Mischief Island

by Robert Lance

  Adrian Holcomb clapped. “Well done Mr. President. Give it a day. CNN will source the leak back to our Asian friends and come after you. They’ll scream for action.”

  “That’s the point. We’ll let CNN prepare the public for what’s to come.”

  Derek asked, “So when do we start sinking patrol boats?”

  “We don’t. I said it to throw our friends off. The appearance of weakness emboldens our adversary. Alamo Jones’ assessment is right on. I just bought him thirty days to locate those warheads.”

  “Mr. President, the Chinese ambassador is waiting.”

  “Why do I need to talk to him? The only reason I sent for him was let him get the visual. When the story leaks it will reinforce where we got our information. Maybe I should talk to him. Find out where he has his dog groomed.”

  Holcomb said, “There is the matter of China shooting down our satellites.”

  The president said, “Derek, don’t you think we should shoot down a few of theirs?”

  “No sir. Stay on script. You should scold him, rant, then let it go.”

  “Before I talk to Mr. Yuan, what’s the take on the missile photos going virile on the internet? Why does that worry me?”

  “We’ve confirmed that our operators stood down on that day. The photos are grainy like a smoke screen. It’s Chinese propaganda.”

  “What about a submarine launched missile? Maybe a Chinese Sub?”

  “Actually, that’s doubtful. The missile in the photo is too small with a very short range. I would advise avoiding the subject, but if it comes up, you could make that assertion,” said Derek.

  The president said, “Adrian, rearrange the furniture. I want to be staring that bastard down when he lies. Derek, escort Yuan in. I want both of you to stick around for the intimidation factor.”

  Derek said, “He has a whole gang of Coolies with him. Shall I let them enter?”

  “No. Tell them to get work on the railroad. I want Ambassador Yuan isolated.” He sat down and stuck his jaw out like Mussolini.

  The ambassador was brimming with ire as he wobbled into the Oval Office. The president offered his hand, and the little man recoiled, remembering the last time he shook the president’s hand. The president asked, “How was the trip?”

  The Ambassador sniffed. “I declined your less than cordial offer. I take your delay as an affront to my country.”

  “Then I’ll come to the point, Mr. Yuan. The United Nations has legally stripped your country’s claims in the South China Sea, to include the Paracel, Spratly, and Scarborough Shoals. I have informed the Ambassadors of other nations my intent to freely navigate American warships in international waters, unrestricted and without consent.”

  Yuan chuckled. “This you have said before. China refutes the UN resolution. It would be a foolish adventure. We would view such an incursion an attack on our sovereignty.”

  “Who’s going to stop us?”

  “You saw what happened to your satellites. That should serve as a warning.”

  “I take that as a challenge. I love challenges. On to something else. How’s your import business doing these days? Booming? Talk about a foolish adventure. You’ve all but wrecked your own economy.” The president derisively shook his head. “How do you propose to make ‘China Great Again’? I just love that slogan. Don’t you agree?”

  “It will all dissolve quickly once the international community comes to their sense. It is happening as we speak. The Philippines has sent a mission to Peking to negotiate resuming the status quo.”

  “Trust me. That won’t happen. I just met with their ambassador and he raised serious issues with me. Very serious, Mr. Yuan. Let’s make a deal right now. Take the next thirty days to move your military out of the South China Sea and I will recall our fleets.”

  “We have no military there. Our Coast Guard is merely there to police the menace present there.”

  “That would be the Vietnamese. Their Ambassador presented some very compelling evidence how you go about policing the sea. Nasty business. All those innocent civilians.” The president mournfully shook his head. “Moscow is very unhappy, so unhappy.” He looked at his watch and continued. “My next meeting is with Russia’s ambassador to discuss joint naval exercises. Guess where.”

  “I warn you. China will not stand by and allow such an egregious conduct in our home waters.”

  “Can I ask you a personal question Mr. Yuan?”

  The little man nodded warily.

  The president asked, “Where’s a good place around here to get good Chinese takeout? The wife loves China, loves the food.”

