General Lowcraft hated hindsight. "It's a catch-22 that we do our best to insure doesn't happen. The launch control system — the REACT computer, the MILSTAR communications system, and the Omega Missile — has to be as secure as possible so that it will work under the most extreme of conditions, nuclear war, yet not so secure that we can't correct an internal mistake."
"Looks like you came out on the wrong side of the equation this time," Hill said. "And I think catch-22 is a very appropriate metaphor. This is insane."
Lowcraft's face was like a slab of chiseled granite. "I didn't invent the world situation. I just do my best to maintain the peace."
"Well, your best obviously wasn't good enough."
Heads in the War Room were beginning to turn again. "Please stop acting as if I designed and built these missiles by hand. Nuclear weapons are the spawn of civilian intelligence. We just keep them safe and in place. Military men have continued to die on conventional battlefields for forty years to keep them from being used." Lowcraft jabbed a finger at Hill. "What's this Operation Delilah that Kilten is talking about?"
"Nothing you need concern yourself with," Hill said.
"If it affects what's going on now," Lowcraft said, "then I ought to know about it. Does it have anything to do with what that SO/NEST team saw in Lebanon?"
"That team should never have made it back," Hill said.
"We don't abandon our own," Lowcraft hissed.
That brought an ironic grin to Hill's face. "You do when it's in the national interest. A couple of lives here and there against the needs of the nation?"
"Who determines those needs?" Lowcraft demanded.
"I do," Hill said. "I take responsibility, which is more than you can say for most people. I do what has to be done."
"Who elected you?" Lowcraft asked.
"General," Hill said, "you don't have a clue about the realities of the world political situation. It's a game of power and nuclear weapons are part of that. I play the game well and I do it with my own country's best interests at heart. Wasn't it a military man, Clausewitz, who said war was a continuation of politics by different means?"
"He said that almost two centuries ago," Lowcraft noted. "The face of war has changed rather drastically since then, particularly since total warfare and nuclear weapons have entered the picture. You can't play political games with nuclear bombs."
"What else are they there for?" Hill asked. "They exist, they are a reality and they exist for a purpose. I use that purpose. As a carrot when I have to and as a threatening stick when necessary."
"So the Lebanon delivery was a carrot for the Israelis?"
"Good guess," Hill said sarcastically, "but if it makes you feel any better, I've held the big stick over their heads, too."
"I ask you again," Lowcraft said. "Who elected you?"
Hill ignored the general and looked at the clock. "We have an hour and twenty minutes to get that cruise missile loaded with the money and flying. Let's at least get that prepared while I brief the president."
"You're not going to pay these terrorists, are you?" Lowcraft was shocked.
Hill pointed at the red lines on the display board. "Like he said, General, he just fired off sixty million dollars worth of missiles and warheads. God knows how much this is going to cost before it's over. Right now, twenty-six million seems cheap compared to what he's already cost us."
Hill picked up the red remote phone and walked into a small room off the main area. Lowcraft looked out at the assembled staff. "Do we have anyone near the Omega Missile control facility?"
Colonel Hurst fielded the question. "I'm in contact with the Barksdale EOC. The blast destroyed the aircraft to carry the reaction force at Barksdale. Even if it hadn't, we can't fly anybody in the five-mile zone covered by their radar."
"What about getting some people in on the ground from Barksdale?" Lowcraft asked. "How far is it to the Omega Missile LCC?"
"Eight miles, sir," Hurst said.
"Get them moving!"
"I'll get them on it, sir." Hurst hesitated. "The situation is pretty confused there. The base has been heavily damaged and apparently there is some panic among the local civilian population. Most people still believe the blast was nuclear."
"Tell Barksdale EOC their number one priority is to get into the Omega Missile LCC. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"What about other forces?" Lowcraft asked.
Hurst gave the report. "Delta Force is alerted, but flight time from Fort Bragg is too long. This will be over before they get there. The nearest army forces are at Fort Polk, about eighty miles away from Barksdale. We've got them getting some Cobra helicopters up in the air to cover the airspace and make sure there are no accidental intrusions. Also we've got all their Medevac choppers ready to help in case they're needed. Some mechanized and infantry forces are also being mobilized, but again, if you take out landing them by chopper, then they have to get in there by ground and it will take awhile."
Hurst was handed a piece of paper by an enlisted woman. He read it. "This is interesting, sir. It seems there's a Special Operations NEST team at Fort Polk. They were doing some security checks on storage sites in Louisiana."
That was the first piece of good news that Lowcraft had heard since coming to the War Room. "Are they ready to move?"
"Yes, sir. But we still have the problem with the radar."
"Get a C-130 on the airstrip at Polk," Lowcraft ordered. "We can at least get them closer by moving them to Barksdale."
Hurst paused. "Sir, I have a suggestion."
"Yes?"
"We can have our people start dismantling nuclear warheads manually."
Lowcraft stared at him. "Do you know how long that takes? In three hours you could dismantle, what, maybe two or three percent of the total arsenal?"
"About that, sir. But it's better than nothing."
Lowcraft thought about it. "All right. Get your people working on it at every nuke site."
Barksdale was indeed the scene of massive confusion. Fire still burned in a fuel storage bunker and fire trucks were on the scene. Unfortunately, the fire chief didn't believe the senior duty officer that the blast they had experienced was not a nuclear explosion. He insisted on keeping his men in full protective gear which greatly hampered operations.
The Security Police detachment responsible for the 341st LCC and silos had gathered together as many men and women as could be found on a Sunday in addition to the platoon on duty.
The duty officer, Major Mark Ferrel, looked over the military policemen and women gathered in an empty hangar. "All right. Right now all we know is that someone has taken over the Omega Missile LCC. The missile has been launched. No nuclear armed missiles have been launched from our silos, but you and I know that if they control Omega Missile they control all the other missiles.""Therefore, while Alpha Platoon will have the Omega Missile LCC as its objective, the rest of you will be split up with missile maintenance personnel to go to our other missile sites and dismantle all nuclear warheads."
"Jesus, sir," a senior sergeant in coveralls called out. "It takes over an hour just to get the hatches off a missile to get to the warhead. Omega Missile's only got a three-hour flight time. I only have enough men to do two missiles at a time. We won't even get a tenth of our warheads disabled in that time."
"I know that, but it's better than sitting around with our heads up our asses," Major Ferrel replied. He looked at the platoon leader for Alpha Platoon. "Lieutenant Cruz, since all aircraft are down you have to go by road. Take the Peacekeepers."
Cruz was a twenty-four-year-old Hispanic woman, dressed in camouflage fatigues and sporting the blue beret of the Security Police with a single silver bar indicating her rank on the front of it. She was chewing a piece of gum and slid it to the side of her mouth. "Ah, sir, how am I supposed to get into the LCC? Have we heard anything from the crew?"