“You could be right,” Sims said. “Yet even in that case, it would give us time to reorder our armies on the Great Plains. Suppose, however, it causes the Germans to drop out of the Chinese alliance. That would be a tremendous boost to us. It would be worth the loss of the Canadians, as painful as that would be to us.”
“That’s a big if, Mr. President,” General Alan said.
Sims breathed deeply. “Gentlemen, we badly need reinforcements in the Great Plains. We need them there before the rains stop and the winter cold freezes the ground hard enough for full mobility. If Kleist is genuine in his offer and the Canadians agree to it, we could strip the Eastern coast defenses. Those troops would head north onto the line in the Great Plains. That would add hundreds of thousands of highly trained soldiers to our beleaguered armies. It could save the situation for us.”
“Or we could be selling the future to hold the present,” General Alan said. “As you suggest, sir, it could solve some of our problems in the Great Plains. The question is—could we move the East Coast soldiers into position fast enough? It would take time to move that many men. It would also take the Germans time to move from Cuba to Quebec.”
General Alan took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He put the glasses back on. “Mr. President, what if this is an elaborate ploy? Maybe the Chinese and Germans have concocted the scheme. We’re fighting hard, inflicting massive casualties onto our enemies. If we entrain the East Coast troops west to the plains and the Germans land on the East Coast afterward, it would be a disaster. Our entire defense might collapse. By accepting Kleist’s offer, we could be risking our freedom as Americans and lose in one fell swoop.”
“The risks are great,” Director Harold said, “but so are the possible rewards. This offer could split the enemy alliance. If the Germans sell out the Chinese, why would Chairman Hong trust Kleist again? Isn’t the reward worth the gamble?”
“No,” General Alan said. “The risks are too great and too varied. We could lose the Canadians by trying to force them to give up Quebec. They’re poised to move now, dashing down to the front lines with us. What happens if they refuse to move to our aid and the Germans gain Quebec? In six months, we’re staring at the German military sitting to the north of us. Then we’re stretched beyond the breaking point, no matter how well we hold on in the Great Plains.”
“You can see my dilemma,” Sims said. “I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. Frankly, the offer bewilders me with its possibilities. On the surface, it seems like a brilliant solution for us. It gives us desperately needed troops, but at a severe cost.”
“I would keep talking with the Chancellor,” General Alan said. “This could be an opening offer. We should counter-offer something, with the idea of splitting the enemy alliance. Surely, we could work out something.”
The President turned to Anna. “What do you think about that?”
She watched David. He didn’t seem upset or worried. He had something up his sleeve. She faced the others.
“Chancellor Kleist was very insistent,” she said. “He wants Quebec and it’s the only thing he wants from us. He made that very clear. However, he is worried the Chinese will defeat us and grab most of the prime agricultural land. That makes him hesitant to help them win big now. He doesn’t want them to get the lion’s share of the spoils. I did get the feeling that he would help them if we didn’t agree to his offer. He would attempt to get as much as he could of the United Sates, maybe by bargaining with the Chinese for certain guarantees if he invaded Florida or Georgia.”
The weight of her words struck the others, and the talking ceased for a moment.
Director Harold ran a hand over his bald dome. “I still think by agreeing to the deal we weaken China by shearing away one of her allies. To me, that’s’ the best part of the offer.”
“We should consider this,” General Alan said. “If the Germans attack on the East Coast as they’ve been poised to for many months, it would actually help our overall situation. The troops in Cuba threaten our entire Eastern and Gulf coastlines, tying down needed formations. Once they attacked, we could concentrate there, possibly defeating them. At that point, we could send those troops to the Midwest.”
Director Harold bristled. “I don’t think you’re seeing this in the correct light. Firstly—”
“Gentlemen, please,” the President said. “I want everyone’s opinion. General McGraw, we haven’t heard from you yet. What do you think of all this?”
David and McGraw have spoken together before this, Anna thought. The way David is asking, I think this is a setup.
Big General McGraw picked up his suitcase, placing it on his knees. Without a word, he snapped it open and withdrew a large folded piece of paper. First setting aside the briefcase, he spread out the sheet, revealing a map of the United States. He put the map on the coffee table between them.
“Mr. President,” McGraw said in his deep voice, “I think this might be exactly what we need.” A massive index finger pointed at the red of enemy occupation. The area stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River, starting at Mexico and heading up past Kansas City.
McGraw stared up at the others. He had magnetic eyes, and they seemed filled with something dangerously powerful.
He’s either a lunatic or a zealous champion, Anna thought. The man both repelled and excited her. He certainly wasn’t normal, not in any sense.
“General Alan, you said it best: we’re selling the future to hold the present,” McGraw said. “That means we have to do more than hold the present. We have to take this opportunity and defeat the Chinese, and by defeat, I meant send them stumbling back into Mexico a bloody and defeated wreck of an army.”
“It can’t be done,” Alan said. “We’re barely holding our own. No.” The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs glanced around. “Let’s admit it to ourselves. We’re losing this war. We’re on the brink of total defeat. This offer gives us a chance of holding on a little longer. I can agree to that. It gives us the hope of that but at great risk, possibly our destruction as a free nation. Even if brought onto the plains before the freeze hits, the extra East Coast troops won’t give us the needed margins to beginning driving the Chinese and Brazilians back. It would probably give us enough men to hold, though. That means we’ve lost Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma—”
McGraw raised one of his big fists, holding it before his mouth and coughing loudly, causing Alan to pause.
“Mr. President,” McGraw said, “I respect General Alan. But in this instance, he’s wrong. As things stand now, he is of course correct. But the truth is we’re going about this campaign the wrong way. I tell you, sir, with this influx of East Coast troops, I could trap the Chinese and hand them a decisive defeat.”
“You’re spouting madness,” Alan said. “You’ve been on the front too long and it has broken your mind.”
Bent as he was over the map, McGraw stared up at Alan. “You said it yourself, General. We’re losing this war. I agree with that.”
“Then how are you going to defeat the enemy?” Alan asked in a scathing tone. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs faced Sims. “Mr. President, the Chinese have surrounded General McGraw twice. People think he’s a hero because he managed to extract his trapped troops each time. I’d like to ask why he let them be surrounded in the first place. That isn’t gifted generalship.” The Chairman faced McGraw. “Fighting out of a trap is hardly driving the enemy back into Mexico. Now you’re talking about going over onto the offensive?”