Ward suddenly jumped to his feet.
“I need to go pack a sea bag, Jimmy. If I’m the boss now, I’m giving myself permission to head down there to get a better view.”
Ψ
The sun was just setting off a brilliant light show on the western horizon as the little flotilla made its way down the channel into the harbor at the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Jon Ward watched from the bridge of the submarine tender Simon Lake as the tugs pushed the George Mason alongside. It was easy to see that her bow was badly damaged. Torn and bent metal all the way back to her payload tubes. Water and air constantly bubbling up from her torn ballast tanks as the diesel and blower fed a continuous stream of air to keep the bow afloat. It was a testament to the workmanship at Electric Boat Company, the facility in Groton, Connecticut, where the vessel was constructed, that she could even stay afloat with that amount of damage. And that there were no serious casualties, either.
Another pair of tugs was pushing a second smaller submarine, the battered Iranian diesel boat, edging her up alongside the pier. She looked as if she had been stepped on by an angry giant, big dents in her pressure hull and deck, her sail bent over at a weird angle, almost completely ripped off. After Ward’s handpicked intel team had a chance to go over every inch of the submarine—and the three nuclear-armed missiles she still carried—they would probably offer to give it back to Iran. But Ward had to wonder why the Iranians would even want it returned.
There wasn’t room for the Toledo to tie up. Joe Glass was forced to anchor his submarine in the harbor and then take a launch over to the tender. By the time Glass had made the long climb up to the tender’s bridge, Jon Ward was already sitting in the flag cabin, enjoying a cup of coffee and a good discussion with Brian Edwards and Arman Dirbaz. The latter two men had obviously become fast friends during the transit down to Diego Garcia.
Ward jumped up and grabbed Joe Glass’s outstretched hand, then a genuine man embrace.
“Damn, Joe, it’s good to see you again. Damn fine job, as usual. Looks like Brian and you saved the world again. And with a bit of help from our Iranian friend. Mr. Dirbaz has a very interesting story to tell.”
“I merely prayed to Allah that He would send a distraction so I could stop what was happening,” Dirbaz said. “So I could grab the pistol from my captor and keep him from shooting any more missiles.”
“And I guess He did,” Edwards added. “When we T-boned those guys before they could get any more missiles launched.”
“Long as people don’t think that’s how I taught you how to drive a sub when you were my XO!” Glass said, laughing.
“And that reflects on me, too,” Jon Ward jumped in. “Remember that Joe Glass was once my exec!”
Glass joined in the laughter as he shook the hands of everyone else in the cabin and then grabbed a cup of coffee from the sideboard.
Ward looked seriously at Glass for a moment. The room quieted.
“Joe, I gave your mission report a quick look.” He took a sip of coffee and again stared at Glass over the rim. “Including that bullshit about the Chinese getting to Nabiin first. Looking at the tactical picture, you were at least three miles closer. Your hatch jammed or something?” Before Glass could protest, Ward smiled. “Captain, that’s the last time that question will be asked.”
Ward slid an envelope across the table to Glass.
“And Joe, this is punishment for a job well done. Captain Glass, you have orders to relieve as Commodore Submarine Squadron Seven in Pearl Harbor. Time for you to come in off the road and start to really earn your keep.”
Joe Glass looked at Ward, wide-eyed.
“Thank you, Admiral. Thank you.”
Ward shook his former exec’s hand again.
“I should warn you, though. Admiral Donnegan is going to be sitting up there on the hill above you, keeping an eye on your every move.”
WARSHOT
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About the Authors
Commander George Wallace
Commander George Wallace retired to the civilian business world in 1995, after twenty-two years of service on nuclear submarines. He served on two of Admiral Rickover's famous "Forty One for Freedom", the USS John Adams SSBN 620 and the USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN 624, during which time he made nine one-hundred-day deterrent patrols through the height of the Cold War.
Commander Wallace served as Executive Officer on the Sturgeon class nuclear attack submarine USS Spadefish, SSN 668. Spadefish and all her sisters were decommissioned during the downsizings that occurred in the 1990's. The passing of that great ship served as the inspiration for "Final Bearing."
Commander Wallace commanded the Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine USS Houston, SSN 713 from February 1990 to August 1992. During this tour of duty that he worked extensively with the SEAL community developing SEAL/submarine tactics. Under Commander Wallace, the Houston was awarded the CIA Meritorious Unit Citation.
Commander Wallace lives with his wife, Penny, in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Don Keith
Don Keith is a native Alabamian and attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa where he received his degree in broadcast and film with a double major in literature. He has won numerous awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting. He is also the only person to be named Billboard Magazine "Radio Personality of the Year" in two formats, country and contemporary. Keith was a broadcast personality for over twenty years and also owned his own consultancy, co-owned a Mobile, Alabama, radio station, and hosted and produced several nationally syndicated radio shows.
His first novel, "The Forever Season." was published in fall 1995 to commercial and critical success. It won the Alabama Library Association's "Fiction of the Year" award in 1997. His second novel, "Wizard of the Wind," was based on Keith's years in radio. Keith next released a series of young adult/men’s adventure novels co-written with Kent Wright set in stock car racing, titled "The Rolling Thunder Stock Car Racing Series." Keith has most recently published several non-fiction historical works about World War II submarine history and co-authored “The Ice Diaries” with Captain William Anderson, the second skipper of USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine. Captain Anderson took the submarine on her historic trip across the top of the world and through the North Pole in August 1958.
Mr. Keith lives with his wife, Charlene, in Indian Springs Village, Alabama.
You can find Wallace and Keith at
Wallace-Keith.com
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George Wallace, Arabian Storm (The Hunter Killer Series Book 5)
Arabian Storm (The Hunter Killer Series Book 5) Page 30
