Black Sea Affair (28 page)

With all eyes boring on him, Mack silently prayed for wisdom. The more he prayed, the more MacArthur's words kept ringing in his ears.

If you lose, the nation will be destroyed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am reminded at this moment of the words of President Harry Truman, who said
the buck stops here
, and I also am reminded of the words of President Teddy Roosevelt, our youngest president, who spoke so eloquently of
The Man in the Arena.

"Today, I feel like that man in the arena. It is a lonely feeling which carries awesome responsibility. But as President Truman said, the buck stops here.

"Our predicament is no easy one. Either way, we face the consequences of war and destruction. If we scrap
Operation Undercover
, as the secretary of state has suggested, millions could die from the weapons-grade plutonium that is now on the high seas and that is destined for the hands of terrorists.

"If we sink the
Alexander Popovich
and we are discovered, we face a dicey situation with Russia. As the secretary of state has pointed out, this is an explosive predicament that could lead to war.

"Some would call this a no-win situation.

"A number of years ago, I received some wise counsel by a Chris tian pastor who was a dear personal friend. It was a tough time in my life, and my friend was there for me every day.

"I don't remember everything that he told me during those dark days, but one thing that I'll never forget is this: He told me that our mantra for the day, for each and every day that we are given on this earth is to
do the right thing
.

"Do the right thing." His eyes swept the room. "And so I apply that mantra to the situation at hand. The first right thing to do is to expose the truth. So we will go to the UN Security Council with our radar tapes in hand, and we will expose the truth about what happened over the skies of Georgia. I will not allow Russian threats, based upon lies about this incident, to govern the course of my conduct as president.

"And then, there is a verse from the book of Proverbs that comes to mind. It goes something like this. 'You are a poor specimen if you cannot stand up to adversity.'

"This nation faces great adversity at this hour, even though most Americans outside the upper levels of Congress and the executive branch don't realize it. But I can tell you this. We will stand up to it. We will stand up to adversity and we will defeat it.

"The secretary of state shall have our ambassador to the United Nations challenge the Russians vigorously at the Security Council. The secretary of defense will provide the State Department with all radar tapes, and with all technical support necessary for presentations not only before the United Nations, but for purposes of immediate release to the press as well.

"Any questions so far?" Mack looked at the secretary of defense.

"Understood clearly, Mr. President. Secretary Mauney and his staff have our full cooperation."

"Good." Mack looked at his secretary of state. "Secretary Mauney, I've considered your recommendations on how to handle this matter before the UN and I value your input."

"Thank you, sir."

"Here's what we are going to do. First, I agree that seeking reciprocal sanctions against the Russians is not necessary."

Mack saw a relieved look on Robert Mauney's face.

"As far as the missing pilot goes, " the president continued, "I think we should return him."

Mauney exhaled.

"But not yet."

Mauney raised his eyebrow.

"The problem with an immediate release of that pilot is twofold. First, if we release that pilot, we appear to authenticate to the rest of the world the Russians' version that we shot into their territory."

"Good point, Mr. President, " the secretary of state conceded.

"Secondly, Russians flew warplanes over Georgia. There must be some consequences. If we simply turn the pilot over, what deters them from doing it again?"

"Agreed, Mr. President, " the secretary of defense chimed in.

Secretary Mauney grimaced.

"Therefore, Secretary Mauney, I want you to open talks with the Russians on the release of that pilot, but as a condition, there must be some acknowledgment on their part that our pilots did not fire into their territory and that their pilots were over Georgian territory."

"They won't like it, sir."

"I don't care if they like it or not. Put some face-saving language in there if you want, but that's the way it's going to be."

"Yes, sir, " the secretary of state said.

"Now, Secretary Lopez."

"Yes, Mr. President."

"I have three directives I want to underscore. First, all activities in Turkey and Georgia will continue as previously directed, until otherwise ordered by me."

"Yes, sir."

"Second, I want you to organize a press conference at the Pentagon this afternoon to get the facts out about what happened in that dogfight over Georgia."

"Will do, sir."

"Finally, there is to be no change -- repeat no change -- in the operational orders for
Operation Undercover.
We've come this far. We've gotten our sub into the Black Sea. We're going to find that freighter, sink her, and keep that plutonium out of the hands of terrorists. We're going to do this because it's the right thing to do."

Mack surveyed the room. Stone silence and electric tension dominated the atmosphere.

"Any questions?"

There were none.

"Very well, let's all get to work. This meeting is adjourned."

CHAPTER 17

The USS
Honolulu

The Black Sea

Commander Pete Miranda walked around the control room, sipping black coffee and checking his watch. Now they were in a waiting game.

But submariners were good at that. Just waiting.

All the training, all the drills, all the practices, the repetitions, the checklists, etc. It all came down to this.

Running silent, running deep.

Waiting.

"What's our position, Chief of the Boat?"

"Forty-five degrees north latitude; thirty degrees, thirty minutes east longitude. Depth one-five-zero. Hovering at ground zero, Skipper."

"Very well, Mr. COB, thank you."

"Aye, sir."

To be a hunter. A predator. To kill from the depths of the sea and return silently back to ports unknown. This was the duty of the submariner.

Even still, in the serene silence of it all, Pete hoped they would never have to launch a torpedo.

Pete was unafraid of dying. Nor was he afraid of the naval dragnet that would sweep the area soon after the freighter's sinking.

