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wall and looked at the aerial view of the Gulf and the countries surrounding it. From space it seems as if nothing had changed at all, he thought, but now the al Sauds are gone and Iran had nukes, and we are in the middle of it all with not much more leverage than this fleet gives us.
    “Does SECDEF really expect us to carry out all this while revealing nothing to anyone?” asked Haggerty. “I’m not sure that we can get the force prepped to do everything that he wants that fast without someone getting wise.”
    Rucker shook his head as he looked at the document in front of him. “Admiral, I don’t mean to be out of place, but isn’t it SOP for orders like this to be transmitted over ARNET, not delivered by hand?”
    Adams turned back to the two men. Rucker, now forty-two, had been a little iconoclastic since his Annapolis days. He thought independently, didn’t just accept the company line. It was amazing he had made captain. “They’re worried about leaks. Of course, they’re always worried about leaks. But this time they seem to be almost paranoid about it. It’s almost as if they are certain that if CIA or NSA or IAC gets word of what we are up to, then somehow it is going to get out.” Adams sat back down at the table as Rucker placed the orders on the table.
    “Well, given the size of what they are planning, how do they expect it not to leak?” asked Haggerty. “They must realize that someone is quickly going to see not only what we are doing here, but all the movement in CONUS and the Med, too. You can’t move this many men and ships and position that many people for action without someone getting wind of it.”
    “You’re right, Frank, and I tried to explain that to Kashigian,” Adams replied. “But SECDEF is locked into this thing with a religious fervor that makes the Shura look like a Unitarian Sundayschool class. I don’t understand it exactly, but they are moving ahead with this at a pace like I’ve never seen before. The only thing I can figure is that they’ve gotten some bit of intel that they haven’t shared with us or anyone else, or else—”
    “Or else what, Admiral? This just doesn’t make sense. The Iranians are a threat to blow up the whole damn region, Iraq is still a mess, sending terrorists after us wherever we turn. Why the hell would we pick right now to stage a major amphibious exercise with Egypt in the Red Sea and pull most of the Fifth Fleet out of the Gulf for ten days?” Haggerty got up from the table and walked over to the aerial photo of the Gulf that Adams had been studying. “I really am not sure that I can do everything that they want in that time frame, Admiral,” Haggerty said as he looked at the picture. “There is a lot going on here, and we should not be denuding the Gulf of American forces for some silly exercise. What do you want us to do?”
    “I expect you to follow orders, Frank. Remember, civilian control of the military? Even if sometimes the civilians don’t make sense. You and Ruck do what you have to so that you can get us ready to do these missions while keeping them quiet. The largest amphibious exercise in memory, two carrier battle groups, most of our assets from the Gulf, all for a landing on the Red Sea coast of Egypt? It might be meant as a message to Islamyah. When does that say the date is of the amphibious landing?”
    Captain Rucker looked down again at the Planning Order. “Marines will assault Green Beach on 15 March.”
    “The Ides of March. Guess somebody has a sense of humor, or history. That gives us some time to get ready... and to find out what’s really going on. Not much time, but some,” Adams said, smiling at Admiral Haggerty and Captain Rucker.
    Vice Admiral Brad Adams drew a last puff. As he snubbed out his cigar in the big brass ashtray, an F-35 Enforcer executed a perfect nightime carrier landing. It hit the flight deck immediately above the Admiral’s Suite with a noise that the inexperienced would have