Red Tide, стр. 89

The full extent of Kelsey’s treachery had shaken Ryson to the core, leaving him unsure of his judgement, and his ability to lead. I was thinking with my dick, Ryson decided. And people died as a result.

After a relatively short trip aboard the Dakota, the survivors had been transferred to an Indonesian destroyer, which took them to Manado—where members of the Australian Federal Police took both Parker women into custody.

“Kelsey’s in serious trouble,” Admiral Nathan said. “And the Feds want to get a deposition from Rong. Mr. Soo will get paid by the way. The ASIS (Australia’s Secret Intelligence Collection Agency) blokes think the Hong Kong-Macau triad could come in handy.

“As for George, well, he’s in Sydney by now. And all the money he has won’t be enough to get him out of the kind of trouble he’s in. Don’t blame yourself, Max. There’s no way you could have known.”

Ryson did blame himself. But all he could do was return to work. And he was aboard the supply ship Alcona when she returned to Samir Island. Soon followed by a tanker which had orders to remain on station for two weeks. And that was a good thing, because the entire squadron was anchored around Samir, or out on patrol.

The sun was warm. The sand was soft. And a gentle breeze ruffled the surface of the lagoon. Sleep brought a welcome escape. Then a female voice said, “Wake up, Skipper … We have work to do.”

Kelsey? Ryson opened his eyes. Lieutenant Commander Linda Vos was standing over him. What was that in her eyes? Concern? Or pity?

Ryson sat up. “Work? What kind of work?”

“The Sea Dragon attacked Bangkok,” Vos told him. “It looks as though the Chinese were trying to assassinate King Ramos XI. Fortunately, they failed.

“Then, on the way home an Australian sub managed to torpedo, but not sink, the Dragon. I knew the skipper,” she added. “He was a nice man.”

Vos’s use of the past tense spoke volumes. “I’m sorry,” Ryson said, as he stood. “Very sorry.”

“Thanks,” Vos replied. “According to the folks at INDOPACCOM the Dragon was still running for home when it was intercepted by two American destroyers.”

Ryson winced. “And?”

“And, one of the tin cans scored a hit. But the Sea Dragon’s railgun sank them both. One shell each. A submarine named the USS Waco is missing as well.”

Ryson shook his head sadly. “Then the Sea Dragon ran.”

“Exactly,” Vos said. “And, because most of the Chinese fleet was focused on the battle up north, the Dragon was on her own. Then a layer of clouds moved in. That’s when the satellite nerds lost track of her.”

All of Ryson’s PHMs were named after cloud formations. Was it an omen? His brain began to race. “So, they want us to find her?”

“No,” Vos replied. “Thanks to a tip from one of Kelsey Parker’s cigarette smugglers, we know where the Sea Dragon is.”

“Which is?”

“Mischief Reef. The Intel people think she was forced to take refuge there in order to make temporary repairs. The Chinese have four fighters stationed on the atoll.

“And,” Voss added, “based on what happened to our submarines, we can assume that at least one attack boat is lurking in the area too.

“Our orders are to get there as quickly as we can and keep the Sea Dragon bottled up, until the heavy hitters can arrive from the north.”

Assuming they win the big battle, Ryson thought. And how long will that take? He pushed the thought away. “Is the squadron ready for sea?”

“The Nimbus and Fractus are taking on fuel. The rest are cranking up.”

“And air support?”

“I tried. But all I could get was a Global Hawk drone. It doesn’t have any weapons, but will arrive on station within the hour, and can loiter for twenty-five hours—not counting travel time.”

Ryson grinned. “Thanks, Linda. You’re not bad for an Aussie.”

“And you’re okay for a Yank,” she replied.

Both officers grinned. “I’ll board the Arcus,” Ryson said. “You’ll be on the Cumulus. The Armindales will bring up the rear. I realize you would prefer to be on one of the Aussie boats. But, if something happens to me, you’ll need to be up front where the PHMs are.”

Vos knew the American boats were faster than the remaining Armindale and would arrive first. Barkley wouldn’t like having the squadron’s XO looking over her shoulder. But Vos planned to remain in the background and pray that nothing happened to Ryson.

What ensued was a scramble to board boats, prepare for combat, and get underway. Mischief Reef was more than three hours away for the PHMs. But all of them, officers and enlisted alike, had been looking for the Chinese ghost ship for a month by then, and were eager to close with the enemy. Consequences be damned.

It was a risk. But Ryson gave orders for the tanker to follow. The boats would be sucking max fuel, and there was no way to know how long the mission would last.

Once foilborne, the Arcus led the way, with the other hydrofoils following in a column behind. It was a sight of the sort not seen since WWII when PT boats ventured out to battle the Japanese.

Ryson was filled with a heady mix of excitement, anticipation, and gut-churning fear. He knew, based on previous experience, that the fear could be controlled. And that the adrenaline would clear his mind.

The Sea Dragon had advantages, the most important of which was the damned railgun. A weapon with a range of at least 124 miles, judging from what had happened to the USS Concord.

The Chinese cruiser was armed with missiles as well. As many as two hundred of them. But some had been expended during the attack on Bangkok. So how many were left? It seemed safe to assume that at least 25 percent of the ship’s weapons had been fired. Probably more.

As for efficacy, Chinese anti-air missiles had proven to be quite accurate, and were likely to intercept at least some