“Nimitz is leaning on the local PD, but they’re . . . difficult in all . . . orts of ways. Also, it’s no . . . related, but we’ve had trouble on shore, a brawl in . . . tween some of our people and their . . . It’s not connec . . . to the murders as far as . . . but it’s not helping relations.”

Kolhammer chewed his lip as he thought it over.

“What sort of damage are looking at?”

The link to Halabi suddenly cleared.

“A lot of burned buildings and broken heads in town. No deaths that we know of, although one of our guys did get shot. He’ll pull through. Funny thing is, the local commanders aren’t all that worked up. I get the impression they have to put up with a lot of this stuff.”

Kolhammer didn’t doubt it. He’d been worried that a confrontation between his sailors and the locals would only be a matter of time. But if Nimitz wasn’t raising hell about it, he’d be content to let the matter lie, for the moment. There was no ignoring the killings of two of his officers, however.

“Okay, Captain,” he said. “Tread softly on the brawl. If it doesn’t bother them, we shouldn’t let it bother us. But I’ll want a full report for my own benefit, to see if any of our guys are at fault. As for the local cops, lean on the fuckers. If you have to, send a SEAL team through their garbage cans. Maybe they’ll dig something up we can use to heavy them. We’re not taking any shit over this. Not with two of our own in the morgue.”

Halabi nodded once. “Got it.”

Kolhammer was aware that the two men behind him had heard everything he’d just said, but he couldn’t have cared less what they thought of his tactics.

“Pass on my thanks to Admiral Nimitz for his help,” he said. “And contact the other fleet commanders—ours, I mean. I want to convene an O Group tomorrow. Zero eight hundred hours your time. We’ll be back in Pearl by then. Keep me updated on the Nuku by compressed data burst in the meantime. I’ll handle the fallout at this end.”

Halabi said she’d get on it, and they signed off. Kolhammer stood and faced the others.

“I’m sorry about your men, Admiral,” said Eisenhower.

“It was a man and a woman,” said Kolhammer. “Captain Anderson off the Leyte Gulf, the ship that materialized inside your cruiser. And Miyazaki, the senior Japanese officer. We’d put Anderson and some of her people onto the Siranui.”

King took that news without visibly reacting.

“Uh-huh,” he said. “Now, what about these fucking Japs in New Guinea? Are we gonna have these bastards all over us with one of those rocket swarms that wiped out Spruance?”