Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [176]
“What kind of opposition are they facing, General?” Vice President Cartright asked.
“Not much, Madam Vice President,” answered the general. “The Saudis were taken completely by surprise, and the air assault hasn’t made them any too anxious to leave their bunkers. I’d also add,” the general continued, “that our armored forces in Kuwait have now left their staging areas for the Saudi border. Our forces in Israel have crossed into Jordan and will soon be in position to launch their assault from the northeast.”
Clayton and Jack left the Situation Room for a short break and a sandwich with Maggie on the second floor. As they sat down in the living room, Maggie asked, a look of concern on her face, “How’s it going, Clayton?”
“So far, Mags, it’s going far better than we had any right to expect.” Jack nodded as Clayton continued. “Our military is performing beautifully. We’ve been able to jam their communications, and we’ve taken out their dirty bombs and nukes. We’ve also clobbered them with a massive aerial bombardment, and our troops will soon be in their final staging areas for the assault toward Riyadh.”
Maggie nodded at the news. “What will happen next?” she asked.
“If all goes according to plan,” Jack answered, “the armored assault on Saudi Arabia will start at around 11:00 p.m. our time. The armored and mechanized columns have been instructed to drive toward Riyadh at breakneck speeds. If they run into any opposition, they’ll go around it and continue on, leaving the Air Force to neutralize enemy positions.”
“How long will it take our forces to reach Riyadh?”
“That depends on the terrain and opposition, Mags, but these are all armored or mechanized forces—they’re not slowed by conventional infantry on foot. Theoretically, they might average thirty miles an hour or more, stopping only for fuel and ammo. They’ll all be approaching Riyadh from different directions. The northeastern forces out of Israel have the longest way to go at about eight hundred miles. The Kuwaiti forces will have about three hundred miles, and those in Bahrain about two hundred and fifty miles. All told, our forces should start approaching Riyadh in anywhere from twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”
Looking at both of them, Maggie asked, in a sympathetic voice, “How about my two favorite guys in the whole world? How are you doing?”
Clayton gave her that ‘I’m okay’ smile and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. “We’re doing just fine, Mags.” He then tapped Jack on the arm and said, “C’mon, slick, let’s head down to the Situation Room.”
64
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
7 April 2018
King Mustafa was awakened shortly before three o’clock in the morning by the chief watch officer in the Royal Palace. The watch officer had a terrified look in his eyes as he gently shook the king.
“What is it, Colonel?” asked the irritable King Mustafa. “This better be good. What time is it anyway?”
“I’m so sorry to wake you, Your Majesty, but some strange things are happening and I fear for your safety.” Trembling, he appeared more frightened of the king’s reaction than of the menacing forces heading for the palace.
“Get a grip on yourself, Colonel, and tell me about these ‘strange things.’”
“Yes, King Mustafa. First, the Riyadh Control Center sent a messenger over advising that its communications are out. Nothing’s coming in and nothing’s getting out. Our systems have been jammed. We’ve tried calling our outlying facilities from different parts of Riyadh with only intermittent success.”
“What do you mean by ‘intermittent,’ Colonel?” growled Mustafa.
“Well, sir, we’ve been able to reach some of our units but not all. Specifically, we could not reach any of our oil-field defense facilities, nor our nuclear facility in the south. Further, we just