The Devil's Waters (37 page)

Piper raised a hand to stop Wally. “What LB’s told you. Sergeant, how much talking about this have you done?”

“What was determined on the scene to be the appropriate amount. Sir.”

Wally cut in. “General, tactically, I decided LB should inform the team. The situation was confusing and dangerous. Our orders were contradictory to our PJ training. I felt it necessary to have the sergeant brief the team on what he’d found out about the ship and its cargo. We had decisions to make on the fly. Sir.”

“What about the deal?”

“Yes, sir. And the deal.”

Piper rubbed his stubbled cheek again. “Well, that cat’s out of the bag, then. I assume with this knowledge, gentlemen, you’ll both agree it’s a lucky thing Iran didn’t get a railgun and all that hardware. It’s best to keep them out of enemy hands.”

Wally asked, “Sir, what about Iran’s nuclear weapons program? Doesn’t this just put us back to square one?”

“Not at all. Iran had to come clean on a lot of what they’re up to before that bargain could be struck. It was worth a few billion dollars down the drain to get that intel. The Israelis are beside themselves.”

LB fidgeted. Piper swelled into his businessman’s shirt made for a bigger frame.

“You got more to add, son? Let me have it.”

“Permission to speak freely, sir.”

“I got the sense you were already doing that.”

Wally shot LB a tight-lipped look of caution. LB hooked a thumb at the closed door and said, “Maybe you want to step out for the rest of this.”

Wally made no move to leave. Piper answered for him. “I’ll have the captain stay for this. Since I don’t believe orders are enough to keep you in line, DiNardo, I’m making him responsible for you.”

LB raised his palms at Wally: I tried to get you out of the way.

“Proceed.”

“Sir, you and I both know that ship wasn’t sunk by pirates.”

“Let’s focus on what you know. Leave me out of it.”

“Understood. I negotiated with Yusuf Raage before we assaulted the bridge. We had him and his last men surrounded.”

“And?”

“He never mentioned he’d set charges to blow up the ship. I believe he would have in that situation, or else what would have been the point of mining the ship? After we had him cornered on the bow and Wally asked him, Raage looked pretty surprised when he admitted to it. It just didn’t add up that he’d wait until all his men were dead to bring it up, then sink the boat. Didn’t make sense to Razvan, the chief engineer, either. That’s when he told Wally what he’d heard.”

Wally pitched in. “Iris Cherlina caused the piston to blow.” LB patted Wally gently on the back, pleased to have him at his side again.

Wally continued. “Razvan was dead certain the damage to the engine was sabotage. Then one of the Russian officers, before he got killed, confessed that he and Iris Cherlina timed the accident to slow the ship smack in the middle of the Gulf of Aden.”

Piper leaned closer. “Are you two telling me Iris Cherlina was responsible for bringing pirates on board that ship?”

LB looked at his boots. “Sir, I’ve been blown up, sliced, and almost drowned. We all got blood on our hands that’s going to take a while to wash off. One of us is dead.” LB lifted his gaze. “So can you please cut the shit?”

Piper pointed at LB’s sling. “You’re the knife fighter, son. Cut it for me.”

Wally gestured to LB with a flat palm. You’ve come this far—go ahead.

LB took Wally’s hand for a shake, as if to say, Nice knowing you.

“Iris Cherlina wasn’t working for herself. No way.”

Piper spoke slowly, making sure he got the tone of threat right. “Then who?”

“The United States.”

Piper let the words dangle. He cocked his crew-cut head to eye LB without blinking. “That’s a big statement.”

“Yes, sir. But it’s the only way all the pieces fit. You said it yourself a few minutes ago. This could’ve been a fuckup, but it wasn’t. That says you’re okay with the ship sinking. That means it was supposed to go down, and you knew it would.”

Piper twisted the big gold ring. He nodded to himself, then asked Wally, “Does he pay attention like that when you talk, Captain?”

“Never.”

“Well, Sergeant, I expect you won’t be surprised if I tell you it’s true.”

“No, sir. I won’t.”

Piper’s tone changed. He became conspiratorial, explaining himself and the rationales behind the secrets he was about to reveal. LB and Wally, because of their wounds and service, because they’d earned it, were going to be included.

