“I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen. I don’t have a formal comment on the situation going on in Russia, but I have been in contact with Mr. Ochinkin, and as far as he can determine, the Kremlin and parliament have not been threatened yet. One note, the appearance of tanks greatly disturbs the leader of this country as well as many others, and we condemn the use of force in this situation.”
The floor was opened to reporters.
“Mr. President. Were the tanks positioned by Mr. Ochinkin to defend the Kremlin?”
“Mr. Ochinkin has assured me that he or any other member of the Russian Congress did not call in the tanks. They apparently are operating under the leadership of another man or group.”
“Russia is no longer in control of its military?”
“We can only determine that it’s not in control of the tanks we see in Red Square.”
“An overthrow?”
“Unknown as yet. No one is attacking the Kremlin.”
“Does US intelligence have any idea who this outside group is?”
“No. We are unaware of their intent. Furthermore, Mr. Ochinkin is apprehensive about using the Moscow police because of the presence of the tanks. He is willing to wait for reinforcements from an armored battalion moving up from Kiev.”
A spunky female reporter sitting in the back of the room was the one to ask the questions the president didn’t want to answer, and she didn’t stop.
“Is the US prepared to support Mr. Ochinkin in the event that his position is threatened?”
“We are prepared to denounce any type of aggression that may take place in Moscow.”
“What I mean, Mr. President, is the United States, in the event of an overthrow, prepared to denounce the aggressors and sever all ties with Russia? Is the United States willing to take any action politically or militarily to thwart any attempt these people may take to establish a new government? How far will the United States go to see that Mr. Ochinkin remains in power?”
The president fidgeted. “The most opportune situation would be for the tanks and the people to disperse and for this incident to end on its own. But if the government should change hands, it would be our obligation and in our best interests to work with whomever is instituted as the new leader of Russia by the people. If that were to happen.”
She persisted. “What if the new power holders in Russia are hardline communists wanting to return to their Soviet style of governing?”
It was a question he had anticipated and rehearsed for. “Impossible. Democracy won’t simply be driven back into communism. We don’t see how that situation is plausible. It can’t happen.”
He tried to move to another reporter, but the woman continued. “Since you’re willing to abandon Mr. Ochinkin so quickly, what type of message does it send to other countries with struggling leaders?”
There was no answer. He had not even examined how the other leaders would react when he openly sat on the fence during such a crisis. Quickly he raced over all the answers he had given and realized that he could be seen only as a weak leader in the eyes of the world. His peers would not respect him since he did not take a stand either way. He couldn’t believe that they were so wrapped up in manipulating the crisis to their advantage that they overlooked such an obvious consideration. He feared that the backlash from other countries could be devastating. “I’m sorry. I’ll make no further comments at this time” was all he said. He could feel the phone ring in his office, only imagining what leader would be calling to find out why the free world wouldn’t support freedom. There was going to be some damage control to do.
Admiral Sukudo flipped off the set. He smiled as he thought about the hole the president had dug for himself. He knew now was the time to end the chase. Now was the time to return the ships to port regardless of what happened in Moscow. “Okay, Book. Let’s sink that bastard out there. Put her on the seafloor, and there’s a better chance that Ochinkin will hold his job.”
“What about the War Eagle?”
“That’s my worry. Find that Russian sub and blow her to hell. Send some of your aircraft farther out to locate her.”
Booker flipped on his intercom and gave the command that sent everyone aboard the Toledo scrambling. “Sound general quarters.”
For the complete hour, the crowd pounded on the tanks. Boris repeatedly checked in on his commanders, and none reported any significant damage. All were ready to move. He did notice that near the end of the hour the incessant pounding had only irritated his men and made them more eager to lash out against the throng. That was good.
When the last second had ticked off, all the tanks in the battalion restarted their engines. The sudden roar made many of the demonstrators jump from the vehicles and leave. Since all the tanks were covered and blind, Boris ordered his battalion to proceed forward at 2,300 rpm, then on his signal, make a hard right and fire a round indiscriminately into the crowd. His tank commanders obeyed, and the vehicles moved. They were unaware they were killing their own communist comrades.
When the engines fired, many of the protesters fled. Joseph was surprised at how many had left during the hour. Some he couldn’t blame, for they were women and children. For sixty minutes, he had encouraged his people to grab anything to beat on the tanks to drive the crews from their weapons, but it didn’t work. When the hour was up, he estimated that the crowd had dwindled to no more than seventy thousand.
They weren’t prepared for the tanks to move. Joseph thought that because they had blinded the drivers they had in effect immobilized them. He stood back in utter amazement when as one big dance troop the tanks proceeded forward in unison. That’s when the first people died.
Those who had never been close to such machines were now climbing all over them. When the hundreds of moving parts on the vehicles started in motion, it caught many protesters’ clothing and dragged them under the tracks. They screamed and cried and finally exploded in a burst of blood as the fifteen tons of metal ground them into the pavement. Those who witnessed it were horrified. People with various parts of their anatomy crushed off screamed for help. Those who had lost an arm or half a leg stumbled through the crowd in shock as their blood spewed from their wounds.
Then the tanks turned right, catching more unsuspecting people who were too close and dragged them under. The big guns rotated left and pointed down without warning. All recoiled, releasing shells into the densest part of the crowd. The volleys killed hundreds. Others lay wounded and dying in a circular pattern around the area where the shells had exploded. Those who were riding on the tanks now leaped off and went to the aid of the injured. The crowd saw that it was at the mercy of the armored killing machines.
Several men came to Joseph for guidance. He had stood back in horror and watched it all happen. Those surrounding him were waiting, some with tears, some with anger. He had to respond. “We must get the wounded away before we begin our attack.”
“With what!” someone yelled.
As if on cue, the three men Joseph had sent off at the beginning of the fight appeared in Red Square behind the tanks. Two were driving very large front-end loaders used to scoop up rubble and deposit it in the back of huge dump trucks. The third was driving one of those dump trucks.
“There!” yelled Joseph. “Use the truck to move the injured. I need to talk to the tractor drivers.”
The tanks still moved with precision. They made another turn and rotated their guns and fired. This time it had little effect, since the crowd now knew what was going on and were keeping a safe distance.
Joseph ran to the front-end loaders and found the two drivers in shock. They were not expecting to see so many crushed bodies and blood running like a river across the ground. He shook one to get his attention. “Use the bucket on your tractor to knock off the tracks on the tanks.”