Besides the missing cruise missiles, two Russian ballistic missile submarines had yet to be located. Her Russian counterparts continued to insist that those subs had been sunk during the war, but the US Navy had been unable to verify that claim. She thumbed through more dossiers that didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know.
She took another bite of chocolate. It wasn’t helping.
Knock, knock.
The sudden appearance of her secretary nearly caused Ambassador Hicks to jump out of her skin. She’d been so deep in thought trying to figure out the ins and outs of the situation that she hadn’t seen her approach the office.
“Ambassador Hicks, General Brice is here. Shall I send him in?”
“Yes, please do.”
A minute later, General Luke Brice walked in with a couple of his aides in tow. “Good morning, Ambassador. How are you this fine morning?” he asked. His tone belied his alertness at 0800 hours.
“Morning, General,” Ava replied, attempting to feign cheerfulness. “I was doing well when I felt like the Russians were honoring the surrender terms and turning over their nuclear weapons. However, from the reports I’m reading, it would appear that may not be entirely true. Is there something I’m missing?”
The general and his two aides took a seat at the small conference table in her office. General Brice answered, “It’s hard to say, Ambassador. The Navy hasn’t been able to verify the loss of those two boomer subs — it is possible they were sunk, and the Navy just can’t confirm it. I’ve spoken with our counterparts at the NSA and CIA about this, and they’re going to assign some satellites and other intelligence assets to try and keep tabs on the Russian Navy and potential locations they could be hiding the subs or areas they’d look to provide them with a resupply. If they’re really trying to keep those subs hidden, then it’s going to require a long-term sustained effort to keep them supplied.”
He held up a hand to stop any potential questions. “I spoke with the Chief of Naval Operations office last night. They said they’d assign a few more hunter killer subs to help search the known SSBN bastions. They’d send more subs but there heavily tied down in Asia right now supporting operations up there. Plus, our sub force has suffered some terrible losses this last year.”
Crinkling her forehead, she asked, “What about the cruise missiles? Is that a dead end as well?”
One of the aides raised his hand slightly, indicating that he would take the question. Ambassador Hicks hadn’t really spoken with this aide before but realized from his uniform that he must be a French Air Force officer. “We are bringing in some specialized drones that we believe will be able to help us in verifying the destruction of these weapons,” he began. “I’d like to point out that despite the high levels of radiation, there was no actual nuclear detonation at the bunkers. It would appear that several of the warheads must have been damaged during the raid if that is in fact what happened. If that is the case, then that would explain the radiation levels. We’ll hopefully know more in a few weeks once the drones arrive.”
“What about the smaller tactical nuclear weapons and the large silos?” she asked.
“We’re in the process of dismantling the silos now,” General Brice said. “Nearly all the warheads have been removed and accounted for. Those are a lot harder to hide and cheat on; it would be too obvious—”
Ava cut him off. “—That still leaves the tactical nukes. Am I correct in assuming there are more accounting irregularities with them as well?”
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, the general was clearly looking for a diplomatic way to address this question. Sensing his discomfort, Ava pounced. “Just spit it out, General. If we have a serious problem with the denuclearization part of this surrender, then I need to know.”
“There are accounting irregularities,” he admitted, but he held up his hand to stop her from interrupting again. “I’d also like to point out that we have taken possession of thousands of nuclear weapons so far. I think the Russians are secretly hiding some of them, for what purposes, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s national pride, or maybe they just don’t trust us. What I can tell you is this — over time, as we build up our human intelligence networks inside Russia and start to build more trust with the local populace, we will find them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about strategies and deceptions, it’s that the more people who are involved in creating them, the harder it is to keep them a secret. Someone will talk, and when they do, we’ll find them.”
Ava snorted. She didn’t like the idea of waiting for these weapons to be discovered later. The Russians had made an agreement, and by Jove, she was going to make them stick to it. Before she could respond though, the other aide, also a colonel, broke into the conversation. “Ma’am, we need to discuss the Russian Spetsnaz units.”
Looking at the colonel, Ava noticed the Special Forces tabs on his sleeve. “Colonel, this is a touchy issue domestically,” she stated.
“Agreed, but these guys are no different than my own Special Forces teams we had operating behind Russian lines carrying out the same type of attacks.”
She quickly retorted, “Except that they lost, Colonel.”
Sighing, the colonel decided to take a different approach. “Ma’am, at the end of World War II, during the Nuremberg Trials, Admiral Karl Dönitz was charged with a number of crimes and convicted. However, one of the charges was waging unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping. On this charge, he was found not guilty, because as Admiral Chester Nimitz said, the US had the same policy in the Pacific against the Japanese. Ultimately, Ma’am, over one hundred senior Allied officers sent letters to Dönitz and the court conveying their disappointment over the fairness and verdict of his trial.”
He paused for a second, letting that sink in before he continued, “I’m not disputing the actions these Spetsnaz soldiers committed or the loss of life they inflicted on our people. What I am saying, Ma’am, is if these Russian soldiers are charged and prosecuted in America, then how are our soldiers who did the same actions in Russia any different? How are our pilots any different? We’ve bombed hundreds of cities, and invariably, civilians did die. Remember that bunker-buster bomb that was knocked off course during the opening days of the war here in Moscow? It killed more than a thousand civilians. All I’m saying, Ambassador, is right now we’re in a fight to win the peace. The war is over, but if we lose the peace because we want to exact some sort of justice on these enemy soldiers, then we’re going to lose the public relations battle we’re waging right now across the country. Allowing these enemy special forces to return home would go a long way in helping to heal the wounds of war. It may even help us with finding these missing nuclear weapons.”
Sitting back in her chair, Ava had to hand it to him; he did make a good case. She turned and looked outside the window. Spring was in the air and the trees were starting to return to life. Thinking for a moment, she finally made a decision.
Three hours later, Ambassador Hicks was sitting across from General Sobolev, the current president of Russia during the transition period. During the past few months, Ava had spent a great deal of time working with the general and had made a point of spending time with him outside of work as well. Sobolev had taken her to a couple of Russian opera and ballet events and shown her some of the better places to eat in the city. Ava knew if she was to be successful in her position, then she’d need to develop deep personal and working relationships with her Russian counterparts.