Danny remembered Mofitt’s words an hour later when the Whiplash team boarded the Osprey to start their operation. The Marine backup unit that was supposed to ride with Whiplash had yet to arrive in their Hummers.
He went to Sergeant Hurst, the head of the security detail, and told him that he was taking him and his men as backups; the Marines en route would take their place as the security force.
Hurst didn’t even try to suppress the smile on his face.
“Leave two men here to watch everything,” Danny told him. “Boston — Chief Rockland — will take care of them. I’ll tell your commander I made the switch. And make sure Corporal Mofitt is aboard the Osprey.”
“Mofitt, sir?”
“Yes,” said Danny. “I think he deserves another chance.”
The sergeant narrowed his eyes, but then nodded. “Yes, sir. As you say.”
8
“I hardly think China will go to war over a minesweeper,” President Todd told the Secretary of State, Alistar Newhaven, over the secure video connection. “Especially since they took the first shot.”
Newhaven frowned. The lighting in the State Department “tank” made him look ten years older than he was, and he was no spring chicken to begin with, as the saying went.
“I’m just reporting their stance,” he told her. “They’re calling it a provocation.”
“Theirs or ours?”
“They are one-sided, obviously.”
“We have tape and plenty of evidence, and frankly they ought to be glad that we didn’t sink their damn ship and destroy their aircraft.”
“Madam President, we have come so close to a rapprochement, and now it’s going to go up in smoke.”
“I’m not going to knuckle under to bullying tactics. Reiterate our earlier statement. We are chasing international outlaws in accordance with the UN resolution,” said Todd, trying to speak in as diplomatic a tone as she could muster, “and in the interests of justice and safety, they would do well to stay the hell out of our way. Fix my verbiage, obviously. But make it clear that we’re not backing down. That’s my position.”
“I wasn’t suggesting we back down—”
“Good.”
Newhaven started to say something she thought was an objection. Todd cut him off. “If you can’t do that, then submit your resignation.”
He looked stricken. “I was about to say that I had no problem with it.”
“Good. I’m glad we agree.” Todd flicked off the call and hit the next one in the queue — Charles Lovel, the Secretary of Defense.
“Mr. Lovel, you’re up to date, I assume?” she said, knowing that he was. “The Flighthawks are grounded until further notice?”
“They are. We’re in the process of providing a fix.” He switched the topic quickly, subtly attacking Whiplash and its unique command arrangement. “I have to say, Madam President, that this would have been better from the start if the CIA was not involved. The operation should have been launched by the Navy.”
“In a month, when the rebels they were supporting were in full control of eastern Malaysia.”
“I don’t think that would have happened. And here we have basically your private army—”
“You’re starting to sound like certain members of Congress,” answered the President. “Whiplash is under joint control, Mr. Lovel. Your department is responsible for the people.”
“They answer to the Joint Chiefs, not me.”
“I’m not in the mood for a turf battle,” warned the President.
“I’m not starting one. The Joint Chiefs are recommending that our submarine move between the Chinese and the Whiplash operation,” added Lovel. “Frankly, I’d recommend a greater show of force.”
Now it was Todd’s turn to argue for restraint. “We don’t want this to escalate too far if we can help it,” she told the secretary. “Nor do I want to call attention to the fact that we’ve lost two of our most advanced UAVs. Responding too strongly will only make them more curious, not less. How capable is the submarine?”
“Very. But it doesn’t have a land force. Or an air arm.”
The submarine Lovel was referring to was the Connecticut, a Seawolf-class sub that had been assigned to shadow the Chinese carrier. It was currently running a pair of unmanned submersibles known as ROUVs — remote-operated underwater vehicles — within a few hundred yards of the carrier. The ROUVs were not capable of attacking the Chinese carrier or its escorts, but were recording data and could be used to divert attention if the submarine did attack. The sub itself was roughly a mile outside the defensive screen.
The U.S. Navy had two aircraft carriers and their escorts near the Philippines, but Todd hesitated sending them south.
“Let’s see what Whiplash comes up with before we make any further decisions,” she said.
“Very well. But I’ve asked SOCCOM to move a SEAL team into position aboard the Reagan. They’re as capable of Whiplash in a situation like this — This isn’t a case where high-tech alone can get the job done. If anything, it’s been just the opposite.”
The remark, to Todd, was one more indication that the Secretary of Defense wanted to shut Whiplash and the Office of Special Projects down. He’d never particularly liked either the group or the arrangement with the CIA, arguing that all special operations should be handled by SOCCOM, or the Special Operations Command, which was in charge of the SEALs, Special Forces, Rangers, and other spec op units. While occasionally accused of being cowboys, SOCCOM was a highly disciplined operation with a clear chain of command — and not coincidentally enjoyed a very tight relationship with the secretary, who had made sure several of his friends had high places in the command structure.
“Thank you for your assessment, Charles,” said Todd, filing her observation away. “We’ll reconvene when we have news.”
9
Braxton had to hand it to the Dreamland people: not only had the Sabre UAVs landed intact, but their self-diagnosis modules declared they were in fit shape and ready for action pending refueling. It was far better than he had hoped: even the second generation Flighthawks would have experienced some damage to their wing structure.
While it was their “brains” he wanted, the Sabres’ airfoils would be of great interest to several countries, and could undoubtedly fetch a considerable sum if sold. The question was to whom. The two most likely candidates were China and Iran, but neither was suitable. Braxton hated the Chinese, and knew the Iranians could never be trusted, as an earlier attempt at a deal with them had proven.
Russia was a possibility, though that would also carry risks. The country’s prime minister was mercurial, which meant those under him were mercurial as well; they were as likely to try to steal aircraft as they were to actually pay for them, and Russia’s annoying tendency to insist on using Russian banks to initiate payment might even help the U.S.: for some reason, Russian officials refused to believe that the NSA routinely watched all large transactions, and would undoubtedly use that lead to break into Braxton’s financial network.
But the other countries that could afford to pay the amount of money the UAVs were worth were allies of the U.S., at least nominally, which would make dealing with them even more difficult. The only one he really would trust would be Israel, but they had a strong relationship with President Todd, who had backed them most recently on the Syrian partition.
All of that was to be worried about later. Right now Braxton had to get the aircraft aboard the launch and meet up with the cargo container.