Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

320 JEFF EDWARDS
The copilot keyed his mike. “Towers, this is Firewalker Two-Six. My
torpedo is away. I am going evasive to avoid Bogies.”
“TAO—Air. Bogies are launching. I count two missiles, both targeted
on the helo.”
The ship shuddered as two SM-3s blasted out of their missile cells and
turned toward the enemy jets.
“Can we intercept their missiles?” the captain asked.
“Not a chance, sir,” the TAO said. “By the time our birds get there,
Firewalker will already be toast.”
The little drama played itself out on the Aegis display screen, two
hostile-missile symbols merging with the helicopter symbol. Somewhere
out in the night sky, twisted metal and burning flesh were falling toward
the darkened wave tops. On the screen, Firewalker Two-Six’s symbol
changed to a last-known-position marker, and the helicopter and its crew
of three were gone.
“TAO—Weapons Control. Our birds have acquired the Bogies.”
Seen from the Aegis display screen, the destruction of the enemy jets
was no more dramatic than the loss of the helo had been. Two friendlymissile
symbols converged on two hostile-aircraft symbols. Each of the
missile symbols touched the symbol for one of the hostile aircraft, and the
Bogies were gone. The destruction of two aircraft depicted in the sterile
exchange of computer icons. No hint of the fire and violent death that
those symbols represented.
“I hope they suffered,” the XO said. “I hope those bastards shit their
pants when they saw our missiles coming, and I hope they burned and bled
and screamed for Allah—all the way down to the water. And I hope their
souls fry in hell!”
Captain Bowie laid his hand on his second-in-command’s shoulder and
quietly said, “That’s enough, Pete.” He gave the shoulder a quick squeeze.
“I understand what you’re feeling, but we don’t have time for that.”
As if on cue, the Weapons Control Officer’s voice came over the net.
“TAO—Weapons Control. Silkworm launcher number three is down for
the count. Shifting to launcher number four.”
Out on the forecastle, the 5-inch gun fell silent for a second, swung to
cover its new target, and began hammering out another barrage of shells.