Don Pendleton - Civil War II by Don Pendleton Read Free Book Online

Commander stepped up to the chart and glared at the enlarged area of San Francisco for a moment, then cleared his throat and continued the recital. "We'll, uh, have our light armor moving down Lombard Street, and well have taken positions at Van Ness Avenue, at Geary, and in the Fisherman's Wharf area. Bayshore elements of the regulars will have entered the city via the Bayshore Freeway, and they'll be in position along lower Mission, lower Market, and along the Embarcadero." He glared at the intelligence chief. "Did I understand Mr. Ritter to say there will be over two hundred thousand tourists to contend with?"
    Ritter jerked his head in a bounding nod and replied, "You did. That's a standard weekly count of whiteys flocking to their fabled city with the golden streets."
    "I've seen them," Brownleaf said. "Well, so our timing will have to be perfect. We'll want to accomplish the deployment before the city awakens. They're going to find their sightseeing suddenly greatly enhanced by the dawn's early light. But we'll have road blocks at all critical points, just to assure non-interference from the early risers."
    "So far, so good," Williams commented. "This moves us through Phase One, seize the means, and Phase Two, seize the city. Before we go into Phase Three, let's hear from Navy and Air Force.
    The navy captain remained in his chair and mildly declared, "No naval problems. We will continue our normal convoy operations for the merchant fleets, outbound only and through noon tomorrow only. All inbound shipping will be turned back at the twelve mile limit, and we seal the bay as of 1200 hours tomorrow. We could catch a bit of guff from the whitey Coast Guard, but we're bigger and meaner, so I see no real problem from that direction."
    General Matthews also remained seated for his report. "We'll have two squadrons of fighters alternating in the airspace above the Bay area from dawn until you call us down. We are also going on Continental Alert for the duration, just in case some of our hungry neighbors get sudden ideas to exploit this operation."
    General Bogan added, "And of course, we are leaving Automated Defense Command in full operation. Our black brothers in Africa and the yellow ones of Asia are beginning to get frantic. Some idiot might try to capitalize on this internal dispute and try to join the act. Don't worry, they won't."
    "Give us the Phase Three wrap-up, Jackson," Abe Williams suggested.
    "Okay. Norm Ritter will have the demolition boys out at Golden Gate Bridge. Phase Three begins at precisely zero six hundred hours, when the old bridge will splash into the drink. I'll hate to see that, just between us brothers. But ... everybody agrees that war is hell. So the bridge has got to go. It's a symbol, and that's what we have to go after. Anyway, the explosion will be heard all over the city. Hell, all over the Bay area. This will be the signal for all elements to commence the assault upon San Francisco. Element leaders, using the armored scout cars, will have to mix it up with the whiteys and stay down in there to reconnoiter potential trouble spots. Direct the armored units accordingly. Keep our foot soldiers out of trouble. You never can tell what half a million whiteys might decide to do. You have to respect those people, even if they don't respect us. But remember, this is a limited Phase Three. We're not going in there to kill. We just want to tear down some of their beloved symbols, wake 'em up, let 'em see beautiful black faces behind weapons of destruction, let 'em know what we could be doing if we had a mind to.
    "The civic center element will raise as much hell as possible in a thirty minute period. Other elements are primarily screens, except for the Embarcadero units, and they have a few walls to breech along Market. Does that about cover it, Abe?"
    Williams replied, "I guess so. But I want to emphasize, and I want all your people to clearly understand, that the Phase Three mission is simply to wake