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SEA OF SHADOWS 277
close ties to the U.S.” He used his finger to trace a rough arc on the chart.
“They would have been running low on fuel somewhere in here.” Only
two countries fell within the arc he was tracing on the chart: Oman and
Yemen. “That gives us two likely candidates, and Oman—if you’ve been
following the news—has been kissing up to our government for months
now. They’re trying to wheedle their way into ‘favored nation’ status, so
we’ll lift the technical embargo that’s keeping their communications and
computer infrastructure in the dark ages. I figure they don’t want to risk
screwing that up, so they’ll probably steer clear of anything that even
smells like conflict with the U.S. That leaves our buddies down in Yemen,
and they have been known to play footsie with enemies of the United
States. Remember when the USS Cole was bombed back in 2000? That
happened in a port called Aden, and guess what country Aden is in?”
“Yemen,” Chief McPherson said.
Ensign Cooper nodded. “Bingo.”
“Okay,” Commander Vargas said, “admittedly, Yemen is not at the top
of our national Christmas card list. But how did you happen to pick this
island? Scotroa, was it?”
“Socotra, ma’am. And it’s mostly a hunch. It’s owned by Yemen, but
it’s far enough away from their coastline that the Yemeni government can
deny involvement if anything goes wrong. Plus, it’s on an almost direct
line from the point where the Kitty Hawk encountered the subs, to where
the subs entered the Straits of Hormuz.”
Captain Bowie’s eyebrows went up.
Chief McPherson smiled. “That’s pretty heady stuff, sir. Have you
been eating your Wheaties?”
Ensign Cooper frowned. “Why, Chief? Did I say something wrong?”
The chief shook her head. “Not as far as I can see, sir. I think you
nailed it.”
Commander Vargas tilted her head to one side. “It’s still just a guess,
but I have to admit, it looks like a pretty damned good one.”
“Looks good to me,” Lieutenant (jg) Sherman said.
“Okay,” Captain Bowie said. “We go with Pat’s hunch until something
better comes along.”
Ensign Cooper’s eyes widened.
Captain Bowie laughed. “Don’t look so shocked, Pat. We’re not so
hidebound that we can’t recognize good thinking when we see it, even if it
does come from the new kid on the block. Now, reach into your hunch
generator and see if you can pull out the next place that sub is going to
take on fuel. He’s got to be thirsty by now. Where’s he going to stop for a
drink?”