Mack locked eyes with Secretary Mauney. "Admiral, did you say children?"

"Yes, Mr. President."

"I mean, can that be confirmed?"

"Frankly, I'm worried about it, sir, " the admiral said.

Mack's pulse raced to about two hundred beats per minute. "Why do you say that, John?"

"President Evtimov is on his way to Odessa. He and President Butrin of Ukraine were going to welcome a group of orphans sailing from Sochi, to announce some sort of Russian-Ukrainian humanitarian initiative for displaced orphans. While we can't be absolutely sure that the orphans were on the Alexander Popovich, the pieces are starting to fit together, Mr. President."

"Dear God, help us." Mack buried his face in his hands. "How did our intelligence miss that?"

"Can't answer that, Mr. President, " Secretary Lopez said. "I guess we could ask the CIA about that."

"That's not good enough!" Mack snapped, looking up at his defense secretary. "If this is true, the Navy is just as culpable as the CIA. And ultimately, if this is true, these children's lives are on my shoulders."

"You did what you had to do, Mr. President, " Admiral Ayers chimed in. "We had no way of knowing, sir. Besides, at least we got the plutonium."

Mack buried his head back in his hands. "Dear God, what have I done?"

Ilyushin I1-96 jetliner

50 miles northeast of Odessa, Ukraine

Comrade President. As you requested, Admiral Voynavich is on the line."

"Spaceeba, Sergey Semyonovich." The president took the secure air phone from his chief of staff and spoke to his Black Sea fleet commander. "Admiral, you are familiar with the distress call from our freighter off Sevastopol."

"Yes, sir."

"And you know my orders?"

"Yes, Comrade President."

"Well, as you know, I am about to meet with President Butrin in just a few minutes when we land. This meeting is an opportunity to shore up our relations with Ukraine. This whole orphans issue is killing him on the inside. Are you aware of this?"

"Yes, sir. It is my understanding that Butrin once lived in an orphanage."

"I want to assure President Butrin that we will find and sink that submarine. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Drop every sonobuoy we have into the Black Sea, if we have to. Find that sub. I hold you personally responsible for this, Admiral. Do you understand me?"

"Comrade President, our Bear bombers are already dropping sonobuoys in the water even as we speak. We will cover that area with so many sonobuoys that no one could ever escape. This is one sub against the entire Black Sea fleet. Not even the Americans are that good. You have my word as an officer, sir. We will find and destroy this submarine."

The USS Honolulu The Black Sea

Miss Katovich! Miss Katovich!"

The faint sound of her name spoken in Russian slipped softly through the ringing in her ears.

"Masha. Masha. Wake up."

The voice had changed its tone. Now it seemed more familiar. Somehow sweeter.

Yet despite the sound of her name, the world was still black.

But in the midst of it, something small and white flickered far away. Like a single flickering star on a cold wintry night. The small white object was coming at her, floating through space. It grew larger and larger. It came into vision now, this bright, white object in the midst of her black universe.

It was a cross! Floating through space, coming at her, bringing chills to her spine. Did this have anything to do with what the Allisons had told her about? Was she hallucinating? Had she drowned and gone to heaven?

"Miss Katovich!" The cross grew closer, larger. Its pure angelic whiteness obliterated the dark.

And then fluorescent lights hung over her head.

The officer, the American officer who had spoken in Russian, was standing over her. She squinted her eyes for a better view.

"Miss Katovich, " he said again in Russian. "Does this little fellow belong to you?"

She rolled her head and saw the smile of an angel.

"Dima!" The boy rushed to the table and threw his arms around her. "I must be in heaven!" Tears of joy streamed down her face.

When her hands felt the scars on his back, she knew she was not in heaven. She knew he was real and still on earth. In heaven, his back would be healed. But God had answered her prayer from heaven.

"Don't cry, Masha, " the boy was saying. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dima." But she could not contain her tears.

"Our Navy SEALs found him hanging onto a flotation ring and brought him on board just a few seconds before we submerged."

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" She reached out to touch the officer's hand.

"We took him to sick bay to check him out. He is okay!"

"I am so grateful! All my children are alive."

"I am grateful too, Miss Katovich."

CHAPTER 22

Tu-142 Squadron 118

Over the northwest quadrant of the Black Sea

They crisscrossed the skies in a series of triangular patterns south of the coordinates where the Crimean airlines jet had spotted the mysterious submarine on the surface of the water. They were long-range Russian "Bear bombers" of Black Sea Squadron 118.

Each was long and sleek, with two propellers on each wing and enough fuel to fly hundreds of miles before returning to base.

They filled the skies over the Black Sea with hundreds of parachutes. At the bottom of each parachute, long, floatable cylinders dangled in the skies, falling, falling, and finally splashing down in the waters below.

The cylinders were sonobuoys. When they hit the water, they began transmitting active and passive sonar signals through the water to seek out the presence of anything large and metal moving under the sea. Their signals would then be transmitted to aircraft in the air, and ships in the sea. Using a technique known as "triangulation, " like a hunter tracking a wounded animal in the woods, they would close in on their prey, then call the bloodhounds in for the kill.

Russian attack submarine Alrosa Black Sea

Kapitan. We just received this message." Captain Yuri Gagarigan put on his reading glasses and studied the message.

From: Commander, Naval District Sevastopol

To: All Russian Submarines Patrolling Black Sea, Northwest Sector Subj: Unidentified Hostile Submarine in Sector

Be advised unidentified submarine, possibly U.S. Los Angeles – class boat reported operating in sector.

Unidentified submarine last spotted on surface approximately ninety nautical miles west of Sevastopol forty-five minutes prior to transmission of this message.

Unidentified submarine believed to be hostile, and is believed to have attacked and destroyed civilian Russian freighter Alexander Popovich.

Alexander Popovich was transporting women and children to Port of Odessa for joint ceremony with presidents of Russia and Ukraine.

Bear bombers currently dropping sonobuoys in the area.

By orders of the president of the Russian Republic, you are to seek out and destroy.

"Impossible." Gagarigan folded the message and handed it back to his XO. "A Los Angeles – class submarine in the Black Sea. How could it be?"

"I do not know, " the XO said.

"What is our current position?"

"One hundred miles southwest of Sevastopol, Kapitan."

"Bring me the navigational chart for the sector."

"Yes, Kapitan."

A moment later, the executive officer spread the navigational chart on the navigation table in the control room.

"Let us plot the sub's last postion and plot our current position."

After quickly scanning the charts, the Russian sub commander took the microphone and hit the switch, allowing his voice to broadcast all over the Kilo-class submarine.