The Scorpion's Gate (29 page)
Aboard the USS
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Straits of Hormuz
“
T
urn it up, Andy. I want to hear this,” Admiral Adams asked the
Reagan
’s captain, Andrew Rucker. The captain grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the MSNBC broadcast appearing on the screen. A reporter was standing in front of the large blue-and-white 747 used by the Secretary of Defense:
T
urn it up, Andy. I want to hear this,” Admiral Adams asked the
Reagan
’s captain, Andrew Rucker. The captain grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the MSNBC broadcast appearing on the screen. A reporter was standing in front of the large blue-and-white 747 used by the Secretary of Defense:
. . . an apparently unsuccessful revolt within the Islamyah Air Force, according to a senior Pentagon official on Secretary of Defense Conrad’s aircraft as we flew here to Cairo with him today. The source said several pilots, apparently unhappy with the
new regime in Riyadh, seized fighter aircraft and took off, but were chased and shot down by forces loyal to the regime. The senior Pentagon source makes it clear that there is widespread discontent in what used to be called Saudi Arabia and we should expect to see more such revolts in the weeks and months ahead. Barbara Nichols, Cairo.
new regime in Riyadh, seized fighter aircraft and took off, but were chased and shot down by forces loyal to the regime. The senior Pentagon source makes it clear that there is widespread discontent in what used to be called Saudi Arabia and we should expect to see more such revolts in the weeks and months ahead. Barbara Nichols, Cairo.
The news anchor added, “Earlier today an Islamyah government announcement said that several foreign aircraft were shot down after violating the country’s airspace. When we come back, the new diet craze...”
“Bullshit!” Adams spat out. “That’s utter and complete nonsense.”
“Sir?” Captain Rucker asked.
“Look, you read the tactical reports coming off the AWACS, just like I did. It was an ambush and it saved our ass, saved the AWACS. The Islamyah Air Force somehow knew these guys were coming and they were waiting for them. If they hadn’t been there, those bandits woulda shot down the AWACS. Our own limp-dick Air Force couldn’t save its own plane, you saw that.” Adams waved a stack of message traffic printouts at the ship’s captain.
“Yes, sir, but if they weren’t rebel Islamyah pilots, who were those guys?” Rucker asked sheepishly.
“Well, let’s see, they were the new export version of the Flanker, which Iraq does not have. That kinda leaves Iran, doesn’t it?” Adams walked up to the large map of the Gulf on the wall.
“Yeah, but the AWACS or the Global Hawk would have seen them flying across the Gulf, no?” Rucker said, pointing to that section of the relief map.
The admiral moved around Captain Rucker to a point farther down on the map. “Not if they started up here somewhere in Iran and cut across Iraq on the deck below radar coverage. Then bang, they pop up in Islamyah.”
“But why would someone on SECDEF’s plane say...?” Rucker asked with a smile.
Adams just gave him a frown. “Let’s go up to the tower, Andy,” the admiral said, spinning about and heading toward the door.
Several minutes later, the two emerged onto the observation deck ten stories above the flight deck of the
Reagan,
twenty-five stories above the surface of the water below. “Admiral on deck!” a seaman barked as they entered, and then, “Skipper on deck.” The fleet’s chief intelligence officer, Captain John Hardy, had already found this pleasant perch and was staring out through heavy binoculars when the additional brass appeared.
Reagan,
twenty-five stories above the surface of the water below. “Admiral on deck!” a seaman barked as they entered, and then, “Skipper on deck.” The fleet’s chief intelligence officer, Captain John Hardy, had already found this pleasant perch and was staring out through heavy binoculars when the additional brass appeared.
“Johnny, I knew you were on board,” Adams said, patting him on the shoulder, “but I thought you’d be in CIC.” The Combat Information Center, the brains of the ship and the entire battle group, was a darkened computer-filled war room several decks below. It was also windowless and, after a time, mind-numbing.
“Needed the air, Admiral. Besides, the intel picture is pretty quiet down this end of the Gulf. The Iranians look like they’re on holiday. You think they’d, like, check us out. Here we are moving almost the whole Fifth Fleet from the Gulf, through these little narrow straits, out into the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. What an intelligence opportunity. Shit, if it were them doing this, I’d be flying overhead, sailing along by, putting guys on these little islands with cameras and electronic gear. Not these guys, nothing.” Captain Hardy shook his head.
“Not quite the entire Fifth Fleet leaving, Johnny. I’m leaving two new ships behind. There’s the new littoral combatant, the
Rodriguez,
and the newest cutter, the
Loy.
Plus two minesweepers and two patrol craft,” Adams said, taking the binoculars from Hardy.
Rodriguez,
and the newest cutter, the
Loy.
Plus two minesweepers and two patrol craft,” Adams said, taking the binoculars from Hardy.
“Like I said, Admiral . . .” Hardy joked. “We haven’t had so few ships in the Gulf since 1979. I checked.”
