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WEAPONS OF CHOICE
A NOVEL
JOHN BIRMINGHAM
B
BALLANTINE BOOKS • NEW YORK Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r2.qxp 7/18/06 10:09 AM Page vi
Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as “unsold or destroyed” and neither the author nor the publisher may have re- ceived payment for it.
Weapons of Choice is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
2005 Ballantine Books Mass Market Edition
Copyright © 2004 by John Birmingham Excerpt from Designated Targets by John Birmingham copyright © 2005 by John Birmingham
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Originally published in trade paperback in the United States by Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2004.
ISBN 0-345-45713-7
Printed in the United States of America
Ballantine Books website address: www.ballantinebooks.com
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For Jane, the believer
Thanks are due to Garth Nix, who first led me down this long and winding path. To Russ Galen, who filled my beggar’s bowl. To Steve Saffel, who suffered as no mortal editor should ever have to suffer. To Keith Clayton, who kicked butt as Trapper John to Steve’s Hawkeye, and Crystal Velasquez, who could easily get a job project managing a time machine. To Cate Paterson, my sword and shield. And Brianne Tunnicliffe, for riding shotgun on this madness. The rock-steady babes at the Queensland Writ- ers Centre are owed my thanks and gratitude. And Pete McAllis- ter, as always, was a dude. There is no way I can repay the loving support of my family, Jane, Anna, and Thomas, except maybe by getting away from the keyboard more often. Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:12 PM Page ix
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
MULTINATIONAL FORCE COMMANDERS Anderson, Captain Daytona, USN. Commander, USS Leyte Gulf. Francois, Captain Margie, USMC. Combat surgeon and chief medical officer, Multinational Force. (USS Kandahar.) Halabi, Captain Karen, RN. Commander, British contingent; deputy commander, Multinational Force; commander, HMS Trident. Jones, Colonel J. L., USMC. Commander, Eighty-second Ma- rine Expeditionary Unit. (USS Kandahar.) Judge, Commander Mike, USN. Executive officer, USS Hillary Clinton. Kolhammer, Admiral Phillip, USN. Task force commander, USS Hillary Clinton. Miyazaki, Sub-Lieutenant Maseo, JMSDF. Acting commander, JDS Siranui. Moertopo, Lieutenant Ali, TNI-AL. Acting commander, KRI Sutanto. Willet, Captain Jane, RAN. Commander, HMAS Havoc. Windsor, His Royal Highness Captain Harry. Commander, British SAS contingent.
MULTINATIONAL FORCE PERSONNEL Bukowski, Specialist Waylon, USMC. First Platoon, B Com- pany. (USS Kandahar.) Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:12 PM Page x
x DRAMATIS PERSONAE Chen, Second Lieutenant Henry, USMC. Third Platoon, C Company. (USS Kandahar.) Damiri, Sub-Lieutenant Usama, TNI-AL. Information systems officer, KRI Sutanto. Hannon, Second Lieutenant Biff, USMC. First Platoon, B Company. (USS Kandahar.) Harford, Flight Lieutenant Chris, USN. Helicopter pilot, USS Hillary Clinton. Hayes, Flight Lieutenant Amanda, USN. Helicopter pilot, USS Hillary Clinton. Ivanov, Major Pavel, Russian Federation Spetsnaz. On second- ment to U.S. Navy SEALs. (USS Kandahar.) Nguyen, Lieutenant Rachel, RAN. Close-In Weapons System operator. (HMAS Moreton Bay.) Seconded to History Working Group. (USS Hillary Clinton.) Rogas, Chief Petty Officer Vincente, U.S. Navy SEALs. (USS Kandahar.) Thieu, Lieutenant Edgar, USN. Media relations officer, USS Hillary Clinton.
