“We’ll be taking the SDV and we’ll need a seat for Novikoff on the way out, which means we’ll be going in with a partial fire team. Assigned to the mission with me are Senior Chief Stone and Petty Officer Carver.” Harrison glanced at the two SEALs seated behind Commander McNeil.

  Harrison pressed the remote again, and the display zoomed in until Novikoff’s home filled the screen. It was similar to the adjacent houses, with a small motorboat tied up alongside the backyard dock.

  “There’s no indication of security guards assigned to Novikoff, so we’re likely dealing only with a home security system, if that. We’ll figure it out when we get there. Before we launch, we’ll receive an intel update, verifying that Novikoff has returned home tonight and that he’s alone. If not, we’ll postpone the mission until a night when he’s home alone. For reasons not explained, the mission will proceed only if we’re able to extract Novikoff without anyone noticing, at least until the morning.

  “Subject to your questions, that concludes my brief.”

  After a few questions and a short discussion, the mission brief wrapped up. Turning to Captain Wilson, McNeil asked, “When will Michigan be in position?”

  Wilson turned to the Nav, who replied, “At twenty-one hundred.”

  * * *

  Five hours later, Harrison, Senior Chief Stone, and Carver were seated in the SDV in the starboard Dry Deck Shelter, outfitted for the mission in black dive suits. Instead of standard scuba gear, they wore rebreathers, which provided oxygen and scavenged carbon dioxide without producing bubbles, helping to conceal the SEALs’ underwater transit. They were armed with Heckler & Koch MP7 submachine guns—compact assault rifles about a foot long with an extendable stock, an optical sight, and a noise suppressor screwed onto the barrel. An intel update reported that Novikoff had returned home alone this evening. The mission was a go.

  Harrison rendered the okay hand signal to the diver on the other side of the Plexiglas shield, who flooded down the hangar. There was a faint rumbling as the shelter’s circular hatch opened, and two divers on each side of the SDV pulled the rails out onto the missile deck, then extracted the SDV from the hangar. Harrison manipulated the controls and the SDV lifted off its rails, then glided above the Dry Deck Shelter, cruising over the submarine’s bow before disappearing into the darkness.

  CHAPTER 13

  USS MICHIGAN

  “No close contacts!”

  In the darkened Control Room, Murray Wilson, seated in the Captain’s chair on the Conn, listened to the Officer of the Deck’s report. He glanced at the Perivis display, a small screen relaying what the Officer of the Deck saw through the periscope. There were no lights on the horizon, which was barely discernible under the weak glow of a quarter moon.

  Lieutenant Jeff Porteous completed a detailed surface and air search, examining each sector in high power. Nearby surface ships were the initial concern, ensuring a collision wasn’t imminent, then counter-detection became the primary issue, from both surface warships and military aircraft. It was counterintuitive, but there were more aircraft flying around with torpedoes—albeit smaller lightweight versions—than there were submarines.

  “Sir, I’ve completed a high-power search of all quadrants. Hold no surface or air contacts.”

  “Very well,” Wilson replied. “Prepare to surface.”

  * * *

  After Michigan surfaced, with Lieutenant Porteous still circling with his eye pressed to the periscope, Wilson ordered, “Maintain the watch below deck.”

  Normal practice was to shift the Officer of the Deck to the Bridge while surfaced, but Michigan would be surfaced for only a short time.

  A seaman opened the lower Bridge hatch and followed Wilson up through the sail, where Wilson opened the upper Bridge hatch. He folded down the sail clamshells—fairings pushed up before diving to seal the Bridge opening, creating a smooth surface atop the sail for hydrodynamic purposes when submerged. Wilson stepped into the Bridge cockpit, breathing in the fresh night air. He was joined by the seaman and the submarine’s First Lieutenant, who had the necessary gear for the pending transfer.