None of that drove this feeling. There was just a hope that somehow, some way, the crisis could resolve itself in another way.

They'd already made history by entering the Black Sea. But beyond a tiny handful of Americans in the Navy and at the very upper echelons of the United States government, this moment would never be known.

It would never exist in the history books. Not that Pete cared about making the history books. He did not.

But his children, Hannah and Coley, the son and daughter he had not seen for a year, were weighing on his heart.

All his life's regrets flashed through his mind. His marriage to the Navy. Christmases gone by when he was alone, without his children to open presents under the Christmas tree.

He closed his eyes and saw thirteen-year-old Hannah. Her hair was wavy and black as coal. Her skin was fair and her eyes were a deep, haunting blue. She was his Snow White, a princess always in his heart.

And her smile when she sat on his knee and put her arms around him made every part of his soul melt.

Coley was born a year after Hannah. He too had inherited Sally's wavy, jet-black hair. While Hannah was sugar and spice and everything nice, Coley was all boy.

The kid got into everything, and Pete thought he was going to burn the house down from one of the many "chemistry experiments" Coley conducted in his room. To keep Coley's mischievous streak in check, Pete insisted that the boy play sports. Coley experimented with baseball and basketball, before settling on soccer, in which he excelled as the fastest, most agile and lithe forward on the team.

That thought brought a proud smile to the captain's face.

The history books could fall off a cliff as far as Pete was concerned.

Most of them were revisionist anyway. But his heart's desire was for Hannah and Coley to know what their ole pop sacrificed here, in the Black Sea, and to know that he had done it for America -- that he had done it for them.

If only some way they could know.

But his death, should it come, would kill a last chance to hug his little girl or play catch with his boy.
God forgive me for my poor choices.

Forgive me for letting this time slip away.

How surreal it all was. To be here, yet in the eyes of millions and the eyes of his children, to vanish into oblivion . . . never to be heard from again.

The cacophonous static of the ship's communication speaker broke the serenity of the moment.

"Conn. Radio! Receiving emergency action message! . . . Recommend alert one. Recommend alert one!"

Pete barked at the officer of the deck. "Officer of the deck, on the 1MC, sound alert one!"

"Aye, Skipper! Sounding alert one!" The OOD picked up the microphone and switched the frequency to the 1MC, broadcasting the alert all over the ship.

"Alert one! Alert one! Incoming emergency action message! Alert one! Alert one! Incoming EAM!"

Pete looked at Frank Pippen, who was now wearing his battle-ready game face. "XO, follow me."

"Aye, Skipper."

"Mr. McCaffity, you have the conn!"

"Aye, Skipper, I have the conn, " replied Lieutenant Darwin McCaf-fity, the officer of the deck.

In the midst of warning buzzers sounding off and on, like a buzzing alarm clock without the snooze button, Pete bounded down the steel, grated decks to the radio room, which was on the same deck as the control room. The radio officer, Lieutenant Walt Brown, had already printed a hard copy of the EAM and was holding it out for the captain.

"Looks like we've got a target, Skipper, " the radio officer announced. Pete snatched the message from his hand. He spread the sheet on the charting table.

EMERGENCY ACTION MESSAGE

FROM: NATIONAL MILITARY COMMAND CENTER -- WASHINGTON, D.C.

TO: USS HONOLULU

SUBJECT: ACTION MESSAGE REMARKS:

Be advised U.S. reconnaissance satellites have spotted Russian freighter
Alexander Popovich
operating in vicinity of USS
Honolulu
current patrol area.

Alexander Popovich
last spotted 1030 hours Zulu time at 44 degrees north latitude, 33 degrees east longitude on course bearing 340 degrees.

Carry out battle plan. Seek and destroy.

Pete handed the message to Frank. "Lieutenant Brown, pass me the microphone."

"Aye, Skipper." The radio officer complied.

"On the 1MC."

Lieutenant Brown punched a button. "You've got the 1MC now, sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Pete pressed the broadcast switch and spoke into the microphone. "All hands, now hear this. This is the captain." He paused for a moment as his voice echoed in all the passageways and compartments of the three-hundred-sixty-foot submarine. "We've just received an updated EAM from Washington.
Alexander Popovich
is in our area, and she's coming our way. When we find her, we're going to sink her.

"Torpedo Room, be prepared. All departments and all personnel, be prepared. Be alert. Be ready to go to battle stations at a moment's notice.

"When we sink her, I expect that within an hour, we will face a naval dragnet covering the entire western sector of the Black Sea from the Russian, the Ukrainian, the Romanian, and the Bulgarian navies." He looked at Frank Pippen, who slowly nodded his head. "This is dangerous business, people. But you know that. Stay on your toes.

"Just remember, we do not carry out this mission for glory, nor for recognition, nor for the history books -- for no one will ever remember, or even know that we were here.

"We carry out this mission to save the lives of millions -- to save the lives even of your loved ones" -- images of Hannah and Coley rushed into his mind -- "and of mine." He paused for a second. A crew should never sense that their captain is losing control of his emotions. "This is the captain. That is all."

Pete handed the microphone back to the radio officer. He turned to Frank. "XO, where's Lieutenant Jamison?" He was referring to Lieutenant Phil Jamison, the ship's intelligence officer who had been requested to volunteer for this mission because of his proficiency in Russian.