The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

was the same as that on the terminal. Fromm watched also. The process took four
minutes. The electrical components had already been pre-tested. They could not
be tested again. The first part of the bomb was now live.
CHAPTER 27
Data Fusion
'I've had my say, Bart,' Jones said on the way to the airport.
'That bad?'
'The crew hates him – the training they just went through didn't help. Hey, I
was there, okay? I was in with the sonar guys, in the simulator, and he was
there, and I wouldn't want to work for him. He almost yelled at me.'
'Oh?' That surprised Mancuso.
'Yeah, he said something that I didn't like – something plain wrong, skipper –
and I called him on it, and you should have seen his reaction. Shit, I thought
he'd have a stroke or something. And he was wrong, Bart. It was my tape. He was
hassling his people for not cueing on something that wasn't there, okay? It was
one of my trick tapes, and they saw that it was bogus, but he didn't and he
started raisin' hell. That's a good sonar department. He doesn't know how to use
it, but he sure likes to kibbitz like he does. Anyway, after he left, the guys
started talking, okay? That isn't the only bunch he gives a hard time to. I hear
the engineers are going nuts trying to keep this clown happy. Is it true they
maxed an ORSE?'
Mancuso nodded, despite the fact he didn't like hearing this. 'They came within
a whisker of setting a record.'
'Well, the guy doesn't want a record, he wants a perfect. He wants to redefine
what perfect is. I'm telling you, man, if I was stuck on that boat, after the
first cruise the first thing up through the hatch would be my sea bag. I'd
fuckin' desert before I worked for that guy!' Jones paused. He'd gone too far.
'I caught the signal his XO gave you, I even thought he might have been a little
out of line, maybe. I was wrong. That's one very loyal XO. Ricks hates one of
his JOs, the kid does tracking-party duty. The quartermaster who's breaking him
in – Ensign Shaw, I think his name is – says he's a real good kid, but the
skipper's riding him like a broke-down horse.'
'Great, what am I supposed to do about it?'
'Beats me, Bart. I retired as an E-6, remember?' Relieve the son of a bitch,
Jones thought, though he knew better. You could only relieve for cause.
'I'll talk to him,' Mancuso promised.
'You know, I heard about skippers like that. Never did believe the stories.
Guess I got spoiled working for you,' Dr Jones observed as they approached the
terminal. 'You haven't changed a bit, you know that? You still listen when
somebody talks to you.'
'You have to listen, Ron. You can't know it all yourself.'
'I got news: not everyone knows that. I got one more suggestion.'
'Don't let him go hunting?'
'If I were in your position, I wouldn't.' Jones opened the door. 'I don't want
to rain on the parade, skipper. That's my professional observation. He isn't up