to observe, get an idea of what was going on, and get the heck back to report and to survive. From the few words Paul had received, High Command figured this was going to be a running battle for some time, and they needed commandos who knew how to play the game.
Readying the Javelin, Paul waited. He judged the distance to the nearest Galahads. Four thousand meters, three thousand five hundred meters, three thousand meters, two thousand five hundred meters—
He pulled the trigger. The missile popped out, and it flashed at the enemy. Romo hadn’t needed to use the heavy machine gun yet, so he watched the interplay.
“Let’s go,” Paul said.
Romo seemed as if he might take a few shots first with the .50 caliber. Then he shrugged and let go of the machine gun, abandoning it. They started crawling away across the floor, heading for the back door. A second before the Javelin took out a Galahad, Paul and Romo climbed to their feet and ran. They barely made it in time. Another set of Razorbacks had arrived, and they hosed the beachfront area with chain-gun fire. It was mayhem, and the few Marines shooting back soon stopped doing so. Some had folded up shop and retreated. The others died at their posts.
“This isn’t good,” Romo said, as they sprinted past a burning scuba rental shop.
“No,” Paul said. “It isn’t.”
They saved their words after that, using their breath for running deeper into the doomed city.
-11-
Breakout
From
2040, July 7-10. Beachhead. A scratch US battalion and Marine company in Rochester, with strong concentrations of SOCOM commandos, sniped at the amphibious landers. This was also the first GD amphibious assault in its history and something of a muddle. Together, the two situations sowed confusion on the beach and delayed an immediate capture of the city.
GD General Zeller landed in New York State with the second wave across Lake Ontario. His first action was to act as a traffic control officer, speeding the capture of Rochester.
Loud knocking woke Anna out of a deep sleep. She lifted her head and saw the first dawning of light beside the edges of the curtain. What time was it? Beside her, David stirred uneasily as if he’d had a bad dream.
To Anna’s shock, the bedroom door opened. An abashed secret service agent poked his head in.
“I beg your pardon, madam,” he said, “but it’s something of an emergency. Do you think you could wake the President?”
Anna glanced at David. While half-asleep, he dragged a pillow over his head, jamming it down to keep out the waking world. She turned back to the agent.
“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is here,” the agent said, “together with the Director of Homeland Security. There’s been an invasion.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Anna asked. The GD Expeditionary Force had invaded Canada, but that had happened weeks ago. The agent looked sober, not as if he’d been hallucinating. So what was he talking about?
“The Germans have crossed Lake Ontario,” the agent said, as if reading her thoughts. “They’ve entered the United States.”
She blinked at him with incomprehension, still not understanding.
“They’re in New York State,” he said. “They’re unloading at Rochester even as we speak.”
Rochester? But that was in New York, not in Ontario. Her eyes widened. It finally registered what he was saying. The GD had used Lake Ontario to surprise them. It sounded as if they’d invaded en masse, not just raided. This was terrible.
“Give me a minute,” she said. “The President will be up soon.”
Fifteen minutes later, General Alan finished explaining the situation. He used a large map spread over the coffee table in the living room. Tracing with his finger, he’d showed where the Germans had landed and their likely destinations the next day, the next three days and the next week.
The President wore a blue bathrobe as he sipped coffee. The robe had a Presidential seal on the right breast. His hair was still messy from sleep. Director Harold sat on the sofa with him. He had been quiet throughout the general’s talk, leaving his coffee untouched.
Anna reentered the room and set a plate of sandwiches on the table beside the pot of coffee. Quietly, she sat down and covertly studied David.
He stared too much, as if his thoughts drifted. The burdens kept piling onto his shoulders, didn’t they? The generals had finally sealed the GD blitzkrieg in Southwestern Ontario before it could hit Detroit, and now this happened.
“They suckered us,” the President said.
General Alan nodded. “I believe you’re right, Mr. President.”
David leaned over the map, tracing places with his index finger. “They’ll want to open up the Niagara Peninsula so they can transport supplies more easily into New York.”
“I agree,” Alan said.
“Why come in at Rochester?” the President asked.
“Maybe because it’s the midpoint between Buffalo and Syracuse,” Alan said. “If they take Syracuse, they’ll cut off Army Group New York holding the north. The supplies will dry up for them up there.”
“I can see that,” David said, as he stared at the map. “Clearly, we can’t let Syracuse fall.”
Director Harold stirred. “I’m afraid that we lack the troops to hold on there, sir.”
David glanced at Max.
Anna waited for the man to suggest nuclear weapons to destroy the amphibious beachhead. If they annihilated Rochester—made it a nuclear wasteland—might they not nip this in the bud?
Max didn’t meet David’s gaze. Instead, the director studied the map, and he held his tongue, saying nothing further.
David turned to the general and then glanced at the map. His thoughts seemed to drift off to another place.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs cleared his throat.
David looked up at him again. It seemed to take an effort of will, but the President unglued his lips. “What do you suggest? I’d admit… this one baffles me. I’m not sure what to do.”
Alan took off his glasses, blew on a lens and brushed it against his uniform. He put the glasses back on before speaking:
“I’ve given this some thought, sir. The first thing is that we’re going to have to get creative to solve the dilemma. I believe we’re going to have to accept risks that might otherwise seem…well, seem imprudent perhaps.”
“How many Germans are landing at Rochester?” David asked.
“Yes,” Alan said. “That’s the question. The answer so far is many different corps. I’m beginning to think that all of GD Twelfth Army will come ashore there. That’s far too many enemies at the worst possible place for us. A single GD corps would be too much now. We have nothing in reserve, sir.”
“Then…what do we do?” David asked. “Is it over?”
“I have an idea,” Max said quietly.
