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  The MK-48 ADCAP torpedo saw the target movements and compensated. It tracked steadily toward the target it could plainly see.

  In a last ditch effort, Dobrinin launched a torpedo toward the incoming MK-48. In the end, it made no difference. The torpedo shot past the American weapon and sped out to sea.

  Inside the now empty engine room, the pressure built to match the steam pressure. Along the interior bulkheads, steam began seeping into the next compartments.

  The MK-48 exploded just five yards from the Kazan, just aft of the sail. The explosion ripped through the pressure hull penetrating the control room bulkhead. In an instant, the forward part of the sub imploded. The pressurized engine room withstood the blast for a few minutes. The Kazan, with its engines still running at flank speed, dove for the bottom under its own power.

  The sonar operator aboard the helo heard the noises and informed the pilot. In a minute, the helo was laying a new line of sonobuoys, listening for any sounds. He immediately heard the sounds being given off by the decoy. As instructed, the pilot dashed toward the line of buoys. As he made his run, the operator picked up a twitch on his MAD gear. Designed to pick up a magnetic disturbance made by a submarine, the pilot quickly turned to make another run over the position. When he passed over and the gear went off again, he announced over the radio, “Mad man, mad man, weapon away!” The MK-46 torpedo carried by the helicopter dropped into the water before the destroyer could remind the young pilot that there were friendlies in the area.

  USS Texas

  In the midst of celebration, Faris yelled out of his compartment, “Torpedo in the water bearing 210, close by! It’s a 46!”

  “Shit!” shouted Jacobs, who immediately turned the submarine away and began to dive the ship. Like the Russian, he tried maneuvering the ship to try and get the torpedo to miss. A knuckle was put in the water with a noisemaker just inside. The MK-46 began its search and quickly heard the submarine speeding away. It turned toward its target. Slower than a MK-48, the small weapon still closed the gap on its prey. Using every skill he had acquired in his twenty years of service, Jacobs made another hard turn and began heading the ship toward the surface. For a second, the torpedo lost contact, but upon turning around saw the submarine again. This time, it came in from dead astern.

  The explosion was heard on the line of sonobuoys and a rush of water could be seen bubbling to the surface. After a few minutes, no sounds could be heard in the water. The young pilot was ordered back to the ship. When they heard why, the mood in the helo became somber indeed.

  Chapter 10

  Corrections

  Berlin, Germany

  “We cannot afford to do as we have this first day. Our efforts appear uncoordinated and we are wasting both our time and resources simply because some of us either cannot or will not conform to our plans,” said Hammond to the assembled generals. “For example, our drones were able to open large holes in the enemy front lines, but some units were as much as two hours late moving in to take advantage of this. As a result, the Russians were able to reinforce their units and successfully counter our efforts. In two cases, the delay caused our air assets to attack our own units. This is unacceptable,” he said forcefully. “We have neither the personnel nor the material to waste them against our enemy. They have much more to expend than we do. That being said, the German and Polish forces have been able to close in behind the Russian lines. Our Predator drones are playing havoc all along the front and we have been able to consolidate our gains. We need to use these things to our advantage as long as we can.” He turned to the intelligence officer. “I understand they are sending in more units?”

  Colonel Franks nodded his head. “Yes sir, there is another whole division making its way to the Polish border. They should arrive later this afternoon along this road here,” he said pointing to a highway in southeastern Poland.

  “We won’t have the units to stop them,” said General Pol. “Our lines are pretty thin. The idea was to surround them and simply cut off their supplies. Taking on a division of tanks might jeopardize that mission,” he said.

  “I agree, but what if we pulled back and just let them come through?” asked Hammond.

  “This is insanity,” proclaimed General Eves LeMonde, leading the French forces. “Then what good have we done to push around them in the first place. You wish to talk about being wasteful,” he exclaimed.

