Seal Team Seven (32 page)

Damn. Why couldn't those SEALs have done the job right when they'd had the chance?

“Is the President aware that it will be a hundred times harder getting at the
Yuduki Maru
once it's in a hostile naval base?” Admiral Bainbridge asked. “It won't be a simple boarding operation at sea anymore. It'll mean a full-scale invasion.”

They were gathered once again in the SEAL base briefing room. Captain Phillip Christopher, a staff aide for Admiral Kerrigan, had just brought the Special Warfare Command the news that Prairie Fire had been aborted. After Christopher had said his piece, Brian Hadley had informed them of the decision made by the President and the National Security Council to allow the Iranian squadron to pass the American ships now gathered south of Masirah unmolested.

“I'm sure the President has been advised of that fact by the Joint Chiefs,” Hadley replied, but the CIA liaison officer didn't look happy. His once-neat gray suit was rumpled, and looking at the bags under his eyes, Paul Mason doubted that the man had had more than an hour or two of sleep in the past forty-eight. “For the moment, the military community is being asked to narrow its focus, to concentrate on the Greenpeace vessel
Beluga
, rather than on the Japanese freighter.”

“Just what does Greenpeace have to say about all of this, Mr. Hadley?” Mason asked.

“They've not released an official statement yet,” Hadley replied. “Privately, though, people at their European headquarters in Brussels have been discussing the situation with our ambassador there. They feel that there's a strong possibility that their people are being held hostage, that Kohler was being forced to make those statements against his will. They do not believe the story that Iran freed a hijacked ship any more than we do, and they certainly oppose having that plutonium diverted to Bandar Abbas.” Hadley gave a grim smile. “Half of Europe is already panicking over what might happen if the Iranians decide to use the plutonium against their neighbors in the Gulf. They wouldn't have to build a bomb, you know. Plutonium is the most deadly poison known to man. Dispersing a few
pounds
of the stuff as dust in the air or sea could render vast stretches of the Arabian Gulf coast uninhabitable, poison over half of Saudi Arabia's fresh-water supply, even contaminate the region's oil fields for centuries. Iran won't need to build an atomic bomb to become
the
power in the region. What we haven't been able to determine yet is whether this thing is being orchestrated from Tehran, or whether it's the work of a military cabal, a handful of military officers seeking a power base to overthrow the mullahs.”

“Hell, their four largest warships were protecting the
Yuduki Maru
this morning,” Admiral Bainbridge pointed out. “If it's a cabal, it's a damned big one, one including their whole navy.”

“We can't rule that possibility out,” Hadley admitted.

“Haven't we learned anything from questioning the people aboard
Hormuz
?” Captain Coburn asked.

“Nothing definite,” Hadley said. “Frankly, the officers and men aboard the
Hormuz
simply don't know that much. Their orders came from the Iranian Gulf Fleet Headquarters at Bandar Abbas.”

“Who issued the orders?” Bainbridge asked.

“An Admiral Seperh Paydarfar,” Hadley replied. “The Agency's still digging for information on Paydarfar, but he appears to be a fairly loyal senior fleet naval officer with good political connections in Tehran. No evidence yet that he might be involved in an anti-government plot.

“In any case, we think our best chance for detailed intelligence is going to come from the
Beluga
.”

“That's a switch,” Coburn said. Several of the other officers in the room laughed.

There was a long history of, if not outright animosity, then at least hostile wariness between Greenpeace International and the U.S. Navy. Greenpeace had publicly attacked the Navy on more than one occasion—for deploying nuclear weapons aboard its ships, for routinely dumping jet fuel at sea during carrier landing operations, even—and this one went back quite a few years—for purportedly training dolphins to plant explosives against the hulls of enemy ships. For its part, the Navy tried to maintain a good public relations profile by remaining aloof, despite what often appeared to be a leftist-organized campaign against the Navy's programs. It never admitted either way, for instance, whether or not nuclear weapons were stored aboard any given ship, and used simple “no comment” statements to avoid verbal engagements with antinuke protestors.

Leftist or not, Greenpeace was clearly now being used by the Iranians for reasons of their own, a situation that could not make the organization very happy. Greenpeace had taken the lead in the international battle against Japan's plutonium shipments, and now it seemed that the organization was actually giving its blessings to the diversion of two tons of stolen plutonium to a nation that was not exactly a trustworthy member of the international arena.

“I imagine the people at Greenpeace aren't exactly happy about this,” Hadley said. “They stand to lose a very great deal of prestige and credibility if the Iranians decide to use that plutonium. Even if Tehran just uses the stuff to blackmail its neighbors, it will be remembered that one of Greenpeace's European spokesmen claimed the Iranians were just helping out.”

“It's still possible the Iranians are on the level,” Captain Christopher pointed out. “The Iranians the SEALs encountered on the freighter last Sunday could have been part of a terrorist faction or a coup, and the Iranian force could have regained control. They might still return the freighter and its cargo to the Japanese.”

“Ha!” Bainbridge said curtly. “If that's true, why hasn't there been an official announcement from Tehran? Why haven't we heard from
Yuduki Maru
's captain? Hell, they could have let the
Maru
go its way and taken the bad guys back to Tehran for a big show trial. No, this feels like Iran might be trying to play both sides in this. They're buying time until they can get their real plan, whatever it is, in place.”

“So where does that leave us?” Mason wanted to know.

“It looks,” Hadley said, a grin slowly spreading across his face, “as though Captain Coburn's people are going to get another shot.”

“All right!” Captain Coburn said delightedly, smacking fist into palm. “The
Yuduki Maru
again?”

Bainbridge scowled. “I thought you said the President was ordering us to let the Iranians take the freighter into port.”

