Tiger's Claw: A Novel

company’s dime—the Air Force hasn’t paid him anything yet. All we’re doing is giving him the equipment.”

“Still sounds too good to be true, sir.”

“Maybe,” Conaway said. “But you could make use of twenty B-1 bombers out there in your theater, couldn’t you?”

“Hell yes,” Hood said, “especially if they have air-to-air. Unless we get access to air bases in the Philippines, Brunei, or Vietnam, fighters are just too short legged to operate effectively in the South China Sea, and that will include the F-35—if we ever get any of those. PACAF relies on the Navy’s carriers to do the bulk of the air-to-air missions except for Hawaii, Alaska, and Korea.”

“And with the budget cuts, there are fewer and fewer carrier deployments in the Pacific and Indian Oceans,” Conaway pointed out.

“Exactly, sir,” Hood said. “If I remember, McLanahan was in command of that spooky black bomb wing that employed the high-tech B-1s and B-52s that had AMRAAMs and did everything else under the sun—he even put antiballistic missile lasers on a BUFF. If anybody can pull it off, he can.”

“I’ll have to dust off that proposal, give it a look, and pass it on up to CJCS and see what he says,” Conaway said. “After the shit that’s happened today, they might scrape up the money to rebuild some of those old Bones.”

THE WHITE HOUSE OVAL OFFICE

A SHORT TIME LATER

“I sincerely apologize for taking so long to return your phone call, Mr. President,” the voice of the Chinese translator said, speaking on behalf of People’s Republic of China President Zhou Qiang. “I have been attending several emergency meetings regarding this most unfortunate occurrence.”

“This is much more than an ‘unfortunate occurrence,’ Mr. President,” Kenneth Phoenix said angrily. With him on the conference call in the Oval Office were Vice President Ann Page, National Security Adviser William Glenbrook, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Timothy Spellings, and Secretary of State Herbert Kevich. Kevich gave the president an anxious glance, silently warning him to remain calm. “Our initial reports from the scene say that the Coast Guard search-and-rescue helicopter was pursued by a fighter launched from your aircraft carrier and was shot down without any attempt at visual identification and without any warning. That is an overt act of war, Mr. President, and I demand an explanation!”

“Please calm yourself, sir,” Zhou said. “A war is not what anyone wishes, not at all, the least of all China. I do not have a complete understanding of the situation, sir. Reports are still coming in, and the ones I have received are contradictory and incomplete. If you will please be patient, sir, I will personally brief you when I know the facts.”

“I want an explanation now, Mr. President!” Phoenix said. “Stalling only makes it apparent that you wish to cover up a serious act of aggression.”

“I do not think it is fair to you, myself, or the families of those affected to make any decisions or actions without first obtaining all the facts, Mr. President,” Zhou said. Phoenix tried to gauge Zhou’s truthfulness and demeanor through his own voice in the background, but could not. “I can only tell you what I have sorted out in my own mind, based on the rather disjointed reports I have been given: that it appears to be a horrible and tragic accident.”

“An ‘accident’? You launched a fighter after one of our search-and-rescue helicopters and opened fire without even attempting to identify it?”

“Those are not the facts as I understand them, Mr. President,” Zhou said. “The indications I have from the battle group commander is that he ordered a fighter to pursue a helicopter that appeared to be retrieving wreckage from the crash of your P-8 patrol plane. After repeated warnings by both the carrier and the pilot of the fighter, hostile intentions were verified, and the pilot was authorized to shoot.”

“What hostile intentions were those?”

“Reports are not absolutely clear,” Zhou said. “The helicopter refused to comply with instructions, and the fighter pilot reported he observed gunfire coming from a side door of the helicopter. Standing orders authorize our planes to return fire immediately if attacked, which he did, with tragic results. I sincerely apologize for this horrible accident, President Phoenix. This is a disaster of the highest order, and I am solely to blame.”

“I don’t buy it, Mr. President,” Phoenix said. “A Coast Guard helicopter is very hard to mistake, even at night, and our Coast Guard cutter was monitoring many frequencies and heard no such warnings.”

“I do not know about such things, Mr. President,” Zhou said. “Mine are preliminary reports from the commanders on the scene. A full investigation will be conducted and a report issued to you, I assure you.”

“I expect the People’s Liberation Army Navy to stay away from the site of our Poseidon patrol plane crash,” Phoenix said. “That aircraft carried sensitive materials that China has no right to recover.”

“Our naval forces certainly do have the right to recover anything it finds in waters owned and controlled by China, and that includes the South Sea where your plane crashed,” Zhou said. “However, in sincere apology and abject humiliation for the accidental downing of your patrol helicopter, I will order People’s Liberation Army Navy surface vessels to stay away from the crash site. We reserve the right to monitor your ships in the South Sea, of course.”

“As long as your forces do not interfere with ours, sir.”

“We will not interfere with any peaceful vessels or aircraft,” Zhou said. “But we recognize that with all these warships and planes operating in the waters of the South Sea, mixing in with civil and commercial traffic, accidents can and, as we have seen, do happen. I urge all parties to think and act responsibly. China stands ready to assist your rescue and recovery forces at any time, Mr. President.”

“I thank you, but that won’t be necessary, sir,” Phoenix said. “We will be conducting our own investigations, and then we will see who has been acting responsibly . . . and who has not. Good day, Mr. President.” And Phoenix drew a line across his throat with his thumb, and the connection was terminated.

“Bastard,” Phoenix said. “Tim, are Coast Guard helicopters armed?”

“The MH-60T Jayhawk, which are the ones usually deployed on medium- and high-endurance cutters, have machine guns to fire warning shots at suspected smugglers, and sniper rifles to take out engines of fleeing vessels,” General Spellings replied. “I don’t know if the Jayhawk that went down was a T-model, but I’m betting it was.”

“Is it possible our guys were shooting at something, and the fighter thought it was being fired upon and returned fire?” Phoenix asked.

“You don’t believe any of that load of crap Zhou was spouting, do you, sir?” Ann Page asked. “That helicopter was deliberately shot down, and probably the Poseidon patrol plane too. No question.”

“Why would the Chinese shoot down a Coast Guard search-and-rescue helicopter, Miss Vice President?” Secretary of State Kevich asked. “That does not make any sense.”

“I don’t know, Herbert,” Ann said. “Maybe they thought our guys found some piece of damning evidence. Maybe they just wanted to do an act that was plausibly deniable, and they found it. Maybe they just wanted to throw some weight around. You heard him: Zhou thinks the South China Sea belongs to China. If he ‘accidentally’ shoots down aircraft in ‘his’ ocean, he may think he’s completely justified.”

“I need to find out,” the president said. “If the crew of that helicopter was firing at something in the water— pirates, a ship trying to take a body, classified materials, anything—then it’s possible for that fighter to misinterpret it as an attack and open fire.”

Ann Page shook her head, not believing it for a second, but she remained silent. “I’ll find out for sure, sir,” Spellings said, “and I’ll find out what the procedures are for the helicopter crews if they did encounter something like what you describe.”

“Zhou won’t be able to throw his weight around much longer with the George Washington carrier strike group barreling down into ‘his’ ocean,” Vice President Page said. “But once the George Washington enters the South China Sea, will we regain the strategic and tactical advantage again? Obviously we were surprised and outgunned in this encounter, and it cost us a lot. Will the carrier strike group give us the military advantage again?”