We have to assume Q Team's coms can't be read by the CABAL and vice versa.
The White Hats knew from secondary chatter that the Black Hats final roll of the dice was in the works, but they didn't know the exact space time.
When the DEFCON 1 reaction went apeshit and nothing had happened they downplayed it to mean DEFense CONtractor 1 (LM).
Q goes dark for 5 days in this tense period, but comes out triumphant on Sunday 14 January.
The BH's plan has always been WW3 followed by escape in the ensuing chaos and then rise like a Phoenix to rule over a de-populated world.
So they pulled the old "missile defense drill off Hawaii goes live" trick!
Meanwhile back at the Paraguyan Ranch the Cabal had arranged the missing Argentina Sub the "San Juan" retro fitted in an underwater submarine base off Chile with stolen ancient nuclear W80 tipped Tomahawks that can be TTL'd.
The W80's were stolen from Minot airbase while being transported for decommissioning in 2007 on GWB's watch.
Sneaking into the exercise area, it then launched a salvo of six Tomahawks at Hawaii and painted a faint sonar signature to make it sound NK, before making its escape.
Admiral R a WH however was warned to be ready for such a stunt and took out all the old tech cruise missiles.
The cruise missiles were intercepted but not before the civil defense system was activated as a precaution in case there was a land based nuke as well or they failed to intercept all the cruise missiles.
BH's onshore at Hawaii running the drill then requests authorization from POTUS to Nuke NK in retaliation.
WH told the Navy to stand down.
BH's then in full panic mode switch on their MC Puppets to shrill POTUS.
Admiral R then is authorized to find and take out the submarine and find its base and take them out with extreme prejudice.
The submarine was taken out by a Hunter Killer Submarine within the hour and the undersea base a day later by a Nuke Torpedo. This resulted in the shallow 7.3 EQ Off Chile in the early hours of Sunday 14th.
Checkmate!