Within an hour the lines secured it to the pier and a machine was stationed on the pier to make sure it remained at a specific pressure. As the men left, they glanced back at their work. USS South Dakota was resting at her moorings just as she had before. Although everyone there knew it was fake, from an orbiting satellite, no one would know the difference.
Captain Leonid Kronovsky stared through his periscope toward the specks of light along the shore. “So this is America,” he muttered. He had taken the ship to within twelve miles of the shore. His sonar had reported noises from almost due west, but there were no signs of a ship leaving. Now the sonar was saying there were just background noises. Good. He would wait for his orders, then show the Americans what the Russian Navy was capable of.
“Come about. Make your course zero nine zero. Let us get to our holding area and wait for our orders,” he told his crew. Everyone aboard was excited. Few had been this close to the United States.
Finally, their mission was complete. Captain Stephan Gromyko ordered his ship about and away from the coast. Home was still a long way off, but they had been able to complete their part of this grand mission two weeks before everything was to begin. Luckily, the timers in the mines they had laid would not activate the system until needed. Between Norfolk, Virginia, Kings Bay, Georgia, and Mayport, Florida, they had been able to crank out forty of the things, even though they normally could only carry twenty four. That had made the crew happy. When they got underway every conceivable space had been taken up by the mines. The crew had to sleep in whatever nook or cranny they could find. In the Chita, a diesel electric submarine that the west had nicknamed a Kilo Class, it meant no room at all. But now the decks and passageways were cleared and the bunks were open again. Once outside the twenty mile limit, Gromyko ordered the beer ration to be distributed, and the crew’s happy attitude had returned.
The snorkel was raised and the sub’s diesels were started. The fresh air was pulled through the small submarine, sweeping out the smells of sweat and body odor that had seemingly permeated the ship. Once the batteries were fully charged, they would go deep and slowly make their way home. Hopefully, they would make it in time to rearm with torpedoes and play an even greater role in the coming conflict. Chita may be old, but he was a good submarine. Gromyko grabbed a bottle for himself. It was just a small reward for a job well done.
“Good evening, everyone, I am Candice Morton and here are the top headlines. CNN has learned that California Governor Mark Yost will be indicted for corruption and accepting illicit payments for aiding insurance companies in avoiding paying for earthquake damages. Revised California insurance statutes were passed under his insistence just two years ago. California Attorney General Larry Summers said the indictment stems from influence the Governor exerted to initiate the new laws and the payments he received for that influence over a period of three years. CNN has learned that the governor received over seven million over that period from several insurance companies providing earthquake insurance.
“We have irrefutable evidence that Governor Yost used his considerable influence to change the laws so that insurance companies would have significantly reduced liability for payments to their clients. The result was far smaller payouts than earthquake insurance in other states. The Governor then received remuneration over a period of three years for this influence,” said Summers on camera.
“Governor Yost had ties with the insurance industry before becoming governor. Those ties were supposed to be ended upon assuming office, but he has remained secretly on several payrolls. All of this was sparked by the class action suit against the insurance industry and the Governor’s office by Mayor Patricia Hammond of San Pedro, California, when she found that nearly everyone in her city had been turned down for assistance after a massive earthquake shattered her city.”
The image changed to a background shot of tear gas being deployed toward a large crowd of people. “In other news, riots broke out and shots were fired in Krakow, Poland, today as workers for the city’s transit system went on strike to protest what the workers called persecution of older ethnic Russians. Mike Harrell has a report from Krakow.”
Mike Harrell appeared on the screen with a crowd of people protesting in the background. “Violence erupted during a protest in the middle of Krakow, Poland, today as local workers from the MPK, the city’s transit operators, demonstrated for what they called fairness for the ethnic Russian workers they say are being mistreated.”
A young man appeared on the screen, “They force the older ones out with nothing. They lose everything they have worked hard for. Ivan Ileneovich even took his own life because of what they did,” he complained.
The image switched back to Harrell. “Ivan Ileneovich, an ethnic Russian who had moved to Poland during the Soviet era, recently committed suicide when his supervisors at MPK fired him for no apparent reason. His death sparked an outcry from workers across the country denouncing what they call the persecution of ethnic Russians in Polish industries. The protest today started peacefully enough, but in the middle of the protest someone opened fire. In all, four shots were fired somewhere in the crowd, killing two people and injuring two others. The injured were rushed to the hospital where doctors say they are in stable condition. Protesters blamed local police and began moving through the area breaking windows and setting fire to vehicles. Police used tear gas to break up the crowd, but protesters continue to express their anger at the situation. This is Mike Harrell, in Krakow.”
“In further news, more protests have occurred throughout Russia as more people demonstrate against the harsh treatment protesters have been receiving in recent weeks. James Matthews reports.”
“Protesters in St. Petersburg were met by heavily armed troops today when they protested brutal uprisings against students at the local university. This is the seventh such incident involving protesting students and the police. Local activists were very vocal of their criticism of the government.”
The image shifted to a protester with a bleeding cut over one eye. “We have the right to tell the government we do not like what they do. The students are being beaten for no reason but expressing ourselves. This must stop,” the student said.
Matthews continued. “Today’s action happened when students on campus gathered near their student union to smoke and talk amongst themselves. There was evidently no formal protest.”
Another student was seen with a black eye. “We weren’t doing anything,” the girl cried out. “We are there every day after lunch just to talk between classes. We did nothing,” she emphasized.
“The crackdown on protesters continues. Russian government officials insist that this is an internal affair to counter terrorist activities and ideas coming from other European nations. This is James Matthews, for CNN in St. Petersburg.”
“We will be back with more, right after this.”
Mr. Polski sat back and rubbed his chin. The information about Petyr’s father and his upstairs neighbor was almost unbelievable. But he also knew Petyr and Freda wouldn’t make something like this up. In either case, something needed to be looked into and he knew he was not the man to do the job. He looked over at the two young people sitting together across from him on the couch. “You are sure it was your father, Petyr?” he asked.