  “Actually, I am thinking about controlling the situation,” said Hammond calmly. “We pull back and let them through. All the way we pound them with our Predators, then close back in once they have passed. We still cut them off, but now there are more to feed and equip. If we can continue to cut out their supplies, pretty soon they will start getting pretty hungry,” he explained.

  Dortmund nodded his head. “That makes sense. The more they pour in, they might be good for a few days, but it just means they run out of things faster. I like it,” he said with a wink. “They have concentrated their supply caravans down these major roads,” he said pointing to several highways on the map. “If they keep it up, it will be much easier to get our planes and drones in to stop them.”

  General Pol pointed to some highlands along the route. “What if we drop in artillery along these hills? We could rake any convoy coming through and still be mobile enough to move them out of range if the Russians get wise. With our intelligence and satellites, we can surround any small forces sent in to take them out and cut them up. It would also serve to keep the Russians guessing and constantly having to react instead of concentrate their forces. It could work to our advantage,” he pointed out.

  “Why don’t you and General Dortmund work this out and we’ll try and make it work. In the meantime, our drones will be operating all of tonight and every night. We must all be ready to press forward just before dawn to take advantage of it. That means the American, British and French forces all go at once. We made ten miles today. I want double that tomorrow if we can,” Hammond said. “Remember, we are all working together on this. The better we coordinate, the fewer we lose.”

  After a few minutes the meeting came to a close. Everyone filed out of the room, but Hammond stopped LeMonde.

  “General, can you help me understand why your forces were late this morning? If there are reasons, it will help me know our limitations,” Hammond said.

  LeMonde shrugged. “I cannot put my forces in jeopardy until we are totally ready. I refuse to sacrifice my people for the sake of scheduling. I am responsible for my people,” he said.

  “I understand, but you should realize that yes, they are your people, but these are all my people. Your delays cost lives in other areas. It slowed the advance. Then your pilots, who were also late, bombed British soldiers who had advanced beyond where you thought they were. I must insist that when we make these plans, they be carried out on time, otherwise, there will be more losses and more delays. You know we cannot afford these things,” said Hammond firmly. “I am relying on you to make this happen. If you can’t, let me know so we can make other arrangements,” he said. The insinuation was clear.

  LeMonde looked him square in the eyes. “You do not have the authority to relieve me. That comes only from my head of government,” he said with a swagger.

  “General, I do not wish to relieve anyone, however, either you become a member of this team or you don’t,” Hammond said calmly.

  LeMonde shrugged. “It is for you to say,” he said. “I shall prepare my troops,” he said dismissively, then turned and left the room. He passed Sir Richard Thomas on the way out without even acknowledging he was there.

  “You ready to shoot the bugger yet?” Thomas asked.

  “He does have a way of making things difficult. I wish I knew why he was so defiant,” Hammond sighed.

  “Part of it is he is one of their aristocrats. He thinks France is everything and we are nothing. It’s a part of the old European order. Even I thought people like him were long dead,” said Thomas. “But he is right. Only his government ca
n remove him. I believe the next move will be to make a trip to Paris. I have met the President and he’s nothing like LeMonde. I have also been talking to LeMonde’s second in command, General Gagne. He’s as frustrated as we are. I mentioned to him that others might need to know. Gagne’s a loyal guy, but he doesn’t like incompetence. Let’s see what settles and go from there,” Thomas assured him.

  Hammond let out a breath. “Well, tomorrow will tell,” he said as the two left the room.

  Krakow

  Petyr came back late from school. The pharmacy had been stocked back up with what they could get, but with the windows boarded up and people running back and forth scared to death, there were few customers after the initial rush. The air raids had been reduced to twice a day, yet school had met and children told what to expect and do when the air raid alarms sounded. But that wasn’t why Petyr was late. He had made a stop on the way home. Just as he entered the store, the air raid alarm sounded again and everyone rushed to the basement. As the families huddled in the dark under the one dim light, Petyr handed his father a paper.

  “What is this?” Mister Kursov asked.

  “It is permission for me to enter the army at seventeen,” Petyr said calmly. He heard Anna gasp in the corner.

