Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (21 page)

 
          
Jerrod
Hale’s head jerked up angrily at that word, but before he could react, the
President said, “Hold on, now, Admiral, but no one’s going to impeach me, and
sure as hell no one’s going to intimidate me into responding or not
responding.” That sentence was aimed as much at Balboa as it was at the few
opposition party legislators who’d actually suggested an independent prosecutor
investigate the President for his actions during the Iranian conflict. “The
bottom line is, the B-2 stealth bomber attacks over
Iran
and the
Persian Gulf
forced the Iranians to stop their attacks
and back off. If
China
,
Afghanistan
, and Congress are upset about us flying one
lousy stealth bomber around to do the job, that’s tough.”

 
          
“Mr.
President, the American people are upset because you conducted a secret, covert
war,” Balboa said. He saw Hale’s face flush, but ignored him. “The American
people don’t like secret wars, sir—the fallout from our escapades in
Central America
prove that.” Everyone realized that
Balboa’s remark was aimed directly at the President, who, as the ex-vice
president, had engineered many of those secret military missions in
Central America
in the aftermath of the James spy incident.
Martindale had been severely criticized for initiating so many “dirty”
skirmishes in
Central
America
.

 
          
But
Martindale could dish it out as well as take it. “You wouldn’t happen to be
upset, Admiral,” the President said, “because I chose to keep the
Abraham Lincoln
carrier group out of the
Persian Gulf but sent in a B-2 bomber to bust Iran’s chops; that I allowed the
Lincoln
to get shot at by the Iranians
but didn’t give them a chance to retaliate?” It was no secret that many in the
Navy were upset at precisely that point:
Iran
had attacked the USS
Abraham Lincoln
with long-range cruise missiles and shot down one
of its E-3C Hawkeye radar planes, but the President had not allowed the
Lincoln
to spearhead a retaliatory strike.

 
          
“Don’t
be ridiculous, sir,” Balboa said, his voice showing the slightest hint of
irritation toward his commander in chief. “We’re all on the same side. True,
the
Lincoln
was ready to conduct their counterattacks,
destroy the Iranian bomber bases, sink the Iranian carrier, and rescue those
CIA operatives long before the stealth guys got on the scene. True, we were cut
out of the game unfairly and unnecessarily. But I’m not going to prefer the
Navy over any other service just because I wear a Navy uniform.” Eyes turned
away from Balboa at that instant, and the reply “Bullshit” came to many of
their minds. “But this
Taiwan
operation is totally different. The Navy is
in a much better position to assist
Taiwan
than these . . .
things
the general wants to send in.”

           
“We need to make our involvement
deniable and perfectly black,” Freeman said, “or we risk starting a war on the
high seas in the entire region. That’s the advantage of using the aircraft we
suggest.”

 
          
“Does
the Joint Chiefs have a problem using Air Force assets in the Pacific? ” the
President asked.

 
          
“Sir,
I apologize if I sounded too ... argumentative to General Freeman, and of
course CINCPAC will use any and all assets available in his theater if needed,
including the Air Force,” Admiral Balboa responded, saying the words as if they
were part of a well-rehearsed boilerplate speech—very little sincerity in those
words at all. “But I think we’ve already seen the harmful result of using
renegade, secretive units in military operations. The B-2 bomber operation the
general put together against
Iran
could have been a complete disaster and a
major embarrassment for the
United States
.”

 
          
“Instead,
it was a major victory and completely stopped all further aggression,” Freeman
said. “We proved that.”

 
          
“All
you proved, General Freeman, was that
terrorism
works,” Balboa said acidly.

 
          
“What
in
hell
did you say, Balboa?” Jerrod
Hale exploded. Hale was a tall, very large man in his early fifties, a former
Los Angeles
district attorney who, as the Martindale
for President campaign director, had engineered Martindale’s stunning comeback
from a defeated, divorced former vice president to a powerful, awe-inspiring,
and rather fearsome President of the
United States
. More than almost any other person in
Washington
besides the President, Hale commanded a lot
of power because he controlled access to the man in the White House—and Hale
was not shy about wielding the forces under his control. “Who the
fuck
do you think you’re talking to?
General Freeman is an advisor to the President of the
United States
. You’re right on the verge of getting
yourself shit-canned!”

 
          
The
President’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened, but he raised a hand to
silence Hale. “All right, Admiral,” he said, carefully controlling his
surprised anger, “it’s obvious you’ve got something to say, so say it. It
sounded like you’re accusing me of terrorism. Did I hear you correctly?”

 
          
“With
all due respect, Mr. President—yes, I believe the B-2 bomber attacks were
tantamount to acts of terrorism,” Balboa said. “Under advisement from General
Freeman, you ordered a stealth bomber to over-fly
China
and bomb
Iran
without warning. In my book, in anyones
book, that’s terrorism, and it ought to be eliminated in this administration.”
He paused for a few breaths, then added, “The Chiefs recommend that this latest
operation, this Megafortress support mission, be canceled and more conventional
means be used to support
Taiwan
’s naval forces. What in hell is this thing?
You call it a modified B-52, but it’s sure as hell not like any B-52 I’ve ever
seen! Where is it now, Mr. President? I want to see it and give my evaluation.”

 
          
“Excuse
me, Admiral,” Chief of Staff Hale interjected, much more forcibly than before,
“but the
President
will issue
his
instructions to
you,
not the other way around. If you have any further questions,
submit them to me and I’ll see that he gets them.”

 
          
Although
Hale towered over the Navy four-star, Balboa wasn’t going to be intimidated by
a civilian staffer, even if he was the chief of staff and, arguably, the
second-most-powerful man in
Washington
. His gaze encompassed McLanahan and Masters
as well as Freeman as he said, “I think it might be better if you dismissed
your
civilian
staffers, sir, so we
could discuss this operation.”

 
          
Hale’s
eyes blazed, and even the old veteran sailor Balboa took notice. “That’s
it
, Balboa!”

 
          
The
President tried to defuse the tension by grasping Balboa’s arm as they headed
for the door. “Look, gents, I’ve got a function to attend, and if I’m late, the
press will have me for breakfast,” the President said. “Admiral, I’m going with
the Megafortresses. I’m augmenting the sub fleet and keeping the frigates on
patrol, but I don’t want the carriers in the
Formosa Strait
right now.”

 
          
“But,
sir, the Chiefs—”

 
          
“Admiral,
there’s a time for shooting, a time for gunboat diplomacy, and a time for
negotiations. We made the decision to keep the carriers out of the Strait
during
China
’s Reunification Day celebrations, and I think it was a good decision
even though
China
now seems to be taking advantage of it. I agree, we’re on the back side
of the power curve now, and if
China
makes a move against
Taiwan
, there won’t be a hell of a lot we can do.
As you recall, Admiral, one reason to keep the carriers out of the Strait was
because of our concern that
China
might use nuclear or subatomic weapons
against
Taiwan
, and I think that fear is all but a certainty now.

 
          
“But
I think we’ve got a new option: we use our technological advantage and make our
enemies
think
we’re right on their
ass ready to blow their shit away,” the President went on. “The ability to make
the Iranians or the North Koreans or even the Chinese think that we can freely,
effortlessly fly an armed warplane right over their damned heads without them
knowing about it is an awesome capability, powerful enough to stop a war dead
in its tracks, and I want to take maximum advantage of it.”

 
          
“Yes,
sir, I understand,” Balboa said in a low voice, not masking the intense
disappointment in his face, “but at least change the pecking order a little.
We’ve got civilian spooks—intelligence agents, mercenaries, defense
contractors, I’m not even sure exactly what to call them!—flying Air Force
planes asking for Navy support. It’s too confusing. Even the Air Force hates
this plan. At least put the flyboys under CINCPAC, Admiral Bill Allen at
Pacific Command. He’s got to be informed of any military assets entering his
operational theater anyway, sir—let’s use him and his staff at
Pearl
to keep track of things. If things go to
hell, he’ll see it coming and can jump in immediately to contain the damage.
All the chiefs will sign on in support for this mission, if you make this
change.”

 
          
The
President thought for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, I’ll buy that idea,
Admiral.” He turned over his shoulder and said to Freeman, “Phil, brief CINCPAC
on the ROC support mission, and turn operational control over to him. Include
Admiral Allen on progress updates and video conferences. Draft up the execution
order and have it ready for me to sign in one hour. ”

 
          
The
President paused and turned toward Freeman and Balboa. “Make no mistake, gents,
I
am
getting a lot of heat for flying
that B-2 over
Asia
, so the press has parked themselves at the
front gate of every bomber base in the country counting to make sure they’re
all there. I’ve been presented with a new option, a plane that’s not on the
books and can’t be counted, so I’m taking it. I expect full support from all of
the service chiefs.

 
          
“If
it fails, I take full responsibility, and then I expect advice and assistance
in formulating a new plan, with no
lip
and no
attitude
from
anyone.
Interservice rivalry is a
reality, and I know I’ve got to deal with it, but I don’t want it to interfere
with my wishes, is that clear?” Those last two sentences were aimed squarely at
Balboa, who nodded slightly. “The
Taiwan
support operation will be executed as
planned; the Navy will assume operational command. Anything else for me?”

           
But Jerrod Hale didn’t give anyone
the opportunity to respond. He gave Freeman a silent urging not to ask anything
else, then blasted Admiral Balboa with a warning glare that threatened to cause
a sunburn. He hustled the President expertly out of reach and covered all sides
from anyone else trying to get his attention as they made their way toward the
stairs to the President’s private quarters.

 
          
National
Security Advisor Philip Freeman led Balboa, Samson, Masters, and McLanahan down
the hall past the Roosevelt Room, past the Vice President’s office, and into
his office in the northwest corner of the West Wing; Brad Elliott was waiting
for them inside, chatting with a Secret Service agent assigned to accompany
him.