  Moon Face exploded. “Your flippancy is disrespectful and degrading. We have nothing more to talk about. Your ‘deal’ is a laughable absurdity. If you move your fleet into our waters, we will deal with the matter harshly.”

  What are you going to do about it? Launch nukes? That, Mr. Yuan, could start a war you can’t win.”

  “You’re bluffing. America is too weak of will. You will not go to war over an area of the world that is not in your sphere of influence. Your navy is frail. Our navy is a force that your navy cannot defeat. China doesn’t bluff and you will face the power of the east wind.”

  “Maybe I am bluffing. You’ve got to know that I don’t need the permission of Congress to send my fleets into international waters. Isn’t that right Mr. Fremd?”

  Derek said, “Yes and you have the right to sink any ship or fleet in defense of the fleet.”

  The president said, “I have to assume you’re not speaking on behalf of China. I was in hopes that China has softened its position. There isn’t an olive branch anywhere near the White House, so you need to rethink the position you’ve put your country in.” The president shrugged and flapped his arms. “No deals today. Good day to you, Mr. Yuan.”

  After Ambassador Yuan cleared the room, the SECDEF said, “Well, we now know the Chinese have nukes in the Spratly Islands.”

  The president blinked. “How do we know that?”

  Derek smirked. “The Chinaman sputtered something he should never have said. His reference to ‘east wind’ is the Chinese name for the Dong Feng missiles. Our fleet is not in range of the missiles from Yulin, but they are from Mischief Island.”

  The president choked and said, “If Alamo can’t find those nukes, we’re going to be forced to back down. I hate backing down. That’s what losers do.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Ted recoiled at the notion of meeting with Heather at the grotto. He suspected some kind of seductive trap on her part. He was having none of it and enlisted Domino to go with him. He was at odds with his feelings toward her. The burden of Alamo’s death wasn’t entirely her fault, but she triggered his instability. Did she know what she was doing? What had she done wrong?

  But Alamo had two sides to him. He was a charismatic legend harboring a twisted meanness. He hid it well, but did he? He was intolerant of failures in others, a harsh disciplinarian toward those who showed weakness. Alamo defied the status quo when it came to his SEALs. Yet he rewarded his men with loyalty and praise beyond expectation.

  He and Domino walked quietly down the jungle trail without a single word between them. Ted became curious, and he asked, “Domino, what’s the problem between you and LT? You don’t like her. Why?”

  “What’s not to like? I’m insanely jealous of her. Lovely white girl, born with a silver spoon, gliding around on silver slippers, dazzling everyone that comes across her path. Makes me sick. I warned you about her.”

  “Why? I don’t get it.”

  “Huh, Heather and Alamo was a collision in the making, and you made it happen. What did I tell you about messing with her? You messed with a woman who is as OCD over you, as Alamo was over Heather. That’s the only thing that those two had in common.”

  “Why do you know so much about it?”

  “Alamo confided in me. I spied on her and made her life miserable. But Alamo could never see past Heather to…see me.”

&n
bsp; Ted stopped walking. “Are you saying you had an affair with Alamo?”

  “I don’t want to talk about that. I’ve been exactly where you are, and trust me, it’s no place you want to live.”

  “How do you feel now…about Heather?”

  “Don’t know. You and I both loved Alamo for the wrong reasons. What he put that woman through was sinful. What if Alamo had killed her? How would you feel about him? You’d hate him as much as I hated Heather. That dog will sleep on our porch till we’re dead, but you and I just need to get over it.”

  “How do you feel about her running the mission?”

  “She’s probably the person who should have been running it all along. She did a great job before Alamo got here. You be the judge of that.”

  Heather was on the stern of the Ghost with Admiral Salinas when Ted and Domino arrived. Ted was alarmed, but Domino knew Admiral Salinas by sight. She told him who Salinas was and said, “We’ve got bad news waitin’ for us. Admiral Salinas was real tight with Alamo. It’s no coincidence he’s here, and I’m sayin’ he knows what happened to Alamo.”

  “Stick to the legend. I don’t like the fact that Heather brought him down here.”

  Heather loudly announced Ted’s presence. Captain Perrotte, thanks for coming so quickly.”

