Hafiz al-Yamani could barely talk above a whisper. "I feel the same way. I'll never doubt you again, I promise."
Shayhidi belly-laughed. "I had you two going, didn't I? You'll think twice next time before you screw me, right?"
Al-Yamani closed his eyes and sobbed. "Right — that's right."
"Yes," Ahmed Musashi said, with a deep sigh of relief. "We just want to be faithful to you and to the business — your business."
"Well, that's certainly the right attitude. Glad to know you're back on board," Shayhidi said, and then shot both men in the head.
He put them in body bags and placed them in the deep graves he had hired a transient to dig. Next, he broke the divan into pieces and picked up the bloodstained throw rugs. He buried them on top of Musashi and al-Yamani and then covered their graves with dirt and tree limbs. Shayhidi went inside, washed his face and hands, rested for a few minutes, and then called the hotel. The duty limousine would pick him up in ten minutes.
The stars were still shining brightly when the attack submarine USS Scranton rose from the depths to fire four Tomahawk cruise missiles. The weapons were aimed at the Military Air Base Number 1, located at Santa Lucia in the state of Mexico. Flying low at a speed of 550 miles per hour, the Tomahawks would take thirty-four minutes to reach their target. After the first missile exploded, the others would arrive in staggered order.
Seventy-three miles south of Scranton, the attack submarine USS Newport News was in the process of launching four Tomahawks at Colonia Federal Air Base southwest of Santa Lucia. The flight time to the target would be thirty-six minutes. Both submarines returned to deeper water to await further orders.
In the Pacific Ocean off Baja California Sur, the attack submarine USS Jefferson City was in the process of launching four Tomahawks at the Zapopan Air Base. The flight time would be nineteen minutes.
Off the coast of Baja California Norte, the USS Columbus launched two Tomahawks at the El Cipres Air Base and then launched two missiles at the La Paz Air Base. They also launched two missiles at the Guaymas Air Base. One of the Guaymas missiles malfunctioned as it cleared the surface, forcing the submarine crew to fire another Tomahawk.
A total of six U. S. Navy surface combatants, equally divided between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, launched a dozen Tomahawks at the Santa Gertrudis Air Base, the Culiacan Air Base, the Chihuahua Air Base, the Monterrey Air Base, the Hermosillo Air Base, and the Tampico facility.
The results were good, but not 90 percent as hoped. Space-based assets indicated that Santa Lucia was now inoperable and two of the F-5E Tigers had been destroyed. Another F-5E had been heavily damaged, and the runway was going to need extensive repairs. Most of the other airfields were badly damaged, but a few could still support air operations.
Owning the skies over Mexico, U. S. Air Force and Navy fighter/ attack aircraft quickly finished the assault on the air bases with a variety of precision-guided missiles and bombs. The Tijuana Air Base was spared, barring any attempt to use it for hostile purposes.
Unfortunately, eight people were killed during the attacks and another twenty-one were injured, three seriously. The news flashed around the world in a matter of minutes, causing rioting and anti-American demonstrations in many distant countries and cities. The entire country of Mexico was in a state of calamity, and angry mobs were taking to the streets to burn American flags. U. S. citizens were fleeing the country as quickly as possible.
The U. S. embassy in Mexico City was a central target of the irate crowds. Located on Avenida de la Reforma, the fortresslike building was locked down and barricaded. Two companies of U. S. Marines had been flown to Mexico City prior to the destruction of the Mexican air bases. They reinforced the embassy security team already in place.
The Mexican Navy Knox-class frigate Mariano Abasolo (the former USS Marvin Shields) was five miles due west of Point Loma. A sister ship, the Ignacio Allende (the former USS Stein) was 300 yards abeam the starboard side of Mariano Abasolo. Ballast Point in the Point Loma area was home to the San Diego Naval Submarine Base. The San Diego Naval Station and the North Island Naval Air Station were in close proximity. On high alert, the military facilities presented a target-rich environment.
In response to the early morning attacks on the air bases, an angry Mexican admiral had ordered the ship s captains to stand off the southern California coast. The frigates were cruising slowly as they continued on a northerly heading.
Attempting to appear calm, both captains were nervously waiting for an order to return to the safety of the closest Mexican port. Considering what the Americans had recently been through, and their amazing performance in the liberation of Iraq, the captains had no doubt the U. S. Navy would sink them at the slightest provocation.
Three F-14 Tomcats from the USS Abraham Lincoln battle group had been launched to encourage the men-of-war to return to Mexican waters peacefully. One of the VF-31 fighters was clean (no bombs, no missiles, and no external fuel tanks) but had a full complement of rounds for its M61 20mm multibarrel cannon. The other pair of F-14S carried four 2,ooo-pound bombs, two Sidewinder missiles, 20mm cannon rounds, and two 280-gallon external fuel tanks.
An E-2C Hawkeye vectored the Tomcats to the Mexican frigates while a marine corps KC-130 Hercules orbited overhead to provide fuel for the fighters.
Lieutenant Commander Dallas "Hollywood" Houghland was leading the trio in the clean Cat, the fastest fighter in the U. S. Navy. Flying at an altitude of 21,000 feet over the Mexican ships, Houghland initiated the first phase of their mission.
"Hollywood One is outbound," he radioed to his two wingmen.
"Two."
"Three."
They would remain in a high holding pattern to await the results of the first flight demonstration.
Heading straight south, the clean F-14 began a gradual descent that rapidly increased. At ten miles from the frigates, Houghland initiated a steep 180-degree turn passing 11,000 feet. Rolling wings level, he was heading toward the fan tails of the frigates.
He engaged max blower, and the dual afterburners quickly accelerated the Tomcat as it descended through 6,000 feet. The wings were swept back, making the F-14 look like an overgrown lawn dart as it dropped from the sky like a slab of iron.
Leveling the fighter at seventy feet above the calm ocean, Houghland was approaching the ships at the speed of heat. He had disappeared from the Mexicans' air-search radar.
Dash Two keyed his radio. "Look at Hollywood scoot. Leaving a rooster tail!"
"Those boys are gonna have the shakes," Dash Three replied. "Hope no ones shaving."
Transonic vapor was flickering off the aircraft seconds before it shattered the sound barrier 150 yards behind the frigates. Houghland passed between the two ships and snapped the Tomcat's nose skyward.
The teeth-rattling sonic boom rocked the Mexican frigates. Sailors spilled their coffee; others dropped to their knees. Most thought they had been hit with a bomb.
Both frigates went to general quarters, but it was clearly not in their best interests to engage the Americans. They increased their speed and continued north on a straight course.
Houghland had one more option to try. Then, if the ships refused to turn back, he would contact the Hawkeye. A mission systems operator would check with the admiral on the carrier and then give the F-14 flight leader his orders. Houghland reversed course, approaching the frigates head on.
"Hollywood's in hot," he radioed, as he armed his cannon.
Flying slower than the speed of sound, Houghland waited until he was a few hundred yards from the ships. He squeezed the trigger and laid down a curtain of cannon shells between the frigates.