Warriors

CHAPTER 65

There was a rap at the door.

Hawke opened it and a fresh-faced young orderly saluted him. “Sorry to disturb you, sir. The captain requires your presence in the wardroom. I’m instructed to tell you that it is urgent.”

“Tell him I’ll be right there.”

There were two sentries posted outside the wardroom. This is serious, Hawke thought as he was ushered inside. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw all the ranking officers seated around the large green baize table. And the president of the United States speaking on a large monitor, obviously a real-time feed. Hawke swiftly and silently took a seat and listened to what the very grave American president had to say:

“Captain Malpass, I cannot possibly overstate the urgency of this matter. Iwo Jima is gone. Disappeared. General Moon says Okinawa is next. God knows what’s after that. Pearl Harbor? Christ, Los Angeles? They are launching those goddamn Centurion ICBMs from the seabed. So it’s obvious there is at least one more of those unmanned submersibles out there in the Pacific. Hell, if not more than one.”

The sub’s skipper said, “Mr. President, Commander Hawke has just joined us here in the wardroom. I won’t ask you to repeat everything, but if you could briefly reiterate General Moon’s demands?”

Hawke was jolted upright.

General Moon? A name from his bloody past with a lot of unhappy memories attached.

The president said, “Certainly. At 0300 hours this morning I was informed that there had been a military coup in China. President Xi Jinping and his cabinet have been arrested. General Sun-Yat Moon, former head of Ministry for State Security, and now with the full support of the entire military establishment, is running the show. He immediately issued an ultimatum. We have twenty-four hours to agree to comply or he launches a third Centurion at God knows where on the U.S. mainland. All U.S. and allied forces must withdraw from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan within seventy-two hours. The Theodore Roosevelt carrier battle group withdraws from Okinawa and the Pacific region within six days; likewise, the Seventh Fleet and the Fifth Fleet with two marine divisions en route to the DMZ in South Korea. And the list goes on for another two pages. Let me stop a moment. Any questions so far, Commander Hawke?”

“Thank you, Mr. President, I do have one. The Chinese Centurion Project clearly lies at the very heart of this crisis. Defuse that and you defuse Moon. My colleagues at MI6 believe that the Centurion USV was designed for China by Dr. Chase. Is that your belief?”

“Absolutely. Got his name all over it.”

“I read in one of the classified White House dossiers about a built-in fail-safe system on board the USV. A way to destroy the vessel should it ever be in extremis. Is that accurate?”

“Yes, it is. There were forty missile silos aboard the Gaius Augustus. The forwardmost silo to port had a missile in the tube but no hatch cover for launch purposes. A young naval officer who’d been aboard her sat right here in my office and told me he was convinced it was a fail-safe self-destructive device to be used in cases of submarine malfunction or should the vessel fall into enemy hands. And I believe him.”

“As you may know, Mr. President, I am currently en route to Xinbu Island to attempt the hostage rescue of Dr. Chase and—”

“Sorry, did you say Xinbu Island, Commander?”

“Yes, sir, I did.”

“Thank God. CIA has just identified that island as General Moon’s headquarters. A top-secret Chinese military installation. It’s where he’s doing TV statements and interviews and issuing all these goddamn ultimatums from. Also, we just learned, it’s where Langley believes he’s holding Chase. We’re looking at Xinbu in real time here in the situation room right now, via satellite.”

“I’ll wave to you when I get there, Mr. President.”

Rosow smiled.

“How in hell did you know about Xinbu Island before I did?”

“Mrs. Chase, sir. Luckily for us she’s now aboard this submarine with her two children.”

“Lucky doesn’t begin to cover it. Listen, Commander Hawke, I’ll go to war with China if I have to, but there will be countless millions of casualties and a world spun out of control. So timing is critical to say the least. Get Bill Chase the hell out of there and find out how the Centurion fail-safe works. He designed those submarines, so he damn well knows how to destroy them. With them off the board, Moon has zero leverage in the Pacific.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

“It’s literally the only way out of this death spiral, Commander Hawke. Five minutes ago, I didn’t think we had a way out.”

“I understand completely, sir. Get him out and get the codes. Chase and I will make every effort to destroy the Centurions together. How long have I got?”

“Until noon tomorrow, Greenwich Mean Time. At which point I have to pick up the phone and call General Moon. I will have two choices: agree to dismantle America’s military might in the Pacific in order to avoid global nuclear holocaust, or tell him to go fuck himself. I prefer the latter. This guy is telling the world that the United States is in decline and it’s only a matter of time until our demise. We need to send this crazy bastard an unmistakable signal to back the fuck off, pardon my French.”

“I suppose in that case you’d better wish me luck, Mr. President.”

“Son, listen to me very carefully. Because this, and I mean right this minute, is a moment in time that will define history for the next two or three decades, perhaps centuries. Believe me when I tell you, our whole nation wishes you and your men Godspeed and good luck, Commander Hawke.”