Warhead — F. Robert Baker

We, the officers and crew of the USS Montana, warn the Russian Federation. Unless our families are released unharmed, we will launch a Trident missile.Deep in the Norwegian Sea, the nuclear submarine steams silently into its launch area and prepares to make good the ultimate threat. In Moscow, the order goes out: sink the Montana. At the White House, the President orders the Montana to defend itself. And near the Horn of Africa, a large American force, with orders to attack if necessary, approaches the Russian base where the families of the Montana are held hostage. An American assault on a Russian base could start a nuclear war.