Страница 82 из 102
“So what are you saying?” Nafe asked, exhausted and irritable.
Hank Riley, Commandant of the Marine Corps, answered, “We’re fighting this battle with one hand tied behind our back, sir. Our supply lines across the Pacific are weak at best. After the tidal waves, Honolulu is still under three feet of water. Its air bases—”
“I’ve already heard from the Air Force Chief of Staff,” Nafe said sourly. “I need answers, alternatives…”
General Hickman, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, stood. “We do have one option left to consider.”
“And what is that?”
“As has been mentioned already, we’re fighting this battle with one fist tied behind our backs. We can change that.”
Nafe sat up straighter. This was what he came to hear — answers, not problems. “What do you propose?”
“A limited nuclear response.”
A hush fell over the Situation Room. Nafe’s hands gripped his knees. He had already discussed such an option with Nicolas Ruzickov earlier in the day. Nafe tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. “Have you formulated a plan?”
The general nodded. “We break the blockade decisively. A balls-out response. Military targets only.”
Nafe’s eyes narrowed. “Go on.”
“From two Ohio-class subs off the coast of the Philippines, we strike three critical zones with Trident Two missiles.” The general pointed out the targets on the highlighted map. “It’ll break the back of the blockade. The Chinese will be forced to retreat. But more importantly, they’ll get the message how serious we are to protect our interests in the region.”
Nafe flicked a look toward Nicolas Ruzickov. A similar scenario had been proffered by the CIA director. It was clear his influence and string-pulling had reached all the way to the Joint Chiefs. Nafe assumed a look of somber thoughtfulness, playing the concerned patrician. “A nuclear response.” He shook his head. “It’s a sorry day that the Chinese have driven us to.”
“Yes, sir,” the general agreed, bowing his head.
Nafe sighed, sagging as if defeated. “But tragically, I see no other choice. Proceed immediately.” After an appropriately long pause, he dragged himself to his feet. “And may God forgive us all.” He turned and strode to the room’s exit, flanked by his Secret Service.
Once out the door, Nicolas Ruzickov was not long in catching up with him in the hall, matching his stride.
Nafe allowed a slim smile to shine for a moment. “Well done, Nick. Well done indeed.”
Lisa spotted Jack by the bow rail, staring at the horizon. Overhead, the skies were slate-gray, with thin scudding clouds and a perpetual haze that even the noon sun had failed to burn away. Jack stood in his customary red trunks, a loose shirt open in front.
Elvis sat by his side, leaning against Jack’s leg. Lisa could not help but smile at the loyalty and affection in the simple gesture. One of Jack’s hands lightly ruffled the fur behind the dog’s ear.
Lisa crossed to him, compelled by the need to get something off her chest. “Jack…”
He turned toward her and winced, fingering the Ace bandage wrap around his chest. “What?”
She moved to his side, put her hands on the rail. The solitary moment gone, Elvis loped to a su
Lisa stared out at sea, silent for a moment, then spoke. “Jack, why are we doing this?”
“What do you mean?”
She turned to him, leaning a hip against the rail. “We’ve got the crystal. Miyuki says she’s close to a translation. Why don’t we just keep a low profile until we have answers, then send the entire story out to the New York Times?”
Jack gripped the rail with fists. “If we did that, Je
Silently, Lisa stared at him, searching his face to see if he recognized his slip of the tongue. He just kept staring off to sea. “Je
“What?”
“You just said Je
Jack finally looked at her, his face a mask of hurt and confusion. “You know what I meant,” he mumbled, waving off any significance.
Lisa grabbed his hand. “She’s not Je
“I know that,” Jack snapped.
Lisa kept him from turning away. “Talk to me, Jack.”
He sighed, but his shoulders remained tight. “Karen’s in this danger because of me. I…I ran off, leaving her with that madman.”
“And you explained why. Karen was right. Staying would have only gotten you both killed. If she’s as strong as you say she is, she’ll survive.”
“Only as long as she’s useful to that bastard.” He twisted away. “I have to try to rescue her. I can’t just keep ru
Lisa touched his shoulder lightly. “Jack, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been ru
“I…I don’t know.” Jack sagged, head hanging over the rail, studying the waves. Finally, he looked at Lisa again. “But I’d like the chance to find out.”
She slipped an arm around his waist. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” She leaned her head on his shoulder, swallowed back the twinge of sadness and the ache in her heart. Jack had finally opened himself, if only a crack, to a woman…and it wasn’t her.
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, seeming to sense her sorrow. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not, Jack. But Christ, you’ve picked a hell of a time to fall in love.”
He returned her smile and kissed her forehead. They stood in each other’s arms until Mwahu called from an open doorway. “Miyuki says come!”
Jack slipped from beside her. “She’s translated the language?”
Mwahu nodded vigorously. “Come!”
Lisa followed Jack as he strode after the dark-ski
Miyuki looked up from a sheaf of papers with a worried expression.
“You’ve succeeded?” Jack asked.
She nodded, straightening her papers. “Gabriel succeeded. But Mwahu’s help was critical. With his ability to apply context to a score of symbols, Gabriel was able to compile the entire vocabulary. He’s translated everything — the crypt’s book, the pillar’s inscription, even the writing in the Chatan pyramids.”
“Great! What have you learned?”
She frowned. “The obelisk inscription appears to be mostly prayers, asking the gods for a good harvest, fertility, that sort of thing.” She teased out one page and read. “ ‘May the sun shine on the empty fields and make them fertile…may the bellies of our women grow heavy with children as plentiful as the fish of the sea.’ ”
“Not much use,” Jack concurred.
“But the other writings are more interesting. They both describe the same thing — an ancient cataclysm.”
Jack picked up the book from the table. “Karen suggested something like that. A lost continent sunk during a great disaster.”
“She was right.”
He raised the platinum book. “What does this say?”
Miyuki looked grim. “It appears to be the diary of Horon-ko.”
“Our most ancient teacher,” Mwahu interjected.
Miyuki nodded. “It recounts how his people, a seafaring tribe, once fished and traveled throughout the Pacific, some ten to twelve thousand years ago. Though they were fairly nomadic, their homeland was a large continent in the middle of the Pacific. They lived in small coastal villages and seaside towns. Then one day a hunter returned from a journey to the i
“The crystal!” Jack said.
“Exactly. They excavated other crystals…all at the same location deep in the interior of their continent. They carved tools and worship fetishes.”