tc.redstormrising-第84章

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〃What　about　my　ship？〃
〃That's　my　job；　Captain。　I'll　take　good　care　of　her　for　you。〃
Just　like　that；　Morris　thought。　He　nodded　and　went　below　to　pack　his　gear。　Ten　minutes　later　he　walked　without　speaking　past　the　TV　cameras　and　was　taken　to　Logan　International　Airport。

STORNOWAY；　SCOTLAND
Toland　went　over　the　satellite　photographs　of　Iceland's　four　airfields。　Strangely；　the　Russians　were　not　making　any　use　of　the　old　Keflavik　field；　preferring　instead　to　base　their　fighters　at　Reykjavik　and　the　new　NATO　base。　Occasionally；　a　Backfire　or　two　were　landing　at　Keflavik；　bombers　with　mechanical　problems　or　running　short　of　fuel；　but　that　was　it。　The　northerly　fighter　sweeps　had　had　their　effect；　too…the　Russians　were　doing　their　tanking　farther　north　and　east　now；　which　had　produced　a　marginal　but　nevertheless　negative　effect　on　the　Backfires'　range。　The　experts　estimated　that　it　cut　twenty　minutes　off　the　time　they　had　to　search　for　convoys。　Despite　the　searching　done　by　the　Bears　and　satellite　reconnaissance；　only　two…thirds　of　the　raids　actually　launched　attacks。　Toland　didn't　know　why。　Was　there　a　problem　with　Soviet　munications？　If　so；　could　they　find　a　way　to　exploit　it？
The　Backfires　were　still　hurting　the　convoys；　and　badly。　After　considering　Navy　prodding；　the　Air　Force　was　starting　to　base　fighters　in　Newfoundland；　Bermuda；　and　the　Azores。　Supported　by　tankers　borrowed　from　the　Strategic　Air　mand；　they　were　trying　to　maintain　a　bat　air　patrol　over　those　convoys　they　could　reach。　There　was　no　hope　of　actually　breaking　up　a　Backfire　raid；　but　they　could　start　thinning　the　Bears　out。　The　Soviets　had　only　about　thirty　of　the　wide…ranging　Bear…D　reconnaissance　aircraft。　Roughly　ten　flew　every　day　with　their　powerful　Big　Bulge　radars　turned　on　to　guide　the　bombers　and　submarines　in　on　the　convoys；　which　made　them　relatively　easy　to　find；　if　a　fighter　could　be　put　out　there　to　find　them。　After　much　experimentation；　the　Russians　had　fallen　into　a　predictable　pattern　of　air　operations。　They　would　be　made　to　pay　for　that。　Tomorrow　the　Air　Force　would　have　a　two…plane　patrol　over　six　different　convoys。
The　Russians　would　be　made　to　pay　a　toll　for　basing　aircraft　on　Iceland；　too。
〃I　make　it　a　regiment；　say　twenty…four　to　twenty…seven　aircraft。　All　MiG…29　Fulcrums；〃　Toland　said。　〃We　never　seem　to　see　more　than　twenty…one　on　the　ground。　I　figure　they're　running　a　fairly　steady　bat　air　patrol；　say　four　birds　aloft　almost　around　the　clock。　They　also　appear　to　have　three　ground…based　radars；　and　they're　moving　them　around　a　lot。　That　probably　means　that　they're　set　up　for　ground…controlled　intercepts。　Any　problem　jamming　the　search　radars？〃
A　fighter　pilot　shook　his　head。　〃With　the　right　support；　no。〃
〃So　we'll　just　have　to　flush　the　MiGs　off　the　ground　and　kill　some。〃　The　manders　of　both　Tomcat　squadrons　were　with　Toland；　examining　the　maps。　〃Want　to　keep　clear　of　those　SAMs；　though。　From　what　the　guys　in　Germany　say；　the　SA…11　is　very　bad　news。〃
The　first　Air　Force　effort　to　flatten　Keflavik　with　B…52s　had　been　a　disaster。　Follow…up　efforts　with　smaller；　faster　FB…111s　had　harassed　the　Russians　but　could　not　put　Keflavik　totally　out　of　business。　SAC　was　unwilling　to　part　with　enough　of　its　fastest　strategic　bombers　to　do　this。　There　still　had　not　been　a　successful　mission　against　the　main　fuel…storage　site。　It　was　too　close　to　a　populated　area；　and　satellite　photos　revealed　that　the　civilians　were　still　there。　Of　course。
〃Let's　get　the　Air　Force　to　try　another　B…52　mission；〃　one　fighter　jock　suggested。　〃They　e　in　like　before；　except　。　。　。〃　He　outlined　some　changes　in　the　attack　profile。　〃Now　that　we　have　our　Queers　with　us；　it　might　work　out　all　right。〃
〃If　you　want　my　help；　mander；　you　might　at　least　be　a　little　polite　about　it。〃　The　Prowler　pilot　in　the　room　clearly　didn't　like　to　have　his　forty…million…dollar　aircraft　referred　to　by　that　nickname。　〃I　can　knock　those　SAM　radars　back　some；　just　keep　in　mind　that　SA…11　has　a　backup　infrared　tracker　system。　You　get　within　ten　miles　of　the　launchers；　they　have　an　even…money　chance　of　smoking　your　Tomcat　right　out　of　the　sky。〃　The　really　nasty　thing　about　the　SA…11；　pilots　had　learned；　was　that　it　left　almost　no　exhaust　trail；　which　made　it　very　hard　to　spot；　and　it　was　even　harder　to　evade　a　SAM　you　couldn't　see。
〃We'll　stay　clear　of　Mr。　SAM。　First　time；　gentlemen；　we　got　the　odds　on　our　side。〃　The　fighter　pilots　started　putting　a　plan　together。　They　now　had　solid　intelligence　of　how　Russian　fighters　operated　in　bat。　The　Soviets　had　good　tactics；　but　they　were　also　predictable。　If　the　American　aircraft　could　contrive　to　present　a　situation　for　which　the　Russians　were　trained；　they　knew　how　Ivan　would　react　to　it。