MISCELLANEOUS Duffy, Julia. New York Times feature writer. Embedded Eighty- second MEU. Natoli, Rosanna. CNN researcher/producer. Embedded Eighty- second MEU. Pope, Professor Manning. Project director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
1942 ALLIED COMMANDERS Churchill, Winston. Prime minister, Great Britain. Curtin, John. Prime minister, Commonwealth of Australia. Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:12 PM Page xi
DRAMATIS PERSONAE xi Eisenhower, Brigadier General Dwight D. U.S. Army. Head of War Plans Division. Appointed commander of U.S. forces, Eu- ropean theater of operations, June 1942. King, Admiral Ernest J., USN. Commander in chief of the U.S. Fleet and chief of naval operations. MacArthur, General Douglas, U.S. Army. Commander, Allied Forces, South West Pacific Area. Headquartered Brisbane, Aus- tralia. Marshall, General George C., U.S. Army. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Nimitz, Admiral Chester, USN. Commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Roosevelt, President, Franklin D. Thirty-second president of the United States of America. Spruance, Rear Admiral Raymond A., USN. Commander, Task Force Sixteen.
1942 ALLIED PERSONNEL Black, Lieutenant Commander Daniel, USN. Assistant opera- tions and planning chief to Admiral Spruance. (USS Enter- prise.) Curtis, Ensign Wally, USN. Assistant payroll clerk, USS Enter- prise. Davidson, Able Seaman James “Slim Jim,” USS Astoria. Evans, Lieutenant Commander Peter. Acting commander, USS Astoria. Mohr, Chief Petty Officer Eddie, USS Astoria. Molloy, Able Seaman Michael “Moose,” USS Astoria. Ryan, Warrant Officer Peter, New Guinea Volunteer Rifles. Patrol officer. Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:12 PM Page xii
xii DRAMATIS PERSONAE
MISCELLANEOUS Cherry, Detective Sergeant Lou, Honolulu PD, Homicide. Einstein, Professor Albert, Nobel laureate.
AXIS HIGH COMMAND JAPAN Kakuta, Rear Admiral Kakuji, IJN. Commander, Second Car- rier Striking Force. (HIJMS Ryujo.) Yamamoto, Admiral Isoroku, IJN. Commander in chief, Com- bined Fleet. (HIJMS Yamamoto.)
GERMANY Göbbels, Reichsminister Josef. German propaganda minister. Himmler, Reichsführer Heinrich. SS chief. Hitler, Reichschancellor Adolf.
AXIS PERSONNEL Brasch, Major Paul. Engineer. Hidaka, Lieutenant Commander Jisaku, IJN. Chief of staff to Rear Admiral Kakuta. (HIJMS Ryujo.) Skorzeny, Colonel Otto. Personal bodyguard to Adolf Hitler. Steckel, Franz. SS-Obersturmführer of the SD-Ausland, a lieu- tenant in the Nazi Party’s foreign intelligence service.
SHIPS OF THE MULTINATIONAL FORCE USS Hillary Clinton. George Bush–class supercarrier. USS Kandahar. Bagdhad-class littoral assault ship. USS Leyte Gulf. Nemesis-class stealth cruiser.*
*Destroyed or lost. Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:12 PM Page xiii
DRAMATIS PERSONAE xiii USS Garret. Cobb-class air warfare destroyer.* USS Providence. Harper’s Ferry–class amphibious landing dockship. USS Kennebunkport. LPD 12 landing assault ship. HMS Trident. Trident-class stealth destroyer (trimaran). HMS Vanguard. Trident-class stealth destroyer (trimaran).* HMS Fearless. Aden-class helicopter assault ship.* HMAS Havoc. Savage-class attack submarine (conventional). HMAS Moreton Bay. Jervis Bay–class troop-carrying catama- ran. HMAS Ipswich. Newcastle-class light littoral assault ship. KRI Sutanto. Reconditioned Parchim-class frigate of the In- donesian navy (TNI-AL).* KRI Nuku. Reconditioned Parchim-class frigate of the Indone- sian navy (TNI-AL).* Dessaix. Sartre-class stealth destroyer of the French navy.*
*Destroyed or lost. Birm_0345457137_3p_fm_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:12 PM Page xv
WEAPONS OF CHOICE Birm_0345457137_3p_01_r1.qxd 1/27/05 6:17 PM Page 1
PART ONE