Counter Poised

by John Spikenard

  “So, Admiral, are you suggesting that Captain Sewell was in on this plot somehow?”

  “It’s possible, Mister President. It requires further investigation. But after all, they were good friends—“

  The president interrupted. “What does Captain Sewell’s report say about the torpedoes?”

  “Captain Sewell points out that when the two versions of the torpedo are running in the water, they have distinctively different sounds. In high-speed mode, the sound is an ominous high-pitched whine, which is very frightening to submariners. Since the Texas had apparently not been detected by the Louisiana, Captain Sewell surmised the crew of the Louisiana would not know the range to the high-speed torpedo, and they would panic when they heard it. They would dive in an attempt to hide beneath a thermal layer. Then upon hearing the second, low-speed torpedo, they would realize they were doomed even at that depth. They would likely go deeper, even to crush depth, hoping their hull integrity would hold out.”

  “Well, it appears Captain Sewell was correct, doesn’t it?” “Yes, sir, but I still think an investigation is warranted.” “Well, you will do no such thing, General. The last thing this country needs right now is an investigation suggesting a broader conspiracy to steal this submarine! The international community demands closure on this issue, and we need to lay the blame squarely at the feet of a single madman. Besides that, our own citizens need a hero right now. And that hero is Captain Robert Sewell, commanding officer of the USS Texas—the man who defeated George Adams and brought the world back from the brink of disaster! There will be no investigation. Instead, I want awards of valor for the entire Texas crew and the highest possible award for Captain Sewell. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Kermandec Trench, South Pacific

  A recovery ship was dispatched to the Kermandec Trench with a deep submergence vehicle equipped with a robotic camera platform. An accompanying flotilla of warships, sent under the auspices of the United Nations, provided assistance using their sonar systems to locate possible targets on the floor of the trench. After a week of searching, the wreckage was finally located.

  The photographic evidence clearly showed an Ohio-class fleet ballistic missile submarine crushed and totally destroyed on the bottom of the ocean. The hull had fractured in several places, and the topside team had controlled the robotic camera to peer into these large rifts to determine what had happened to the crew and their lethal cargo. Several ruptures in the forward compartment were inspected, but there was no sign of any bodies in the wreckage. Ruptures along the missile compartment were of particular interest, and the topside team controlled the robotic camera to carefully inspect this area. The photographs revealed the missiles were intact inside their silos. A UN team onboard the recovery ship verified the authenticity of the photographs to the world. Even so, fanatical Muslims denounced the photographs as more American trickery. Tensions ran high, as more radical Muslim nations began to align themselves against the U.S.

  On the third day of photographing the wreckage, the control team moved the camera to a rupture in the missile compartment, which had not been previously inspected. This rupture was aft, near the junction with the reactor compartment. To their great surprise, the photographs revealed a large pile of conical reentry vehicles in the aft portion of the missile compartment. Experts poured over the photographs for days. There was great arguing among the UN team members about what it meant, but to the experts, the meaning was clear. Finally, the U.S. was forced to make the announcement to the world: although the Louisiana went down, the renegade crew apparently managed to dismantle the nuclear warheads and abandon ship before it went down.

  Chapter 49

  The President’s Office, Philadelphia, PA

  William Craig, the president’s chief of staff rushed into the president’s office, interrupting a meeting with Senator Lawrence McCutchin, the Senate Majority Leader.

  “I know this is highly unusual, Mister President,” William said excitedly. “Please excuse my interruption, but you have to see this,” he said, turning on the television in the big corner cabinet by the window. “I think Senator McCutchin should see it, too.”

  The president received news channels from around the world in his office, and William tuned it in to the English-language Al Jazzera channel.

  “We have just received this video message from an anonymous source,” the commentator was saying. “And we think all Muslims should see it and heed its warning.”

  “Jeezum Crow, here we go again!” said the president.

  “Now what?” said Senator McCutchin, echoing the president’s sentiment.

  The message began with a great deal of static and the picture was almost indiscernible. They all strained to see and hear what it had to say when it suddenly cleared up and there was the image of a cleanshaven Caucasian male, standing beside a silver, conical object about four feet high.

  “That guy doesn’t look like al-Qaeda to me,” said the president.

  “Me neither,” said Senator McCutchin. “And what’s that thing he’s got there?”

  The man began:

  For those of you who don’t know me, my name is William Boyington. I formerly served on the USS Louisiana, a fleet ballistic missile submarine missing since last August. Today, I am formally announcing a new policy of assured destruction. We mean no one any harm. However, we have one hundred twenty nuclear weapons just like this one beside me. We are counterpoised to negate Islamic terrorists with weapons of mass destruction.

  Our policy is simple: If Islamic terrorists use another weapon of mass destruction in their misguided efforts to achieve world domination, our group, ‘The Adams Group,’ will retaliate with all our force. Muslim holy sites and cities around the world, including Mecca, Medina, Mashhad, Qom, Al Najef, and others will be destroyed. Let me reiterate—The Adams Group will not respond one-for-one. Any single future terrorist attack with a weapon of mass destruction will result in our total response and the complete razing of Islam from the face of the earth.

  We are highly trained and highly motivated individuals. If the time comes, we will perform our duty.

  We know the world’s powers will try to find us in a misguided effort to return the world to the status quo. However, reasonable minds will understand that the status quo is unstable, dangerous, and unacceptable. The future of mankind depends on changing that dynamic.

  No single member of our group knows where all the warheads are. So capturing any single member of our group, or even large numbers, will not eliminate the threat.

  To al-Qaeda leaders, I state the following: your strategy of militancy has done nothing except bring suffering and destruction to everyone, especially your own people. If you continue with your current policies, you will cause the total destruction of everything you hold sacred. Surely one of you has the strength and wisdom to change course when your ship is headed for the rocks.

  To the leaders of Muslim nations around the world, I state the following: To date, your efforts at combating terrorism have been laughable. It is time for you to join the community of nations and put forth your utmost efforts to locate and capture terrorist suspects. If al-Qaeda leaders fail to see the wisdom in changing their ways, you must change their ways for them. Your very survival now depends on it.

  To peaceful Muslims, it is time for you to get involved. If the radicals have truly hijacked your peaceful religion, then you must demand that your governments find and eliminate these criminals. Do everything you can to stop the spread of the dangerous and misguided Wahhabi/Salafi ideology. Teach your children that the future lies in God’s undying love for all, and in the nonviolent resolution of conflicts.

  For Muslims everywhere, you may rest assured you are safe from attack so long as radical Muslims turn their efforts toward peaceful coexistence. However, the failure to end terrorism is not an option. If radical Islamists repeat the type of attack carried out in Washington DC, anywhere in the world, such attack will result in the as
sured complete and total destruction of Islam. May God, or Allah, be with you in your efforts.