“It’s a violent business. I know at your end you’re not used to it, but on this mission, be prepared for anything.”
Levi went on to lecture him about what he had to do, but George tuned him out. He couldn’t believe the man in front of him was so ruthless. He finally left, praying that his two months would go quickly and asked no more.
The stewardess walked past, and George requested a beer. Alcohol was not allowed in the Middle East, but suddenly it became a craving for him. He didn’t care much, anyway. He was going to be in the air for the next twelve hours, and hopefully the drink would make him sleepy. “Two months,” he repeated. Two months and then I’m gone.
Boris Valsovich stood atop the small hill that overlooked the simulated battleground where his 39th tank battalion was practicing. The tank drivers were more than rusty, and the commanders were making fundamentally poor decisions. Boris realized that he had let his men go too long without proper practice. He hoped he could get them ready for the day when they would occupy Red Square again.
Josh watched the tank maneuvers with little more than a passing interest. ODIS has run across the empty maintenance yard on a flyby, and the computer program noted the change with a quiet tone, so Josh decided to find out what had happened to the battalion. It took only an hour with ODIS’s thermal scope to locate the immense heat concentrated over the practice field.
They’re playing, he mused to himself as he plugged away at the report that was required on all new military maneuvers. He gave a recommendation at the end but knew that within two days some government weirdo would disregard everything he said and form his own opinion. Eventually they’d show up at his door. They always did.
It was his feeling that the tanks in question were going to move south and protect the Russian border. The recent violence in the border states threatened to spill over, and the Russian government wanted to make sure that didn’t happen. They could barely control the protests in their own country much less handle anyone else’s. He finished his report just as the phone rang.
Sukudo was on the line. “Josh, I need you back here.”
“I’d love to, Admiral, but I have some things to handle here first.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make the arrangements. I’m also counting on you being able to bring your friend, ODIS.” Sukudo didn’t know how secure the line was, so he wanted to make sure he didn’t give too much away.
The comment intrigued Josh. ODIS had been outfitted for fieldwork a few years earlier but had never been used. The technology had gotten good enough to condense the linkup with the mainframe into a computer and a screen about the size of a small suitcase. Linkup with the computer would be done by satellite. When he wasn’t linked up, ODIS would fly on a prearranged course.
“Sure, Admiral. I’ll ask him if he can make the trip. I’m pretty sure he can.”
“Good,” remarked Sukudo. “We’ll need him. I’ll send a plane and one of my staffers. Get here as soon as possible.”
Josh replaced the phone. Sukudo had hung up without signing off. This obviously was of some importance, and it had to be related to the sub. The report on the tanks could wait. It was time to go hunting.
Sharon sat in her bed all day. She had run out of tears hours ago, but her nose still dripped. Tomorrow would be terrible. Dan would return, Levi would fire him from the operation, and he would find out that she was gay. The uncertainty about how he would take it all terrified her. She loved her job and loved working for Dan; she didn’t want to lose it. She heard the front door open as Beth entered with her arms full of groceries.
“I saw your car out front,” she called. “I thought you were working late.”
Sharon didn’t answer. She listened to Beth climb the stairs to the bedroom.
“Babe? What’s the matter, baby?” Beth saw how ratty Sharon looked and sat on the bed next to her.
“They know, Beth. They know I live with a woman.”
“They know?” Beth was caught by surprise but knew exactly who was involved.
Sharon nodded. “Levi knows, and now he’s going to tell Dan.”
Beth was repulsed by this information. She grappled with the notion that Levi had revealed his knowledge to Sharon.
“How?”
Sharon could muster only a shrug. “Doesn’t matter. It’ll affect everything going forward.”
Levi had crossed the line in Beth’s book. “Don’t worry, babe. He won’t tell Dan. Men that cruel keep those secrets so they can use them against you. He won’t tell. I promise.”
Sharon began to cry again. “I don’t care if he knows. I just don’t want Dan to know. He’s been so good to me. I can’t jeopardize that.”
“He won’t, honey. He’ll hold his tongue.” Beth began plotting a way out of the mess. It upset her to see her partner so distraught. It also bothered her that she seemed to have a great deal of fondness for Dan Archer. Beth hoped it was nothing more than respect for her boss.
Sharon’s mind plunged into depression as she could think only the worst. Beth’s remarks went unheard. She missed completely the anger that crossed Beth’s face as she contemplated the punishment. The punishment for her father.
They called her ERRIS. A two-man deep-dive sub going through tests to calculate bulkhead strength at extreme pressures off the US Atlantic coast. Its pilot was Nicholas Shaw.
Nick was the grandson of Mikhail Nemokov. When Mikhail fled the Soviet Union, his youngest daughter took with them small Nicholas in the safety of her womb. His father was the Soviet guard assigned to watch the family and hold them if they did anything suspicious. The orders backfired when he became smitten with seventeen-year-old Nadia. Receiving advanced notice that the government was going to execute Mikhail, it was Nadia’s lover who hid them until a very young Dan Archer arrived and slipped them away. Nicholas’s father was later shot for conspiracy against the state.
Born eight months later in the United States, baby Nicholas was a surprise to everyone but his mother. Mikhail was delighted that he had a grandson. He had fathered four girls and always wanted a male.
The appearance of Nicholas was fulfilling. His daughter married when Nicholas was three, and he had a very average American upbringing with his computer geek stepfather. The man could barely figure out how to put gas in the tank, but he knew his stuff when it came to the evolution of computer systems. Nick appreciated this skill and endeavored to become proficient in the science, but hard mechanical engineering was in his blood. Mikhail saw this and made sure Nick had mastered both subjects by the time he went to Annapolis.
Mikhail took it upon himself to help raise the boy and tirelessly taught him the rules of being a man. How to have integrity, character, and forthrightness were the lessons on which he focused. He made sure that he knew the importance of the Russian culture as well as the pride of being free and independent. He loved the boy, and when Nicholas grew into a man, he respected him as such.
Much like George Mohammed Akbar, Nicholas coveted the United States. He had heard of the oppression from which his parents had escaped, and it made him appreciate where he lived even more. He was told that his father died while they were escaping, and it emphasized the fact that freedom often exacted a cost. It was the reason he went into the service.
At the age of 18, he was admitted to the Naval Academy and finished 4 years later in the top 2 percent of his class. Being a student of nuclear engineering his whole life under Mikhail, he tested out of Nuclear Power School (NPS) and proceeded to the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Idaho. From there, he breezed through Submarine Officers Basic Course (SOBC) and earned his “Gold Dolphins,” distinguishing him as a qualified submarine officer. Mikhail was never more proud.