  Ted looked around to make sure she was addressing the right person. She continued. “Captain Perrotte is recently arrived with a plan you need to hear, Admiral.”

  What the hell was Heather talking about? He had just been promoted far beyond his rank. Then it dawned on him. Heather was passing him off as Alamo’s replacement. Worse than that, he was expected to know the overall mission strategy and all the contingencies that went with it.

  When Heather explained the purpose of the admiral’s sudden and secret appearance, Ted felt his stomach knot. He could not fathom the mission being scrapped, and the task force being expelled from Palawan. He’d flip it back to Heather. “Have you briefed Admiral Salinas on what we’ve accomplished so far?”

  “Yes, but the admiral is expelling us according to the wishes of his government. He has lost faith in our determination to eliminate the nuclear threat so close to the Philippines, but he has agreed to hear you out.”

  The Admiral sized Ted up. “It is with great reluctance that I must terminate Operation Alamo, but without Alamo…” he shrugged, allowing Ted to draw his own conclusion.

  “Sir, if you don’t mind, I would like to conduct our conversation in the bay of the Ghost.”

  “An impressive piece of technology, but it is too small do anything other than scrap with gunboats.”

  The admiral entered the bay and Ted took a second to exchange visual cues with Heather. There was a sense of desperation in her eyes. He gave her a confident nod and followed the admiral.

  Ted decided to wing it and said, “The president of the United States sent me here with new instructions to remove China’s nuclear missiles. He stressed upon me that future generations of Filipinos will bear the yoke of Chinese oppression should this mission fail. The Philippines and your neighbors will become vassal states unless we confront them now.”

  “Lofty words Captain. The alternative to being a vassal state in the future doesn’t compare to a nuclear episode now. Did I hear you say you intend to remove the missiles?”

  “Yes. We intend to steal them. China will be toothless to prevent our fleet from challenging them. We’ll be in a position to overwhelm China’s carrier task force, and if it comes to it, we can target China’s fleet with their own missiles.”

  Salinas smirked. “No U.S. president would risk World War Three to come to the aide of our small nation, so far away.”

  “You’re wrong. We did it in World War Two and the Spanish-American War. The whole exercise of Operation Alamo is to avoid a World War. We have successfully put the rest of the world in our corner. We need more time to make Mischief Island China’s Pearl Harbor.”

  “What if you fail?”

  “Then we’ll probably be killed and the incident will never see the light of day. You will forfeit your country to China.”

  Admiral Salinas narrowed his eyes and studied Ted. “I wish to hear your strategy…in detail. Keep in mind, Alamo deceived me. I know he was behind the attack on the Vietnamese, and he made me culpable so your president can deny the blunder. His assassination makes sense to me now.”

  “Assassination?”

  As Salinas explained Alamo’s deception, Ted had his eyes on Heather the entire time. The depth of Alamo’s treachery sickened him. How deeply was she involved? Did she cover Alamo’s tracks? How trustworthy was Salinas? It didn’t matter, because the admiral could uncork the entire operation. It was up to him to sell a course of action that was still theoretical in his head. For the next hour, he laid out an expansive plan with many intersecting parts.

  It was the first time Heather heard the idea. She watched with enthralled awe as Ted’s solution scooped hers.

  Ted concluded his narration with few questions from the Admiral. Salinas said, “My heart wishes my people to be free. What other choice do I have? It is a risk that I can live with. If you are successful, the nation will rejoice, never knowing your part in their deliverance.”

  “Does that mean you’ll rescind your expulsion order?”

  “The government is unaware of your presence. My confidence was misplaced in my dear friend, Alamo. If it ever came out what he did in Fiery Cross, and that I gave him permissive latitude, I would be executed by my government.” He tapped his heart with his fist. “You understand my dilemma. Captain, you have restored my confidence. I can not say I have the same confidence in your president.”

  Heather said, “It is with the confidence of the president that we are prepared to carry out the mission.” She made her statement with a straight face.

