Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

OVAL OFFICE
WASHINGTON, DC
MONDAY; 28 MAY
4:30 PM EDT
CHAPTER 52
The television was a rear-projection model, a big one that slid neatly
into a recess in the ceiling when it wasn’t needed. The big screen made
Friedrik Shoernberg’s face look huge.
Veronica Doyle pointed a remote at the screen, and the Chancellor of
Germany’s face winked out of existence. “I guess that makes it official,”
she said. “How did you know he’d resign, Mr. President?”
“I gave him a little incentive,” the president said. “I assured him that
the United States wouldn’t seek reparations if he stepped down quietly.
And I told him we would back a British attack on Germany if he didn’t.”
Gregory Brenthoven stared at him. “Tell me you’re joking, sir.”
The president shook his head. “I’m not joking, Greg. I did tell him
that, and I was serious. Shoernberg’s resignation and a formal apology
from the Bundestag were the only things that could keep Emily Irons from
declaring war on Germany. If Chancellor Shoernberg had refused to step
down, I don’t think I could have prevented a war. And if I couldn’t stop it,
the least I could do was try to end it quickly.”
“Lucky for us that you read Chancellor Shoernberg correctly, Mr.
President,” Doyle said. “You called this play all the way down the line.”
“Bullshit,” the president said. “Bull … shit.” He shook his head
slowly. “I predicted that Friedrik would take the easy way out if his ass
was on the line. That’s the only thing I was right about in this whole godawful
mess.”
He looked down at a folder on his desk, bound in dark blue leather and
embossed with the presidential seal. He hadn’t opened it yet, but he knew
what was in it: an operational summary of the entire incident, complete
with charts, graphs, and satellite photos. Some of those charts represented
dollars spent. Others discussed fuel expended and the amount of ordnance
339