The Congress itself was still littered with Soviet hard-liners and some moderates who could be swayed. Boris knew that even though they were pushing Ochinkin into a corner, they still had to watch their backs. Once they understood the chaos that was about to ensue, they would be presented with the opportunity to restore the communist structure. They would probably jump on it. Hopefully even get through a vote to make it seem legal. Then their jobs and all the perks and benefits would be secure. Ochinkin would be thrown out. Valsovich would remain with his tanks to enforce that law.
“Sir,” said Boris’s radio op. “It’s transmitted again.”
Boris shook himself from his trance. “Send a reply. ‘Reform has begun.’”
He looked out across the field of his battalion as the commanders sat quietly waiting for him to give a signal. They had been waiting all morning, sweating it out on the inside of the T-33s. Everyone wanted to move. Everyone wanted to do something other than wait.
When the command tank fired up and began to roll away, it didn’t take long for the rest to follow. Anticipation of their noble cause had ended, and the battalion moved with a sense of purpose. They were going in to restore their country, to restore their pride.
To Boris, things seemed to be perfectly in place. There were only two events he didn’t want to have happen. He didn’t want to see support for Ochinkin swell in the streets like it did for Yeltsin back in the ’90s. That would mean he would be left no option but to take the Kremlin by force. If that happened, he didn’t want to see the siege last more than six hours. That was as long as he was prepared to fight. That was as long as he could fight.
The idea of getting Sharon back coursed through every fiber of Beth’s body. She would have to understand that no one but me was meant for her, she thought in her twisted mind.
Getting a gun was easy, especially in DC. A short drive to one of the seedier neighborhoods where prostitutes and crack dealers sat openly on the street corners accomplished this task. A few inquiries, and a seller was standing next to her car, presenting three small handguns.
Fifty bucks, and a .32 automatic was all hers. She placed it in her glove box and drove to the nearest shop for the shells. Shortly after, she was on her way to CIA headquarters. There she would end all her troubles.
“Reform has begun,” said Marina. “Someone’s received the message.”
Sasha stood next to her with his pistol pointed at Nick’s chest. He had made Nick stand in the entryway for two hours while Marina sent the same message over and over.
“Again.”
“Reform has begun,” she repeated.
Sasha flipped on the intercom over his head. “Bridge, this is the executive officer. Reform has begun.”
Seconds later, Andri entered the small chamber. He was grinning from ear to ear. “He was ready.”
“There’s nothing stopping us now, Captain. Soon Russia will return to the rightful government.” When Andri was excited, Sasha became elated. He lived to serve the man. He felt that Andri’s well-being was directly connected to him. He thought of himself as his guardian, physically and emotionally. He took credit for both.
“I can’t believe that it is over.” Andri leaned against the wall and sighed.
Marina was puzzled. The way Andri spoke it sounded like they would sail straight into the nearest port. “What’s over?”
“Well, more correctly, it is out of our hands. The rest of the plan is being completed in Moscow. Hopefully it will go without incident.”
“What will?” queried Marina.
“The transfer of power. The removal of Ochinkin and the establishment of a Soviet government. It should all come to pass in the next six hours.”
“Impossible,” she said, gasping. “It couldn’t be that easy.”
“It wasn’t. It took years of preparation, comrades, and patience. Now it is close at hand. Tanks are rolling into Moscow as we speak.” Andri began to gloat. “You see, my Saratov was not that important. It was used as a threat to convince Ochinkin that we were serious. There was never any plan to launch a missile on Moscow. That would be counterproductive. If we incinerate Moscow, the country would further fracture. It was important that Moscow remain intact. It is the glue of the country. The leaders in that city now believe that a madman has his finger on the trigger and is willing to use it. I think they will choose life instead of the alternative.”
“A bluff,” said Nick. “You wanted them to think you’re crazy enough to do it.”
Andri smiled. “Rather anticlimactic for us.”
“God damn, that is a huge gamble. While everyone was up here chasing you, your counterpart was positioning himself in the city. Readying for the surrender of the government when you surfaced.”
It was a strange scene. Andri gloated, Sasha gloated, and Nick admired the well-conceived plan. Marina, on the other hand, stewed in the corner. There was no way that communism could retake her country. It was unacceptable, and she’d have to do something.
“Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves, Captain,” cautioned Sasha. “We have the question of these two.”
“They will remain here.” Andri flipped up a service panel on the radio and removed some key breakers. “We’ll lock them in. We’ll let them go after we dock. They can do us no harm.”
Sasha would have preferred them dead, but he grimly obeyed. They exited and locked Nick and Marina in the room.
“We have been so stupid. Andri was never the threat.” Marina was on the verge of tears. “It’s all been a wild goose chase.”
“We weren’t stupid. He was well prepared. Smart. I should have guessed that he was not a madman. He’s been too methodical, too precise. His were not the actions of a psychotic. The man had a mission and saw it through.”
“Shut up, Nicholas!” Marina was fuming. “You speak of this man as if he had done something wonderful. He has destroyed my country, you fool! Do not admire him.”
Nick had forgotten about Marina and her passion. He was content to ride out the rest of the trip and gain his freedom when they reached port. Deep down he felt that even if Andri was successful, the Russian people had been brought too far in their independence to go back to the “old way.” It sounded ideal but unrealistic. He was confident that Andri would keep his word. They would be let go after they docked.
To Marina, it was a desperate situation. Her country was on the verge of political collapse. She had to do something — anything — to prevent that from happening. She dug through her handbag and found a metal nail file and a bobby pin, then went to work on the simple lock.
“How far away, Bump?”
“Two thousand yards, sir. Closing slowly. The Saratov hasn’t deviated from her course.”
The twenty minutes of their ascent allowed Jim to catch a catnap. It was restless at best, and he woke feeling more tired than before, though he looked better.
“What does she look like, Josh?”
“Might as well be running on the surface. He’d make better time to get where he’s going. As shallow as he is, it’s very easy for us to pick him up.”
Being a captain who had stalked Russian and Chinese subs for so many years, Jim had developed a sixth sense about his counterparts. He could always tell when the other was ready to make an important move. He felt the time of that move was close. The trick was not to jump the gun.
“O’Neil, did we send a position report out?”
“Yes, sir,” replied O’Neil.
“Linc, tubes four and five loaded?”
“Affirmative.”
Unknowingly Jim was sending a message to his crew through his questions. He was making sure his ship was ready, conveying to the crew that their captain was in a state of anticipation. Of what, they didn’t know.