“Well, as Arnold said, ‘I’ll be back.’ But not until we deal with the Chinese. What’s the latest on their deployment?” The admiral guided his intelligence officer to a corner of the tower. Hardy spoke in a lower voice, briefing the fleet commander.
“Both of their battle groups are now well into the Indian Ocean, but after they came through the Straits of Malacca, one stayed to the north, the other to the south. Our P-3s flying out of Diego Garcia are also following a bunch of Chinese Ro-Ros that are spread out ahead of the battle groups. Basically, sir, it all fits so far with what you got briefed on at the Pentagon. We’re sailing into a wide-open dragon’s jaw, filled with very sharp teeth.”
Adams inhaled, filling his barrel-chested torso. He looked down on the big flight deck, at the F-35 Enforcers, the most advanced strike fighter aircraft in the world. “When will we be able to resume flight ops, Andy?” he yelled over to the ship’s captain.
“As soon as we get out of this narrow, Admiral, probably while we are sailing by Qeshm Island if the wind stays in this direction. But I have four F-14s and two F-35s up now. They can recover in Oman, at Seeb or Masirah Island, if they need to. We also have Air Force F-22s on strip alert on Masirah and down the Omani coast at Thumrait. F22 Raptors, F-35 Enforcers...If we have to do it, the Chinese will be outclassed,” Captain Rucker said, nodding his head.
“Never underestimate the enemy, Andy. Never underestimate them,” Adams said. He bit it his lip, turned, and walked out.
“Admiral off the deck!”
Security Center of the Republic
Riyadh, Islamyah
“
I
know I’ve been here before, Rusty,” Brian Douglas whispered to MacIntyre as the elevator descended into the basement of the Security Center. When it stopped, the door opened to reveal Ahmed bin Rashid standing in a darkened corridor, waiting for them.
I
know I’ve been here before, Rusty,” Brian Douglas whispered to MacIntyre as the elevator descended into the basement of the Security Center. When it stopped, the door opened to reveal Ahmed bin Rashid standing in a darkened corridor, waiting for them.
“I hope your flight from Dhahran was good,” the doctor said, shaking hands with the Brit and the American. He then turned to the two Islamyah Army escorts. “It’s all right. I’ll take them from here.”
They walked past large windows through which they could see room after room of what was clearly a large command post. “This was Schwarzkopf ’s command post in Desert Storm,” Ahmed observed. “You guys should really have left after that, like you said you would. We could have avoided so much.” They came to a door with two guards, who nodded at Ahmed and let him and his two guests pass inside.
“Sheik Rashid,
salaam alaikum,
” Brian Douglas said, offering his hand to Abdullah, who had been alone in the small room. After brief introductions by Ahmed, they sat on the two couches, the two Arabs on one side, the American and Brit facing them. A man in Army uniform appeared and served hot tea in glasses. Another placed a dish of dried fruits and sweets on the table. When the waiters were gone, Abdullah began the conversation in English.
salaam alaikum,
” Brian Douglas said, offering his hand to Abdullah, who had been alone in the small room. After brief introductions by Ahmed, they sat on the two couches, the two Arabs on one side, the American and Brit facing them. A man in Army uniform appeared and served hot tea in glasses. Another placed a dish of dried fruits and sweets on the table. When the waiters were gone, Abdullah began the conversation in English.
“Ahmed explained to me what you have told him.” He paused, in thought. “So you tell me the Americans are about to invade my country, and you, MacIntyre, are an American, an intelligence officer. So am I supposed to believe that you are, what, a traitor? Why should I believe you?”
Rusty looked at Brian, who signaled for him to answer first. “Earlier this morning, your aircraft stopped an Iranian attempt to shoot down an American Air Force jet and blame it on you. You stopped it, acting on information that we, that Brian, gave to your brother. Yes?”
Abdullah nodded, looking at his brother for confirmation. Rusty continued, “I understand that your government has factions. So does mine. I am in the faction that favors exhausting peaceful approaches before we go to war, the faction that believes that your country and ours do not have to be enemies. But if a decision were made to introduce nuclear weapons here, or if this country were to become a base for training and exporting terrorists, I might have a different view. For now, there may still be a window of time in which we can avoid a catastrophe.”
Abdullah spoke in a low voice, but with precision: “Mr. MacIntyre, Mr. Douglas, if foreign troops land on our shores without our permission, be they the Americans again or the Iranians, all people of this land will fight them, forever. In whatever way they can. You may call that terrorism. To me it is duty. It is why I fought you Americans when you were here before, why I helped the Iraqis when you invaded their country. Why do you think you can go around the world, putting your army in other people’s countries? Germany, Japan, Korea—you have been in these places for decades.”
