Barracuda: Final Bearing

“This is the railhead town of Tamga. This place has mostly been abandoned. Or so it would seem. This looks like a perimeter fence and it surrounds some kind of armed camp, one we previously cataloged as closed, so we didn’t pay any attention to it until all the transmissions came in.”

Satellite photos flashed by as Donchez spoke, one of them an overhead view of a compound with a perimeter fence and a large mound of earth, a sort of humped plateau.

“The interception was lengthy. It boiled down to the Greater Manchurians going berserk that this place, this compound, was broken into. There were two repeated messages from the capital in Changashan asking if the ‘stored units’ were tampered with, and two replies that the units were fine. As to who broke in, the messages said it was a human agent who committed suicide.”

“Possibly one of Leach’s people?”

“No. I would have been in on a HUMINT penetration inside Greater Manchuria, especially a suicide mission, which we’re not exactly big on commissioning.”

“So who?”

“One of Kurita’s men. The suicide at the end puts his marker on jt. I’m old enough to remember when the Japanese invented the suicide assault.”

“Did you check this place? Tamga?”

“Nothing we have can tell if there are nukes stored there. Short’ of going in like Kurita did, we won’t be able to tell. And Kurita won’t say.”

“So what now?”

“First we make sure we’re right. You ever watch Conspiracy: Exposed on UPX?”

“Sure. That nutcase Zap Zaprinski. I’ve never seen a journalist quite like him, if journalist is the word. What’s that got to do with nuclear weapons in Greater Manchuria?”

“We’re getting Conspiracy: Exposed to go into Changashan and try to get Len Pei Poom to admit to having nukes.”

“How the hell are you going to do that? I mean, you are the director of the god damned NSA but Hollywood doesn’t care that you need intelligence.

What’s going on here. Uncle Dick?”

“Len will see Zaprinski.”

“But Zap Zaprinski is a clown. He’s shock journalism.”

“Exactly. But Len doesn’t spend much time watching American TV. Chances are neither do his advisors. And he’s got bigger problems than who interviews him. Another thing — we don’t want to send a serious journalist in, some Mike Wallace go-for-the-jugular reporter who’ll antagonize Len and miss getting the scoop on the missiles.”

“So you send in Zap. Will the UPX network let him go?”

“It’s arranged. So, now, will Len talk?”

“The way I see it, the reason to reveal nuclear weapons would be to deter Russia and East China from attacking Greater Manchuria. But the reason to keep it quiet is more compelling,” Pacino said. “If Len reveals nukes, Russia or East China might try to take them out. My guess is Len mugs in front of the camera to get sympathy from the West and holds his cards close to his chest on the alleged nukes. And at the end of the day we’ll know nothing.”

“But he may suspect that someone hostile to him knows already, based on the breakin. If so, we think he’ll talk.”

“So he talks. What does that do for us?”

“It should keep Japan from attacking the missiles, from attacking Greater Manchuria. If Len opens up to the world that he has nukes, the Japanese may pull back and we prevent a war.”

“What if Len keeps his mouth shut? Or if we’re too late?”

Donchez nodded. “Worst-case scenario, Mikey. Japan attacks Greater Manchuria. The world is sympathetic to Greater Manchuria and afraid of Japan. The West is called on to stop Japan. And next thing we know, we’re up against a shooting war.” “Wait a minute,” Pacino said. “Let’s look at this another way. Nuclear missiles in Asia are bad news. Why would Japan attacking them be such a bad idea? Maybe we should just let them do that.”

“Mikey… a little history. If Japan attacks Greater Manchuria, and they succeed, what next? Remember the 1930s? Japan needed resources and oil, so they took over almost all of Asia. If the world sits by and watches them attack Len, who’s next? Korea? East China? They have the best military in Asia. Once they have momentum… the dumbest, most suicidal thing in the world would be to let them get away with this.”

Donchez stood. “Mikey, you’d better stand by. Get your submarine force ready. You may be in a fight with the Destiny subs sometime in the next year, or sooner.

There’s no telling.”

Pacino stood and Donchez started to walk with him to the door. “Where are you going? Back to Norfolk?”

“First I’m going to Groton. I’ve got something going on with the new Piranha, the Seawolfclass boat coming out of new construction.”

Pacino knew Donchez would be interested, since he had commanded the first Piranha, hull number SSN-637, back in the late sixties.

“Piranha. I guess it’s okay they reuse the good names. Still, it isn’t the same. What’s going on with her, anyway?”.

“I’m outfitting her with Vortex missiles.”