Chapter Ninety Convincing Evidence

“Let’s everyone take a seat,” President Egan says. “We have a great deal to cover. John Walker, I’d like you to give everyone a report regarding what NSA has learned recently from Whispering.”

Chairs get shuffled around as the attendees pick spot in which they suppose they’ll be comfortable; they all expect this meeting to be a hard one. As they look around the table at each other, taking mental inventory of the players today, they can’t help but notice the absence of both the vice president and the chief of staff. Their expressions range from puzzled to dubious.

John Walker begins. “Okay, folks, ’round 2400 hours Atlantic time last night, Project Whisperin’ picked up a communication intended for the five Kilo subs. Basically it told them they were to proceed to a position two hun’red miles from their targets and that they were to be there in three days. The message went on to say that at 2400 hours Greenwich Mean Time on the fourth day from today, they were to execute their ordahs. We’re ’sumin’ that each sub received its ordahs when they set sail and already know what their ordahs are. The communication said they should acknowledge receipt of this ordah by merely sending a one-word reply, presumably so’s not to reveal their positions. Which I gotta admit worked – we weren’t able to locate any of ’em by their responses. They were then told not to communicate with Iran ’til they were at least two thousand miles – I repeat, two thousand miles from their targets.”

Admiral Smith speaks, “That tells me they expect to pull off this attack, and want their vessels somewhere safe enough from retaliation for use another day.”

President Egan’s eyes roam the room, watching for signs that someone has something to be say. Seeing none, he says, “John, go on. I know you have more.”