“Listen, you both been on enough battlefields. You know how one weapon, the right weapon deployed at the right time, can determine the outcome. I assume you both know what a rail-gun is theoretically capable of.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The military that gets an EM launcher into the field first is going to have a huge advantage. Period. The damn thing’s a game changer. It needs more R&D, about a decade’s worth. A lot of us don’t want Iran in on that game. When the deal first got struck with Iran, Russia, and Israel, we objected to it. We told the president it was a bad idea to let the Iranians get their hands on a weapons system like that. The president let us know this was a diplomatic initiative and not military. He and everybody else were relieved that Iran was standing down their damned nuclear development.”

Wally said, “But it didn’t end there.”

“No, it didn’t. Secretly the president agreed with us. We’d already put a lot of intel about the Irani nuke program in our pockets. So the president gave the Joint Chiefs the authority to make sure Iran would not get their hands on that ship, under any circumstances. Then he told us he didn’t want anyone else to know about it. So, this became a purely military operation. We made an arrangement with a promising young Russian EML engineer, Dr. Cherlina.”

LB said, “You bought her.”

“Hell, son, she was buyable. We saw to it with the Russians that she accompanied the shipment. We got some of our Sunni friends in the region to find us a reliable Somali hijacker. After that, the plan was simple. Slow the boat. Bring on the pirates. Sink the boat. Blame the pirates. We made sure the
Nicholas
was in the area for the rescue. Nothing leads back to us, and the president has clean hands.”

Wally asked, “But why send my team in? I mean, if the whole point of the operation was to make it look like pirates sank the ship, I don’t understand dropping us in to stop them.”

Piper offered this to LB. “Sergeant? You got this one figured out?”

LB nodded. “Give it a shot.”

“You had to make it look like the Somalis’ hand was forced. You’ve got Russia, Israel, Iran, everybody, watching this cargo. It wouldn’t be reasonable just to claim that pirates hijacked it, turned for Somalia, then blew it up for no reason three hours from shore. That’s where we came in. We were the decoy.”

Wally stiffened. “General, is that right?”

“Yes, it is.”

Wally leaped to his feet. LB tugged at his pants leg to no avail, so stood with him. Because of the sling, Wally had only one arm to wave around.

“I led my men onto that ship, risked their lives, so you could have a cover story?”

“Correct.”

“We killed two dozen Somalis. Lost four of the ship’s crew. One of my men died, an officer, a kid. We took bullets and shrapnel in half my team, myself included. LB almost drowned. And you knew this would happen?”

“I’ve answered you, Captain. Sit down.”

LB pressed Wally into the chair, then joined him. Wally continued to steam. He jerked a finger at LB. “I almost shot him for insubordination.”

“Well, if you’d done it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

LB rocked back. “Whoa.”

“Just trying to lighten things up, boys. Calm down. I’m sorry about Lieutenant Robey. And your close call, Sergeant. But don’t be prima donnas. Men die in this line of work. I expect you two know that as well as anybody.”

“They’re not supposed to die by our hands, General. I expect you to know that.”

Wally took the momentum now, angered and wanting to get at the heart of the secrets.

“Why’d you set it up so we were the only unit that could respond? The ship’s engine could’ve been damaged out in the Indian Ocean. The pirates would’ve taken her out there. You’d have had more time. You could’ve sent a search-and-destroy team. Why my unit?”

Piper tapped a finger to his temple. “Think about it. Your PJs were the perfect choice. Small, elite. Pararescue, excellent jump skills. Not killers by trade. We sent you in, told you to focus on the Somalis and not the hostages. We didn’t want heroics, some big rescue and a body count. We figured you’d drop on the
Valnea
, fire a few shots, maybe take out Yusuf Raage, then Iris Cherlina would blow the charge. Hell, son, you’re not killers anymore, just like you say. Should’ve been simple. The pirates would hightail it off the sinking ship in their skiffs, and you’d let ’em go. Why not?
Nicholas
would come over to rescue you and the crew, the freighter would disappear, and it would all go like clockwork.”

Piper pretended to throw smoke in the air.

