy could not believe the words he had just heard. His hand tightened on the firing lever and actually moved it half an inch. Then his oath of obedience outweighed his hatred of Americans and he removed his hand from the lever.
The captain ordered, “Secure the launchers.”
Repeating the order, Vasiliy said, “Secure the launchers.”
He wondered if the target could have been USS Denver. Had he missed a golden opportunity to settle accounts with Lieutenant Brent Maddock?
Phil Reynolds and all in Newport would never know how close they came to an eternal rest in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, within half an inch of motion by the hand of a man, whose hatred for Americans defied belief.
Captain Marty Baker completed his briefing to the President on the latest MACEDONIAN developments. His third visit to the White House found him much more at ease.
President Dempsey asked the CNO, “What’s your learned opinion, Admiral Baines?”
“Guarded optimism, sir. Everything we have points to the Soviets moving to plan and unaware of what we know. Mr. President, if this continues like it has, we should eat their lunch.”
The President asked, “A decisive battle?”
The CNO said, “Decisive in terms of winning the war? No, sir, but it’ll crack one of our biggest nuts; open up the Pacific Sea lanes. And from my seat, only a security breach can stop us. Unfortunately, those are easier to come by than we like to believe.”
Turning to Marty the President said, “And your thoughts, Captain. Do you think we have them fooled?”
“I do, sir,” Marty replied. “As the Admiral points out, all the data shows their plan to be authentic and they carry it out on schedule. If they are as precise as their plan, we’ll strike a major blow.”
The President went on, “Would either of you hazard a guess as to how many submarines both they and we might lose in this scrape?”
Baines responded, “With the element of surprise on our side, I’d say we should knock out up to fifty of them, sir.”
The President asked, “And what should we expect?”
“We hold the element of surprise so I expect light casualties, sir, especially against the northern fleet. Our ships have substantial acoustical advantage over them.”
“When will it start?”
Marty answered, “Twelve hours from now, Mr. President.”
At that instant, the President’s intercom buzzed.
Pushing the talk button the President said, “Yes, Mrs. Bonner.”
“Senator Manning, Mr. President.”
“I’ll take it.”
The President put Darrel Manning on the speakerphone because he knew it irritated the senator. The President could be very ornery when he wanted to.
“How are you this fine morning, Darrel? I’ve got the Navy in tow, Admiral Baines, and Captain Baker from NSA. You might recall them from our meeting the other day.”
It did upset Senator Manning when the President put him on the speakerphone with other people within earshot, but he pretended it didn’t and said, “Aha, the best audience I could have hoped for. I just received a call from my Associated Press source. I’m told a story is coming over the wire stating we’ve broken the top Soviet Naval code.”
Marty looked at the Admiral, each with a stunned expression on their faces then Marty quickly scrawled a note.
President Dempsey replied, “Well, Darrel, you really come up with some good ones. I’ll check the Navy out on that,” as he read the hastily written note.
GET OFF THE SPEAKERPHONE AND SAY YOU’LL CALL HIM BACK ON A DIFFERENT LINE. THEN TELL HIM WE PLANTED THE STORY BECAUSE WE WANT TO DISRUPT THEIR COMMUNICATIONS. THEY’RE A LOT LIKE US, SKEPTICAL ABOUT WHAT THEY GET FROM THE PRESS.
The President went off the speaker and told Manning he would call him back on his private line then dialed the senator’s number. “I got rid of my company,” he lied. “Now keep this under your hat, Darrel,” then delivered Marty’s message, paraphrased to his manner of speech.
Manning asked, “Do you think it wise to fool around like this? Maybe the Soviets are about to pull off something big. Perhaps we should move our meeting up. Timely action on your part could save a lot of American lives and property.”
“Good point, Darrel. I’ll think on that. Call if you have anything else for me.”
The two hung up.
The President asked Marty. “How bad is this?”
Marty said, “Let’s hope you just bought us the twelve hours we need. After that it’ll be too late for the news to do the Soviets any good.”
President Dempsey asked, “How did I do this?”
“By undermining the validity of the news release. It’s your private line, sir, but it’s on a public telephone system, almost certainly tapped at a dozen or more places. Transcripts of your comments are most likely at the Kremlin already and it’ll make them vacillate. Changing the primary code in the middle of a big operation is more risk than they’ll want to take.”
The President’s face brightened. “Next time those jackasses from CIA tell me military and intelligence are mutually exclusive terms, I’ll know what to say. Nice job, Captain.”
Brent’s final lingering doubt dissolved when an Akula passed overhead at the precise depth and speed as ordered in her sailing directions, within a mile of the designated track and off schedule by only twenty minutes. “This is unbelievable,” he said, “unique in the annals of military history. Never has a warring nation lost so much advantage through a single screw up.”
Jim Buchanan compared it with the loss of Robert E. Lee’s special order number 191. Wrapped around three cigars, two union soldiers found a copy and turned it over to their commander, General George B. McClellan. The find revealed Lee’s entire battle plan, in particular, the intended movements of his troops, a major contribution to Lee’s defeat at the Battle of Antietam.
Dan Patrick added, “But the rigid compliance with orders,” then asked, “do you suppose the zampolits keep a close check on their positions to ensure orders are being carried out?”
Buchanan replied, “If they run true to form, yes.”
Neither Brent nor Dan could resist being in the sonar shack for the initial contact with the enemy. Shortly, the call to battle stations came and the Denver crew commenced their initial MACEDONIAN attack.
The conning officer briefed Captain Buchanan on the tactical situation when he arrived at the Attack Center. The ship transitioned from normal cruise to full combat readiness.