Sea of Shadows eBook - Navy Thriller.com

28 JEFF EDWARDS
There was an additional point to having so many non-speaking
members in the room. Few people are comfortable under close scrutiny.
Having a room full of people watch your every gesture and listen to your
every word—all without speaking themselves—can be highly unsettling.
It is difficult for even the most accomplished of diplomats to concentrate
properly under such circumstances. In Washington circles, the technique
has often been likened to a low-intensity version of Psychological
Warfare.
When everyone was finally seated, the president said, “I hope you will
forgive me if I come directly to matters of business.”
The ambassador smiled slightly. “An excellent idea, Mr. President. I
am an old man, and I must confess that the passage of years has somewhat
blunted my taste for polite small talk.”
“Good,” the president said. “I would like to discuss the matter of your
country’s most recent ballistic missile launch.”
The ambassador’s eyebrows went up slightly. “I see. Is there a
problem?”
“Yes,” the president said. “There is a problem, or rather—there are two
problems. The first is with the trajectory of the missile, and the second is
with the timing of the launch.”
“Oh? And why should either of those pose difficulties? To my
understanding, the launch was conducted safely, without incident or threat
to life.”
“Without incident—yes,” the president said. “It’s the ‘threat to life’
part that we are not so certain about.”
“How so?”
“The missile in question was a DF-21C, designed to carry the NV-6
nuclear warhead; is that correct?”
“I believe that is so.”
“Does the DF-21C have the capability to carry any non-nuclear
payloads?”
The ambassador’s hand stole down to the black leather diplomatic
pouch in his lap. He made no move to open it. His fingers began to play
over the creased leather, almost as though the pouch were some sort of
worry stone, or talisman. “I … cannot speak on this issue,” he said. “That
is, I am not an expert on the subject of ballistic missile systems.”
The national security advisor scribbled something on a slip of paper,
folded it, and passed it to the president. The president read it and then