tc.thebearandthedragon-第187部分

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　Gregory　shrugged。　〃Not　much；　just　that　the　project　was　ing　along　nicely。〃
　〃Uh…huh。　Chief　Leek；　how's　your　hardware？〃
　〃Everything's　a　hundred　percent　on　line；　Cap'n。　We　got　a　job；　sir？〃　the　senior　chief　asked。
　〃Looks　like　it。　Dr。　Gregory；　if　you　will　excuse　me；　I　have　to　see　my　officers。　Chief；　we're　going　to　be　getting　under　way　soon。　If　any　of　your　troops　are　on　the　beach；　call　'em　back。　Spread　the　word。〃
　〃Aye　aye；　sir。〃　He　saluted　as　Captain　Blandy　hustled　back　forward。　〃What's　that　all　about？〃
　〃Beats　me；　Chief。〃
　〃What　do　I　do？　Getting　under　way？〃　Gregory　asked。
　〃Got　your　toothbrush？　If　not；　you　can　buy　one　in　the　ship's　store。　Excuse　me；　Doc；　I　have　to　do　a　quick　muster。〃　Leek　tossed　his　cigarette　over　the　side　and　went　the　same　way　that　the　captain　had。
　And　there　was　precisely　nothing　for　Gregory　to　do。　There　was　no　way　for　him　to　leave　the　ship；　except　to　jump　down　into　the　flooding　floating　dry　dock；　and　that　didn't　look　like　a　viable　option。　So；　he　headed　back　into　the　superstructure　and　found　the　ship's　store　open。　There　he　bought　a　toothbrush。
　
　Bondarenko　spent　the　next　three　hours　with　Major　General　Sinyavskiy；　going　over　approach　routes　and　fire　plans。
　〃They　have　fire…finder　radar；　Yuriy；　and　their　counter…battery　rockets　have　a　long　reach。〃
　〃Can　we　expect　any　help　from　the　Americans？〃
　〃I'm　working　on　that。　We　have　superb　reconnaissance　information　from　their　moviestar　drones。〃
　〃I　need　the　location　of　their　artillery。　If　we　can　take　that　away　from　them；　it　makes　my　job　much　easier。〃
　〃Tolkunov！〃　the　theater　mander　yelled。　It　was　loud　enough　that　his　intelligence　coordinator　came　running。
　〃Yes；　rade　General！〃
　〃Vladimir　Konstantinovich；　we'll　be　making　our　stand　here；〃　Bondarenko　said；　pointing　to　a　red　line　on　the　map。　〃I　want　minute…to…minute　information　of　the　approaching　Chinese　formations…especially　their　artillery。〃
　〃I　can　do　that。　Give　me　ten　minutes。〃　And　the　G…2　disappeared　back　out　to　where　the　Dark　Star　terminal　was。　Then　his　boss　thought　about　it。
　〃e　on；　Yuriy；　you　have　to　see　this。〃
　〃General；〃　Major　Tucker　said　by　way　of　greeting。　Then　he　saw　a　second　one。　〃General；〃　he　said　again。

　〃This　is　General　Sinyavskiy。　He　mands　Two…Six…Five。　Would　you　please　show　him　the　advancing　Chinese？〃　It　wasn't　a　question　or　a　request；　just　phrased　politely　because　Tucker　was　a　foreigner。
　〃Okay；　it's　right　here；　sir；　we've　got　it　all　on　videotape。　Their　leading　reconnaissance　elements　are　。。。　here；　and　their　leading　main…force　units　are　right　here。〃
　〃Fuck；〃　Sinyavskiy　observed　in　Russian。　〃Is　this　MAGIC？〃
　〃No；　this　is…〃　Bondarenko　switched　languages。　〃Which　unit　is　this；　Major？〃
　〃Grace　Kelly　again；　sir。　To　Catch　a　Thief　with　Cary　Grant；　Hitchcock　movie　that　one　was。　The　sun'll　be　down　in　another　hour　or　so　and　we'll　be　getting　it　all　on　the　thermal…imaging　systems。　Anyway；　here's　their　leading　battalion；　all　look　like　their　Type…90　tanks。　They're　keeping　good　formation　discipline；　and　they　just　refueled　about　an　hour　ago；　so；　figure　they're　good　for　another　two　hundred　or　so　kilometers　before　they　stop　again。〃
　〃Their　artillery？〃
　〃Lagging　behind；　sir；　except　for　this　tracked　unit　here。〃　Tucker　played　with　the　mouse　some　and　brought　up　another　picture。
　〃Gennady　Iosifovich；　how　can　we　fail　with　such　information？〃　the　division　mander　asked。
