Piranha: Firing Point

General Baldini will be my subordinate until we reach a point twenty miles from the beach, at which point he will take tactical command from me with the exception of the submarine assets of the USUBCOM and the ships of the Navforcepacpleet, which will remain under my operational command.

“During the RDF’s transit to Chinese waters, all elements of the press will be ejected from the ships of the RDF and flown back to Hawaii. The press will be absolutely in the dark about the operation, and in fact Admiral Copenflager of the task force will have orders to send F-22 fighters aloft to intercept any aircraft of any nationality trying to see what the task force is doing, including aircraft chartered by the press. All such planes will be jammed and escorted to Hickam Air Force Base, where they will be impounded and the reporters detained until the end of the operation. If press planes fail to turn back, they will be fired upon.”

“Hold on right there, Admiral!” Warner was furious.

“What the hell are you talking about, firing on reporters, are you crazy?”

“Madam President, that’s my plan. I want orders in writing from you and Admiral O’Shaughnessy making me supreme commander-in-chief U.S. Pacific Military Forces, and I want it in twenty minutes. Then don’t plan on hearing anything for a while, a week, ten days. The next thing you’ll hear is a call from the Red Chinese ambassador begging your forgiveness.”

“Pacino!” O’Shaughnessy began to shout, but Warner put her hand on his gold-striped sleeve.

“Admiral, this is impossible, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I want to know your plan for your subs, and I want it now.” “No,” Pacino said.

“What?” A look of disbelief crossed her features.

“I said no,” he said calmly, sensing Paully White staring at him. “Either I’m Supreme Commander Pacific or I quit.”

“Admiral, there’s no way! You aren’t running anything except your subs. Now, get this idea out of your head and tell me right now what the subs are going to do to keep the force safe. I have a press conference in forty minutes.”

“Madam President?”

He had her complete attention, a look of understanding and even fear dawning on her face.

“Yes, Admiral?”

“I quit. Goodbye.” He hit the kill switch on the video console, and the widescreen winked out.

“Um, sir, what the hell did you just do?”

“You sound like Warner, Paully.”

“Admiral? Captain Stephens and Ms. O’Shaughnessy are ready,” Joanna said.

“Send them in. Ah, Emmit, Colleen.”

The two shipyard officials walked in. Pacino smiled and pointed at the table.

CENTRAL OHIO

AIR FORCE ONE

ALTITUDE: 38,000 FEET

“Has he gone completely nuts?”

Admiral Richard O’Shaughnessy was still staring at the dark widescreen. He turned to face a president so angry as to be on the verge of losing control.

“No, ma’am,” he said slowly in his deep baritone voice. “I think I know what he’s concerned about.” He picked up a remote control and nicked the satellite-receiver console to life.

“… task force on the way to the East China Sea, where we’ve asked Commander Fred Duke to explain how the antisubmarine-warfare units of the task force work. Commander, you indicated that this task force has helicopters that can attack submarines. Will they be able to do the job against what would seem to be—”

O’Shaughnessy killed the tube.

“Pacino’s right. Whoever was out there in the East China Sea knew we were coming and what our tactical deployment was. He blew us away so easily because he knew exactly when and where we were coming. He knew the very mood of the task force commander, may he rest in peace.”

“What are you saying. Admiral? That the television news lost us the battle?”

“Not quite. Madam President. I think what I’m saying is that not listening to Admiral Pacino lost us the battle.

If we’d done what he wanted to do, we’d be ashore in White China now, or tomorrow, or Wednesday, with only the embarrassment of waiting.”

“Okay, and what would I have told the press?”

“That’s Pacino’s point, ma’am.” O’Shaughnessy laughed, the president shooting a look of fury at him. “You, Madam President, are a security risk.”

“What? Choose your words carefully, Admiral.”

“That’s just it. Madam President, you don’t. Your words go around the world. To White China, we say hold on, the cavalry’s coming. To Red China we say, get out, get out or die. Did I capture that accurately? And then two hundred news crews on the USS Webb tell the world what we’re doing out there. We should be ashamed of ourselves. And how many press conferences did we give, or that you gave, where you let various military cats out of their bags? Pacino’s right. The only way he can clean up the East China Sea is sneak in there while the Reds are kept guessing. Look over here a minute.”

O’Shaughnessy walked to a world globe placed on a small table. “Hawaii’s here, and White China’s here.

The East China Sea is the front yard to White China.