“I have to ask you some questions.”
Jeffrey grew more cautions. “Certain things, I can’t comment on.”
“I understand. But clarity is necessary to piece together the clues we do have about what happened at Srednekolymsk. Allow me.” Meredov stood and went to the whiteboard. He took a blue pen from the shelf and removed the cap. “I’m not sure who will centrally coordinate the investigation, Captain. For some things it might be helpful if you and I get a head start while Vladivostok listens.”
The translator leaned over to the phone and murmured that Rear Admiral Meredov was drawing a diagram for Captain Fuller.
“The more information you can provide to me, Admiral,” Jeffrey said, “the better for Russia’s sake. An appearance of procrastinating will very much displease my commander in chief. Dissuading him from a harsh response is not part of my orders.”
“The question remains, who is responsible for launching the missiles?” Meredov wrote on the board, “Who did it?”
Jeffrey nodded impatiently. Is this a delaying tactic, or is he leading somewhere? And if the latter, is he helping me or laying a trap?
“What I have been told by officials on the scene is that the group that attacked the silo complex and entered some of the launching bunkers gave every appearance of being Russians. That is, ethnic groups from the mainstream populations, such as Eastern Slav or Siberian. With equipment and language skills, even dental work assessed on initial examination of the corpses, that appear to be truly from the Russian Federation.”
“So some of the attackers were killed?”
“Yes, about thirty-five.”
Jeffrey tried to remain expressionless. “How many attackers were there?”
“Over two hundred, the few survivors of the initial firefight say. All very heavily armed. Which is consistent with the casualties they inflicted on our counterattacking forces.”
Hah! That’s triple the number of men Kurzin had…. But it also means he suffered almost fifty percent killed in action.
“Where are the others? Taken prisoner? Interrogate them!”
“None were captured. And where they went after missile liftoff is still a major mystery. They vanished amid the confusion and the casualty evacuations…. But this hits on two related questions, aside from who exactly they were or who sent them. How did they get there? And how did they escape? I suppose, come to think of it, we should make that second question present tense, since their escape is currently in progress.”
Again Jeffrey nodded, wordlessly.
“We should start with a list of possible perpetrators. Being objective and open-minded.”
“Put down Russian rogue faction,” Jeffrey said.
“Yes. Motive being to embarrass or take over the government.”
“And put down Russian government.”
“But—”
“Write it! You agreed to be objective. The Kremlin has not been ruled out! Blaming unnamed rogues for your actions is too convenient to be so lightly dismissed!”
A funny look crossed Meredov’s face. “Then also America.”
“What? What could our motive possibly be?”
Is he fishing, or does he know something?
“You are displeased with our logistics support of Germany.”
“Then put down Germany too if you put down America.” This was Jeffrey’s most critical task, to shape Russian thoughts to focus on Berlin as orchestrater of the Srednekolymsk raid.
Meredov was skeptical, even shocked at the suggestion. “What would their motive be?”
“Weaken both our countries, and then maybe attack you.”
“Why would they attack us? We’re already helping them.”
“Our intelligence knows all about the bonds they give you. Payable with plunder they intend to confiscate from the occupied countries once the fighting stops and the bonds come due.”
“You have the advantage of me on this.”
“Trust me. It’s easy enough to confirm. So greed would be a German motive. Instead of paying you, they conquer you. Or they sense they won’t win the fighting, and fear you’ll sense it too. Look. They’re evacuating North Africa as fast as they possibly can, before the Allied advance in that theater resumes.”
“This also is new information for me.”
“And also easy to confirm. So what do you think they’ll do with all those troops and tanks and aircraft once they’re removed from Africa, and they’ve had time to lick their wounds? The Axis needs to reestablish their evil empire’s outward momentum.”
“Defend southern Europe.”
“They can do that with nuclear cruise missiles alone, to make the Med impassable for Allied amphibious or airborne assaults. Cheap and effective…. I’ll tell you what they’ll do. Their main forces will turn east, and cancel their debts by canceling your sovereignty.”
“Hitler tried to conquer us, and look what happened to him.”
“Hitler was an incompetent who went completely insane, and he didn’t have tactical nuclear weapons.”
“We have strategic rockets with hydrogen bombs.”
“Which when they leave the atmosphere are exposed to our space-based missile shield. The U.S. is unlikely to sort out where the rockets are aimed before setting them off right over your own heads…. Ground-hugging German cruise missiles on mobile launchers with fission bombs are effective weapons in a counter-city or counter-industry strike. They’re an effective deterrent against you striking first from inside the atmosphere, say with cruise missiles or nuclear bombers of your own.”
“I view a German attack on us of any sort as unlikely.”
“But not implausible. And ‘not implausible’ is what counts in this context, not what’s ‘likely.’ Your conventional forces are weak, spread thin. You know it. Germany knows it.”
“Yes.”
Time to plant the seeds, and let them sprout in the minds of everyone who hears this conversation. “Once your government realizes Germany has had too many setbacks already on land and at sea, and can’t prevail against the Allies without doing something exceedingly drastic, Moscow will cut logistic support to Berlin since they’ll never get paid. They’ll refuse to deliver more Eight-six-eight-U submarines. There’d be bad consequences, repercussions, realignments sought in Berlin as a result.”
“These are murky waters, yet there is logic to what you say. Germany would be cornered into attacking us, to grab what she can no longer buy. Provoking a limited nuclear exchange between us and America, to soften us up first, aids her cause on two fronts at once…. But German raiders could have programmed the missiles to go off over Moscow… which if true would suggest that your claimed new missile shield is in fact sheer flummery.”
Jeffrey was ready and waiting for this one. He tore into the admiral. “I dare you to test it. Launch another armed SS-27 at the U.S. See what happens to Russia.”
Meredov didn’t even blink. “Don’t taunt me…. A test appears unneeded…. If the Germans achieved armed launches at all, inflicting EMPs on Moscow squanders the missiles. It wastes the larger chance to hurt you and our joint relations, by landing warheads in America. Thus, positing the culprits were German does not imply your shield is a mere fabrication.”
“So put it down, Admiral. Write ‘Germany’ on the board.”
“And China? The war destabilizes world trade at a time that’s bad for Beijing. They’re displeased that we favor Germany in our exportation of natural gas and oil and weapons, which is also stifling China’s economic and military growth.”