Lockwood was the picture of composure as he doublechecked the EAM and reached up for the nearest intercom handset to address the crew over the 1MC.
“Men of the Rhode Island, this is your Captain. The release of nuclear weapons has been authorized. Man battle stations for strategic missile launch. Spin up all missiles.”
Chapter 29
Thomas had been anticipating the worse, but nothing prepared him for the shocking scene that awaited them at Mary Deckard shoals. As their jet-powered john boats began transiting the Zshaped gauntlet of boulders forming the initial rapids, the first overturned canoe was encountered. The partially sunken vessel was hung up alongside a rock shelf, and strangely enough, it was riddled with dozens of bullet holes.
Thomas found his stomach tightening with dread, and his worst fears were realized when a pair of bodies were discovered in a nearby snag. The water-soaked corpses were also punctured with bullet wounds, and it was Ranger Glickman who identified one of the unfortunate victims as a fellow U.S. Forest Service employee, assigned to the Van Buren field office.
With the roar of the rapids a constant companion, they continued downstream. The boat carrying Thomas, Ted Callahan, and Captain Christian was the first to complete transiting the shoals. Along the way, the twisted wreckage of four more boats was discovered, along with seven bodies. One of these corpses belonged to Andrea Whitworth. The journalist was found hung up inside a tangled snag of twisted branches, with half of her familiar face blown away.
While a shocked group of Sappers and MPs began solemnly collecting the corpses, Thomas and his party continued down the river. They passed the partially submerged, twisted remains of Marine Two, and realized that an intense battle of some sort must have taken place out here.
It took another thirty minutes to complete a thorough sweep of the area, and a total of thirteen bodies was eventually picked from the river. Amongst the dead were the VP’s physician and two more U.S. Forest Service rangers, whom Jody Glickman tearfully identified as Ben Eberly and Ron Wyatt.
The only consolation Thomas could derive was that the bodies of Andrew Chapman and Vince weren’t among the victims. With the barest of hope that they were still alive, the parties renewed their search, with Ted Callahan coordinating the effort from a sandy clearing situated near the base of a steep waterfall.
Fresh human tracks led Sergeant Reed and his Sappers to the still-smoking, burned-out hulk of a Huey helicopter. Meanwhile, Captain Christian and his MPs completed the somber task of pulling as much evidence as possible from the river. This left Thomas and Ranger Glickman free to portage the waterfall and begin their way farther downstream.
Alongside a large pool at the waterfall’s base, Thomas spotted some fresh footprints imprinted on the sloping bank. Yet more footprints were found on an adjoining clearing, and Jody Glickman discovered the soggy remains of a discarded cigar.
“What do you make of this. Special Agent?” she asked while carefully picking up the cigar and handing it to Thomas.
The cigar itself had yet to be smoked, and Thomas noted the familiar brown band that encircled its base, with the label temple hall imprinted on it.
“This is my brother’s brand!” he exclaimed, all the while searching the surrounding clearing for any more clues. And it was then he spotted a narrow earthen trail, and an assortment of footprints headed up into the thick forest filling this side of the Eleven Point.
Chapter 30
“NORAD reports that the Russian missile continues on its polar trajectory,” informed Master Sergeant Schuster from his comm console in the 747’s Op area.
“Estimated time of arrival over the CONUS in seventeen minutes and counting.”
“Iron Man One indicates that the Rhode Island has acknowledged receipt of the EAM. Missiles are spinning up,” added Red from her own adjoining console.
Brittany Cooper was amongst the group of concerned senior officers gathered close by. She found it hard to hide her nervousness, especially now that the briefcase she was responsible for carrying lay open on the counter beside Red. The thick crimson file folder that it held was now in the hands of Admiral Warner. With bifocals perched on the tip of his nose, the Chairman completed his study of the document before handing it to his SIOP advisor.
“If we’re forced to order a retaliatory launch, which target package do you like. Major?” asked Warner.
Hewlett answered while reading the top page.
“Unless we want a full-scale exchange, our only option is to answer this attack in kind, with counterforce package Zulu Tango. By ordering the Rhode Island to launch such a three-shot salvo, we can hit them with a high-altitude pin-down blast, followed by a strike against those Strategic Rocket Forces command and control facilities that are farthest away from any major civilian population centers.”
Warner appeared distracted as he looked to Red and questioned, “Any luck reaching Zhukov?”
Red pushed back her chin mike and shook her head no.
“Sir,” interrupted Hewlett, “I advise contacting Iron Man One at once, and getting them to pass on target package Zulu Tango to the Rhode Island. Time is critical.”
The Chairman appeared to ignore this urgent advice and instead turned to address Captain Richardson.
“What are the results of the latest central locator query regarding the Vice President?”
“They’re still negative, sir. With our move to DEFCON Two, FEMA is implementing a Level One evacuation of the Capitol.”
“And the location of the Speaker?” queried Warner.
“Sir, he remains in air transit to Leonard Wood.”
“I guess there are worse places to be in the event of a nuclear detonation,” mumbled Warner, who glanced back at his SIOP advisor.
“Under the circumstances, it appears that we have no option but to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. It’s time to instruct Iron Man One to relay Zulu Tango to the Rhode Island. Sergeant Rayburn, if you’ll be so good as to reconnect me with General Spencer.”
Red failed to react to this request, her attention focused on the unexpected arrival of a superhigh-frequency radio message.
Brittany and her fellow officers watched Red’s face lighten with renewed hope as she looked up to address the Chairman.
“Sir, it’s the Russian Defense Ministry calling for you!”
“It’s about time,” said Warner. He grabbed the nearest red handset and shouted into the transmitter.
“Alexi, what the hell is going on down there?”
Brittany breathlessly listened to the Chairman initiate a spirited conversation filled with choice curse words and long pauses.
It was during the course of this long dialogue that Sergeant Schuster’s excited voice filled the compartment.
“NORAD reports that the Russian missile has dropped off its radar screens with a splashdown in the East Siberian Seal” “So I understand. Comrade,” continued Warner into the handset.
“Get back to work, and don’t hesitate to contact me should the situation warrant.”
The Chairman hung up the phone, a relieved grin on his tired face.
“Sergeant Rayburn, contact Iron Man One and relay the code sequence to terminate the alert. And I want an immediate status change back to DEFCON Four. That was no belligerent launch on the part of the Russians. It was only their Defense Ministry’s way of showing the world that they still have control of their nuclear forces.”
Chapter 31