The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan, #3)

by Tom Clancy

“Thank you, Admiral. For the moment our mission is to locate Red October. After that we’re not sure. I imagine just locating her will be hard enough.” “An astute observation, Commander Ryan,” Hunter said. “The good news is that Admiral Painter has requested that CINCLANT assign you control of several U.S. Navy vessels, probably three 1052-class frigates, and a pair of FFG Perrys. They all carry a chopper or two.” “Well, Geoffrey?” White asked. “It’s a start,” Hunter agreed. “They’ll be arriving in a day or two. Admiral Painter asked me to express his confidence in your group and its personnel.” “A whole fucking Russian missile submarine . . .” Barclay said almost to himself. Ryan laughed. “Like the idea, Commander?” At least he had one convert. “What if the sub is heading for the U.K.? Does it then become a British operation?” Barclay asked pointedly. “I suppose it would, but from the way I read the map, if Ramius was heading for England, he’d already be there. I saw a copy of the president’s letter to the prime minister. In return for your assistance, the Royal Navy gets the same access to the data we develop as our guys get. We’re on the same side, gentlemen. The question is, can we do it?” “Hunter?” the admiral asked. “If this intelligence is correct . . . I’d say we have a good chance, perhaps as good as fifty percent. On one hand, we have a missile submarine attempting to evade detection. On the other, we have a great deal of ASW arrayed to locate her, and she will be...