“Sheik Rashid, I did not come here to argue.” Rusty could not let the record go uncorrected. “But you must know that the reason we sent forces to Japan and Germany is that those countries attacked us. After we defeated them, we gave them money and democracy. We went to Korea at their request when they were invaded. We also sent American boys to fight and die trying to help Muslims in Bosnia, in Somalia, in Kuwait. We tried to rebuild Iraq and give it democracy. We are not the satanic force that you seem to have convinced yourself we are.”
Abdullah cut the air with his hand. “You gave them democracy? Don’t you understand that you cannot give democracy with your armies, except to give it a bad name? That you have done. Democracy must spring from the ground like native flowers, different colors and textures in every land. You have made it harder for us even to discuss democracy with our people, because they think it is Washington’s idea.”
Ahmed and Brian looked at each other, sharing a fear that this meeting would degenerate into a debate between the American and the Arab who had fought against Americans in the recent past. “Whatever, this is history,” Ahmed interceded. “We must deal with what is right now. American, Iranian, and Chinese forces are now all very close to invading this country, not to rebuild it or to give it democracy. We are in the process of creating our own form of native democracy.
They
all are coming here to invade to get the oil, but what they will get is a long war in which many from America and Islamyah will die.”
They
all are coming here to invade to get the oil, but what they will get is a long war in which many from America and Islamyah will die.”
Rusty took the cue. “It is our goal, Sheik Rashid, to prevent that. It would be a tragedy for both our countries. And we have both had tragedy enough. That is why we told you what Brian learned in Tehran.”
Abdullah nodded in agreement that there had been enough misfortune. “But you do not tell us how to stop this next tragedy, how to stop this triple invasion,” Abdullah pointed out.
“No, but we, and some others, will help you if there are ways in which we can,” Rusty explained. “I am going back to Washington because I believe that I might be able to stop things there, by informing the right people about what Secretary Conrad is planning.”
Abdullah shot a glance at his brother, and asked, “You gave the American woman reporter the accounting paper that Muhammad did for me from the files he found? It shows that this Conrad was just a paid puppet for the al Sauds.”
“She has it,” Ahmed assured him, “but I will get a copy to Russell as well.”
Although MacIntyre did not fully understand the last exchange between the brothers, their audience with Sheik Rashid seemed to be over. Abdullah bin Rashid stood, forcing the other three to rise as well, and then said, “I have already taken some decisions, before I had your informations. And I have asked Ahmed to develop for me a plan, a gate, to keep out what he calls the scorpions, the Chinese, the Iranians, and... the Americans. You have done this, Ahmed?” The younger Arab waved a folder that he had been carrying in his hand. Abdullah continued. “There will be fighting. We are about to become what you would call ‘proactive.’ But maybe we avoid the big fight.”
“Inshallah,”
Brian Douglas prayed.
“Inshallah.”
14Brian Douglas prayed.
“Inshallah.”
FEBRUARY 21
Aboard the USS
George Herbert Walker Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush
The Red Sea,
Just South of the Suez Canal
Just South of the Suez Canal
“
T
hank you so much, for the briefings and the tour of the ship— for everything, Mr. Secretary,” the Egyptian minister of defense said as he walked down the red carpet on the deck, toward the awaiting V-22 Osprey. “We are doing the right thing. And I know, when the time comes, my President will do the right thing, too. And you and I will be ready to carry out his instructions.” The Egyptian stopped and placed his hand on Secretary Conrad’s arm. “We cannot let these people in Islamyah think they can change regimes and replace rulers with religious fanatics and terrorists. We should never have let this happen. We should have acted sooner, but now, with your help, we can correct this mistake and restabilize the region.
Inshallah.
” He stood back, saluted the Secretary, and climbed into the big vertical-liftoff aircraft.
T
hank you so much, for the briefings and the tour of the ship— for everything, Mr. Secretary,” the Egyptian minister of defense said as he walked down the red carpet on the deck, toward the awaiting V-22 Osprey. “We are doing the right thing. And I know, when the time comes, my President will do the right thing, too. And you and I will be ready to carry out his instructions.” The Egyptian stopped and placed his hand on Secretary Conrad’s arm. “We cannot let these people in Islamyah think they can change regimes and replace rulers with religious fanatics and terrorists. We should never have let this happen. We should have acted sooner, but now, with your help, we can correct this mistake and restabilize the region.
Inshallah.
” He stood back, saluted the Secretary, and climbed into the big vertical-liftoff aircraft.
Conrad, wearing a Navy flight jacket, returned the salute and then walked back inside the ship before the big rotors started to
turn, creating a strong prop wash across the entire carrier deck. The Secretary was escorted to the CIC and to a small conference room just off the floor of the war room. “Well, I thought that went well, Ron,” Conrad said as he shut the door.
turn, creating a strong prop wash across the entire carrier deck. The Secretary was escorted to the CIC and to a small conference room just off the floor of the war room. “Well, I thought that went well, Ron,” Conrad said as he shut the door.
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