“He did,” Hadley said. “And we're not going after the plutonium ship. Not yet anyway. At least not until we can clarify the exact political situation. And to do that, we're going to need to take a closer look at the
Beluga.
. . .”

“Wait a minute,” Murdock said. “Let me get this straight. They're letting the bastards
pass
?”

Lieutenant Commander Robert Fowler, Intelligence Officer aboard the LHA
Nassau
, fixed Murdock with an icy stare. “Yes, Lieutenant. That is exactly what they're doing. The order was relayed down the chain of command from the President himself.”

“Ah!” Roselli said from the other side of the room. “That explains it then.”

“Belay that,” Murdock snapped. The current U.S. President was not popular with most military personnel, partly because of various unpopular social changes he'd made in the armed forces since his inauguration, but partly too because of his erratic course in charting American foreign policy. Nonetheless, he
was
the Commander-in-Chief, and American military personnel were expected to keep their political convictions to themselves. High-ranking military officers had been broken for careless criticism of the President and his Administration.

More than that, though, the country simply could not afford to have a military that involved itself in politics. That path led to military dictatorship, as had been proven time and time again elsewhere throughout the world.

“Sorry, sir,” Roselli said.

“
If
I might be allowed to continue,” Fowler went on, “the Iranian squadron is continuing on course toward the Straits of Hormuz, with the
Yuduki Maru
in tow. We now believe that they will escort the Japanese ship to their naval base at Bandar Abbas. The President has ordered that they be allowed to pass without interference.”

“Fuck that,” MacKenzie said, the vulgarity shockingly loud in the silence following the intelligence officer's words. Fowler and the SEALs in the compartment all turned and looked at him. “Ah, 'scuse me, sir,” the chief added. “But that's just plain damned screwy! Those bastards get into Bandar Abbas, and it's gonna take nothing less than a Marine invasion to winkle them out! ”

“That may be,” Fowler said coldly. “Do you really want to be the one setting our foreign policy out here, Chief?”

“Uh, no, sir.”

“Good. Then I suggest you keep your mouth shut and listen, or you'll find yourself bounced back to the States to sit this one out!”

“Hold on there, Commander,” Murdock said suddenly, rising.

Flower looked at Murdock, eyebrows rising. “Huh? What is it now, Lieutenant?”

“Might I have a word with the Commander, sir? In private.”

“Lieutenant, this is hardly the time—”

“These are my men, sir. And my responsibility. I respectfully suggest that if you have something to say to any of them involving order or discipline, you say
it through me
.”

Fowler locked eyes with Murdock for a beat. “You're out of line, Lieutenant.”

“No, sir. I don't think I am. Would you care to discuss the matter in private?”

Fowler stared at him for another moment, then took a deep breath and shook his head. “I really don't have time to discuss this matter, Lieutenant. Time is short and I have other briefings to deliver.” He turned his gaze on MacKenzie. “Chief, if I was too harsh a moment ago, forgive me. The past few watches have been long ones.”

MacKenzie grinned. “No problem, sir.”

“Good. As I was trying to explain, the political situation over here is highly unstable. If we launch an outright attack on the Iranian squadron now, while they're claiming to be on an international rescue mission, well, it won't matter much whether they're hijacking that plutonium or not. The United States will be condemned all over the world . . . for interfering with that rescue, for putting our own prestige ahead of the lives of people in that region, for endangering the coastlines of countries from Saudi Arabia to South Africa if the
Yuduki Maru
is sunk, for acting like an out-of-control gunslinger when negotiation might have resolved the situation peaceably. The list goes on and on. Whatever you might think about his foreign policy statements lately, the President doesn't really have any other choice on this one. The draft for a formal resolution has been placed before the United Nations, but until we know for sure what's happening over there, our hands are pretty well tied.”

Murdock raised his hand.

“What is it, Lieutenant?”

“Damn it, sir, we were aboard the plutonium ship. We brought back a freed hostage and a prisoner. What more do we need?”

“Frankly, Lieutenant Murdock, we need a clear picture of what the Iranians are thinking right now. Were the Iranians your people encountered aboard the
Maru
a revolutionary faction allied with Japanese terrorists? Or were they some kind of special action group working with the knowledge and approval of the mullahs in Tehran? We don't know, and until we do, our hands are tied.

“What we really need now, Washington feels, is a close look at what's going on aboard that Greenpeace yacht, the
Beluga
. If Kohler and the others aboard the yacht are telling the truth, then the Iranians have done our job for us, taking the
Yuduki Maru
back from the terrorists who hijacked her.”

“With respect, sir,” Roselli said, “that's a load of crap.”

“That may be, Chief,” Fowler said. “Personally, and speaking strictly off the record, I have to agree with you.”

The man appeared to have resigned himself to comments from his audience. He was not, Murdock thought, used to briefing SEALs, as nonconformist and as non-elitist a bunch as Murdock had ever known.

“However,” Fowler continued, “the Joint Chiefs have ordered a new mission, an intelligence-gathering operation this time. They want you guys to go aboard the
Beluga
and find out just what's going down. The operation will be code-named Prairie Watch. If Kohler and the others are not hostages, you are to ascertain that fact and leave, hopefully without upsetting the diplomatic apple cart. If, as seems more likely from what we know now, the Iranians are holding Kohler and his guests prisoner, you'll proceed with a hostage rescue scenario.”

“Yeah!” Magic Brown said. “That's more like it!”

The other men of Third Platoon sounded excited at the prospect of getting another shot. Murdock wasn't sure that he liked the sound of this mission, though. “What do we know about the target, sir?” he asked. “We don't have models or—”

“The
Beluga
was built by Luxuschiff, a luxury yacht manufacturer headquartered in Hamburg,” Fowler said. “Detailed deck plans, including any modifications Kohler may have had made at the Hamburg boatyards, are being transmitted to us via satellite. You should have them within the hour.”