Looking around, Dombrowski asked if the area was secure enough to use the small penlight he carried with him for checking connections. Allons shrugged. "If there are any Russians around, they are the most inconspicuous Slavs I have ever come across."
Taking that response to be in the affirmative, the Polish legionnaire squatted before the device the others had been working on. Cupping one hand over the business end of his penlight, he flipped the on switch. As he always did during tactical situations, he slowly opened the hand covering the light until there was just enough illumination on the area that required his attention. After studying the tangled bundle of wires, he growled. "What a mess."
"Yes, I know," Allons rejoined. "That is why I am so glad that it was you who came stumbling in here."
Though he didn't share that particular sentiment, Dombrowski said nothing as he surveyed the condition of the device that sat before him. Finally, he shut off his penlight. "The only spot of luck we've had this day is in the fact that one of our two devices survived intact. All we need to do is have Ingelmann bring it on over here and set it up next to this piece of junk."
Allons was quick to veto that idea. "1 am afraid that if at all possible, we must save yours and repair this one."
"Save it?" Dombrowski retorted. "What the hell for? Isn't our journey out of this hell on earth going to be bad enough without hauling useless items like that one along?"
Realizing that the Polish NCO had been out of contact and was unfamiliar with the overall situation, the Spanish legionnaire explained the reason why they needed to hang onto his shaped charge device. "By last count, two silos, like this one, have no teams covering them. Either those who survived the jump are out of contact like you were or they are… well, gone. Regardless of the reason, we have been ordered to finish up here as quickly as possible and report to the rally point, bringing all unused demolitions along with us. Once there are enough of us there, the area commander intends to organize us into new teams that will be dispatched to take out those targets that have not yet been executed."
Though it was a blow to realize that their work would be far from over when this silo was taken out, Dombrowski hid his disappointment. "It's going to take me some time to sort this mess out."
Pausing, Allons looked down at his watch. "You have forty-seven minutes."
"And then?" the Pole asked.
"We execute."
Though he knew time was pressing, Dombrowski took a minute to gather his thoughts. "So, you're telling me that we're going to blow this silo, and I assume the others, in less than an hour?"
"Correct," Allons replied.
"We're going to hoof it over to the last two and hit them after this?"
"Again correct."
"Don't you think that by the time we reach the other silos we're supposed to hit," Dombrowski asked, making no effort to hide his bewilderment, "the element of surprise will have pretty much evaporated and the Russians will be on to what we're doing?"
Allons nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is also correct."
Rather than continue this line of questioning, the Polish legionnaire grunted and shook his head. "Well, I-guess the Americans know what they are doing."
"One would hope so," Allons responded with little conviction in his voice.
Without further ado, Dombrowski settled down to sorting out the ball of twisted wires and leads. One step at a time, he told himself. He had serious doubts that the situation they faced could be sorted out and made right as easily or as neatly as the wires he now held in his hands.
Chapter 15
I he unending series of delays and tribulations that had kept Demetre Orlov and his special-response team at bay was not without its benefits. Darkness had fallen by the time they were within striking distance of General Igor Likhatchev's regional command center. That his former mentor might not be there was always a possibility, one that plagued Orlov as they fought their way across a ravaged countryside. What he would do if that were the case was beyond him. The Russian colonel hated to lose. He would do anything to accomplish his assigned task, which was exactly why he was the darling of the current Russian government.
Reason, however, was quick to silence these nagging doubts almost as soon as they bubbled up. Orlov knew General Likhatchev better than he dared let on. Over the years, he had served this gifted Russian general in many theaters and capacities. When Likhatchev had been named to command the Moscow military district, he had himself selected Demetre Orlov to serve on his personal staff. It had been this assignment that had brought the Russian colonel to the attention of politicians vying for important posts within the post Soviet government. During periods of internal crises, when the President of Russia or his representatives paid a visit to Likhatchev to sound him out in an effort to gauge the mood of the Army. Orlov was always seated at the right hand of the great general, taking notes and listening with rapt attention. That Orlov survived the purge that saw his superior exiled far from the center of Russian political power was as much a surprise to him as it was to the man who thought he had been nurturing a loyal supporter for the future.
Likhatchev would be there. Orlov kept telling himself whenever doubts began to cloud his exhausted mind. It was eminently logical. The complex had been constructed to ride out everything but a direct hit by a nuclear device. Besides serving as an emergency seat of government for the vast province, the regional headquarters also provided backup command-and-control networks for the Strategic Rocket Force throughout the area. If the National Command Authority were eliminated during a nuclear surprise attack, the regional headquarters could initiate a retaliatory strike, thanks to the Perimeter system. Given the dual importance of the site, a hefty security force, well provisioned with emergency stocks of food, fuel, and other essentials, was also located there. Yes, Orlov repeated time and lime again as he struggled through the tangled maze that had once been a vast, peaceful pine forest, Likhatchev would be there, waiting for his chance to bring down the inept system that had plagued Russia since the fall of the Soviet Empire.
As reassuring as his confidence was on this point, the problem of hacking their way through the shield of security that the regional command-and-control center provided Likhatchev presented Orlov with many difficulties. Just how much of the garrison would be situated away from the center, committed to providing emergency services and enforcing martial law in the wake of the asteroid strike, were questions for which he had no answer. He could find himself facing the entire Force. That Igor Likhatchev would be ruthless enough to hold back this Force at such a time would not be at all out of character. The general, after all, was playing for very high stakes and could be expected to follow the Russian military tradition of expending lives freely in order to achieve a designated goal. None of this deterred the commander of Moscow's elite special-response team. Demetre Orlov had faced terrible odds before without flinching. He had been handed missions that others had deemed impossible and executed them with ease. So it was never a question of "if" in his mind but rather, of "how."
Long before they had boarded their transports at the military airfield outside of Moscow, Orlov had developed several approaches to the tactical problems he would face when they reached their objective. In order to decide which approach he would implement, a detailed reconnaissance was required. This he would do personally, since he had taken the precaution of not briefing his officers on any of the options he was entertaining. All they knew was that at some point close to their target, the entire special-response team would occupy a concealed assembly area. From there, he, accompanied by a small number of handpicked commandos, would sally forth to recon the final approach routes into the complex. In his absence, Major Gregory would be left in command. Only when the Russian colonel was satisfied that he had a suitable solution would he return to the assembly area, brief his subordinates on the plan, and then lead them back to execute their assigned task.