The Secretary of Defense frowned, "Don't beat around the bush, just get to the point."
"The first is the hijacking incident on the USS McCain, which is simply too incredible. The USS McCain wasn't docked, so the enemy could only board from the air or underwater. However, the Aegis system is capable of detecting objects as small as a baseball within a hundred miles. No one could parachute in without being detected. Additionally, there should have been soldiers on deck during the day, and the weather was clear. If someone parachuted, they couldn't have gone unnoticed."
"The sonar system of the USS McCain should also ensure its underwater safety."
"Yet, the USS McCain was invaded. Unless everyone in the command center had gone mad or the enemy was indeed a superhuman, as they reported, there's only one explanation: they were subjected to comprehensive signal jamming, allowing the enemy to execute a boarding operation right under their noses without them noticing."
"Who could do such a thing?" the Secretary of Defense asked.
The Arleigh Burke-class is the most advanced destroyer of the United States. The USS McCain and the USS Ramsey, having been in service for only two years, are equipped with the world's top radar warning system—the Aegis system—and specially outfitted with electronic warfare and anti-jamming components. Who in the world could silently disable such a technologically advanced warship?
"Could it be... the Soviet Union?" the Secretary of Defense pondered, "What was the second thing you mentioned?"
"At 9:45, the British vessels were hit by torpedoes," the intelligence officer said. "Immediately after the USS McCain was attacked by torpedoes, the British vessels were hit. But at that time, our combat orders had not yet been issued. Who launched those torpedoes?"
"The USS Ramsey still had the option to flee the battlefield and had no reason to attack the British fleet. If the USS McCain initiated the attack, it meant they either defied fleet command, launching an unauthorised attack on an ally, or it indicates—the USS McCain might have been no longer under our control."
"The latter seems more likely."
"Plus, the last message sent by the USS McCain as it was sinking... they said they found the source of interference and launched Tomahawk missiles towards British and French territory... Unless the source of interference came from within Britain or France, their actions seem more like an attempt to stir conflict between our country, Britain, and France."
The Secretary of Defense's eyes lit up, "You mean, this was orchestrated by the Soviet Union, to provoke a war between us and our allies?"
"Or there are two other possibilities: it could have been the work of terrorists within Britain, or the French."
"But the former is hard to explain given the enemy's demonstrated capability for signal jamming throughout the incident, which is not something ordinary terrorists can achieve. And if it were the French, I can't find any motive for them."
"Therefore, it could only be the Soviets."
"Perhaps at that time, they had a submarine lurking nearby."
"I see," the Secretary of Defense sighed in relief.
This was a very plausible and politically correct explanation.
The Soviets stirring up trouble between the US and UK? Isn't that to be expected?
The Soviet Union, which seemed on the brink of collapse two years ago, somehow recovered and even began to stabilize recently. This, while easing the Secretary's daily worries, also removed a reason to request increased military funding.
Isn't that big threat right there?
In any case, if a blame is to be placed without a clear culprit, throwing it on the Soviets is unlikely to meet much opposition.
"Do we have any evidence?" the Secretary of Defense asked again.
"Not yet."
"Keep investigating," the Secretary of Defense ordered, "Especially the USS McCain. Also, check that French location. One Tomahawk fell in London, and I wouldn't be surprised if another landed in Paris, but why in an uninhabited area?"
"Is it really uninhabited? Go and see what's actually there."
...
France, the "Uninhabited Area" – Orleans Castle.
The castle, with a history of over a hundred years, had been reduced to ruins.
At this moment, seven or eight wizards were desperately searching through the rubble.
They were Aurors from the French Ministry of Magic.
"This is terrible." A middle-aged bald man approached the ruins, patting a young man who was vomiting on the back, causing him to retch violently again, "Throw up, the more you throw up, the more you'll get used to it."
"Emile," a wizard standing in front of the ruins with a serious expression called out to him, "You should be casting the Muggle Repelling Charm. Isn't that what your department does? Why are you still here?"
"We can't cast spells here." The bald man said, "You all must leave quickly, Muggle investigators will be here soon."
"Let them go to hell, there are still people not rescued."
"There's no one left, Henry," Emile said, "This was destroyed by a Muggle bomb. That bomb blew the castle to smithereens. Unless someone can survive being turned into a puree and then cooked, there are no survivors here."
The Auror captain named Henry glared at him fiercely, "Do you find this amusing?! The Wizarding Union was meeting here, with a total of 130 Union members attending the meeting! That's more than half of the Union members!
Emile shrugged, "Do you have relatives here?"
"Putain! Emile! Do you even understand what happened here?!"
"They all died in France. How will the international community view us now?"
Emile shrugged again, "You're still worried about that? With all these people dead, what international community is there left?"
Captain Henry was speechless for a moment.
"Alright, Henry, take your people and go. The Muggles know a bomb has fallen here, and they'll send people. I can't cast a Memory Charm on thousands of them."
"What do we do with this place?"
"What else can we do? Burn it first, then I'll go to the Muggle president and see if there's a way to cover this up."
...
"Putain! Emile!" In the president's office, Emile was scolded by the equally bald Muggle president.
"A missile, from the English Channel to the Anjou region, over 300 kilometers! A thousand radars around the world could see it, how am I supposed to help you cover this up?"
"It wasn't a missile, Mr. President, it's those bodies..."
"If your 'ghost fire' can clean up those bodies, that would be best. That place should be woodland, an uninhabited area! You better make it truly deserted."
"That's difficult, sir, it's covered in bricks and stone..."
"Then you need to give me a reason why an American missile flew over 300 kilometers to kill these people. Who exactly were they? Should I tell the whole world that they were wizards? This is a vendetta from the wizarding world? And they could control American warships, American missiles?"
"Putain!"
President François exploded in rage at the thought, "Damn, don't even think about using any Memory Charm on me. You guys have to give an explanation for this!"
"Give us half
a day, Mr. President, just half a day, and we can clean up the scene."
François glared at him.
Half a day? The Americans had already called the Élysée Palace seven times!
But it seemed there was no other choice.
"One last time!" François bit his teeth and said, "I warn you, wizards! This is the last time you come to me with trouble! From now on, don't let me see you again! And no more sanctions against other countries' companies, no more trade restrictions, don't even mention them again!"
"This is our country! This is my country! Don't dictate to me! You guys, if you're going to hide, hide where no one can see you!"
"Get out! Go! Hide in a corner, and never come out again!"
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