“Just a shoulder wound, Captain. It hit some bone and tissue but I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
Chapter 66
The memorial service was held on the forward deck to accommodate a large crowd. Everyone on the ship, except for those on watch, attended the service. People stood on top of gun turrets, torpedo batteries and lined up along the entire rail. It wasn’t an Episcopal mass but a short inter-denominational ceremony. After Father Rick read the formal parts of the service, he asked Captain Patterson to approach the microphone.
“Yesterday was a day that no one expected nor could have expected,” Ashley said. “It was a day that saw treason, violence, murder, and amazing courage. It was a day that broke our hearts and made us proud. Chaplain Sampson has asked us to pray for our fallen brothers as well as for the misguided souls who turned their backs on us and our country. Like you, I bowed my head in prayer. Let us also pray for our wounded shipmate, Petty Officer Simon Planck, whose heroism and quick thinking saved countless lives.” Ashley said, nodding in Planck’s direction. Planck was sitting in a wheelchair off to the starboard side. The crew gave him a thunderous round of applause and cheers, a sound that Planck never expected to hear. He raised his good arm in thanks.
“Our mission continues. May God grant us the strength to carry on…so we can soon go home.”
Another round of loud applause and cheers. Not the normal sounds of a memorial service, thought Father Rick, but then what is normal for a ship from 2013 stuck in 1861?
After the memorial service, Ashley called Navy Secretary Wells on the radio. She had to consider radio security now because Bradley presumably had a radio and could monitor any messages to or from the California. There was a secure channel, but she was sure Bradley knew what it was.
She told Wells she would be there within the hour. When Wells asked why they couldn’t just talk on the radio, Ashley told him that she would explain when she saw him.
At 0915 Ashley stepped onto the platform at the bottom of the ladder to board the motor launch. The boatswain’s pipe sounded, followed by “California, departing.” Frank Conroy accompanied her.
As they motored up the Potomac, Ashley said to Conroy, “The last time I was in Washington, we all discussed theoretical military possibilities. Here we are after one day of hellish combat. Our war has begun.”
“Yes, it has, Captain,” said Conroy,” and I’ve already lost 25 percent of my men.”
“If I may, Captain, what about Bradley?”
“Do you mean to ask if we’re going to try to capture him?”
“Yes, Ma’am, that’s exactly what I mean.”
“The answer is yes, and we’ll discuss the details later today. But for now Lieutenant, I want you to plant one thing in your brain. The mission to find Bradley will not be ‘payback.’ The mission will be to find and capture a traitor and murderer.”
They arrived at the Navy Department at 1030 hours. Ashley told Wells about the events of July 2, and asked Conroy to give his observations. Wells was surprised but not shocked. In the strange situation of the California, it was inevitable that there may be some defections, he thought. Ashley also told him about the security precautions she had taken.
“The only change in plans, Mr. Secretary, will be our ability to train Union troops and supply small arms support. Over 50 percent of our small arms have been destroyed, including the rocket propelled grenades. My objective now is to make sure that we can provide support from our major weapons systems.”
Wells asked about the impact of Bradley telling General Beauregard about the plans.
“That is a major concern, Sir. But Lt. Thurber has convinced me that Bradley may withhold his knowledge of Operation Gray Ships, as well as his knowledge of the history of Bull Run, simply to enhance his credibility with the South. My thinking is that maybe he wants the South to believe that the Gray Ships really are a fleet.”
“And there is another fact that we know for certain, one that gives us an insight into Bradley’s plans.”
“Please go on, Captain. Facts are always superior to speculation.”
“The Chief Petty Officer that was killed, Bradley’s accomplice, was found with an object in his hand that we call a printed circuit board. It controls the firing procedures of all of our missiles and big guns. There is one circuit board with each weapon platform. The obvious objective was to disable the California’s ability to fire weapons.”
“Thank God the man was intercepted,” said Wells.
“Yes, but Bradley doesn’t know that. He thinks that the Battle of Bull Run will start without the California’s firepower. He wants Bull Run to happen, so he can be the hero who saved the day.”
Chapter 67
On July 3 at 1300 hours, Ashley met with Lt. Conroy in her office, along with her new Executive Officer, Ivan Campbell and Jack Thurber.
“I’ve invited Lt. Thurber here because of his long career in investigative journalism. He’s the closest we have to a detective on board.” And frankly, I just like to be near him.
“We’re about to start a manhunt almost as serious as the search for Osama Bin Laden. In a way it’s more serious, because Bradley can still do us a lot of harm. Lt. Thurber is of the opinion that Bradley may not divulge the Gray Ships secret or even the upcoming Battle of Bull Run. But we can’t assume the best. We have to be prepared that Bradley will try to undermine the Union efforts.”
“The big question, of course, is where to find him. The South is a gigantic area, and Bradley could be anywhere. Any thoughts?”
“He’s between here and Richmond, Captain, and closer to Richmond than here,” said Conroy.
Ashley, Campbell and Thurber stared at Conroy.
“How can you possibly know that, Frank?”
Conroy explained that the new two-way radios have powerful homing devices in them, and very few people know this. The device is a simple homing beacon, nothing as sophisticated as a GPS receiver in a cell phone, but it is a beacon. Conroy told them that he stood on deck and tried it. He received a very faint signal from a location in a direct line between them and Richmond. “The closer you get to the radio, the stronger will be the sound. It will make the difference between finding a needle in a hay stack and finding a needle on a pool table. By the way, no signal came from the weapons camp that we destroyed, so the only radio that’s in the wrong hands is Bradley’s.”
Ashley looked at a map. She pointed out that Richmond is about 90 miles by land from their current location. “It’s quite a hike,” she said.
“The plan, Captain, will look like this. We steal some rebel uniforms and horses and head to Richmond.”
“Where will you get the uniforms, and who will teach your guys to ride horses?”
Conroy explained that clothing supply depots are usually located at an army’s command headquarters, such as Beauregard’s, near the destroyed weapons camp. “All of my guys ride horses, Captain. We were trained on them for Afghanistan.”
“So we sneak in, steal some uniforms, steal some horses, and be on our merry way. Piece of cake,” said Conroy. “If you’re a SEAL, that is.”
Chapter 68
The Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin was dragging a sonar array, trying to get an audible return from the presumably sunken California. At one point during the search, the Gallatin came within 25 yards of the wormhole through which the California slipped into 1861.