enormous explosion.

The first concussion shock slammed against the South Dakota, tilting the submarine and throwing officers and crew out of their chairs or positions and onto the deck. Before they had time to right themselves, the second shockwave struck, breaching the integrity of the hull, ripping it open like a bear smashing a can of beans.

Cold ocean saltwater poured into the submarine. Captain Leroy Clay looked up from where he lay on the deck. Water boiled and rushed toward him. He would have won. He had won, but the Chinese were changing the rules.

The water picked up the six-foot-six captain and hurled him against a bulkhead. It knocked him unconscious and then ocean water flooded the South Dakota. The crumpled war vessel sank like a stone, beaten to death by nuclear detonations.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Ushered in by the secretary, Anna timidly stepped into the Oval Office. President Sims sat behind his desk, leaning back as he spoke to General Alan. The two of them seemed to be in an earnest conversation. Both men turned as the secretary and Anna entered.

“Ms. Chen,” Sims said. “Good, I’m glad you’re here. Perhaps you can help me convince the General I’m right.”

The secretary quietly took her leave, closing the door behind her.

“Help, sir?” Anna asked.

Sims scowled as he said, “The Chinese Navy has begun to use nuclear depth charges against our submarines.”

Anna closed her eyes as if she could shut out reality. If she couldn’t see it, it wasn’t real. Here it was—the escalation of nuclear weapons. This was exactly what she had feared. She opened her eyes, deciding to face fate head on.

“Using Levin’s spy-ring in Beijing, our commanders were able to target several SI transports, but at a terrible cost to our dwindling submarine fleet.” Sims shook his head. “We’re running out of options. If the Chinese have begun using nuclear weapons at sea, we have no course but to do the same.”

“Oh,” Anna said.

General Alan became stone-faced.

“First the attack in Donner Pass, now this,” Sims said. “It has to stop. We no longer have any choice.”

“Uh…if you’ll recall, sir,” Anna said, “we used nuclear weapons first.”

Sims’s face thundered and he banged a fist on the desk. “I need to speak with Director Levin.”

“Sir, if you would just—” Anna said.

“Not now,” Sims said. “The Chinese are raining nuclear weapons—”

“Mr. President!” Anna said, speaking louder than she ever had to him.

Sims raised an eyebrow, glanced at General Alan and sat farther back in his chair.

“Sir,” Anna said, speaking more softly and with greater deference. “You know surely that I understand the Chinese mindset.”

“Dr. Levin made that clear to me, yes.”

“I think if you take a step back a moment, you will see that they have carefully chosen how they use these nuclear weapons.”

“Explain that,” Sims said.

“The Chinese have not targeted cities and they have refrained from attacking land formations.”

“It’s simply a matter of time now before they do,” Sims said.

“Sir, I would like to point out that we used nuclear weapons first. In the Alaskan War, we used nuclear torpedoes on two different occasions. Not once did the Chinese do similarly.”

“Are you suggesting the Chinese are superior to us,” General Alan asked in a biting tone.

What’s wrong with him? Anna wondered. She and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs were on the same page regarding nuclear weapons. Now his racial bigotry was interfering with his better judgment.

“I’m simply pointing out that Jian Hong must have been under tremendous pressure to retaliate against us,” Anna said, “to allow his military to hurt us with nuclear weapons just as we’ve hurt them.”

“Then you are saying they are morally superior to us,” Alan said. “You’re suggesting we forced them to use nuclear weapons.”

“If that’s true,” Anna said, “then they forced us to use them. They attacked us. They’re invading our country, which makes them the aggressors. Men—and women, too, for that matter—aren’t always logical. In my opinion, we are not even rational beings, but rationalizing ones. We act on our emotions and then make up reasons—rational sounding reasons—for why we do X Y and Z.”

“What are you suggesting with this mumbo-jumbo?” Sims asked.

“That further nuclear weapon usage will escalate into a possible world-wide holocaust.”

“Our ABM stations will protect us from that,” Sims said.

“We’ve seen three different instances now where the nuclear attack came from everything but an ICBM,” Anna said. “Will the ABM stations protect us from other, imaginative nuclear weapon use?”

“Are you suggesting we drop our pants for the Chinese?” Sims asked. “That we let them nuke us at will?”

“No, sir,” Anna said, her voice hardening. “I’m suggesting we beat the Chinese in Los Angeles and slow the speed of the enemy assault.”

Sims sat blinking at her. “That’s a swift change of topic.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Very well,” the President said, indicating a chair. “Make your case.”

Anna sat down and proceeded to tell the President and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs about Operation Flipper and Operation Vengeance in World War II. Each time, the raid had targeted an enemy commander.

“Are you suggesting we attempt to assassinate Chairman Jian Hong?” Sims asked. “I’m not sure I like the idea of starting an assassin’s war between heads of state.”

“Mr. President,” Anna said, “I have evidence that shows the critical nature of Marshal Shin Nung’s presence in the current conflict.”

“Let’s hear it,” Sims said.

Anna told him what she had learned about Nung and his previous exploits in Alaska and Siberia.

“Let me see if I get this straight,” Sims said. “You believe the speed and ferocity of the present attack is due to Marshal Nung?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, yes sir,” Anna said.

The President turned to General Alan. “What are your thoughts on this?”

Alan stared at Anna. Slowly, he began to nod. “It’s an interesting concept, certainly. How do you suggest we exploit this information?”

“In a similar manner as we solved the Blue Swan missile crises,” Anna said. “Maybe we should contact General Ochoa of SOCOM.”

“Send our commandos in one more time?” Alan asked. “It would be their death sentence. Frankly, I doubt they would get anywhere near Marshal Nung.”

“I’m not saying it’s a good chance,” Anna said. “I’m just giving you another option, a way to help our beleaguered troops in Los Angeles. If you took away the guiding hand, it might slow down the pace of the enemy assault. That could possibly be the margin—”

“Yes!” the President said, slapping his hand hard against the desk. “I like it. It’s bold, and it’s something other than just waiting to lose. In the end, in some fashion, we have to go over to the assault to win. I know it will risk the lives of these brave men, but that’s better, I think every one of them would agree, than waiting to die in their foxholes.”

“Should I look into this?” General Alan asked.

“No,” Sims said, picking up his phone. “I’m going to talk to General Ochoa and get the ball rolling right now.”

Вы читаете Invasion: California
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату