Sudden Threat (41 page)

Takishi’s highest priorities were to his country and his prime minister.

While Mick Jagger had the money and the ideas about how to stoke the dying embers of nationalism around the globe in order to crush rampant Islamic fascism, his other contact in the American government was equally influential.

And on
that
thought, he sent a text to that individual:

tanks are rolling.

It was fun
to be a chess piece
and
control the board. Takishi found it rather easy to out-maneuver the thinly veiled machinations of the Americans.

Momentarily he received a text in return:

beautiful.

Then almost immediately after the first he received another:

perfect.

He heard the captain tell him they were prepared to unload the ship. He stepped down from the bridge, and heard the first Model 90 tank roar to life.

This will be easy.

CHAPTER 72

Pentagon, Washington, DC

It was a close call, letting the Japanese move ships into the harbor.

Sewell looked at Stone. Meredith was sitting next to him. She was distraught, fighting the notion that Matt might be dead and that she might have sent him to his death in that airplane.

They sat in the National Military Command Center. CNN played on a large screen to their front. The Joint Chiefs of Staff flanked them. Each was wearing a headset that tuned him in to the operations of their respective services. In actuality, the commander of Pacific Command in Hawaii was orchestrating the operation through his joint task force commander, Admiral Dave Jennings, who was on the USS
Carl Vinson
command and control ship in the Celebes Sea.

The service secretaries, though, kept the SecDef up to date on force provider movements in order to allow the war fighters to do their job unimpeded.

Frank Lantini was updating them from his CIA office in Langley, Virginia, over video teleconference.

Lantini said, “Two oil tankers have passed Corregidor and are currently unloading tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, attack helicopters, trucks, jeeps, and large numbers of personnel. There appears to be a crew for every weapon system. Two others have entered Subic Bay Naval Base and are conducting similar unloading activities.”

“Frank, how did we miss hundreds, if not thousands, of Japanese soldiers getting on these ships in Japan?” Stone asked Lantini.

Lantini stared at the video camera a moment and then said, “Turns out they loaded in Suruga Bay at night. There’s a Japanese training area just north of there called Gotenba in the Shizuoka Prefecture. They supposedly had some big exercise there, Yama Sakura, something like that, in January and just kept mobilizing troops in the wake of Nine-eleven under the guise of anti-terror training. We’ve got information that during that time they infiltrated from the training area onto troop transports that took them out to these ships.” He paused a moment, then volleyed back to Stone. “We missed it because we were watching Taiwan and China.”

Stone shook his head.
Kaitachi, that bastard
.

“We’ve got two SEAL teams checking those ships out,” General Sewell said, bringing the discussion back to the point. “Both are using SCUBA gear, swimming freely around the ships, inspecting hull dimensions and giving us spot reports on the unloading operations. They’re ready to act when we are. The Rangers are ready as well.”

General Rolfing, the Marine commandant, said, “Our Marine expeditionary force is now three full brigades and is positioned to the south of Manila Bay, well offshore. They’re ready now also.”

General McNulty’s Ninetieth Fighter Squadron from Guam was on standby alert with F-15s, A-10s, and F-16s. The B-52s from Diego Garcia were also ready.

“Andersen is so packed with aircraft and people, you couldn’t land a glider, so let’s be reasonable here,” McNulty said. “I don’t think we can fit any more troops in this corner of the world.”

This is exactly what we’re looking for,
Stone thought.

The Army chief of staff, General Wilson, said, “The lead battalion of the rapid deployment brigade from the Twenty-fifth Infantry Division has landed safely and undetected, we believe, on the island of Luzon, thanks to some Air Force Pave Low helicopters and MC-130 Combat Talons. They have linked up with the company commander there and are prepared to continue operations.”

“We’re all relieved that the young commander is no longer alone, but what about the absence of the Special Forces team in Mindanao. Any word?” Stone asked.

“They have not communicated for over two days. No change,” Sewell said.

“What kind of force are we showing near Korea, Admiral?” Stone asked Admiral Simmons, the Chief of Naval Operations.

“Sir, we’ve got an entire carrier battle group steaming there now.”

“Good. The president has a meeting with the Japanese ambassador in an hour. I’ll give him the information.”

“What did he say about the hostages?” Murphy asked. Meredith lifted her head.

“They weren’t on the last plane. We’ve checked the three thousand names over and over. Rathburn and the other two aren’t on any of the manifests.”

“Could they have used other names?” Meredith asked, knowing the answer.

“They could, but probably not. Someone would have recognized them,” Stone said.

The evacuation procedures had gone well. No other Americans who wanted to leave the islands were there except the hostages. Many chose to stay for a variety of reasons.

Stone walked with Meredith the short distance back to his office and closed the door behind them.

“Meredith,” he began, “I know you’re worried about Bart and your friend, Mark—”

“Matt, sir.”

“Yes, of course, Matt. Anyway, I’ve got a meeting tonight at my home in McLean. I need you to come over and assist me with this thing if you’re free,” Stone said, looking out of his window.

“Well, sure, I guess,” said Meredith. After all, how could she say no to the secretary of defense?

CHAPTER 73

“Now, would you accompany me to the president’s office again? I must brief him.”

“Certainly, sir. Do I need to prepare notes?”

“No. I might need your brain, though. Ready?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said, looking down at her dress. She had bought two new dresses since she started reporting to the secretary of defense every day as a special assistant. Her official title was still as Rathburn’s assistant, but Stone had elevated her status temporarily for the crisis.

Stone enjoyed rubbing legs with Meredith again in the back of the staff car on the short trip to the White House.

They showed their credentials at the west gate and walked into the national security advisor’s office, where President Davis was waiting with Dave Palmer, the NSA, and Frank Lantini. They exchanged pleasantries and Meredith found both Palmer and Lantini to be likable people. Lantini complimented her on her performance a couple of days ago and mentioned that the president was very impressed with her.

“Don’t go giving her any ideas, she’s mine,” Stone remarked.

They all laughed, then got down to business as Secretary of State Jim Fleagles entered the room a minute late.

“The way I see it, we’ve got to make them show some force. We can’t just sink the ships in the ocean,” Palmer said, watching Fleagles take a seat.

Stone looked at Meredith.

“I agree,” responded Meredith. “The only problem is, how much is enough? If we let too much get on the ground, it will be too hard to fight. If we don’t let enough, the attack will appear unprovoked.”

“Why
can’t
we just sink the ships, Dave?” Davis asked.

“Well, sir, I think the Japanese could claim that they were going to use those weapons, if they ever admitted to owning them, for defensive purposes. They could claim that they were building storage sites. It would make us look bad.”

“I just hate to let a war happen,” the president said, concerned. “We’ll lose American lives. Hell we’ve already lost over twenty, and maybe the hostages.”

“Sir,” Meredith interrupted, “I’ve got a friend who’s one of the hostages—”

“I’m so sorry,” Davis said.

Meredith looked at the president. Okay, friend might have been a stretch, but she did feel close to Matt, and she was inexplicably worried about him.

“Thank you, the point I want to make is that I believe force is necessary. Think of how many lives it will cost if we don’t stop the Japanese. What happens if they seize the Philippines? What kind of message does it send the world if we don’t respond?” she said, still uncomfortable asking the president questions. She continued, “The real issue is, how much do we let the world know about?”

“What do you mean?”

“If we can sink the other six ships and blockade Japan from doing much else with their rather large ‘self-defense force,’ then we might just be able to show a still somewhat weak Japan kind of gone crazy with four divisions. But if the world, especially China and Korea, find out that they have ten divisions floating in the water with three or four manufacturing plants in Mindanao still cranking tanks out every day, I think we’ve got a regional conflict beyond anything we could imagine. So the issue is letting them look like the aggressor but limiting what they can fight with.”

“I agree,” said Lantini. Palmer nodded also.

