It was surprisingly quiet around his office, considering everything that had happened in the last few hours. Joe Glass and Toledo had swapped operational command to SUBLANT, so he and his boat were their problem for the time being. The hotshots over in the fenced-in compound might call him if they decided that they needed something. That most likely would not happen. The jokers over there liked to think they ruled the seas from inside their high-security cell. Any admission that they needed to talk to someone who walked on the waterfront might be considered a sign of weakness.

Ward emptied his coffee cup without even tasting the cold liquid. He stood and walked over to refill it from the carafe on the wooden conference table. As he was pouring the steaming brew into his mug, he heard the footsteps of Steve Smedly, his chief staff officer, coming down the hallway. The man was short, black, and always jovial no matter the level of tension that might permeate the atmosphere in his boss’s office. Smedly was on the last tour of his career. He had risen through the ranks from seaman to captain the old-fashioned way, by hard work and careful attention to every detail. He had come to the realization early in his career as a naval officer that he was not equipped to lead, but was superb as a staff officer. In that capacity, he excelled. The Squadron Six staff ran like a well-oiled machine under Smedley’s direction.

Ward filled a cup for him and shoved it his way when he stepped through the door.

“Thanks, Commodore. I have Admiral Donnegan on the phone for you. He said he wanted to speak with you for a few minutes. Then you should round up the operations officer and the material officer for a conference call with him. They’ll both be here in five minutes.” He nodded toward the red light blinking on the phone by Ward’s desk. “The admiral is on line one. He’s been waiting thirty seconds already.”

Ward picked up his own coffee cup and walked over to the desk. “Thanks, Steve. Give me a minute with the admiral. Then get the team in here. If Donnegan wants a conference call, he must have some work for us to do.”

Ward sat behind his desk and picked up the phone. “Morning, Admiral. I was starting to wonder when you’d get around to calling. Sounds like Joe has his hands full up there. We’ll be pretty busy when he gets back.”