“Thanks, Tom. Stoke is always a good idea. So, who the hell do you think took a shot at us?”
“Military, sir. Had to be, a weapon like that.”
“Right. Let’s hope the terrorists don’t have sea-launched guided weapons systems quite yet. But whose military, Sergeant?”
“That is an extremely interesting question, Skipper.”
Ten minutes later, Hawke was in his quarters. He’d stripped off his clothes, taken a steaming hot shower, and stretched himself out on his bed. He picked up the secure line to the CIA director, his old Desert Storm buddy and former ambassador to the Court of St. James, the Honorable Patrick Brickhouse Kelly. Brick was a tall, soft-spoken Virginian who cloaked his fierce intellect behind a veil of old-fashioned southern style and manners.
“Hi, Brick,” Hawke said. “Lovely night for international incidents.”
“So I hear. Casualties?”
“No good guys. You can delete the Shanghai Star from your current edition of Lloyd’s International Ship Registry, however.”
“Out of commission?”
“Out of commission at the bottom of Cannes harbor.”
“You had to sink her?”
“It happened.”
“Brock?”
“We got him off first, luckily enough,” Hawke chuckled. “He’s down in our sickbay. A bit worse for wear, I’m afraid.”
“How bad is he?”
“Nothing life-threatening. The Chinese are good at torture. I’m sure they were saving all the really good stuff for some hellhole prison in Shanghai. He’d clearly been drugged, however.”
“Sweet Jesus. Okay. I’m going to call Jenna and his kids right now, tell them he’s okay. Is he mobile, can he get around all right? I’m ordering a chopper airborne to medevac him.”
“What the bloody hell is going on, Brick? After Stokely and I got Brock off that Chinese junker, somebody gave chase and fired a surface missile at us. At our bloody Zodiac. Right outside the bloody harbor.”
There was a silence as Brick Kelly absorbed the import of what Hawke had just told him. He said, “You were fired upon. Okay. But a surface-to-surface missile? Are you absolutely positive about that?”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“We evaded. Lucky for us, it was heat-seeking and our outboards don’t put out that much. Blackhawke counterlaunched. Sank the attacking vessel before she could launch another one.”
“You sank two boats inside Cannes harbor.”
“One inside, one outside. Affirmative.”
“Christ.”
“Exactly. That’s why I brought up that international incident idea.”
“You know the identity or nationality of the attacking vessel?”
“I do not.”
“Educated guess. I’d say it was the French navy.”
“The French? What the hell is going on, Brick?”
“The Napoleonic Wars with a new Bonaparte at the helm. I’ll tell you all about it when you get to London.”
“Me? I thought you wanted Brock.”
“Both of you.”
“London isn’t in my travel plans. I’ve got a date tomorrow evening.”
“Rain check. You’re acquainted, aren’t you, with Big John?”
“The USS Kennedy? Yeah, I landed my seaplane on her once. Bit of difficulty. I don’t think they like me much aboard that carrier. Certainly the air boss would not number me among his favorite sons.”
“That’s what happens when the Royal Navy tries to land a single-engine seaplane on a U.S. Navy carrier deck, Hawkeye. You are a legend on that boat. At any rate, she’s the closest thing we’ve got to you in the Med. I’m going to put a helo down on Blackhawke’s aft pad. Big John is sending a Sea King to retrieve you two. She should be in the air in an hour. Once you’re aboard the Kennedy, I’m putting you on the first thing smoking to London.”
“Lucky me. I hate the Riviera in June.”
“I’ll have a medevac navy Gulfstream warming up her engines on Big John’s flight deck. Once you leave the Kennedy, you’ll be in London in four hours. Get some sleep now. We’ll debrief Brock here in D.C. at Walter Reed. Before and after his brain scan. Is he talking much? What kind of stuff is he saying?”
“Not much. He’s in and out most of the time.”
“Someone should scribble down everything he says, everything he’s said since you first found him. That would be very helpful, Alex. We’re going to be looking for inconsistencies.”
“Why?”
“The Red Chinese are big into autosuggestion and cranial implants these days. Our HRT guys bring back schizos all the time. You don’t know who’s talking, your guy or the microchip embedded in his cerebrum. Hard to keep track of who’s still on your side once they’ve met the Chinaman.”
“Yeah. Manchurian Candidate stuff. No such thing as science fiction anymore. All right, Brick. See you in London. Come out to Hawkesmoor for a day or two. We’ll do some shooting.”
“I’ll do that. Listen, Hawkeye, your new pal Brock is a very big deal to us. You’ll know just how big when I see you.”
Before going to bed, Hawke met Stoke topside for a late drink at the small aft bar. They stood on the upper deck under a dense net of stars. It was the first good night in over a week. The mistral had departed, the ill wind disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.
“Thanks again, Stoke,” Hawke said, raising his brandy.
“De nada,” Stoke said.
“One does not expect to get one’s arse shot at by the French navy.”
“No. One’s arse definitely does not. Not after Normandy and all that other conveniently forgotten history we got going back. You know, Omaha Beach, Ste.-Mère-Église, distant, foggy memories like that. Makes me nuts, boss. You really think that’s who it was fired at us? A French navy boat?”
“That’s what Brick thinks. He’s pretty good at this stuff.”
“France ain’t exactly my idea of a perfect ally, but shooting at us is taking the game to a whole new level.”
Hawke nodded in agreement, sipping his brandy, watching a shooting star blaze and die overhead. He said, “Sky look strange to you, Stoke?”
“Nope. Same old, same old.”
“Really? Look at the constellation Orion. See how it’s tilted? See that? Like our planet’s shifted a few degrees on its axis. Christ. I’m beginning to think it has.”
“You okay?”
“No, I don’t think I am, quite.”
“You want me to stick around with you, buddy? When you go meet with the director in London? I got nothing on my dance card but a trip to Miami to see the next Mrs. Stokely Jones, Jr.”
“The lovely Fancha from Cape Verde.”
“Girl got a legitimate shot at the title, boss.”
Hawke nodded. “I think we all ought to stay in close touch. You, me, Sutherland, Ambrose. Something tells me we are embarking on a long and dangerous journey, Stoke. Here. Your first assignment.”
“Every dangerous journey begins with a single step,” Stoke said, looking at the small envelope.
“An invitation to a dinner party tomorrow night. Aboard a very fancy yacht moored off the Hotel du Cap. I’d like you to go. See what you can find out about a Chinese movie star named Jet. She lives aboard. Ever hear of her?”
“Nope. Don’t see many Chinese movies.”
“She’s very cozy with some character named von Draxis. German chap who owns Valkyrie. Some kind of industrialist. Shipbuilder. Owns a lot of newspapers and television stations in Eastern Europe as well. I read an SIS document about him some years ago. A Saddam stooge in those days, getting oil vouchers for political favors. I think he’s dirty. She may be, too.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I was with her just before I boarded the Star. She may have tipped them—I don’t know. They seemed to be expecting me. Anyway, I’d like you to check it out. Have a good look round. See what you can get by being your sociable self.”