“Is there any way to negotiate our way out of this thing?” Davis said, turning to Secretary Fleagles.

“Sir, I think we’ve already been out-negotiated. If they’ve got four divisions’ worth of equipment moving into Manila Bay, in my opinion they’ve already attacked. They did this whole thing behind our backs, lying to us every step of the way,” Fleagles said.

“Still, why can’t we just call up the prime minister and tell him not to attack?” the president asked.

“Once again, sir, the Japanese do not appear to be concerned with our response. Mizuzawa wouldn’t even see me when I flew out there, so I came straight back. I think they truly believe we will not respond—”

“Then we must make them continue to believe it,” Meredith said.

“Right,” said Fleagles, unsure of how to treat Meredith. “If we’re gonna fight this thing, we need to make up our minds. I’ll go negotiate, but they’ve been bullshittin’ us for a couple of years, and as far as I’m concerned, that constitutes breaking diplomatic relations. In effect, sir, they declared war on us when they developed this plan of theirs.”

“This thing has the potential to get way out of hand,” the president said. “They need to know that I will do whatever is right for the American people, even if that means waiting to deal with Iraq. Okay? That’s the plan then. We wait for their attack on the Philippines to commence, then we sink the six ships in the water as we launch our forces. I assume we’ve still got the carrier group moving to Korea.”

“Yes, sir,” Stone responded. “I’ve got a team working up an assessment of the impact this will have on the Iraq time line also.”

“That’s fine, but if we get locked down here, I want to do it right,” Davis said.

Meredith cocked her head.
Good move,
she thought. It was clear guidance.

A military aide stuck his head in the door and said, “Sir, the Japanese ambassador is here to see you. He’s waiting outside the Oval Office.”

President Davis looked at the gathering and declared, “Showtime.”

He walked past Meredith, caught a whiff of her perfume and wondered if Stone was getting any yet.

CHAPTER 74

White House, Washington, DC

Kaitachi was waiting for the president in the anteroom to the Oval Office. He shook hands with the Japanese diplomat and placed an arm around him as they walked in.

“Good afternoon, my fine Japanese friend,” the president said.

“Good afternoon, Mr. President,” Kaitachi responded with a slight bow.

They walked into the Oval Office. The military aide closed the doors behind them. The president walked to a window and looked at the Washington Monument. The cherry blossoms were in full splendor around the tidal basin. It was a beautiful, tranquil sight.
The trees were a
g
ift in 1912 from the Japanese ambassador’s wife,
Davis recalled
. What other gifts are they bearing today?

“I’ve considered your plea for a response from us,” the president said.

“Oh?” Kaitachi said, sounding surprised.

The president shot his eyes to the side, measuring the inflection in the ambassador’s voice.

“Yes,” he said, turning and looking at the old man. “We will send a carrier battle group off the coast of Korea and warn them against any aggression.”

“That is not necessary,” Kaitachi said, backtracking. “We were only hoping for satellite assistance in observing the region.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so? Now I’ve moved an entire carrier group over there.”

“You are free to call them back, sir. My intentions were not to have you send forces, simply provide us intelligence in keeping with the spirit of our alliance,” Kaitachi said.

I bet that’s all you wanted. He’s smooth. Very smooth.

“Whatever you say, but it may take some time to get them turned around. How do you guys feel about this situation in the Philippines?” he asked. The president grabbed a handful of peanuts from a bowl on his desk and popped them into his mouth.

“We are still concerned, but now believe that we can handle the threat in a regional sense,” Kaitachi said.

“What do you mean?” Davis asked, interested.
Could this be it? Are they finally going to come clean?

“Through statecraft, we can ensure our sea-lanes are not intercepted. We do not believe the Muslim insurgents, the Abu Sayyaf, will be a large threat to the region, as Bin Laden is to the world. Though we will watch. If it is more of an internal revolution that may, in the long run, improve the condition of the average Filipino, then, naturally, we support such improvement. But the primary reason I am here is to relay to you that my prime minister is very satisfied with your leadership in this crisis.”