  * * *

  Wilson heard the faint beat of the helicopter before he saw it. It took a while for the gray aircraft to appear out of the darkness, slowing to a hover fifty feet above the stationary submarine. A moment later, the helicopter crew lowered a man toward Michigan’s Bridge. He swung in the wind as he descended, a small duffel bag attached by a lanyard swaying a few feet below him. The First Lieutenant grounded the cable to Michigan’s steel hull, shorting any electrostatic charge that had built up during the helicopter’s transit, then the seaman grabbed the duffel bag as it swung by, guiding the man into the Bridge cockpit.

  “Welcome aboard Michigan,” Wilson shouted over the roar of the helicopter rotor as the man’s feet hit the deck.

  The man returned the greeting as the seaman helped him out of his harness and unhooked the duffel bag. Wilson then signaled the helicopter to retrieve its cable. The helicopter pulled up and away from the submarine, its cable swaying in the wind as it turned and headed west toward Norway.

  Wilson descended to the Control Room followed by the newly embarked passenger.

  “Rig the Bridge for Dive,” Wilson ordered. “Prepare to Dive.”

  Lieutenant Porteous acknowledged and gave the order. “Dive, Dive,” echoed throughout the submarine, followed by the iconic ooogah, ooogah diving alarm. An officer waiting in Control ascended to the Bridge to close the clamshells and secure the bridge hatches.

  “Join me in my stateroom,” Wilson said to the new arrival. “It looks like we’ve got a few things to discuss.”

  CHAPTER 14

  GADZHIYEVO, RUSSIA

  Two hours after leaving USS Michigan behind, the three Navy SEALs approached their destination. Harrison examined the navigation display, illuminating the SDV cockpit a faint luminescent green, as he made the last turn in the canal system. He idled the SDV propulsion as he aimed the mini-sub toward the port side of the canal.

  Barnacle-encrusted wood pilings materialized from the underwater haze as the SDV coasted toward them. Harrison maneuvered the SDV alongside the pilings, letting them pass slowly down the port side of the vehicle. Harrison shifted propulsion into reverse, and when the SDV slowed to a halt, he secured the engine. After a few taps of the controls, the SDV drifted downward, coming to rest on the canal bottom. Harrison and the other two SEALs pulled themselves from the SDV, then swam to the surface, pulling themselves onto a narrow dock built parallel to the canal. Harrison assessed their surroundings.

  Novikoff’s home was a hundred feet inland, separated from the canal by an open expanse of grass populated with a few trees, with tall hedges running down each side of the property from the house to the canal. The backyard was illuminated by a single light above a set of French doors opening to a flagstone patio containing a dormant fire pit surrounded by several chairs. There was no indication of security cameras, but that was no guarantee the house perimeter wasn’t being monitored.

  Harrison led the other SEALs toward the nearest hedge, which they followed until they reached the house, then worked their way to the French doors. There was a security panel beside the doors with a red light illuminated. Petty Officer Carver pulled a radio frequency detector from his tactical vest and determined the system was wireless. After scanning for the frequencies used by the security system, he shifted the detector to jamming mode. Not only would they jam the signal between the sensors and the control panel, but they’d disable the system’s anti-jam feature—a signal sent to the monitoring station if it detected it was being jammed. Carver activated the jammer, then pulled out a set of universal keys. On the third try, the door unlocked.

  The SEALs raised their weapons, then Harrison opened the door. They surged into the house, faintly illuminated by the backyard light. There was no one present in what appeared to be a family room. Harrison led his team through Novikoff’s home, searching each room. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were unoccupied.

  Harrison led the team down a narrow hallway containing three doors. He stopped by the first one, turned the handle slowly, and pushed the door open. It was an empty bedroom. Harrison opened the next door, which revealed another empty room. That left the door at the end of the hallway. With this being the last room in the house, there was no more need for stealth. Harrison turned the knob slowly, then burst into the bedroom, followed by the rest of his team.

  There was a man asleep in bed, who stirred but didn’t awaken. Stone and Carver did the honors, pulling back the bedsheets and grabbing the man by his arms, lifting him to a sitting position facing Harrison, who aimed his MP7 at him. The man’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. A quick look at the man’s face verified he was their target.

