"Okay," Castillo agreed.
"Which causes the bluesuit captain to shift into cover-my-ass mode. So he goes and tells the admiral, who is in charge of the whole carrier group. Which causes the admiral not only to be pissed, because he's the admiral, and the deputy should have called him, not the captain, but also causes him to shift into his cover-my-ass mode."
"Probably," Castillo agreed.
"So the admiral says, 'There's nothing we can really do except wait for the Army choppers to land. Whoever's in charge of them probably will explain what's going on, and based on that we can decide how to best protect our beloved Navy from the fucking Army.
"And then the birds land on the carrier, and good ol' Major Bob Ward, in the sacred traditions of the 160th, ain't gonna tell nobody nothing-or show anybody anything, not even a bluesuit with stars-without permission from the guy running the operation, one C. G. Castillo. He is willing to get this permission, providing they let him set up his nonstandard radio which-for reasons I don't know; they were in their cover-my-ass mode, which may explain it-they were unwilling to do.
"So there's the standoff and why they sent the Urgent."
"Very credible," Castillo said, "but what's it got to do with Ellsworth not letting you talk to Montvale?"
"Let me finish," Miller said. "Montvale knew you were worried about the Navy giving us trouble because Jake Torine called him, right?"
"So?"
"And Montvale is going to get Jake on the carrier to make sure there's no trouble caused by the aforementioned impetuous light colonel Castillo, right?"
"So, again?"
"So, if you were Montvale and had NSA at Fort Meade in your pocket, and wanted to stay on top of the situation, wouldn't you task NSA to look for-'search filter: Army choppers on Navy ships, any reference'-and immediately give him any and all intercepts? Of course you would. And I'll bet that sonofabitch had the Urgent before I did."
"Where are you going with this, Dick?" Castillo asked.
I think I know, he thought, but I'd like confirmation.
"Montvale doesn't give a damn whether or not you get Timmons back, Charley. We both heard him say as much. He wants to protect the President, I'll give him that much, and he thinks your operation is going to blow up in everybody's face, including the President's. And Truman Ellsworth, for sure, and probably Montvale, would love to see you fuck up and embarrass the President, which would happen if you can't run the snatch-and-grab successfully. Which you can't without the choppers. That's why he was so helpful in arranging to get Jake onto the Gipper. Montvale, not you, would have sent him. That means Jake works for Montvale, which cuts you out of the picture.
"Then, and you know the sonofabitch is good at this, he whispers in the admiral's ear that no serious harm would be done if something happened to keep him from launching the choppers, and an embarrassing-to-the-Navy situation might well be avoided."
"Sonofabitch!"
"And he knows you're out of touch. And he knows, that being the case, when I got the Urgent, I would try to call him. So he tells Ellsworth that he's not available to me. I think he's betting that I wouldn't call the President. And if I did, so what? All that would mean was that the Lunatic's Chief of Staff is as loony as he is. And if the President asked him what the hell's going on, Montvale could pull the rug out from under you-for this operation and generally."
"Yeah, except the lunatic found out and is perfectly willing to get on the horn to the President."
"Permission to speak, sir?" Miller said.
Castillo sensed that Miller was not being clever. He had used the phrase a subordinate officer uses when his superior officer is about to do something the subordinate thinks is wrong.
"Granted."
"Sir, how often do you think Admiral Jacoby gets phone calls from the White House switchboard?"
It was a moment before Castillo answered.
"Where's Torine now?" he asked.
"Forty minutes ago, he was about to land at MacDill."
"As soon as we get off here, contact him, bring him up to speed on what's happened. Tell him Montvale is not to know we're onto him, and to call me once he's on the Gipper."
"Okay, but what's happened? I must have missed something."
"Stay on the line while I brighten Admiral Jacoby's dull daily routine with a call from the White House."
"White House," the pleasant professional female voice answered. "What can I do for you, Colonel Castillo?"
"I need Rear Admiral K. G. Jacoby on a secure line. He's aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, which is somewhere between Norfolk and Key West."
There was a moment's pause, then the operator replied: "The difficult we do immediately, sir; the impossible takes a little longer. I'll have to go through the Navy. That'll take a little time. Can I call you when it's set up?"
"Can I stay on the line?"
"Certainly."
"Navy."
"White House. We need a secure encrypted voice connection to the USS Ronald Reagan. It's in the Atlantic some-"
"We know where she is, thank you very much, White House."
"Reagan."
"Navy. Establish secure encrypted voice connection."
"Hold one, Navy."
"Navy, Reagan. This connection is encrypted Class Two."
"Reagan. The White House is calling. Request upgraded encryption."
"Hold one, Navy."
"Navy, Reagan. This connection is now encrypted Class One."
"White House, Navy. You read?"
"Reagan, this is the White House. We're calling Rear Admiral K. G. Jacoby."
"White House, Reagan. Ma'am, the admiral is in his cabin. He has only Class Two encryption on that line. It will take a minute to get him to the secure voice communication room."
"We'll wait. Thank you."
"Radio, voice commo room."
"Go."
"We have Admiral Jacoby. Encryption status Class One."
"White House, Navy. You read?"
"Admiral Jacoby?"
"Speaking."
"This is the White House. Please hold for Colonel Castillo. Go ahead, Colonel."
"We have verified Class One encryption?"
"Yes, sir, we do."
"Good evening, Admiral. My name is Castillo."
"Yes, sir?"
"Sir, I'm a lowly lieutenant colonel."
"What's this all about, Colonel?"
"Sir, I am in receipt of your Urgent referring to the Army helicopters you now have aboard. Your message referred to me as 'Costello.'"
"Sorry about that."
"Sir, getting my name wrong apparently is not the only communications problem we are having."
"Is that so?"
"Sir, it was intended by the secretary of Defense that you or Captain Kenton receive your orders regarding the helicopters from the secretary of the Navy. According to your Urgent, Captain Kenton spoke with the deputy secretary."
"That is correct, Colonel. Frankly, I wondered why the deputy secretary didn't call me."
"Sir, I had nothing to do with that call. But I am calling to do what I can to straighten out the mess. Let me begin by saying the helicopters are involved in an operation classified Top Secret Presidential."
"I've heard nothing of the kind, Colonel."
"Yes, sir. I understand. But that being the case, it is the reason the Army officer in charge was unable to explain what he's doing or permit inspection of his helicopters. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no one aboard the Reagan with that security clearance."
"Excuse me, Colonel, is there some way I can verify what you're telling me? This is highly unusual."
"Yes, sir, it is. May I suggest, sir, that you contact the secretary of Defense? Or, alternatively, wait until Colonel Jacob Torine, USAF, arrives on the Reagan."
"What did you say?"
"The director of National Intelligence, Ambassador Montvale, as we speak, is arranging for Colonel Torine, who is my deputy, to be put aboard the Reagan-"
"Your deputy? You gave me to believe you are a lieutenant colonel."
"I am, sir. And Colonel Torine is my deputy. We have both been detached from our respective services, sir, for this duty, and normal military protocol does not apply."