  “Lieutenant Cummins, I’ve always been impressed with your candor. My condolences for your loss. Alamo was a hero to us.” He made the sign of the cross and turned to Ted. “You have a competent lieutenant. If I were you, I’d trust in her council. She has always advocated on behalf of our region. There is much at stake, and I leave you to do what we cannot. May God in heaven bless you.”

  Ted lacked subtle diplomacy, but Heather compensated by inviting the Admiral to dine with them. He said, “It would be imprudent of me to accept. Ramon is a culinary wizard, and I miss his creations. Think of him and Roberto as observers rather than spies.”

  Heather escorted the Admiral from the grotto leaving Domino and Ted to talk.

  Domino said, “I got the two plus two thing from the Admiral. LT handled that rather well. She made you a Captain cause that man would never let a woman run such a high visibility mission.”

  Ted chuckled. “It’s a battle field commission I can’t accept. She had no idea what I had in mind. Where did Salinas get the idea that Alamo was assassinated?”

  “Beats me, but it’s what they do to traitors over here. You need to talk to her because we’ve got a lot of ginning up to do. You really goin’ to steal those missiles?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “You got a slot for me?”

  Ted rounded up the core personnel for a think tank session at the Pentagon. He summed up his plan in one sentence. “We’re going to steal the missiles from Mischief Island.” There were chuckles and murmurs. “Hear me out. I’ve found a flaw in the Chinese missile deployment plan. They have eight launchers and eight missiles. But there are only four barges. To deploy, they need to load the barges and move the launchers to their pads. Once they have done that, they’ll have to retrieve the missiles from either hidden lockers or from the cargo holds on supply ships. Then they’ll have to transport them back to the launcher sites and transfer the missiles to the launchers. That’s when they’ll be the most vulnerable, and that’s when we strike.”

  Gates chirped. “With what?”

  Ted spoke to Willer. “I heard you say there was a second prototype of the Ghost. How far along is it from being opera
tional?”

  The question took Willer by surprise. “I don’t know Ted. I’ve been out here for a month and out of the loop. Before I left it was doing trials. I suppose it’s ready.”

  “Is there a chance you can get a crew for her?”

  “Are you joking? There isn’t a dick, from the work floor to the board of directors, who wouldn’t give their left nut to crew the Ghost in combat.”

  “Master Chief Gregory, can we outfit a slot in the grotto for a second Ghost?”

  “Gregory said, “There’s plenty of room. It’s a matter of logistics.”

  “Get to work on that. The Ghost can carry a compliment of eighteen SEALs, and with two Ghosts that gives us a lot of fire power to overpower the barges in open water. While we’re waiting for our second boat, we’ll bring our SEAL teams on board and work up a simulation training plan. Domino and Carole will develop scenario mock-ups.”

  Fitzgerald interrupted. “Slow down, Perrotte. You’ve got a lot of balls in the air. How will we know when the Chinese plan their deployment?”

  “That’s Lieutenant Commander Cummins department.”

  Fitzgerald responded. “Are you forgetting that island is loaded with Chinese Marines? They have enough fire power and assets to blow us out of the water.”

  “That’s the beauty of it. They’ll blow up their own nukes, and they’ll think twice about that. Once we get feet on target, Navy fleet airpower can start sinking any threats to us. Without nukes, the fleet can sail into Mischief Reef without opposition. If the Chinese get pissy with us, we have their nukes to use on them.”

  Perry said, “That’s ten pounds of shit in a two pound bag. It looks good on paper, but the hard part is getting inside their sonar ring without getting caught.”

  “We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again,” Ted said.

  “Okay, but I’m not wearing Chinese sandals.”

  The think tank session lasted for three hours, picking at assumptions, tasking teams, and building a general framework. Heather allowed Ted to chair the session without interrupting him. It could all come to nothing, because none of it fit the Alamo plan. She and Alamo always thought they could find the missiles, get their GPS locations, and forward it to the president for further action. The end game was always to force the Chinese to remove the missiles or suffer total isolation as a rogue nation, much in the same way as North Korea. The alternative was to preemptively take out the nukes conventionally. Ted’s amendment was a short circuit that was far more aggressive.