“Who else knows?”
“Just us in the room,” remarked the president. “You can appreciate the magnitude of the conversation that I’m going to have with Ochinkin. What do you think about that, Tony?”
For the first time, Dan noticed Anthony. He saw that his boss was physically shaken and was trying to hide in his chair. “I think we ought to wait until Levi drags his ass in here—”
“Yes, we ought to wait for him,” said the president. “I’d like to hear his explanation. Until then, I want some options before I start consulting with my staff. For Christ’s sake, State isn’t even aware of this. I don’t even know if I should keep it in the CIA or hand it over to the military.”
This is what Sukudo hated about the president: indecisiveness in crisis situations. He was always looking for other people’s opinions. It indicated to him that the president wasn’t willing to accept responsibility for his decisions. “The navy is already alerted to the situation.”
“Fine, Admiral,” admitted the president. “Now do I inform the Russian government or not? And exactly how do I do that, with what implications? What would happen if the Russian parliament got hold of the situation? As of right now, we’d be firing on a Russian sub. How do we know that the plot isn’t rooted in the Russian government itself?”
“I can only give certain answers. I don’t make policy, Mr. President.”
Dan wondered how much Sukudo had told the commander in chief. He wondered if the president knew that there might be an American agent on board. “I think that there would have to be some way to resolve the situation without it becoming a global issue. We know that Kuwait has hired him to destabilize the Middle East. Perhaps through diplomatic channels we can prepare for the worst and look like the savior in that region. Give an advanced warning of some kind.”
“The plan was for him to nuke Baghdad.” Levi had hobbled into the office and caught the end of Dan’s statement. When in doubt, act aggressive was Levi’s motto.
Anthony gave a sigh of relief. Now he could shift most of the blame to Levi, and Levi could explain.
It was the first time Dan was ever glad to see him. He thought this time Levi would be exposed as the idiot that he was. But this feeling of slight joy was immediately wiped away. He could see that Levi had prepared himself. He did not walk in like a man in trouble, but rather like a man who had a strategy. To Dan, that was even more dangerous than the lost sub.
“Ironic, isn’t it? The origin of OPEC’s formation so many years ago would be the place of its breakup. Kuwait actually has a plausible scenario. The sticky part is the missiles,” Levi mused.
“Mr. Carp. Anthony has been waiting for you.” The president cast his eyes upon him suspiciously. “Can you detail for us the mission of which you were in charge?”
“I will admit that the situation did not unfold the way I first envisioned. I can extrapolate that the Saratov has been stolen and armed. I have found out from my Russian agents in the navy that the submarine Stemovich wanted was known as the Saratov.”
Everyone nodded.
“Well then, let me put it this way, Mr. President. While you’re sitting here looking for options, you should be looking for opportunities.” Smugness oozed from him.
It dumbfounded the room. No one had a clue as to what was to spill from Levi. Dan feared it the most. The president was easily influenced, Sukudo had told him.
“A situation has come along that only we know about. So far.” Levi looked relaxed in his explanation. “The short of it is that Stemovich has been hired to nuke Baghdad and blame it on the Israelis. I ask you, what’s the bad part of that plan? We are out of Bagdad, and the hoodlums have returned.”
This enraged Dan. He knew that in Levi’s subtle manner he would coo everyone into some twisted line of thinking. He couldn’t afford that. “Nuclear war, Levi. You fucked up. Now is no time to try and save your ass.”
The distraction agitated Levi. “All right. Here it is, Mr. President. Our country is in the toilet. You can’t cut the debt, the deficit is still out of control, people are out of work, and inflation is giving signs of rising.” Everyone was appalled at the way he spoke. “The economy needs an enema, and there is no way you’re going to be able to administer it because of the special interest groups that control Congress. Politically, you’re a lame duck halfway before your second term is over.”
Dan again asserted himself. “What the hell does this have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with this situation. Just look down the road. What will happen if a nuclear missile from Israel takes out Baghdad? First, we get rid of the fucking tyrants who try to run that broken-down country. Secondly, the OPEC nations split because Kuwait will refuse to take sides. This will also prompt Saudi Arabia, the United Emirates, and several others to rethink their position. No one wants to become an enemy of the United States by attacking Israel. After all, we beat Iraq in one hundred hours the first time. So we step in to negotiate the peace again. At that same time, the whole region will scramble to buy new arms to protect themselves from one another. We’ll sell them all they can handle and more. This action will produce jobs and expand the tax base. The deficit will shrink. You can implement your programs, and I think you can imagine it from there.”
The president was mesmerized. He had looked weak from his first term in office, and he was still trying to shake that image. These were desperate times, he felt. It might be time for a desperate call. “Oil prices will skyrocket?”
“Only for a short time. US oil companies will dump money back into their own wells. Think pipelines. More jobs will be created. It just snowballs.”
Sukudo listened in total disgust. The president was living up to his old standards. He wanted to interject, but he knew his objections were on moral grounds. Morals weren’t any politician’s strong suit.
“Mr. President,” Dan interjected. “We are talking about wiping out a city with millions of people. Plus, the environmental hazards and I’m sure a hundred other things. You can’t predict what will happen in the long run after that missile is launched. Just because it is halfway around the world doesn’t mean it’s not our problem.”
That brought the president back to reality. Still, he considered heavily Levi’s words.
“Gentlemen, believe me, I understand the weight of the situation. I must also say that I will never send Americans to another nation to fight without complete support of the people of this country and the United Nations. That being said, I must examine Mr. Carp’s philosophy of looking for opportunity in this situation. Some aspects of this dilemma could be construed to be in our best interests if we only monitor the events for now. The situation is evolving without us. We might as well explore the hidden options. Luckily Admiral Sukudo had the foresight to track the sub.”
After hearing that statement, Levi easily put two and two together and knew where Dan had retreated to those missing days.
“We do know where the sub is. Right, Admiral?”
Sukudo nodded. He remained extremely relaxed. “Within one hundred miles. If it makes it to the Mediterranean, we’ll know.”
“Good, then. I still think we have time. I’ll discuss it with my advisers and staff.”
Every good thing that Dan had ever felt about the man who he had helped vote into office ran out his ass. He was floored. “Discuss what? You’ll at least notify the Israelis?”
“Mr. Archer. This is a very complex issue we are confronted with. It is not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Our course of action has not been decided.” Those words from the president seemed to end the conversation.