STENDAL；　GERMAN　DEMOCRATIC　REPUBLIC
He　had　never　expected　it　to　be　easy；　but　neither　had　Alekseyev　expected　NATO　air　forces　to　have　control　of　the　night　skies。　Four　minutes　after　midnight；　an　aircraft　that　had　never　registered　on　their　radar　had　obliterated　the　radio　transmitter　station　for　CINC…West's　headquarters。　They'd　only　had　three　alternate　stations；　each　more　than　ten　kilometers　from　the　underground　bunker　plex。　Now　they　had　one；　plus　a　mobile　transmitter　that　had　already　been　bombed　once。　The　underground　telephone　cables　were　still　being　used；　of　course；　but　advances　into　enemy　territory　had　made　telephone　munications　unreliable。　Too　often；　the　cables　strung　by　Signal　Corps　troops　were　being　destroyed　by　air　attack　and　badly　driven　vehicles。　They　needed　the　radio　links；　and　NATO　was　systematically　eliminating　them。　They'd　even　attempted　an　attack　on　the　bunker　plex　itself…the　decoy　site　set　exactly　between　two　transmitter　stations　had　been　hit　by　eight　fighter…bombers　and　liberally　sprinkled　with　napalm；　cluster　munitions；　and　delay…fused　high　explosives。　If　the　attack　had　been　on　the　real　plex；　the　ordnance　experts　said；　there　might　have　been　casualties。　So　much　for　the　skill　of　our　engineers。　The　bunkers　were　supposed　to　withstand　a　near…miss　from　a　nuclear　warhead。
He　now　had　a　full　fighting　division　across　the　Leine…the　remains　of　one；　he　corrected　himself。　The　two　reinforcing　tank　divisions　were　trying　to　cross　now；　but　the　ribbon　bridges　had　been　bombed　overnight　along　with　the　advancing　divisions。　The　NATO　reinforcements　were　beginning　to　arrive…their　road　advances　had　also　suffered　from　air　attacks；　though　at　ghastly　cost　to　the　Soviet　fighter…bombers。　The　tactics　。　。　。　no；　amateurs　discuss　tactics；　Alekseyev　thought　wryly。　Professional　soldiers　study　logistics。　The　key　to　his　success　would　pivot　on　his　ability　to　maintain　bridges　on　the　river　Leine　and　to　run　traffic　efficiently　down　the　roads　to　Alfeld。　The　traffic…control　system　had　already　broken　down　twice　before　Alekseyev　had　dispatched　a　team　of　colonels　to　handle　things。
〃We　should　have　picked　a　better　place；〃　Alekseyev　muttered。
〃Excuse　me；　rade　General？〃　Sergetov　asked。
〃There's　only　one　good　road　into　Alfeld。〃　The　General　smiled　ironically。　〃We　should　have　made　our　breakthrough　at　a　town　with　at　least　three。〃
They　watched　wooden　counters　march…creep…down　the　line　on　the　map。　Each　counter　was　a　battalion。　Missile　and　antiaircraft…gun　units　lined　the　corridor　north　and　south　of　this　road；　and　the　road　itself　constantly　swept　to　rid　it　of　the　remotely　deployed　mines　that　NATO　was　using　in　large　numbers　for　the　first　time。
〃Twentieth　Tanks　has　taken　a　serious　mauling；〃　the　General　breathed。　His　troops。　It　might　have　been　a　quick　breakthrough…should　have　been　but　for　NATO　aircraft。
〃The　two　reinforcing　divisions　will　plete　the　maneuver；〃　Sergetov　predicted　confidently。
Alekseyev　thought　him　right。　Unless　something　else　went　wrong。