  Speaking in Russian, Harrison informed Novikoff that he’d be taking a trip with them tonight. If he offered any resistance, he’d kill him. When Novikoff was asked if he understood, he nodded quickly.

  Novikoff was instructed to don a sweatshirt and pants, as well as thermal underwear if he had a set, which he did. The underwater trip to Michigan would be in chilly water and they hadn’t brought a dive suit for Novikoff, not knowing his size. Novikoff did as he was instructed, then Stone led him from the bedroom, followed by the other two SEALs.

  They turned off the backyard light as they exited the house. Upon reaching the canal dock, Carver descended to the SDV, returning with a set of dive gear, which he helped Novikoff into. Once properly outfitted, Carver helped Novikoff into the water, guiding him into the backseat of the SDV. He settled in beside him, wrapping a thermal blanket around the Russian.

  Harrison and Stone slipped into the front compartment of the SDV, and it lifted off the canal bottom and reversed course, heading out toward their rendezvous with USS Michigan.

  CHAPTER 15

  USS MICHIGAN

  John Kaufmann had never been aboard a submarine before. He’d interrogated prisoners in many exotic locations, but never underwater. He was standing in the submarine’s Battle Management Center, watching the displays as Michigan’s crew retrieved a black mini-sub, which had appeared a moment ago from the dark haze behind the submarine. Navy divers were currently hauling the mini-sub inside the shelter. Captain Murray Wilson approached, informing him they’d be ready to proceed in a few minutes.

  “Do you want us to warm Novikoff up first? It’s been a cold ride.”

  Kaufmann shook his head. “It’s better if I start while he’s cold and uncomfortable.”

  “We’ve prepared a space,” Wilson said. “The Officers’ Study, one level down, beneath the Control Room.”

  * * *

  Ten minutes later, Kaufmann stood outside the Officers’ Study. Novikoff was inside the small room, which contained a small rectangular conference table and a few chairs. He was alone, handcuffed to a chair, with the lights turned off as Kauffman had instructed. Kaufmann waited a while longer, letting Novikoff’s mind wander in the darkness.

  Kaufmann flipped through the man’s dossier one final time, reviewing the pertinent details again. Novikoff wasn’t your garden-variety terrorist or well-trained spy. He was just a guy doing his job. Kaufmann had a job to do as well. He closed the folder and entered the study, flicking on the bright lights.

  Novikoff blinked repeatedly as his eyes adjusted to the light, his gaze focusing on the stranger, who closed the door behind him and took a seat at the other end of the table. Kaufmann was dressed in black, wearing an exposed shoulder holster and firearm. He pulled the pistol from its holster and placed it on the table for effect. Novikoff’s eyes shifted between the gun and Kaufmann’s face until Kaufmann spoke in Russian.

  Kaufmann spent a few minutes explaining the situation: Novikoff had been identified as a member of a team of experts who were designing new systems for Alexander.

  “Explain what those systems are and you live. Don’t and you die.”

  Whether Kaufmann would actually kill Novikoff didn’t matter. Whether Novikoff believed it, did. However, Novikoff wasn’t fazed.

  “If I reveal what we have developed, I will be killed. Either option results in my death. I prefer to go to my grave without compromising what we have achieved.”

  “It appears your life is forfeit, either way,” Kaufmann agreed. He opened Novikoff’s folder and slid across the table a picture of his wife, who resided in Moscow instead of with him for some reason. “What about your wife?”

  Novikoff looked up. “You would be doing me a favor.”

  Kauffman pushed two more photos toward the Russian. “What about your son and daughter?”

  Novikoff didn’t immediately respond this time. His face turned slowly red as his anger built. “You wouldn’t!” he finally said.

  “We would,” Kaufmann replied. “But you can prevent it. Just tell us what we want to know.”

  The Russian remained silent for a while, then said, “If I reveal what we’ve built, not only will I be killed, but my family as well. You offer no upside.”

  Whether the Russians would kill Novikoff’s family was unknown, as was whether Novikoff believed his assertion. However, Kaufmann latched on to the man’s last statement.

