“There is a … wrinkle in the situation,” Chernov replied. “Yury Dolgoruky departed on patrol five days ago. American submarines deploy to the Barents to trail ours, and there is no target more desirable than Dolgoruky. It is not unreasonable to assume the Americans were trailing her, and if that is the case, there is the possibility the two submarines collided.”
“Do we have any indications they collided?”
“No, Mr. President, but unless Dolgoruky reports in, we cannot be sure. That is why I am here, to request permission to order Dolgoruky to break radio silence.”
Before Kalinin could respond, his phone rang. His executive assistant would not interrupt a meeting with his defense minister unless it was important.
“What is it?” Kalinin said as he answered the phone.
“The American president is on another line. He wishes to speak to you.”
Kalinin glanced at Chernov as he raised an eyebrow. “Put him through.”
The American president offered a perfunctory greeting, then got straight to the point. An American submarine had gone down under the polar ice cap. He offered what little he knew, then addressed the sensitive issue.
“We believe our submarine trailed Yury Dolgoruky under the ice, and the two submarines may have collided.”
Kalinin eyed his defense minister as he replied, “I am sorry, Mr. President, but you are misinformed. Yury Dolgoruky is not on patrol in the Northern Barents. She is in local waters off the Kola Peninsula for crew training. However, if you need our assistance, do not hesitate to ask.”
He hung up the phone, then directed Chernov, “Order Dolgoruky to report in.”
22
The Admiralty building, built in Russian Empire style with a quarter-mile-long facade, served as the headquarters of the Imperial Russian Navy under the tsars until 1917, becoming the seat of power for the Russian Navy again in 2012. Sitting atop the building’s 240-foot-high golden spire, the sailing warship weather vane is one of the city’s most recognizable symbols.
On the third floor of the building, Fleet Admiral Georgiy Ivanov stood behind Michman Danil Krasinski, seated at his console in the Communications Center. As the young man scrolled through the messages on his display, Ivanov could tell the radioman was nervous; his supervisor peered over his left shoulder, while the highest-ranking officer in the Russian Navy peered over his right. Krasinski scrolled through the radio messages received from Northern Fleet units in the last week, searching for transmissions from Yury Dolgoruky.
The Communications Center had been transmitting for the last twenty-four hours over every circuit, including VLF and ELF in case Dolgoruky went under the ice, ordering the submarine to report in. Ivanov had grown nervous, the probability that disaster had befallen Dolgoruky becoming more likely with each passing hour. Even if Captain Stepanov had taken Dolgoruky under the ice for some reason, he was far too experienced to have taken her so deep that he couldn’t transit to open water within the required time frame.
Upon reaching the end of the queue, Krasinski announced, “There is nothing, Admiral. Dolgoruky has not transmitted since she left port.”
Ivanov turned to Krasinski’s supervisor. “Initiate Signal Number Six procedures.”
23
Yuri Kalinin was reviewing the daily intelligence briefing when he heard the heavy knock on his door. He acknowledged, and Russia’s minister of defense entered, striding briskly across the thirty-foot-wide expanse of open space. Chernov stopped in front of the president’s desk, and Kalinin could tell he brought news. He gestured toward a chair.
As Chernov settled into his seat, Kalinin asked, “You have word of Dolgoruky?”
“She has not reported in,” Chernov replied. “The Navy has concluded she has sunk, most likely in a collision with the American submarine. Northern Fleet has initiated Signal Number Six procedures.”
Kalinin was silent for a moment, then asked, “Do we know where she sank?”
“No,” Chernov replied. “Dolgoruky’s operating area is extremely large; over one million square kilometers. Once our ballistic missile submarines reach their operating areas, they can travel in any direction, even under the ice.”
“How do we find her?”
“Northern Fleet is sortieing every ship to look for her, but our ship and submarine sonars are not equipped for bottom searches. We will be lucky to stumble across her. A more likely scenario is that the Americans find her for us. They have a rough idea of where their submarine sank. Once they locate it, we will know where to look for ours.”
“Therein lies the problem,” Kalinin replied. “If the Americans find their submarine, they will likely find ours.”
“But the Americans won’t be looking for Dolgoruky,” Chernov replied.
A confused expression worked its way across Kalinin’s face. “Why not?”
“Because we’re not going to tell them Dolgoruky sank. Let them look only for their submarine, and if they find it, we will set up a base camp nearby, ostensibly to assist. But we will be preparing to rescue Dolgoruky instead. Without America looking for her, the odds we reach her first will increase.”
“I understand,” Kalinin replied. “But what if the Americans do reach her first?”
Chernov studied Kalinin carefully before he answered. “You know what we must do.”
Kalinin evaluated Chernov’s assessment, then pulled a stationery pad from his desk. Chernov waited as Kalinin wrote and signed the directive, then placed it in an envelope and sealed it. He handed it to Chernov.
“Deliver this to Fleet Admiral Ivanov.”
As Boris Chernov closed the doors to the president’s office, an idea began to take hold. Tragedy had befallen the Russian Navy again. Yet it was also an incredible opportunity, and it didn’t take long to decide the risk was worth it.
He headed to the Kremlin basement.
Moments later, Chernov entered the Intelligence Center. The senior officer on watch, Captain Second Rank Eduard Davydov, looked up from his console. “Good morning, Defense Minister. How can I help you?”
“Which American submarine is in the Barents Sea?”
Davydov entered several commands at his console, and maps of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Persian Gulf appeared on the monitor at the front of the Intelligence Center. Overlaid on the maps were five blue areas and one green.
“America’s Atlantic Fleet has five attack submarines and one guided missile submarine on deployment. By analyzing underway dates, transit times, and port calls, we can determine where each submarine is deployed. The blue areas indicate the locations of their fast attacks, while their guided missile submarine is in the green area. As you can see, their guided missile submarine and two fast attacks are in the Persian Gulf, with another two fast attack submarines in the Mediterranean. The fifth fast attack is on a northern run. We detected her passing our surveillance arrays near Iceland, which puts her in the Barents Sea.”
Davydov moved the pointer on the display onto the blue area covering the Barents Sea. A text box popped up, displaying the relevant data. Davydov read it aloud. “The American submarine in the Barents is North Dakota.”