Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

OVAL OFFICE
WASHINGTON, DC
SUNDAY; 20 MAY
4:03 PM EDT
CHAPTER 40
“Just a second, Bob,” President Chandler said. “Let me go secure.” He
inserted the magnetically coded encryption key into the slot on his STU-6
secure telephone unit and gave it a half-turn clockwise. The key clicked as
it locked into place, and a brief series of warbling tones came out of the
earpiece while the phone synced up with the encryption algorithm in a
twin phone on the desk of the Chief of Naval Operations. The red “clear”
lamp went out, and the green “secure” lamp came on.
“Okay, Bob,” the president said. “We’re in the green. I assume you’re
calling to give me an update on the sub hunt. How are we looking?”
“It’s the old joke, Mr. President,” Admiral Casey said. “Good news
and bad news.”
“What’s the good news?”
“We have clear battle damage assessment. Towers took out one of the
submarines. Her helicopter took out another one.”
“So there’s only one hostile sub left?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Excellent,” the president said. “What’s the bad news?”
“Towers and Benfold are both shot up pretty badly, and Ingraham is
totally out of the picture. Somebody is going to have to write a bunch of
those ‘The
U.S. Navy regrets’ telegrams, sir. Quite a few of our young men and
women out there are coming home in body bags.”
“We’re paying a hell of a price,” the president said. “But we can still
win this thing, can’t we?”
The CNO sighed. “I don’t know, sir. Towers has already restored her
electrical power, and Benfold should be back under way within an hour or
so. How much speed they can make still remains to be seen. Maybe they
can catch that sub. Then again, maybe not.”
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