The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

eview. I signed off on that. It's important that I learn how a person really
fits in here, and Ryan would seem to be an ideal case study for examining how
that process happens. I mean, that's why the White House sent me over here,'
Goodley pointed out. 'I'm supposed to report to them on what I find.'
Cabot was silent for a moment. 'I suppose that's okay, then.'
***
Ryan's car arrived at the Pentagon's River entrance. He was met by an Air Force
one-star and conducted inside, bypassing the metal detector. Two minutes later,
he was in one of many subterranean rooms that lie under and around this ugliest
of official buildings.
'Hello, Jack,' Dennis Bunker called from the far end of the room.
'Mr Secretary.' Jack nodded as he took his National Security Advisor's chair.
The game started immediately. 'What seems to be the problem?'
'Aside from the fact that Liz Elliot has decided not to grace us with her
presence?' The Secretary of Defense chuckled, then went serious. 'There has been
an attack on one of our cruisers in the Eastern Med. The information is still
sketchy, but the ship has been severely damaged and may be sinking. We presume
heavy casualties.'
'What do we know?' Jack asked, settling into the game. He put on a color-coded
nametag that identified which part he was playing. A card hanging from the
ceiling over his chair had the same purpose.
'Not much.' Bunker looked up as a Navy lieutenant entered the room.
'Sir, USS Kidd reports that Valley Forge exploded and sank five minutes ago as a
result of the initial damage.
There are no more than twenty survivors, and rescue operations are underway.'
'What is the cause of the loss?' Ryan asked.
'Unknown, sir. Kidd was thirty miles from Valley Forge at the time of the
incident. Her helo is on the scene now. Commander Sixth Fleet has brought all
his ships to full-alert status. USS Theodore Roosevelt is launching aircraft to
sweep the area.'
'I know the CAG on TR, Robby Jackson,' Ryan said to nobody in particular. Not
that it mattered. Theodore Roosevelt was actually in Norfolk, and Robby was
still preparing for his next cruise. The names in the wargame were generic, and
personal knowledge of the players didn't matter, since they were not supposed to
be real people. But if it were real, Robby was Commander Air Group on USS
Theodore Roosevelt, and his would be the first plane off the cats. It was well
to remember that, though this might be a game, its purpose was deadly serious.
'Background information?' Jack asked. He didn't remember all of the pre-brief on
the scenario being played out.
'CIA reports a possible mutiny in the Soviet Union by Red Army units in
Kazakhstan, and disturbances in two Navy bases there also,' the game narrator, a
Navy commander, reported.
'Soviet units in the vicinity of Valley Forge?' Bunker asked.
'Possibly a submarine,' the naval officer answered.
'Flash Message,' the wall speaker announced. 'USS Kidd reports that it has
destroyed an inbound surfaceto-surface missile with its Close-In Weapons System.
Superficial damage to the ship, no casualties.'