Hardison surveyed the dust-covered president. “Do you want to clean up first?”
“I’m fine,” the president said. “Establish the link.”
The screen energized again, this time displaying a Russian general seated at a control console. Andropov spoke first.
“Thank you for taking my call, Mr. President. I know how busy you are.” The president detected a hint of sarcasm in Andropov’s tone.
“Why are you contacting me, instead of President Kalinin?”
“President Kalinin is temporarily indisposed.”
“Indisposed? Can you be more specific?”
“Kalinin won’t be giving orders for the foreseeable future.”
“I assume I’m speaking to the man who will?”
Andropov smiled. “You’re quite astute.”
“Get to the point, General.”
The Russian’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then his features relaxed. “I can see you’ve had a rough day. I will be brief.” A monitor on the wall behind the general energized, displaying a satellite image of the White House surrounded by five craters. “I believe you know what happened to your Trident missile today. A most unfortunate mishap.” The image shifted to another satellite image, this one displaying the burning hulks of four B-2 bombers, with aircraft debris scattered across the landscape. “I assume you are also aware of what happened to your strategic bombers.”
“I am,” the president said.
“If you haven’t already realized, you have no nuclear deterrence. Your nuclear triad has been disabled. We have the ability to retarget your ballistic missiles, both submarine and land-based, and your bombers will never make it to Russia.”
Andropov waited for a response, but the president just stared at the screen. The Russian general continued, “I want to assure you that although you are defenseless and at our mercy,” he paused for effect, “we intend you no harm. However, we expect the United States to be on its best behavior.”
“What do you want?” the president asked.
“We are going to try this again,” Andropov replied, “and this time America will do nothing. Russia will take control of the eastern region of Ukraine, along with a corridor through Lithuania, connecting Russia proper with Kaliningrad Oblast. Additionally, we will install new governments in the Baltic States, removing the NATO cancer from our borders. If America intervenes, your country will pay a heavy price. You will have to explain to your people why meddling in Russia’s border security was worth the destruction of dozens of cities and the death of millions. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” the president said, displaying no emotion.
A confused expression worked across the general’s face. He looked to the side as a Russian spoke offscreen. When the man finished, Andropov turned back to the camera and smiled. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
The screen went dark.
A morbid silence hung over the Situation Room. After a long moment, the president slammed his fist on the table, rattling the water glasses. “Son of a bitch!”
No one spoke while the president seethed. After gathering his anger, he turned to Hardison. “Have the Joint Chiefs of Staff and appropriate cabinet members at the Pentagon in two hours. Get SecState on the line now. We need to inform NATO of Russia’s pending assault.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
The president turned to his press secretary. “Mention nothing about Russia. What happened today was an accident, a test missile veering off course.”
The president excused everyone except his chief of staff. When the two men were alone, the president reached forward again, pushing the button for the video conference technician.
“This is the president. You said the Russian general used one of President Kalinin’s lines. Do you know which one?”
“Yes, Mr. President. He used the portal at President Kalinin’s residence in Gelendzhik.”
The president asked Hardison, “Isn’t Christine visiting Kalinin at Gelendzhik?”
Hardison nodded. “She is. I’ll try her cell phone in a minute, but I suspect she’s caught up in whatever happened to Kalinin.”
The president took a deep breath, then released it slowly. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
25
GELENDZHIK, RUSSIA
In President Kalinin’s underground command center at Cape Idokopas, General Andropov stared at the dark monitor. The videocon with the American president had gone as planned, and now it was time to put the next phase of his plot in motion. NATO would have advance notice, as alarms would begin flashing in command centers once the American president informed the Alliance of their conversation. Not that it mattered. NATO had only a single brigade deployable within twenty-four hours. Russia, on the other hand, had twenty-two mobilized brigades as a result of the Zapad war games.
Andropov selected different contacts for the three monitors at his console. The displays energized and a man appeared on each: Colonel Alexei Volodin — Commander-in-Chief, Aerospace Forces; Colonel General Viktor Glukov — Commander-in-Chief, Ground Forces; and Admiral Oleg Lipovsky — Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
“I assume you’ve reviewed the operational plans delivered today,” Andropov said. “The initial ground campaign is similar to last time, so there shouldn’t be any surprises. Our fleet, of course, will be employed differently. Do you have any questions?”
After three negative responses, Andropov issued the order.
“Commence operations.”
26
THE PENTAGON
Forty feet underground in the Pentagon basement, the president strode down the hallway with Kevin Hardison and Colonel Bill DuBose, the president’s senior military aide. Upon reaching the end of the corridor, DuBose swiped his badge and punched in his passcode, and the door opened to the Current Action Center of the National Military Command Center. The CAC dropped down in increments, with workstations lining each tier, descending to a fifteen-by-thirty-foot electronic display on the far wall. Unlike the adjacent Operations Center, which focused only on nuclear weapons, the CAC handled all aspects of the country’s conventional military operations around the world.
DuBose led the way to a conference room on the top tier, where the president took his seat at the head of the table. Joining him on one side were the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while on the other side sat Vice President Bob Tompkins and members of the president’s staff and cabinet — Secretary of Defense Bill Dunnavant, Secretary of State Dawn Cabral, Kevin Hardison, Colonel DuBose, and CIA Director Jessica Cherry. The mood in the conference room was somber, the faces around the table dour.
Dunnavant began, “Two hours ago, one hundred thousand Russian troops participating in Russia’s annual Zapad war games pivoted west. Another ten brigades from Russia’s Central Military District are mobilizing, and we expect them to begin transit within twenty-four hours. Also mobilizing are seven Spetsnaz and thirteen airborne brigades. That brings the total number of Russian troops committed to about two hundred and fifty thousand. Russia’s initial objectives seem clear. They plan to annex Eastern Ukraine and establish a corridor through Lithuania, connecting Kaliningrad Oblast with Belarus.”
The president reflected on Russia’s obsession with buffer states to their west, along with the perennial problem of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian territory on the Baltic coast. Home to Russia’s Baltic Fleet, Kaliningrad Oblast is surrounded by Lithuania to the north and Poland to the south, with ground transit to and from the oblast controlled by the two NATO countries.