The car checked in through the gate and made its way down the pier. Jeffers stared at the tall bow with what looked like a platform at the tip. A huge anchor sat just beneath it. Just behind that he dimly saw the numeral 61.
A smile appeared on Jeffers’ face. The Iowa was here. He remembered her from San Pedro. That had been the first time he had met Hammond. Just having her and her sisters here made him feel better. Things were finally coming together and tomorrow would be the brief for all the captains. Within three days they would be at sea.
The car pulled up to the darkened brow of the America. Because it was such a short trip, there was little to carry aboard. Jeffers grabbed his overnight bag and briefcase. They said farewell to General Richardson who had a room at the senior officers’ quarters and made their way aboard. Within minutes, Jeffers was asleep in his bunk.
“Good morning, ladies and Gentlemen, this is Ann Kendrick with the morning headlines. The capital of Slovakia has been liberated from Russian hands. In a bold sweep early this morning in Europe, as Spanish and Italian forces joined with Czech and Slovak forces to launch an offensive to clear Russian forces from Slovakia. CNN’s Bill Masters has this report.”
The image shifted to people cheering in the streets of Bratislava. “The citizens of Bratislava are celebrating today after a dawn attack liberated the city. The light Russian forces in the city crumbled when heavy mechanized divisions from Spain and Italy moved across the border from Austria. There were few casualties from the military side, however when the Spanish and Italian forces entered the city they found that the local population had been through quite a lot during the occupation.”
The imaged shifted to an older women flagging down some of the forces and pleading with them. A translator spoke. “They are looting our museums and banks. Please hurry. It is the very soul of our country.”
Masters came back on the screen. “The Italian forces we were with immediately went to the national museum in Bratislava only to find that most of the art work was gone.” The scene changed again to one of empty walls, smashed sculptures and broken display cases. “Everywhere we went inside the museum we found someone had either taken or destroyed the exhibits. Even the storage areas had been looted. As we exited the rear of the building a Russian truck was still partially filled with art objects. It was obvious that the Russians had not had the time to finish the job. Shortly after we arrived, we also received news of something found at the city jail complex. Upon arrival, this is what we found,” he said.
The scene shifted, once again, to an inner courtyard littered with bodies. “The inner courtyard of the prison had been turned into a killing ground. Local citizens identified victims as the Mayor of Bratislava, his staff and City Council members along with other locals they say are involved with local resistance activities. The victims are as old as 84 and as young as 14.” The imaged returned to Masters. “It appears the Russians are doing the same thing the Nazis did at the end of World War Two, looting valuables from their occupied lands and killing prisoners. This is Bill Masters, coming to you live from Bratislava.”
“My God,” said Hammond after watching the report. “I didn’t think civilized people did such things anymore.”
Sir Richard closed his fingers together in thought. “There’s only two ways to get that stuff out of the country. It will go either by train or by truck. The air is not safe,” he said.
Hammond nodded. “I agree. Get hold of General Armstrong. I want every rail line and every road along the border bombed so that nothing can get out of the country. Notify the Slovak government in exile of what we are doing, then get the word to the troops that these treasures must be returned to the Slovaks. I’m not going to let Russia get away with this. Also let the air services know that the trucks and trains they target may hold the treasures of a nation. Do what we can to stop them, but do your best not to destroy those trucks. Finally, get the legal staffs on line. Begin procedures to identify who gave the orders and who is responsible. Then we catch them and bring them back to that same prison. I’m sure the Slovaks will know what to do with them.”
“I hope you’re right. The government is probably pretty angry right now,” said Sir Richard.
“Not as angry as I am. It’s one thing to make war, but another thing to be a common thief and murderer. I’ll talk to the government to share my thoughts on the matter,” Hammond said tersely. “Let’s also make sure our troops document every instance they find of such things. Call in the media too. It’s one more reason to get this job done,” Hammond said.
“You’re starting to sound like a politician,” Sir Richard chuckled.
“Only because they made me so. Our strike forces begin moving out in two days. Right now all I want to do is break out of this stalemate situation and teach people it is not smart to upset the good guys. Has the weather forecast come in yet?”
“Not yet. I expect it will be here within the hour.”
“That will give me just enough time to get something to eat, if I don’t get sidetracked again. You know, if this ever happens again, I may go hide somewhere,” Hammond said with a grin.
Sir Richard got to his feet. “I may hide with you.”
“This places our forces in the south in jeopardy!” screamed Borodin. “How could five divisions launch an attack on our forces from two different locations without intelligence knowing about it?”
“We knew the Spanish and Italian forces were in Vienna, but our sources told us they were on their way to Krakow. The Czech and Slovak forces were a complete surprise. The last we had seen from them was they were dug in along the border and holding their major forces in the rear. By themselves they weren’t a threat. But sending them in with the other forces was a stroke of genius. We had weakened our internal forces to support the incursion into southern Poland. They must have found that out and took advantage of it,” said Marshall Zuikov, Chief of Intelligence. “Either they have spies in our camp or someone made a good guess.”
“No one makes those kinds of guesses,” groused Borodin. He briefly glanced at a noise coming from the window.
“We are in a war, Comrade President,” said General Pusko, reverting to the old Soviet address. “Anything could happen, but we must assume the worst. I suggest we take a good hard look at our security procedures and make some changes. It will not slow us down and might do some good,” he said.
“Do it. I cannot have our operations curtailed because we have a security leak. This may be why our forces have been having difficulty gaining ground. As far as I am concerned, anyone caught can immediately be taken out and shot. We have no time for spies or traitors,” Borodin said. “Now what else do you have for me?”
“The CNN news organization has reported the looting of the Slovak national museum. They also reported the execution of many political prisoners and terrorists in Bratislava,” reported Zuikov.
Borodin laughed. “What does this have to do with the war?”
Zuikov paused a moment. The President’s reaction made him believe the reports he had were true. Borodin was involved with such actions. He continued on. “Only that such reports will stiffen the resolve of our enemy. You remember these same things happened in the Great Patriotic War. Resistance will also arise within our occupied countries if they think we are taking their so called treasures,” he emphasized.