　〃Yuriy；　remember　when　we　thought　about　attacking　the　Americans？〃
　〃Madness。　The　Chinks　can't　see　this　drone？〃　Sinyavskiy　asked；　somewhat　incredulously。
　〃It's　stealthy；　as　they　call　it；　invisible　on　radar。〃
　〃Nichevo。〃
　〃Sir；　I　have　a　direct　line　to　our　headquarters　at　Zhigansk。　If　you　guys　are　going　to　make　a　stand；　what　do　you　want　from　us？'　Tucker　asked。　〃I　can　forward　your　request　to　General　Wallace。〃
　〃I　have　thirty　Su…25　attack　bombers　and　also　fifty　Su…24　fighter　bombers　standing　by；　plus　two　hundred　Mi…24　helicopters。〃　Getting　the　last　in　theater　had　been　agonizingly　slow；　but　finally　they　were　here；　and　they　were　the　Ace　of　Diamonds　Bondarenko　had　facedown　on　the　card　table。　He　hadn't　let　so　much　as　one　approach　the　area　of　operations　yet；　but　they　were　two　hundred　kilometers　away；　fueled　and　armed；　their　flight　crews　flying　to　practice　their　airmanship　and　shooting　live　weapons　as　rehearsal…for　some；　the　first　live　weapons　they'd　ever　shot。
　〃That's　going　to　be　a　surprise　for　good　old　Joe；〃　Tucker　observed　with　a　whistle。　〃Where'd　you　hide　them；　sir？　Hell；　General；　I　didn't　know　they　were　around。〃
　〃There　are　a　few　secure　places。　We　want　to　give　our　guests　a　proper　greeting　when　the　time　is　right；〃　Gennady　Iosifovich　told　the　young　American　officer。
　〃So；　what　do　you　want　us　to　do；　sir？〃

　〃Take　down　their　logistics。　Show　me　this　Smart　Pig　you've　been　talking　to　Colonel　Tolkunov　about。〃
　〃That　we　can　probably　do；　sir；〃　Tucker　said。　〃Let　me　get　on　the　phone　to　General　Wallace。〃
　
　〃So；　they're　turning　me　loose？〃　Wallace　asked。　〃As　soon　as　contact　is　imminent　between　Russian　and　Chinese　ground　forces。〃　Mickey　Moore　then　gave　him　his　targets。　〃It's　most　of　the　things　you　wanted　to　hit；　Gus。〃
　〃I　suppose；〃　the　Air　Force　mander　allowed；　somewhat　grudgingly。　〃And　if　the　Russians　ask　for　help？〃
　〃Give　it　to　them；　within　reason。〃
　〃Right。〃
　
　LTC　Giusti；　SABRE　SIX；　got　off　the　helicopter　at　the　Number　Two　fueling　point　and　walked　toward　General　Diggs。
　〃They　weren't　kidding；〃　Colonel　Masterman　was　saying。　〃This　is　a　fuckin'　lake。〃　One　and　a　quarter　billion　liters　translated　to　more　than　three　hundred　million　gallons；　or　nearly　a　million　tons　of　fuel；　about　the　carrying　capacity　of　four　supertankers；　all　of　Number　Two　Diesel；　or　close　enough　that　the　fuel　injectors　on　his　tanks　and　Bradleys　wouldn't　notice　the　difference。　The　manager　of　the　site；　a　civilian；　had　said　that　the　fuel　had　been　there　for　nearly　forty　years；　since　Khrushchev　had　had　a　falling…out　with　Chairman　Mao；　and　the　possibility　of　war　with　the　other　munist　country　had　turned　from　an　impossibility　into　a　perceived　likelihood。　Either　it　was　remarkable　prescience　or　paranoid　wish　fulfillment；　but　in　either　case　it　worked　to　the　benefit　of　First　Armored　Division。
　The　off…loading　facilities　could　have　been　better；　but　the　Soviets　evidently　hadn't　had　much　experience　with　building　gas　stations。　It　was　more　efficient　to　pump　the　fuel　into　the　division's　fuel　bowsers；　which　then　motored　off　to　fill　the　tanks　and　tracks　four　or　six　at　a　time。
　〃Okay；　Mitch；　what　do　we　have　on　the　enemy？〃　General　Diggs　asked　his　intelligence　officer。
　〃Sir；　we've　got　a　Dark　Star　tasked　directly　to　us　now；　and　she'll　be　up　for　another　nine　hours。　We're　up　against　a　leg…infantry　division。　They're　forty　kilometers　that　way；　mainly　sitting　along　this　line　of　hills。　There's　a　regiment　of　Chim　tanks　supporting　them。〃
　〃Artillery？〃
