“Please, General Freeman, please,” Sahin interrupted, holding up his hands as if in surrender, “but I am nothing but a small businessman. I am not an ambassador or an emissary of any country …”
“And this is not a diplomatic visit,” Freeman interjected. “I’m asking you to deliver a message, Mr. Sahin—if you can do it, you’ll be providing a great service for both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. If you can’t deliver the message, then we’ve all wasted our time here.”
Sahin nodded thoughtfully. “I will of course endeavor to do as you wish, General Freeman,” Sahin said. “I hope I have the good fortune to have the opportunity to speak with Minister Velayati or Minister Foruzandeh.”
“See to it that this message is delivered immediately, Mr. Sahin,” Freeman said. “We are going to play a little game with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“A game, General?”
“Yes, Mr. Sahin. Every day that an American is held captive by Iran, or his whereabouts are not known, the United States will attack a military target inside Iran. You will not know where, or when, or how, only that it will happen. The United States will not publicize this; no public comments will be made. The targets will be vital military installations and command-and-control targets. The goal of the strikes will be gradually to weaken Iran’s air defense, command, mobility, and long-range strike capability so that if war does break out, Iran will have difficulty defending its borders from attack or will find its forces substantially weakened or unable to mobilize.”
Tahir Sahin laughed a hesitant, nervous laugh. “This … this is very odd, General Freeman,” he said. “This … this is tantamount to terrorism!”
“Call it what you will,” Freeman said. “If the captives are not released, Iran will suffer the consequences.”
“Does this concern the proposal by the Islamic Republic to exclude all foreign warships from the Persian Gulf?” Sahin asked. “Is this an attempt to induce Iran to capitulate?”
“This has nothing to do with the Persian Gulf,” Freeman said. “in fact, the President is seriously considering that proposal, and he may agree to it with some modifications. This only concerns the thirteen men missing from the salvage vessel Valley Mistress. The President wants those men immediately released unharmed and unmolested in any way—no questioning, no interrogation, no coercion.”
Sahin shook his head, his eyes blankly scanning the room in complete surprise. “This is a very unexpectedly belligerent and arrogant stance the President is taking, General Freeman,” he said. “Is the President truly in control, or is it possible that the military has taken over the White House?”
“The President is in control, I assure you,” Freeman replied. “If I were in control, I’d have destroyed all of Iran’s military bases one by one, sent Iran’s carrier to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman, and had U.S. troops occupy Hormozgan Province by now.”
“Do you believe such a belligerent, intractable attitude will help improve relations with Iran or assist in negotiations, General?”
“Perhaps you don’t understand, Mr. Sahin: the United States is not negotiating anything at this time,” Freeman said, turning to leave. “The attacks will commence and will continue until our demands are met. The President may open negotiations for the removal of land-attack warships from the Persian Gulf, but as for the topic of the survivors of the Valley Mistress, we will not negotiate. The attacks will commence and will continue until our demands are met. Good day, Mr. Sahin.”
“This is … this is highly irregular!” Sahin blurted out as Freeman reached the door. “I must take with me some proof of this discussion, some sign that you and I spoke-“
“The only proof you need is the news that a military target inside Iran has been destroyed,” Freeman said. He checked his Ulysses-Nardin multi-zone watch and added, “In fact, the first attack should be happening at any moment. It will be in retaliation for the illegal and unwarranted attack on the Valley Mistress. Good day to you, Mr. Sahin.”
ABOARD THE B-2A SPIRIT STEALTH BOMBER AV-011, OVER IRAN THAT SAME TIME McLanahan finished typing in commands on the supercockpit display. “SAR configured,” he announced. “No terrain returns, no large cultural returns, moving-target mode enabled.” He turned to Jamieson: “Ready, AC?”
“I was born ready, MC,” Jamieson said gruffly. “Take the shot.”
“Here we go,” McLanahan said easily, “radar enabled … radar transmitting …” then, just two seconds later, he announced, “radar’s in standby.”
“Two seconds is plenty long for the ragheads to track us, MC,” Jamieson pointed out angrily. “A standard SAR shot is one second max, dammit.”
That point was most important while they were so close, because in order to transmit the synthetic aperture radar, COMBAT m ode was temporarily suspended. Part of going into COMBAT mode was the activation of the B-2A stealth bomber’s ANNUQ-13 BEADS system, the Bomber Electronic Attenuation Defensive System, or the “cloaking device.” BEADS electrified the outer surface of the B-2A bomber and the cockpit windshield with positive ions, in effect turning the aircraft into a giant electron magnet.
With the “cloaking device” activated, very little electromagnetic energy could penetrate the positron field-electrons were “sucked” into the field and dissipated behind the aircraft; similarly, electromagnetic energy radiated from the bomber was also absorbed.
Along with the radar-absorbing materials in the bomber’s non-metallic composite surface and the low reflective makeup of the composite structure, BEADS reduced the bomber’s radar cross-section by 60 to 70 percent, depending on the range and power of the radar. The remaining 40 percent of the reflected radar energy was diverted in different directions by the unique shape of the bomber itself. The end result: less than 1 percent of the radar energy of even the most powerful radars in the world returned to its sender after hitting the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber.
The drawback to BEADS was that if electronic emissions couldn’t go in, they also couldn’t go out. In COMBAT mode, the crew couldn’t transmit on the radios, couldn’t receive radio or satellite messages or navigation signals, couldn’t use the MAWS defensive missile tracking system, and could not use the synthetic aperture radar. The “cloaking device” automatically deactivated itself when the crew took an SAR shot or bypassed the safety interlocks to use the radios or get a navigation fix while in COMBAT mode.
Even though a typical SAR shot was very short, in that short time frame the B-2A bomber’s radar cross-section grew several times larger than normal—very dangerous when so close to enemy air defenses.
To Jamieson, activating the SAR and shutting off BEADS was like dipping his dick into a tank filled with piranhas—the less time in there, the better. He might not get attacked the moment he stuck it in, but the longer it stayed in there, the better his chances of getting it bitten off, and sure as hell, the piranhas would be ready and waiting for the next time he dipped it in.
“This isn’t a standard SAR shot, AC,” McLanahan said. “Besides, the SAR computer decides how long the exposure will be, based on the mode programmed, the environmental conditions, the signal strength—I don’t control it … stand by, second shot coming up … ready … now … radar in standby, SAR routine ended, radar disenabled.”
“A second shot? What in hell is that for? Jesus, McLanahan, that thing’s going to kill us!”
“Threat scope’s clear, AC.”
“Lucky for us,” groused Jamieson. “What in hell was the second shot for?”