“There is not.” It was President Kalinin who answered. “It was designed to be foolproof. Once implemented, the commands cannot be overridden, and there is no way to shield your systems from the signal during flight. It will take a significant engineering design change and hardware upgrade.”
“Can you tell us anything about the signal or the hardware involved?”
“I cannot. I do not know the specifics.”
Christine joined in. “I believe I watched General Andropov send the commands. I was in the safe room when Andropov arrested Kalinin, and I watched what he was doing through one of the cameras. He used equipment inside a briefcase: a laptop, cell phone, external display, and a trackball, all wired into a circuit board.”
Colonel DuBose scribbled notes as Christine spoke.
“Thanks,” the president said. “We’ll see if it helps.”
The president looked to his cabinet members. “Any other questions?”
Dunnavant spoke. “Christine, this is Bill. I’m here with Dawn and Colonel DuBose. We’ll start working on an extraction plan. Where are you and how can we reach you?”
Christine conferred with Kalinin, then provided their latitude and longitude, along with two phone numbers.
Cabral joined in. “How are you two holding up?”
“President Kalinin seems okay, but I’m beat. We’ve been up all night and on the run since first thing this morning. We’ll take turns sleeping, and plan to stay put until nightfall.”
“Anything else?” the president asked his advisors across from him. After all three shook their heads, the president said, “Any questions on your end, Christine?”
“Not at the moment,” Christine replied. “But Kalinin says Andropov’s forces will be searching the area for us. We need help as soon as you can arrange it.”
“I understand,” the president said. “We’ll be in touch soon.”
He hung up the phone, then said to Dunnavant, “I want a rescue plan by the time we wrap up the NATO meeting today.”
34
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Seven hours after departing Joint Base Andrews, Air Force One descended through gray, overcast skies, landing at Zaventem Airport, a few miles northeast of Brussels. The president was met on the tarmac by the U.S. ambassadors to Belgium and NATO, along with senior NATO staff and Belgian government representatives.
After the requisite greetings, the president slipped into the back of Cadillac One, which had been transported to Brussels during the night with the rest of the president’s motorcade and backup vehicles. The motorcade headed into Brussels, arriving at NATO’s new headquarters, signified by a twenty-three-foot-tall oxidized steel star, symbol of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in front of the building.
The president and his entourage were escorted to a lobby outside the Alliance’s main conference room, where the leaders of NATO’s other twenty-eight countries were already gathered. British Prime Minister Susan Gates was the first to greet the president.
“I received your message,” Gates said, “and have reserved a conference room.”
The two leaders entered a private room not far from the lobby. Gates spoke first. “In light of the resistance we encountered to the previous resolutions, I’ve held preliminary discussions with those who supported the use of NATO force. All remain on board. Additionally, I’ve reached out to the new German chancellor.”
Although the president hadn’t yet met Lidwina Klein and she was new to the council, her hard-liner reputation was well known.
Prime Minister Gates continued, “Klein has pledged her support. With Germany on our side, we should be able to overcome French and Italian resistance to the resolution, convincing them to either support or abstain.”
“Good work,” the president said. “But we have a problem. I can’t support the resolution at this time.”
Minister Gates was taken aback. “Why not?”
The president explained the Russian coup and the nuclear triad issue, then finished with, “Don’t press forward with the resolution during the meeting. I’ll handle things. Also, I’d like you to keep the compromise of our nuclear deterrence confidential for now. No one else can know, not even within your government.”
“I understand,” Gates said. She checked her watch. It was almost time. “This is going to be an interesting meeting.”
The president and Prime Minister Gates returned to the lobby as the conference room doors opened. The twenty-nine NATO leaders took their seats at a large round table with thirty chairs; one for the leader of each NATO country, with the final chair for the secretary general. After inserting a wireless earpiece into his ear, the president listened to the English interpreter as the secretary general, Johan Van der Bie, a well-respected diplomat from the Netherlands, gave a short introductory speech. An update on Russia’s dual invasions followed, with the information displayed on a dozen video screens mounted along the circumference of the conference room.
It was quiet in Lithuania and Ukraine, with Russian units digging in along the corridor cut through Lithuania, while additional Russian forces streamed toward the Dnieper River in Ukraine. As far as NATO intelligence could infer, it appeared that Russian forces would stop at the Dnieper.
Following the secretary general’s update, there was a somber silence until he recognized Lithuania’s president, ceding the floor to her. Dalia Grybauskaitė delivered a passionate plea for NATO intervention, ending with a reminder of NATO’s obligation under Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty. At the conclusion of her speech, she announced that Lithuania had submitted a resolution authorizing the use of Alliance military force to expel Russian units from her country.
Following Grybauskaitė’s speech, several council members looked to the American president, who had taken the floor after Grybauskaitė during the last heads-of-state meeting, pledging the United States’ support. The president remained quiet, and an uneasy silence gripped the council.
Emboldened by the American president’s silence, French President François Loubet requested to speak next and was recognized by the secretary general.
“We must consider our options carefully,” he began, “as well as the extent of Russia’s infraction.”
President Grybauskaitė interrupted. “Infraction? You call Russia’s invasion of a sovereign country an infraction? This isn’t a game of futbolas, where you can red card Russia for a rule violation.”
“I agree,” Loubet replied, “but to use your football analogy, we can penalize Russia accordingly. Considering the extent of Russia’s infraction, war is not the answer. We should implement economic sanctions instead, crippling Russia until it vacates the occupied territories.”
Grybauskaitė replied, “Sanctions, sanctions, sanctions. That is all NATO is good for these days. We imposed sanctions after Russia annexed Crimea. What has that achieved? Nothing. Which is exactly what additional sanctions will accomplish.”
The Italian prime minister requested to be recognized, then backed France’s position. “Despite your disdain for sanctions, the alternative is war. Should that not be held in even higher contempt? Considering the number of Russian troops we’ll be facing and Russia’s formidable air-defense and land-attack missile systems, the cost to NATO countries will be extremely high. We must ask ourselves, is war with Russia, which could escalate into the use of tactical nuclear weapons, worth a few square kilometers of sparsely populated countryside? Let Russia take this meager strip of land, and let us respond in ways that don’t threaten the very existence of our countries.”