  Kursov grunted and tried to hand it back. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

  “I didn’t ask you, Father. I need you to sign it,” Petyr said firmly.

  Kursov became angry. “You do not tell me. I will decide what happens in this family.”

  Now Petyr became angry. “Just like you decided to become a traitor to our country?” he asked.

  Anton Kursov stood up. “I am no traitor,” he nearly shouted.

  “Oh no? Then why did I see you at that last demonstration? Freda and I were there and I saw you running in and out of the crowd doing the bidding of our tenant. I saw you carrying things into the crowd while your leader sat back and watched from a safe distance. You were responsible for people getting killed. It made me wonder how many other demonstrations you were a part of,” Petyr cried out.

  “Petyr, what are you saying?” his mother asked.

  He turned to face her. “I am saying father has been a part of this. Remember all those evenings he was away? Shortly afterward was a demonstration somewhere. I finally saw him!” Petyr exclaimed. He turned back to his father who looked stricken. “You always told me to be proud of our Russian heritage. But how can I be now. You forget, I was born here. I was raised here. My friends and family are here and I consider myself a Pole, and as a Pole, it is my duty to serve my country,” Petyr said proudly.

  “You won’t do any such thing,” Kursov said.

  “Oh yes I will. Up until now I was proud of my family. I was proud of my father. Now I am so ashamed I cannot face my friends anymore. I cannot tell Freda how much I love her because of all the shame that would come with that love. So I will do the only thing I can do. I will join the army and defend my country. Only then will I be able to hold my head up again,” he stammered. “Now sign it,” he demanded.

  The quiet of the basement was deafening. Only the sound of distant bombs broke it. Mrs. Kursov broke the silence. “You sign it or I will,” she said in disgust.

  Kursov was shaken to his core. His sins had indeed come back to haunt him and his family. Too late did he realize what he had caused. Now his own son hated him. That had to be fixed. He slowly pulled out a pen and signed the form. He handed it to his son, standing before him. Petyr turned and walked to Mr. Polski. “Mr. Polski, when this is all over, I want to marry your daughter. I don’t know how long it will take, but once I have brought honor to our name, I want to share my life with her,” he said firmly.

  Mr. Polski smiled and indicated for Petyr to sit beside him. “Petyr, you are not responsible for what your father did. I know you are a good and honorable young man. I will be proud to have you in the family,” he said in a low voice, placing his arm around the boy’s shoulders. He noticed they were shaking slightly and he began to realize what it was taking from the boy. “Don’t be so hard on your father. Remember, he grew up in a different system at a different time. Your roots are here in Poland, but his are still in Russia. That can do a lot to a man,” he said.

  Petyr looked at him. “I can’t right now. It is eating away at me from the inside. I don’t hate my father, but right now, I can’t respect him anymore,” he said sadly.

  Polski nodded. “I understand that. Over time, things tend to heal. I believe your father will do the right things. We just need to give him the chance. Now go to Freda. I believe you have frightened her with your decision,” he said.

  The realization changed the look on Petyr’s face. He quickly got up and went to the far corner of the room where they usually sat. Polski watched as he sat down and pulled her to his shoulder.

  Across the basement Mrs. Kursov quietly scolded her husband. “I cannot believe you could do such a thing. Don’t you remember why we left Russia? We wanted a better life and we found it. Now you are trying to drag Poland back into the dark ages. I don’t blame Petyr. Did you see the look of shame on his face? Now look at Sasha. You see how he turns away? Even Camille has moved over to where Petyr and Freda are seated. I cannot believe you could do this to our family,” she said. The tears in her eyes could be seen in the dim light.

  “There is nothing to say,” said Anton to his wife. He turned away.

  “Yes, there is nothing you could ever say,” she said. Mrs. Kursov got up and walked over to talk to Sasha.

  Anton Kursov had never felt so alone, or ashamed.

  The Pentagon

  “Sir, Admiral Hammond is on the secure satellite phone,” an aide told the CNO.

