Fifteen minutes later, General Alan finished explaining the situation. He used a large map spread over the coffee table in the living room. Tracing with his finger, he’d showed where the Germans had landed and their likely destinations the next day, the next three days and the next week.
The President wore a blue bathrobe as he sipped coffee. The robe had a Presidential seal on the right breast. His hair was still messy from sleep. Director Harold sat on the sofa with him. He had been quiet throughout the general’s talk, leaving his coffee untouched.
Anna reentered the room and set a plate of sandwiches on the table beside the pot of coffee. Quietly, she sat down and covertly studied David.
He stared too much, as if his thoughts drifted. The burdens kept piling onto his shoulders, didn’t they? The generals had finally sealed the GD blitzkrieg in Southwestern Ontario before it could hit Detroit, and now this happened.
“They suckered us,” the President said.
General Alan nodded. “I believe you’re right, Mr. President.”
David leaned over the map, tracing places with his index finger. “They’ll want to open up the Niagara Peninsula so they can transport supplies more easily into New York.”
“I agree,” Alan said.
“Why come in at Rochester?” the President asked.
“Maybe because it’s the midpoint between Buffalo and Syracuse,” Alan said. “If they take Syracuse, they’ll cut off Army Group New York holding the north. The supplies will dry up for them up there.”
“I can see that,” David said, as he stared at the map. “Clearly, we can’t let Syracuse fall.”
Director Harold stirred. “I’m afraid that we lack the troops to hold on there, sir.”
David glanced at Max.
Anna waited for the man to suggest nuclear weapons to destroy the amphibious beachhead. If they annihilated Rochester—made it a nuclear wasteland—might they not nip this in the bud?
Max didn’t meet David’s gaze. Instead, the director studied the map, and he held his tongue, saying nothing further.
That’s unusual, Anna thought. Why isn’t he suggesting nuclear weapons? This seems like the obvious moment to use them.
David turned to the general and then glanced at the map. His thoughts seemed to drift off to another place.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs cleared his throat.
David looked up at him again. It seemed to take an effort of will, but the President unglued his lips. “What do you suggest? I’d admit… this one baffles me. I’m not sure what to do.”
Alan took off his glasses, blew on a lens and brushed it against his uniform. He put the glasses back on before speaking:
“I’ve given this some thought, sir. The first thing is that we’re going to have to get creative to solve the dilemma. I believe we’re going to have to accept risks that might otherwise seem…well, seem imprudent perhaps.”
“How many Germans are landing at Rochester?” David asked.
“Yes,” Alan said. “That’s the question. The answer so far is many different corps. I’m beginning to think that all of GD Twelfth Army will come ashore there. That’s far too many enemies at the worst possible place for us. A single GD corps would be too much now. We have nothing in reserve, sir.”
“Then…what do we do?” David asked. “Is it over?”
“I have an idea,” Max said quietly.
Here it comes, Anna thought. He’s going to suggest we use nukes. It’s his mantra.
“Mr. President,” Max said. “This is an emergency. I totally agree with General Alan on that. The Germans have outmaneuvered us. We need to get extreme. First, we need our best commander at Syracuse. I suggest you send the Chairman,” Max said, indicating General Alan, “and give him executive authority to do as he sees fit.”
David turned to Alan. “What do you think of that?”
“I’m not sure that I’m the right man for the task, sir,” Alan said.
David clutched the general’s sleeve.
It’s as if he’s grabbing a lifeline, Anna thought. David is desperate. We all are.
“Listen to me closely,” the President said. “This isn’t time for modesty. This is the time for clear thinking and for taking chances.”
Alan nodded.
“Max is one hundred percent correct,” the President said. “I want you in Syracuse to coordinate from ground zero. You have to take charge and stop the Germans from taking the city.”
“What do I use for troops?” Alan asked. “There are a few battalions, I suppose, and some SOCOM commandos. That isn’t enough to stop the Twelfth Army, though.”
The President grimaced, and he went back to studying the map.
“I do have a possible idea,” Alan said. “As I said, I’ve been doing some thinking.”
He’s been waiting to make his suggestion, Anna thought. He’s let David see the hopelessness of the situation because…why? There’s a reason why Alan has built this up.
“Tell me,” the President said. “We don’t have time to dither. We have to act now to save the situation before it’s too late.”
“Sir,” Alan said, “I suggest we move all of XI Airmobile Corps from the Atlantic coast and entrain it for Syracuse.”
David bit his lower lip, gnawing on it with his front teeth. Finally, he stammered, “W-What defends the seaboard from an amphibious assault then? What protects New York City and protects Boston, New Jersey—?”
“That’s the rub, sir,” Alan said. “I don’t think we need to defend the coast.”
“But the amphibious troops waiting in Cuba—”
“Mr. President,” Alan said. “I don’t believe there are any GD troops in Cuba, not in any meaningful numbers.”
“How can you say that?” the President asked. “Our experts have shown—”
“Our experts knew nothing about a GD invasion across Lake Ontario,” Alan said. “We didn’t realize the Germans had been collecting freighters and ore haulers. Our enemy has become an expert at misinformation, at the clever ruse. That’s what I’ve been thinking about during my ride here. I finally asked myself a key question. What does the German Dominion lack in their North American invasion?”
“They don’t lack anything,” the President said.
“That’s wrong, sir,” Alan said. “They’ve always lacked numbers of actual soldiers. That’s why they have so many drones. They’ve worked overtime to compensate for their lack of numbers, for boots on the ground. Are we to seriously believe that the GD has let two hundred thousand soldiers sit idle all this time in Cuba? No, sir, I believe those are dummy troops. The enemy wants us to believe they’re ready to sweep onto our coastline. That ties down an unbelievable number of our formations defending the seaboard. We’ve already stripped much of the East Coast southern shores. That’s given us the advantage in Southwestern Ontario. We’ve turned the tide there because we quit letting ourselves get faked out by the nonexistent Cuba-based troops.”
The President appeared thoughtful, and he began to nod. Then he leaned forward and tapped the map. “Looking at this, at Rochester, it seems clear that the Germans wanted us to stuff all our extra troops into Southwestern Ontario. Those men are engaged now at the wrong point and can’t rush around easily to plug the new gap.”
“That may have been the German intent, sir,” Alan said. “It’s more than possible. Whatever the case, though, I believe the Cuba-based forces are an illusion. That means we can safely entrain the airmobile corps to Syracuse. They will form the heart of my defense.”
“How many soldiers is that?” the President asked.
“Roughly, sir,” Alan said, “twenty-four thousand.”