Red Tide, стр. 61
Ryson was hard long before the hand arrived at its destination, and made him even harder. Then it became necessary to remove it or run the risk of an embarrassing accident. Kelsey smiled knowingly as she raised her glass to General Haskell.
Dinner was a long grueling affair in which dish after exotic dish arrived at the table, finally culminating with the presentation of three suckling pigs, all of which had spent the day baking in a stone lined pit.
Once the chicken wire that held the meat in place was removed servers moved in to heap roast pork on each plate. It was delicious. And Ryson would have eaten more if he hadn’t been so full already.
By the time an elaborate dessert arrived, all Ryson could do was pick at it. Fortunately, Kelsey was schmoozing the businessman at her left, while Admiral Nathan flirted with the forty-something newswoman to his right. An arrangement which left Ryson free to sip coffee and wonder when the torture would end.
The answer was fifteen minutes later when George Parker stood and announced that a fire dance was about to take place on the verandah. That struck Ryson as the perfect moment to slip away. He was about to do so when the family’s major domo arrived. “Excuse me gentlemen. Coffee will be served in the library, and General Haskell asks that you join him.”
Ryson had a bad feeling about that. But like Admiral Nathan, he couldn’t say “no.” He turned to say goodbye to Kelsey, only to discover that she was no longer there. Because she knew about the meeting with Haskell? Or because she was expected to be present on the verandah? Either way it would have been nice to say goodbye.
The major domo led the officers back to the reception area, through a decorative door, and into a library that didn’t contain any books. Or shelves to put them on. Just a long table and four computer stations which, Ryson assumed, could access a private network and the digital books stored there.
A U-shaped seating area lay beyond. And there, standing with his back to a gas fireplace, was General Haskell. He was holding a cup of coffee which he put down in order to greet the new arrivals. “It’s good to see you Alexander,” Haskell said, as they shook hands.
“This is Commander Max Ryson,” Nathan said. “The man largely responsible for rescuing three American pilots a couple of days ago.”
“That was quite a feat,” Haskell said. “And one which would have been all over every news network in the free world, if it hadn’t been for the attack on Okinawa. I’m sure some sort of recognition will come your way eventually.”
Ryson wanted to say that he didn’t care about recognition. But Haskell clearly did. So he left the thought unsaid. “Thank you, sir. But the men and women who carried out the …”
“Yes, yes,” Haskell said impatiently. “Credit where credit is due, and all that. I’ll leave the awards to you. I’ll sign whatever you send me.
“We’re not here to talk about attaboys gentlemen,” Haskell continued. “We’re here to discuss the Sea Dragon and how to stop her.
“I asked you to join me so we could have a private conversation prior to the meeting tomorrow. The simple truth is that Squadron 7 is performing well in every category—other than the one that the President of the United States and Australia’s Prime Minister are most interested in. And that’s the destruction of the Sea Dragon.
“No, you aren’t in this alone. Surveillance satellites, spy planes, drones and submarines are all searching for the bitch day and night.
“But like an archer with a quiver full of arrows, I don’t know which one has the correct profile—just the right heft—to strike the target. And Squadron 7 is one of those arrows. I’m aware of the forward operating base. It’s damned expensive. How’s that effort going?”
“My XO is there now,” Ryson replied. “She tells me that all of our defenses are up and running. Regular patrols will begin soon.”
“Good,” Haskell said. “So long as ‘soon’ means tomorrow. But patrols rely on luck. Maybe you run into something. Maybe you don’t. What we need is more humint.”
“I agree,” Ryson replied. “And with some help from the Parkers, I think we could assemble a pop-up intelligence network in a very short period of time.”
That was news to Admiral Nathan. But Ryson couldn’t help it. It was a nascent idea. And far from fully formed. But if he could sell the concept to Haskell the rest would follow.
“I’m listening,” Haskell said. “What do you have in mind?”
“Tens of thousands of fishing boats ply the South China Sea,” Ryson said. “Not to mention hundreds of interisland steamers and ferries. And between them that’s a lot of eyeballs. Thanks to their shipping interests the Parkers know everyone there is to know. And, if they put their network to use, we could harvest the kind of Intel that you need.
“Perhaps some sort of reward should be offered for images of the Sea Dragon and the coordinates for where the photos were taken.”
“That sort of system would be likely to produce a lot of false positives,” Haskell observed. “But a photo taken at the right place and time could make all the difference. What do you think Alexander? I assume you’re onboard?”
Nathan cleared his throat. “Yes, or course. But as Commander Ryson indicated, we would need help from the Parkers to pull it off.”
Haskell nodded. ‘I’ll talk to George. Thank you, gentlemen. Please keep the concept under your hats.”
“We will,” Nathan promised.
“Good. Let’s join the rest of them on the verandah.”
Haskell left right away which gave the other men an opportunity to talk. Admiral Nathan was pissed. “Why didn’t you tell me about the intelligence network before the meeting?”
“Because I hadn’t thought