  Admiral Johnson reached behind the desk and picked up the receiver. “What’s up. Roger?” he asked pleasantly.

  “Perry, how the hell am I expected to win a war if we keep losing carriers,” Hammond asked sharply.

  Admiral Johnson had expected this to come. “Hang on, Roger, I’m as pissed about this as you are. Lineman went rogue on me and thought he would be the next Halsey. We’re lucky the Kennedy didn’t sink. I plan on sending Tim Reardon a case of Scotch for all the good work his people did building her. The carrier and her escorts are on their way back even now. The bad part is they lost the Texas. One of the LAMPS pilots got a little too enthusiastic and dropped a weapon on her. We haven’t heard from her since.”

  “Damn!” came the reply from the other end of the line. “This has to stop, Perry. These guys have to knock off the peacetime ‘anything goes’ attitude and realize we cannot waste assets. I’m telling my unit commanders the very same thing. We just can’t afford it anymore,” Hammond said.

  “I agree. Lineman and a few others we are hearing about are out. We’re replacing them with good operators who can get the job done. Let’s face it, Roger, we have to transition to a war footing almost overnight. There are going to be some rough spots,” Johnson asked. “I know you were counting on the Kennedy, but I sent Mike Shransky back to Newport News. He says Reardon has a plan to maybe get the Lincoln back on line. I don’t know the details yet, but Mike said he would come and brief me. I’ll keep you informed. Now, how are things over there?”

  “It’s a little rough,” said Hammond. “I have a French commander who thinks he’s in charge and the Italians and Spanish are still getting things ready. In the meantime, I am fighting a war and so far, we are just holding our own. As you can imagine, it’s a little tense around here.”

  Johnson chuckled. “Better you than me. On a positive note, Chris is almost ready. Next week he will go down to Norfolk. They will leave the week after Christmas. Lousy timing, but can’t be helped,” he said.

  “At least you have some good news. I’ve got Russia cold and dark like the Boss wanted. If we follow the plan, things should get interesting quickly. By the way, how is Rod Jeffers doing?” Hammond asked.

  “Busier than a one armed paper hanger. Roger, the kid is brilliant. He’s also showing some amazin
g leadership abilities. I just got word the Senate passed the list. He may hear by tonight,” Johnson said with a smile.

  “I may give him a call. Just remember I promised him we would make sure he stayed in his pipeline. He needs his department head tour and schools,” Hammond reminded him.

  “After this, we may not need to send him to so much. He’s making a good name for himself. But I’m with you. He needs to hit all the right spots. He’s going to be an admiral someday,” the CNO proclaimed.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’ll be happy to get this phase of the operation going. Once we win the war, we can take care of Jeffers. Now if I can get the French on my side, things might look a little better,” said Hammond.

  “Good luck with that. Want me to let the Boss know what’s up?”

  “Wouldn’t hurt. He played his ‘you can’t do anything to me’ card when we talked today. At the same time, when you see Lineman, give him a kick in the ass for me,” said Hammond.

  “Will do. Now get back to fighting your war. I have some people to dog on my end,” Johnson said.

  “Take care Perry,” said Hammond ending the conversation.

  Norfolk, Virginia

  “What the hell are you putting on my ship?” Captain Gene Donner asked. The plain gray sheets were rough around the edges and looked like something thrown together. USS America was the first of only two special LHAs built for the navy. As an amphibious assault ship, she was different from the other LHAs simply because she didn’t have a well deck. Instead, she had room for a hangar deck and additional aviation stores. As a result, she could carry up to twenty of the F-35 Lightnings. Preparations were already being made to increase that number along with some MV-22 Ospreys. The technicians from the Naval Sea Systems Command were swarming all over the ship providing additional modifications to prepare her for war. Captain Donner didn’t like change. It had taken him a year to get used to the ship and her characteristics. These new things would have to be learned quickly. They would get underway within the next thirty days and steam into a war zone. This latest installation had him cranky.