　〃Some　light　and　medium；　all　of　it　towed；　setting　up　now；　with　fire…finder　radars　we　need　to　worry　about；〃　Colonel　Turner　warned。
　〃I've　asked　General　Wallace　to　task　some　F…16s　with　HARMs　to　us。　They　can　tune　the　seekers　on　those　to　the　millimeter…band　the　fire…finders　use。〃
　〃Make　that　happen；〃　Diggs　ordered。
　〃Yes；　sir。〃
　〃Duke；　how　long　to　contact？〃　the　general　asked　his　operations　officer。
　〃If　we　move　on　schedule；　we'll　be　in　their　neighborhood　about　zero…two…hundred。〃
　〃Okay；　let's　get　the　brigade　manders　briefed　in。　We　party　just　after　midnight；〃　Diggs　told　his　staff；　not　even　regretting　his　choice　of　words。　He　was　a　soldier　about　to　go　into　bat；　and　with　that　came　a　different　and　not　entirely　pleasant　way　of　thinking。
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　57
　Hyperwar
　
　It　had　been　rather　a　tedious　couple　of　days　for　USS　Tucson。　She'd　been　camped　out　on　406　for　sixteen　days；　and　was　holding　station　seventeen　thousand　yards…eight　and　a　half　nautical　miles…astern　of　the　Chinese　boomer；　with　a　nuclear…powered　fast…attack　camped　out　just　to　the　south　of　it　at　the　moment。　The　SSN；　at　least；　supposedly　had　a　name；　Hai　Long；　the　intelligence　weenies　said　it　was。　But　to　Tucson's　sonarman；　406　was　Sierra…Eleven；　and　Hai　Long　was　Sierra…Twelve；　and　so　they　were　known　to　the　fire…control　tracking　party。
　Tracking　both　targets　was　not　demanding。　Though　both　had　nuclear　power　plants；　the　reactor　systems　were　noisy；　especially　the　feed　pumps　that　ran　cooling　water　through　the　nuclear　pile。　That；　plus　the　sixty…hertz　generators；　made　for　two　pairs　of　bright　lines　on　the　waterfall　sonar　display；　and　tracking　both　was　about　as　difficult　as　watching　two　blind　men　in　an　empty　shopping　mall　parking　lot　at　high　noon　on　a　cloudless　day。　But　it　was　more　interesting　than　tracking　whales　in　the　North　Pacific；　which　some　of　PACFLT's　boats　had　been　tasked　to　do　of　late；　to　keep　the　tree…huggers　happy。
　Things　had　gotten　a　little　more　interesting　lately。　Tucson　ran　to　periscope/antenna　depth　twice　a　day；　and　the　crew　had　learned；　much　to　everyone's　surprise；　that　Chinese　and　American　armed　forces　were　trading　shots　in　Siberia；　and　that　meant；　the　crew　figured；　that　406　might　have　to　be　made　to　disappear；　and　that　was　a　mission；　and　while　it　might　not　exactly　be　fun；　it　was　what　they　were　paid　to　do；　which　made　it　a　worthwhile　activity。
　406　had　submarine…launched　ballistic　missiles　aboard；　twelve　Ju　Lang…1　CSS…N…3s；　each　with　a　single　megaton…range　warhead。　The　name　meant　〃Great　Wave；〃　so　the　intelligence　book　said。　It　also　said　they　had　a　range　of　less　than　three　thousand　kilometers；　which　was　less　than　half　the　range　needed　to　strike　California；　though　it　could　hit　Guam；　which　was　American　territory。　That　didn't　really　matter。　What　did　matter　was　that　406　and　Hai　Long　were　ships　of　war　belonging　to　a　nation　with　which　the　United　States　was　now　trading　shots。
　The　VLS　radio　fed　off　an　antenna　trailed　off　the　after　corner　of　Tucson's　sail；　and　it　received　transmissions　from　a　monstrous；　mainly　underground　transmitter　located　in　Michigan's　Upper　Peninsula。　The　tree…huggers　plained　that　the　energy　emanating　from　this　radio　confused　migrating　geese　in　the　fall；　but　no　hunters　had　yet　plained　about　smaller　bags　of　waterfowl；　and　so　the　radio　remained　in　service。　Built　to　send　messages　to　American　missile　submarines；　it　still　transmitted　to　the　fast…attacks　that　remained　in　active　service。　When　a　transmission　was　rece