Plug said, “Oh shit, he’s right there…”
On the tactical display, they had received an active sonar return exactly where Victoria believed the Chinese submarine to be hiding.
Plug didn’t hesitate this time. “Torpedo away, now, now, now.”
He depressed the torpedo launch button and the six-hundred-pound MK-50 lightweight torpedo released off the helicopter, slowed by a parachute before plunging into the ocean.
“Torpedo’s running. Going active.”
Victoria could hear the torpedo’s higher-pitched pings growing faster.
“Torpedo has acquired target. Torpedo is homing…”
“This is going to be quick…”
Two hundred feet beneath the ocean’s surface, the MK-50 lightweight torpedo continued to ping, using each soundwave to verify its range to target. It raced to a point just next to the hull and exploded. The combination of explosion, high pressure, and temperature ignited much of the air inside the submarine, but the fires were soon out as seawater flooded into multiple compartments.
From the helicopter, Victoria watched as a deep blue patch of ocean half a mile ahead of them turned white before erupting into a geyser of water over one hundred feet in the air.
44
“We have received reports of an emergency beacon in the Atlantic. I’m afraid this was the last remaining ballistic missile submarine, General Chen. I believe it was sunk.” The Navy admiral looked at the table as he spoke, too afraid to meet General Chen’s eyes.
Silence around the table, until the door opened and another PLA general entered the room. “Sir, I regret to inform you that our forces in Central America are now taking heavy losses. American air strikes are bombarding our troops in Costa Rica and Mexico. And the US Marines have taken back Panama…”
General Chen lifted his water glass and threw it across the room, shattering it on the wall. Lena studied the faces around the table. It had to be over, now. She could see the military men looking toward her father for leadership. She could only hear the white noise of aircraft engines, electronics, and ventilation as he stared back at them, wordless.
Lena glanced at Dong, who said, “General Chen, if I may, we still operate from a position of strength. If we contact the Americans now, we could negotiate a truce. This would allow us to consolidate our forces in South America. The Americans will be happy to end the fighting. We can bring our ground forces back into protected territory, and go back to starving the American economy. The vast areas of land we now hold in Asia and South America will give us long-term advantage.”
General Chen looked at Minister Dong. “Surrender?”
“It would not be surrender, sir. It would merely be a consolidation of our scattered forces.”
“Do you really think the Americans will just let us walk away and regain our strength? They have destroyed our nuclear capability. If your own intelligence reports are to be believed, they have destroyed much of the Russian nuclear forces as well. They have…”
The aircraft’s conference room door opened, and a PLA Air Force major entered. “Sir, a communication from the American president.”
All eyes looked at the sheet of paper in his hand.
General Chen’s face was red. “What does it say?”
“The American president wishes to speak with you regarding the terms of our surrender.”
Lena winced.
“The terms of our surrender?” General Chen fumed. “Of our surrender? You see! They do not want peace. They want victory.”
Minister Dong said, “General, we have limited options.”
“Perhaps. But we do have options.” General Chen turned to the strategic missile commander. “You have loaded the biological weapon onto one of our long-range ballistic missiles, as I commanded?”
“Yes, General Chen.”
Lena felt ill. Her nightmare had arrived.
General Chen’s face twitched. “Prepare it for launch.”
Several of the advisors around the table spoke at once, urging caution.
“Sir, I must warn against…”
“General, perhaps we could…”
General Chen waved off their objections. “Quiet. I said prepare the biological weapon for launch.”
Lena thought about telling her father this was a bad idea, but in her judgment, there was no reasoning with a man in his state of mind. She needed to let this play out and evaluate options as they came to her. Right now, she had none.
Minister Dong said, “General Chen, this is madness. The statistics on this weapon are horrifying. It is meant as a deterrent. Not to be used. We would be destroying the world. We would be destroying ourselves.”
General Chen glared at him. “I have consulted with my experts. They say we will have time to inoculate many of our citizens.”
“Sir, hundreds of millions could die.”
General Chen frowned. “And we who remain will be victorious.”
The mouths of several officers around the table were hanging open in disbelief.
“I have made my decision. Victory, whatever the cost. If you disagree, speak up now. We’ll let you off the plane. Immediately.”
The PLA strategic missile commander said, “Sir, I must inform you that due to the nature of this weapons system, the security procedures for this missile are… unique.”
“Fine. Launch the weapon.”
“No, sir, I must explain. We implemented certain safety protocols…”
Lena said, “General, I spoke to you of this a few weeks ago. You approved that the biological weapon would have the highest security protocol. The biological deterrent is not set up for a remote launch. Not yet.”
“What are you saying?”
“You and I will need to be at the launch site in person, sir.”
General Chen cursed. “Idiocy. How long, then? How long until we can get there?”
“We can be there in one hour, sir. The warhead is kept at the space launch facility, sir.”
Lena entered the aircraft bathroom a few moments later, removing her CovCom device. She needed to send one more message. She only hoped it would reach them in time.
Chase and the DEVGRU special operations team had completed their mission twenty-four hours ago. They had remained with the Chinese agent inside the PLA Space Operations command center room, surrounded by the bodies of those they had neutralized, while the satellites were launched into orbit. Then they had departed the way they came, bringing the Chinese agent with them.
Now back aboard the USS Jimmy Carter, fed and rested, showered and shaved, Chase and the team were unexpectedly activated for a new mission.
“They want us to go back?” the SEAL team commander asked the ship’s captain. Chase sat next to the two men in the captain’s cabin, all three reading the very short mission brief on the computer screen.
“Am I reading this right?” Chase checked his watch. “We gotta roll. This is happening now.”
Twenty minutes later, Chase and six SEALs gripped their diver propulsion vehicles, speeding through the dark ocean. He wondered what they would find. They had departed the island undetected, but the dead bodies littering the control center and surrounding area must have been discovered by now.
Chase’s mask broke the surface of the water under the cover of darkness. Searchlights scanned the base. Dozens of military vehicles and foot soldiers patrolled the island — many more than yesterday. Chase and the SEALs secured their dive gear and crept onto the beach in a low crawl. The waves lapped them as they moved on their knees and elbows, gripping suppressed rifles.