“Poof. All the hardware’s on the bottom of the gulf, Iran loses out. Pirates get blamed. America looks like a hero for giving it the old college try to take the ship back and keep the deal alive. We didn’t figure you’d go and wipe everybody out. Christ, if we’d wanted that, we would’ve sent in the SEALs. We just wanted Yusuf Raage dead to make sure at least one of the pirates got shot to make the story of the explosion plausible. Besides, it would keep him from talking. But Cherlina screwed up and injured two of the ship’s crew when she blew the piston. DiNardo here went out on the distress call, then decided to stay on board. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

LB got a worse feeling than the one Piper was already giving him. It was starting to sound like, without his knowing or intending it, too much of what had happened on the
Valnea
depended on him.

The general continued, leveling a finger at LB to confirm it.

“Then this one here decided to get cute. He disobeyed his orders to show no curiosity about the cargo or Dr. Cherlina. He hid out belowdecks, saw all the toys, then cuddled up to the good doctor, who was hiding out there herself. By the time he went topside to do his job, the sergeant here knew way too damn much. Iris Cherlina was supposed to set the charge, then blow it as soon as the rescue team was on board and the pirates were on their way off the ship. Like I said, it should’ve been simple.”

Piper swung the accusing finger to Wally.

“Then, Captain, your team went in to rescue one of your own, and you boys hit that freighter like a shit storm. Before Cherlina could trip the charge, you’d taken out all the pirates. All but one, anyway, and that one caught her up on deck after setting the timer. What do you want me to tell you? We underestimated everybody, to be honest. We didn’t think the Somalis would hang so tough. Your boys are better fighters than we thought. And DiNardo here is actually charming when he wants to be.”

LB asked, “Was there really a Predator?”

“There was. Worst-case scenario. And we still could’ve blamed it on the pirates.”

Wally asked, “But why did Iris blow the ship after the deadline?”

Piper handed this one off to LB. “Sergeant?”

LB chuckled at how coldhearted it was. “They didn’t tell her about the Predator.”

Piper showed his palms. “Sorry if that seems harsh, fellas. But you did your job, Iris Cherlina finally did hers, and here we are. Good to go.”

Wally exhaled. He seemed to believe every secret had been exposed. LB doubted it.

“Now what?” Wally asked.

“End game. We sell that story to the Iranians, Russians, and Israel. The ship was sunk by pirates. We’ll reimburse the Israelis for the lost drones, the Russians for the railgun. The pirates are all dead. The ship’s crew thinks Iris Cherlina did it on her own, and we’ve put the fear of the Almighty into them to keep quiet. Your team’s not talking. Period.”

Piper considered this the end of the debrief. He cast Wally and LB significant looks and said, “Boys. Your country thanks you. Now, good day.”

LB rose to stand with Wally. Piper opened the briefing-room door. The general shook hands with Wally, who left the room.

LB closed the door behind him, locked it, and kept his good hand on the doorknob.

Piper eyed him. “Sergeant?”

Outside, Wally knocked.

“Sir, all due respect, I don’t think the story’s over.”

“Sergeant, you want to take your hand off that door.”

“I don’t like unfinished business, sir. That’s why I’m a good PJ. Nothing halfway about it, in or out.”

“I admire that. You might consider mixing in a little judgment and discretion.”

Wally rapped again.

“There’s still a few pieces missing.”

“And you just got to know.”

“Yes, sir. I can obey orders I understand better than ones I don’t. It’s a flaw in my personality.”

Piper took a seat in the second row. “All right. I’ll make a deal with you. First, every word said in this room stays here. Not even your Captain Bloom out there. Agreed?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Open that door.”

LB unlocked the door. He opened it to find Wally standing there. Piper told him to stop knocking and go away. LB closed and locked it again.

“Second. I’ll answer your questions. And every one you ask will cost you a stripe. Let’s see how bad you want it. Okay, Master Sergeant. The floor is yours.”

LB leaned back against the table, copying the posture Piper had taken addressing the team. He wondered what it would be like to have the kind of power over men that the generals and politicians had. To make them subordinate. Wally was right. The PJs had bled and killed on that boat. Violence always extracted a cost, whether in blood or in spirit. They asked little in return, what every man and woman in uniform asked: the chance to do their duty with honor and comrades at their sides, and that the people who sent them into the breach to do and suffer that violence weren’t fucking them over. Piper, Madson, the president, and the rest had broken that pact. Someone had to call them on it. Or at least let them know they weren’t so clever.