Arabian Storm (The Hunter Killer Series Book 5) by George Wallace (different ereaders .txt) 📕

greet his visitor. Jon Ward was not only the father of Navy SEAL Team leader Jim Ward, but he also had a long history with Admiral Donnegan. The admiral had been close friends with Jon Ward’s submariner dad, and when Jon was born, he was chosen to be the new baby’s godfather. When Jon’s father was killed on a mission that was still highly classified, Donnegan had stepped in to be a father-figure for Jon. He was still “Papa Tom” to the Ward family.

After long-time service to his country, also in submarines, Captain Ward had been kicked upstairs to a desk job. But it was a vital one, overseeing submarine operations in a broad swath of the planet’s oceans. Even so, the elder Ward made no secret of the fact that he missed being on the boats.

As Jon Ward stepped into the room, he grinned broadly and stuck out his hand in greeting to his old friend, but Donnegan offered none in return. Instead, the admiral stood there with a pronounced scowl on his face and hands on both hips.

“Dammit, Jon!” Donnegan snapped. “I thought I taught you better. First, you only come around to see me when I issue an order to show up. And look at you! When is it considered appropriate to meet with a senior officer when you are out of uniform?”

Jon Ward’s eyes grew large. He looked down at his dress blues. Proper attire for a captain in the US Navy. Completely proper.

“Admiral, I don’t know what...”

Donnegan could not maintain the ruse any longer. His face broke into a big smile and he finally extended his hand.

“The flag selection board just reported out. I got an advanced copy. You are absolutely out of uniform...Admiral!” He grabbed Ward in a big bear hug. “I’m really proud of you, son! You know your dad would be, too.”

Ward was stunned. The unexpected news and his godfather’s subterfuge had caught him totally off-guard. And that was a sin for a submarine skipper. But he returned the old admiral’s embrace.

Donnegan finally released Ward and waved him over to a chair. Ward had to lift and remove a towering stack of binders in order to sit.

“I called Ellen with the news a few minutes ago,” Donnegan told him. Ellen was Ward’s wife, Jim’s mother. “She’s out buying you a new hat with a double row of scrambled eggs. I suggest you get some roses when you get back to Norfolk and take your lovely wife out to dinner tonight to celebrate the promotion.”

Ward could only nod as he struggled to take it all in.

“Okay, I’ll do that. But I sure wish you could break free and come down to join us. We could make it a real family event.”

Donnegan settled down across the cluttered desk from Jon Ward. Then he leaned forward, folded his hands, and got that look on his face that Ward knew only too well. Happy talk was completed. Now it was business.

“Jon, much as I enjoyed being the first to congratulate you on the promotion, the real reason I called you up here today is a little more serious. I need your help. This whole thing out in Fifth Fleet with that Nabiin character, the missile attacks, and the missing research ship is really heating up and it’s about to boil over in a major way.”

“I know. We’ve got two boats out there now,” Ward responded. “Joe Glass and Brian Edwards. I know they’re on top of everything going on.”

“They are doing a great job,” Donnegan agreed with a nod. “And young Jim’s intel haul when he took out those missile launchers is going to really help us figure out what the hell is going on out there.” The admiral paused, looking even more serious. “But what I really need is you. I need you here. Right here.”

Ward looked questioningly at Tom Donnegan.

“I don’t understand.”

“What I am going to tell you doesn’t leave this room,” Donnegan started. Now it was Jon Ward leaning forward. He thought he knew every one of the admiral’s expressions. But this was a new one. “Most of all, it doesn’t get discussed with the wives, Jon. That’s an order. I need someone here who has all the keys to the puzzle. Someone I trust implicitly. Someone who can step in for me if I’m not around and we won’t miss a beat.”

Ward started to interject, to ask the one question that had just popped into his head, but Donnegan held up his hand to stop him.

“Look, it’s hard for a salty sailor to admit, but I’m getting older. We all think we are indestructible, but sometimes, for the good of the cause, we have to face facts. Jon, I’m worried about my health. I’ve been blaming it on the flag mess food, but now I think I may have a heart problem. Before I go see the quacks over at Bethesda, I want to know that I have continuity here. Hell, you know how they are. One skip in your heartbeat and they put you out to pasture. Bring in some guy who knows how to politic and brown-nose, maybe, but would screw up a one-car funeral procession. We can’t afford that. Especially now, with what’s going on over there.” Donnegan looked hard at Jon Ward. “But I got a plan. You, now that you are a brand-new shave-tail one star...well, it’s perfect is what it is. I just name you my deputy, and presto! Problem solved.”

Ward was about to respond when Jimmy Wilson stuck his head through the door yet again.

“Excuse me, Admiral. I know you said you didn’t want to be disturbed, but that TJ Dillon guy is on the red phone again. He says that it’s really important.”

Donnegan took a deep breath and hesitated, but then grabbed the secure phone.

“Okay, Dillon,” he growled. “This had better be really and truly important.”

“And a hearty good morning to you, too, Admiral,” the CIA agent replied.