NORFOLK；　VIRGINIA
Morris　sat　across　the　deck　from　NAVSURFLANT：　mander；　Naval　Surface　Forces；　U。S。　Atlantic　Fleet。　A　three…star　admiral；　held　spent　his　whole　career　in　what　he　liked　to　call　〃the　real　Navy；〃　frigates；　destroyers；　and　cruisers。　The　small　gray　ships　lacked　the　glamour　of　aviation　and　the　mystery　of　the　submarines；　but　right　now　they　were　the　key　to　getting　the　convoys　across　the　Atlantic。
〃Ivan's　changed　tactics　on　us…a　hell　of　a　lot　faster　than　we　thought　he　was　able　to。　They're　going　for　the　escorts。　The　attack　on　your　frigate　was　deliberate；　you　didn't　just　stumble　across　him。　He　was　probably　laying　for　you。〃
〃They're　trying　to　roll　back　the　escorts？〃
〃Yes；　but　with　particular　attention　to　the　ships　with　tails。　We've　hurt　their　submarine　force…not　enough；　but　we　have　hurt　them。　The　towed…array　pickets　have　worked　out　very　well。　Ivan　picked　up　on　that　and　he's　trying　to　take　them　out。　He's　looking　for　the　SURTASS　ships；　too；　but　that's　a　harder　proposition。　We've　killed　three　submarines　that　tried　to　move　in　on　them。〃
Morris　nodded。　The　Surface　Towed…Array　Sonar　Ships　were　modified　tuna　clippers　that　trailed　enormous　passive　sonar　cables。　There　weren't　enough　of　them　to　provide　coverage　for　more　than　half　the　convoy　routes；　but　they　fed　good　information　into　ASW　headquarters　in　Norfolk。　〃Why　don't　they　send　Backfires　after　the　ships？〃
〃We've　wondered　about　that；　too。　Evidently　the　Russians　don't　think　they're　worth　the　diversion　of　that　much　effort。　Besides；　we've　got　a　lot　more　electronic　capability　built　into　them　than　anyone　thought。　They're　not　easy　to　locate　on　radar。〃　The　Admiral　went　no　further　than　that；　but　Morris　wondered　if　stealth　technology…which　the　Navy　had　been　working　on　for　years…had　been　applied　to　the　SURTASS　force。　If　the　Russians　were　limiting　their　effort　to　locate　and　kill　the　tuna　boats　with　submarines；　he　thought；　so　much　the　better。
〃I'm　putting　you　in　for　a　decoration；　Ed。　You　did　very　well。　I've　only　got　three　skippers　who've　done　better；　and　one　of　them　was　killed　yesterday。　So　how　bad　was　your　damage？〃
〃She　may　be　a　total　loss；　sir。　It　was　a　Victor。　We　took　one　hit　in　the　bow。　The　keel　let　go；　and…the　bow　tore　off；　sir。　We　lost　everything　forward　of　the　ASROC　launcher。　Lots　of　shook　damage；　but　most　of　it's　already　fixed。　Before　she'll　sail　again；　we　have　to　build　her　a　new　bow。〃　The　Admiral　nodded。　He'd　already　seen　the　casualty　reports。
〃You　did　well　to　save　her；　Ed。　Damned　well。　Pharris　doesn't　need　you　for　the　moment。　I　want　you　here　with　my　operations　people。　We　have　to　change　tactics；　too。　I　want　you　to　look　over　what　intelligence　and　operational　information　we　have　and　feed　me　some　ideas。〃
〃For　starters；　we　might　stop　those　damned　Backfires。〃
〃That's　being　worked　on。〃　The　reply　held　both　confidence　and　skepticism。

THE　WINDWARD　PASSAGE
To　the　east　was　Haiti　on　the　island　of　Hispaniola。　To　the　west　was　Cuba。　Blacked　out；　radar　systems　fully　energized　but　placed　on　standby；　the　ships　sailed　in　battle　formation；　escorted　by　destroyers　and　frigates。　Missiles　were　hung　on　launchers　and　trained　out　to　port；　while　the　launch　controllers　sweated　in　their　air…conditioned　battle　stations。
They　didn't　expect　trouble。　Castro　had　gotten　word　to　the　American　government　that　he　had　had　no　part　in　this；　and　was　angered　that　the　Soviets　had　not　informed　him　of　their　plans。　It　was　diplomatically　important；　however；　that　the　American　fleet　traverse　the　passage　in　darkness　so　that　the　Cubans　could　say　truthfully　that　they　had　seen　nothing。　As　a　sign　of　good　faith；　Castro　had　also　alerted　the　Americans　to　the　presence　of　a　S