* * *
McDowell sat alone in the computer centre, his gaze drifting across the main screen while waiting for CNN to swap to a live feed from the White House. It was already a quarter past one, the President no doubt delaying his speech due to ongoing developments in the South China Sea. The White House phones were probably red hot from over-use, a dozen capital cities called, leaders argued with and cajoled, bribes offered and threats hinted at.
McDowell was confident it would do no good, and the furore created by the Koschei’s actions had been further inflamed through Marcelo’s passion and the disinformation of others, McDowell making good use of an influential source hidden deep inside the Philippine Navy. Maybe not today, but very soon, Cavanagh would be forced into making an obvious error of judgement – then the final act could play out. The resources were already safely in place, with each minor incident and scandal easing others into positions of power.
There had been a few complications along the way but none that were too serious or couldn’t be effectively dealt with. Anderson was more a personal concern for McDowell rather than realistic problem, and even if he talked to the FBI, there was nothing new he could tell them.
Still, it would have been far better if Anderson had not escaped, and McDowell appreciated he had made it too obvious his offer wasn’t genuine. Despite his warning to his two colleagues that they needed to watch Anderson, they had taken the Englishman’s compliance at face value – now he was two men down with nothing to show for it. McDowell himself had tidied up their mess, leaving Carter and Preston to finish off at Garcia’s house.
That had proved to be his second mistake, the unexpected time constraints and a miscommunication resulting in Garcia being found in the bedroom rather than downstairs near where Anderson had sat; Carter had also been forced to rush through changes to the CCTV images. Neither problem should have been that crucial but taken together they seriously tarnished the evidence against Anderson. It had probably been a foolish idea to try and frame him but McDowell was keen to divert the authorities’ attention elsewhere. His FBI source supplied McDowell with infrequent but essential updates, and even though their search area still covered half-a-dozen states, with every day that passed the authorities edged a little closer.
On the main monitor, the CNN image finally moved to the White House Press Room, the President striding up onto the podium. To begin with Cavanagh was on fairly safe ground: regret as to the loss of life, frank exchange of views with other world leaders, the U.S. deeply concerned, important that the U.N. Security Council… There was nothing unexpected or controversial, Cavanagh preferring to speak without notes, his tone hitting just the right sense of gravitas.
It was almost a minute before he moved on to the trickier aspects, starting with the latest assessment of those responsible for the sinking of Frigate HQ-17.
“Detailed analysis of satellite data and communication reports,” continued Cavanagh, “give a sense of the suddenness of the attack and the desperate actions of HQ-17. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that the three torpedoes were launched in response to some form of provocation by the frigate, the attack taking place in international waters and over a hundred miles from areas of dispute. HQ-17 had no prior warning and her captain had no real opportunity to take appropriate defensive measures.
“At the present time we are unable to confirm Hanoi’s assertion that the torpedoes were fired from a Chinese submarine. Much of the evidence, primarily that obtained by an analysis of the torpedoes’ acoustic signatures and their mode of operation, is inconclusive; however, in terms of probabilities, it would seem very likely that the torpedoes were either Russian SAET 60s or upgraded Chinese Yu-4s.”
The final statement caused a noisy reaction from amongst the normally respectful press corps, Cavanagh having to wait for the hubbub to die down before resuming. “It is important to emphasise that this does not mean they were launched from either a Russian or a Chinese submarine; export versions of both types of torpedo were sold to various countries up until the early nineties.”
To the assembled press, and no doubt many of those watching, the President was just quibbling over semantics – forget Russia; these were Chinese torpedoes, so obviously a Chinese submarine. McDowell assumed Cavanagh and his advisers were concerned as to the implications of apportioning blame without definite evidence; maybe they were being influenced by the Hanson link, even sensing something close to the actual truth. But such prevarication only made the President seem weak, unwilling to accept what was all-too obvious to everyone else.
The President pressed on regardless, “Reports of a Chinese attack on the Spratly Islands are simply not true. There has been a minor explosion aboard a Philippine patrol boat which was operating close to the islands, but that is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault – one person was slightly injured. The situation throughout the region is extremely tense, and every incident is liable to be blown out of all proportion. It is thus of crucial importance that everyone – including this office and the news media – only report the facts, and not promote some outrageous rumour first seen on a social media website.”
It was a timely warning as how close the South China Sea was to a violent conflagration, the United States suffering more than most from the problems caused by exaggeration and innuendo.
Cavanagh paused momentarily, almost as though to emphasise what came next. “The exclusion zone announced by the Philippines and Vietnam will only increase the likelihood that other such tragic incidents will occur, with yet more lives needlessly thrown away. I have urged the two governments to reconsider and they have agreed to postpone its implementation, thus allowing more time to fully investigate the sinking of HQ-17. Beijing has offered its full co-operation in identifying the perpetrators, and we are presently evaluating additional data that they have now made available to us.
“In the light of today’s events, the joint naval exercise with Japan, operation Dragon Shield, has been concluded, and the USS Gerald Ford is already heading south to join the USS Milius. In addition, in order not to exacerbate the situation further, China, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have agreed to limit all military forces in the disputed areas to their present levels.
“Through these measures and the active co-operation of all counties involved, the situation in the South China Sea can be brought to a peaceful resolution without further loss of life. Over the course of the next few days, I will also be working with all parties in order to start the process of bringing about a more permanent solution.
“In addition, the United States is in discussion with Russia and China to ensure that the terrible events in the city of Khabarovsk are investigated fully, with those responsible brought to justice. Once again, I urge restraint from all parties; such attacks are in no-one’s interests, the danger of escalating mutual retaliation a threat to the stability of the whole region…”
Cavanagh quickly opened the briefing up to allow a limited number of questions, the White House press corps’ first concern the time scale as to the eventual implementation of the Philippines-Vietnam exclusion zone.
“I have been promised at least 72 hours,” responded Cavanagh. “By then, we might have a clearer idea as to the origin of the attack.”
“And what if it does prove to be China?” persisted the reporter.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions: we need to look at all the facts first.”
The President quickly moved on to someone else; even though he had obviously anticipated such a question, his response seemed tame, McDowell sensing something of the Administration’s lack of consensus as to what the U.S. should actually do.
The briefing was brought to a close. McDowell stayed with CNN, wanting to get a feel for how the President’s words had been received. Although the news channel’s senior defence correspondent was generally pleased with Cavanagh’s initial statement, he expressed disappointment as to the President’s subsequent answers, a view repeated w
hen CNN’s presenter sought the views of political observers in Hanoi and Manila.
McDowell swapped channels, pleased to note that the comments were fairly consistent with those from CNN. One online survey suggested that public support for military action against China was split along national lines, with two thirds willing to act in support of the Philippines, less than half in Vietnam’s defence.
McDowell studied the news feeds and reports for another hour and then reached for his phone – time now for the closing sequence to play out and finally put an end to Cavanagh’s ailing administration.