  “I do offer an upside. Answer my questions and no harm will come to you or your family. Following our conversation tonight, you will be returned to your home and no one will be the wiser. Additionally, we’ll deposit five hundred million rubles into a Swiss account for you. No one will learn of our meeting, you and your family will be safe, and you’ll be well-rewarded. A notable upside on all three issues.”

  This was where Kaufmann had been headed all along. The conditions for Novikoff’s capture, provided to Michigan’s SEAL unit, had been specific. Home alone, with no one aware that he’d been kidnapped. If things went as planned, he’d be returned home before sunrise.

  Novikoff’s eyes dropped to the table as he mulled the offer over. After a long moment, he looked up and began talking. Kaufmann pulled an audio recorder from his shirt pocket and pressed Record.

  CHAPTER 16

  WASHINGTON, D.C.

  In her West Wing corner office, Christine O’Connor hung up the phone, then shifted her computer to the classified network. As Carmen from ONI had promised, an email arrived a moment later. ONI had finished reviewing the CIA report and was providing their assessment.

  Christine glanced at her watch, then began reviewing the ONI document. The daily intelligence briefing would start in a few minutes. When she reached the last page of the report, she slowed, then read it again, her face turning pale as she processed the implications.

  She checked her watch again; it was almost time. She printed a copy of the report and stuffed it into a folder along with a Top Secret cover sheet, then headed down the seventy-foot-long blue-carpeted hallway toward the Oval Office. She was the last to arrive, taking her place beside Chief of Staff Kevin Hardison and the DNI staffer in chairs facing the president’s desk.

  The DNI staffer delivered the day’s intel briefing, and after the president’s questions had been answered, it was Christine’s turn. She began by refreshing everyone’s memory of the Russian torpedo and Alexander investigations.

  “The mission to interrogate a member of the four-person team designing new systems for their submarines went as planned. ONI has finished their assessment of the information collected by the CIA, and the situation is alarming.

  “The Russians have installed a system on Alexander designed to defeat incoming torpedoes. The system projects a magnetic field out from the submarine’s hull a considerable distance. Modern torpedoes detonate when the magnetic field is strong enough, usually a few feet from the hull, instead of upon impact. As a result of this extended magnetic field, the torpedo detonates too far away from the submarine to damage it.”

  Christine paused to let the president and the other two men absorb the implications. She added, “The good news is that the system is still being tested and they haven’t worked out all of the bugs. It takes a lot of power, which is the reason for the second nuclear reactor, and there are lots of negative side effects from generating such a strong magnetic field.

  “However,” Christine continued, “if Russia perfects this technology, their submarines will be invincible. We will have no way to sink them.”

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  I hope you enjoyed Power Play!

  I apologize for not wrapping things up nicely like I do in my novels, but Power Play ends where my fifth book, Treason, begins. For various reasons, several scenes I really liked didn’t make it into Treason, ending up on the cutting-room floor. Due to Treason’s delay from my normal summer release until the following winter, my publisher asked me to write a short story to help tide readers over. I thought the deleted scenes, fleshed out a bit, would make a good short story, even if it ends on a cliffhanger.

  If you haven’t yet read one of my books, hopefully you liked Power Play and are interested in reading the novels in the Trident Deception series. The books are designed as stand-alones, but they use the same character set and there is some character progression, so it’s better to start at the beginning and read in order:

  The Trident Deception

  Empire Rising

  Ice Station Nautilus

  Blackmail

  Power Play (short story)

  Treason

  Deep Strike

  As you see above, chronologically, Power Play falls in between Blackmail and Treason, directly connecting the two novels.

  Also, the usual disclaimer is provided: some of the submarine scenes are not one hundred percent accurate. I can’t describe submarine operations exactly, as some of those tactics are classified, and the dialogue isn’t one hundred percent accurate. If it were, much of it would be unintelligible to the average reader. To help the story move along without getting bogged down in acronyms, technical details, and other Navy jargon, I simplified the dialogue and description of shipboard operations and weapon systems.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10