The two men in the back of the War Room looked at each other in mutual suspicion as Kilten continued speaking.
"Omega Missile was designed to be used after Washington is nothing but a smoking hole in the ground and the civilian leadership of this country is wiped out. And Delilah was an operation conducted for political goals that ignore military and practical realities. I want a presidential inquiry. It's the same request I politely made in my report."
"I want my report to be published in the New York Times tomorrow along with the Red Flyer and Delilah papers. Not the entire thing, of course; that would be unreasonable. Just a synopsis of each. I want the American public to understand what sort of doomsday system the Pentagon has set up with their money. A system that will be used only after most of them are nothing but ash. I want the Samson Option outlined so the public will be aware of the threat. I want the people to know how their safety is compromised by people like Mr. Hill for political expediency. This is a democracy, gentlemen, and the people have a right to know."
Lowcraft and Hill just stared at the speaker. "I also want twenty-six-million dollars in used currency now being held pending destruction at the Federal Reserve Bank in Charleston to be packed into a Special Operations resupply pod. The pod—"
"You're just a lowlife thief, you—" Hill began, but again he was cut off.
"The money isn't for me, and, frankly, I wouldn't call anyone controlling this nation's nuclear arsenal a lowlife. It reflects badly on all of you in that War Room.""Mr. Hill, you are satisfied abusing your position for power; the men working for me are more interested in money."
"To continue. The pod is to be placed, as it is designed to be, into the warhead space of a Tomahawk cruise missile on board the USS Shiloh docked at Charleston Naval Base. A disk with flight path, radio frequency, and release code for the cruise missile is on my desk there in the Pentagon. The disk is to be used to program the cruise missile via modem. The missile is to be launched at exactly 1030 hours. I will have control of the pod ejection code. If these demands are not met by noon, east coast time, on the dot—"
Everyone in the War Room looked up at the red numerals on the digital clock above the main display, which read 0905.
"— I will launch nuclear weapons, unactivated, into the remote Pacific Ocean. One every minute. To prove to you that I am serious, please have the camera on board your KH-12 spy satellite presently over the mid-Pacific zero in on the USS Kentucky's location, currently heading toward Hawaii."
Lowcraft was rubbing his temples. "How do you know we have a KH-12 in orbit at that location? And where the Kentucky is?" he asked in a weary voice.
"General, please stop wasting time. There's not much of it left."
Lowcraft pointed and people got to work.
"It should take you no more than two minutes," Kilten said. "I will call back at that time."
The speaker went dead.
"What is he going to do?" Hill asked.
"He's going to launch." Lowcraft talked to a naval officer. "Get me the captain of the Kentucky on ELF radio immediately!"
"A nuclear missile?" Hill asked.
"Yes!" Lowcraft spat.
Hill picked up a red phone. "Patch me through to the president!"
"I have the Kentucky on ELF, sir," the naval officer called out.
"Who's the commanding officer?" Lowcraft asked.
The naval officer had a binder open in front of him. "Captain Rigby, sir."
"Put him on speaker," Lowcraft ordered.
There was a hiss of static. "Reception will be weak, sir," the naval officer said, "as the Kentucky is submerged."
"Captain Rigby, this is General Lowcraft."
The captain's voice was strained and rushed.
"General, we're in the middle of an EAM."
Lowcraft winced. "We have a problem, Captain, and not much time. Omega Missile has been taken over and launched by a terrorist force. I'm ordering you to stand down from your EAM and launch procedures."
There was a long silence, filled with the hiss from the radio, then finally Rigby's voice came back. "Sir, I have a confirmed Emergency Action Message."
Lowcraft spoke slowly and carefully. "I'm aware of that. But it has not been authorized."
Rigby's voice was implacable. "Sir, I have a confirmed EAM and launch order. I cannot confirm you are who you say you are."
Hill leaned forward toward the mike. "Captain Rigby, this is National Security Adviser Hill. I represent the president and I order you to stand down!"
There was another static-filled pause. Lowcraft could well imagine the scene in the conning tower of the Kentucky. He felt for the bind Rigby was in.
Rigby's voice was firm. "Gentlemen, I have a confirmed EAM with launch in fifty seconds. My missiles have been programmed. I don't have a clue where they're going, but my orders are they go."
Hill's voice was threatening. "Captain, the president is ordering you to stop those missiles from launching."
"Sir, if you want to stop my missiles, you have to get the system to stop the EAM. Sir, my orders are to ignore any other message but an EAM once it comes through."
Lowcraft got very close to the mike and spoke in a calm, resigned voice. "Captain Rigby, terrorists have infiltrated the EAM system. You've got to stop the launch."
"And you could be the terrorist," Rigby replied. "I don't know what's going on, but I have authorized orders to launch. If this is some kind of test, you have twenty seconds to stop the launch! Regulations require I cease transmitting at this time." The hiss ended as Rigby cut the connection.
Hill slammed the mike into the desktop. "Damn it! It's like talking to a wall."
Lowcraft turned and gave him a disgusted look. "I told you these people are just following orders."
Hurst turned in his seat. "Sir, Kilten's back on the line. He says I should put him on now!" Lowcraft nodded.
"Gentlemen, are you ready?"
The screen in front of the War Room went blank, then a new image appeared: a blank expanse of ocean.
"Scale is power of ten," Hurst announced. "Directly over the Kentucky,"
"Kilten, don't do this!" Lowcraft pleaded.
"I think you are beginning to understand my point. Watch carefully."
The surface of the water broke and Trident missiles, one every three seconds, roared up into the sky until the entire ship's complement was away.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" Lowcraft exclaimed. "What's their target?"
"Don't have a coronary, General. I left them on their Broad Ocean Area," Kilten said. "Which for the Kentucky is empty ocean near Johnston Atoll. Relax, the warheads aren't armed. I just fired sixty-million-dollars worth of missile off with the push of a button from my seat here. Do you doubt my sincerity or my ability?"
"I'll give you a few minutes to reflect on it."
Chapter Fourteen
"What can we do?" Thorpe asked. They were lying underneath some bushes on the edge of the clearing around the Omega Missile LCC compound.
Thorpe had reluctantly left Tommy once again with Maysun. He had given his son strict instructions to remain hidden by the wreckage with the wounded aviator.
"There should be a reaction force from Barksdale heading to the LCC," Parker said.
"Kilten knows that, right?"
"Yes."
"You have to assume that everything Kilten knows, he and McKenzie have prepared for." Thorpe had been thinking about the situation. "So far, you and I are the only wild cards in this plan."
Thorpe could tell from the look she gave him that she would have preferred a different card than his and he was stung by the implied criticism. He tried to recall a time when someone had so doubted his abilities and could not. Then he remembered his wife. He pushed those thoughts away and, using years of practice, focused on the matter at hand.