Christine leaned back in her chair. “I’d call that some kind of an organization.”
“I would as well, Miss Rendino,” the secretary of state replied. “Do we have any direct links between this piracy cartel and the INDASAT incident?”
“Only in the form of probabilities, Harry,” Admiral MacIntyre said. “In our best estimation the cartel is the only force in the region that has the assets in place to do the job and to effectively move the merchandise. Either they have the satellite up for sale to the highest bidder within the industrial espionage networks or they’re already working on consignment for one of the corporate multinationals. The zero-gee industrial systems aboard the INDASAT and the materials they’ve produced would be worth tens of millions on the covert international tech market. The National Security Agency and the FBI are already working that end of the problem.”
Christine nodded in agreement. “Either way, we aren’t going to have much time before the INDASAT is completely disassembled and shipped out to… wherever.”
“Fine. You know who stole our satellite and why,” Donovan said. “Now, what are you doing about getting it back?”
MacIntyre lifted his hands from the table. “At this moment, Senator, there’s very little we can do… directly. In theory, this is a matter for the Indonesian authorities, as the satellite is probably within their territorial waters. Unfortunately, as Commander Rendino has pointed out, the fix is likely in and we can expect little joy from that line of attack.”
“What about our reconnaissance satellites?” Donovan demanded. “The ones that you used to spot the wrecked recovery ship. Why can’t you use them to spot where they’ve taken the INDASAT? I’ve been told that you can practically read a newspaper from orbit with one of them.”
“We can,” Christine replied, “literally. But first we have to know exactly where that newspaper is. The Indonesian archipelago is three thousand miles long, Senator. That’s the width of the Atlantic Ocean. There are seventeen hundred islands within that stretch of sea miles. Many of them have rugged, broken coastlines and many are blanketed with dense tropical rain forests and jungle. We’d be looking for a single cylindrical object roughly ten feet wide by forty in length in all of that. It’d be like trying to use a microscope to spot one particular germ on the surface of a basketball court.
“Beyond that, these guys know about satellite recon. The whole reason behind their attempt to conceal the sinking of the Starcatcher was to buy themselves enough time to get the satellite somewhere where it could be camouflaged or concealed. I’m not saying we couldn’t spot it with enough reconsat passes and enough Black Manta and Aurora overflights, but I am saying the analysis would take time. They could knock that satellite down to its nuts and bolts and mail it out by Federal Express before we could even make a decent start.”
Donovan muttered a curse under his breath.
“If we can’t do this by recon alone, and we can’t rely on the Indonesian authorities, what other options do we have, Eddie Mac?” the secretary of state asked quietly.
“There’s only one that we can see, Mr. Secretary. We work the problem from the top down. We don’t go after the INDASAT, we go after the cartel that stole it. I propose we bypass the Indonesians and go direct action. We move a covert intervention and intelligence-gathering force into the archipelago and we start targeting the piracy cartel operations. If we can shake their tree hard enough, the INDASAT may fall out of the branches and back into our hands.”
“You’re talking about an intrusion into the affairs of another sovereign nation, Admiral,” Donovan cut in. “That satellite is your problem. The criminal activities of this pirate cartel are a matter for the Indonesians to sort out.”
“If you recall, Senator,” Maclntyre’s voice hardened as he leaned forward over the conference table, “there is considerably more involved here than just stolen property. As you pointed out earlier, there were twelve American citizens murdered aboard the Starcatcher. I’d call that a matter for the United States government and the United States Navy to ‘sort out.’
“Above and beyond that, in my professional opinion, the United States has allowed this piracy problem to go unchecked for far too long. If something is not done soon, we could see this piracy cartel not just operating within but controlling the Indonesian littoral. That will include the strategically critical international shipping lanes that pass through those waters and the forty percent of the global maritime trade that regularly utilize them.
“The freedom of the seas has always been a paramount concern of the United States,” MacIntyre concluded, winding down, “and this is definitely a freedom-of-the-seas issue. I’ll say that to you now, Mr. Secretary, and to you, Senator, as l intend to say it in the situation reports I’m preparing for both the Joint Chiefs and for the President on this matter. It’s time we clean out this viper’s nest before we have real problems in that theater.”
“It’s still an unwarranted and unnecessary involvement in foreign affairs!” Donovan rejoined hotly.
Christine Rendino peered over the top of her glasses at Donovan. “Senator, excuse me, but do you want your damn satellite back or not?”
Donovan subsided.
“If the word from the JCS and the Old Man is go, who would you propose committing to the operation?” Van Lynden inquired.
“The most suitable outfit available would be our littoral warfare test bed unit, the Sea Fighter Task Force,” MacIntyre replied. “They aren’t completely up to speed yet, but they are partially operational and are on a working-up deployment in the Med at this time. They have the tools and expertise, and l believe they’re our best bet at getting the job done.”
Van Lynden grinned. “That’s Mandy Garrett’s command, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, Harry. That’s why I said it’s our bet to get the job done.”
Donovan scowled. “Amanda Garrett? She’s that… officer who got us tangled up in that UN mess in Africa.”
MacIntyre smiled behind his poker face. The West African operation had been a major foreign-policy victory for the administration of President Benton Childless, and a humiliating defeat for the isolationist faction in Congress that Donovan supported.
“That’s correct, Senator. Captain Garrett is the officer responsible for the success of the UNAFIN blockade. I’m sure you recall her being invited to speak before the General Assembly at the conclusion of the operation… and the special medal of commendation the Security Council awarded her for leading the raid on Port Monrovia.”
Donovan’s scowl deepened. “To many of us, Admiral MacIntyre, Amanda Garrett is a loose cannon.”
Maclntyre’s eyes narrowed slightly, iron-frosted brows lowering. “I prefer to look upon her as a top gun, Senator.”
Eastern Slope of the Syrian Coastal Range
7.4 miles North-Northwest of Apamea, Syria
0122 Hours, Zone Time: July 27, 2008
It was a scene out of the Bible.
The sheep, spread across the moonlit hillside, grazing drowsily or asleep on the sun-crisped grass. And watching over them, the shepherd boy.
In ages gone by, he would have been guarding the flocks from wolves or from a prowling Sinai lion or a Bedouin raiding party.
Now, though, the wolf and the lion were extinct in these lands. Likewise, the time of the Bedaoui raider was past. Still, the watch must be kept by day and by night.
Sakim Tuhami shared the experience of those youthful guardians of long ago.