The soldiers nudged Pete and Zack down the aisle to the chancery, which had been transformed into a courtroom. They pointed the officers to an empty, ornate table to the right, which had several headsets plugged into a console panel.
A Russian naval officer, who looked to be in his thirties, walked up and spoke in English.
"I am Lieutenant Vaslov of the Baltic Sea Fleet. I will be sitting at counsel table to assist you with the intricacies of Russian military law should you desire. The headphones will give you a translation of the proceedings."
"Thank you, Lieutenant, " Zack Brewer said.
"I know who you are, Commander Brewer. Let me make this clear. I did not volunteer for this assignment. I was ordered to take it."
"Thank you anyway, " Zack said, then turned to Pete. "Let's have a seat, sir."
Zack sat on the left of the table, Pete in the center, and the angry Russian officer sat to the right. Pete turned around to scan the large crowd. He hoped to see Masha Katovich. Something about her seemed comforting.
Instead, he saw faces that looked pale and angry. His eyes caught a familiar face. His executive officer, Frank Pippen, was seated two rows behind counsel table. To Frank's right, Lieutenant Darwin McCaffity, and to his right, Lieutenant Walt Brown.
How had he missed them when he walked in? His entire crew sat in five rows behind the defense table, heavily guarded by Russian soldiers on each side. Pete and Frank exchanged subtle smiles and nods. Then he remembered what the angry admiral told him in Moscow.
Your crew's fate will be tied to yours. If you are convicted, they will be convicted. And if you are acquitted, then they will be set free.
Pete broke eye contact with his exec. He looked at the still-empty prosecution table. Just behind it, a young pair of innocent eyes reached out and froze him.
Dima. The orphan on my sub. And beside Dima, all the other orphans sat in the row. They had other chaperones now. Masha Katovich was nowhere in sight.
"Put on your headset, Commander, " Zack Brewer said.
Pete complied.
"All rise!"
There was a shuffling in the pews of the cathedral. The three old officers he had faced in Moscow walked in. Two younger army officers carrying briefcases, probably military lawyers, stood behind the prosecution table.
"Everyone may sit except the accused, his attorneys, and the crew of the USS Honolulu." The general sitting in the middle banged his gavel, then looked over at the admiral.
"Now, Commander Miranda, when we last spoke, I asked you how you would plead to the charges against you and you said you wanted an attorney. I see now that you have not only one attorney – but two. An American naval officer, and a fine member of the Russian Navy to provide you assistance. So I ask you again… how do you plead?"
"I am Lieutenant Commander Zack Brewer of the United States Navy. I represent Commander Peter Miranda in these proceedings. To the charges and specifications, my client pleads… not guilty!"
CHAPTER 29
The White House
Mr. President, USS Charlotte reports that the Egyptian freighter is turning east – from the North Sea into the Baltic Sea, " Admiral John Ayers announced.
"The Baltic Sea? Why there?"
"I don't know, Mr. President, " Ayers said. "At least it's headed away from England."
"Something's not adding up. Let's see the navigational charts."
"Aye, aye, Mr. President."
Admiral Ayers pointed his fingers. His aide rolled out the latest navigational chart.
"He's headed straight to Copenhagen, " Secretary of State Mauney observed.
"Why would terrorists want to blow up Copenhagen?" the secretary of defense asked.
"Why do they murder innocent women and children in civilian office towers?" the vice president asked.
"Maybe Copenhagen because it's a Western capital, " Secretary Mauney said.
"I can see London, " Secretary Lopez said. "But Copenhagen makes no sense to me."
"Or maybe he's going through the Danish Straits and into the Baltic, " Cynthia Hewitt, national security advisor, said.
Secretary Lopez spoke up. "The question, Mr. President, is whether we can afford to let that freighter get so close to a major Western capital. I remind you, sir, that you were prepared to take her out if she turned
toward London, and now she will pass within a few miles of Copenhagen if she remains on this course."
Mack scratched his head. "Secretary Mauney, are you advocating that I take military action now? You've been the one member of this cabinet who's opposed military action from the very beginning."
"That's your decision, Mr. President. But this freighter's proximity to Copenhagen makes me uneasy."
"I share Secretary Mauney's concerns, " Secretary Lopez said, "but let's face it. Copenhagen isn't London. Britain means more to America than any other ally except possibly Israel."
"Sure. They could light the fuse on Copenhagen, but that makes no sense. We should hold off until we can get more information on this Egyptian skipper, " Secretary Lopez continued. "I'll bet he's going into the Baltic to make an anonymous cargo transfer to another freighter – maybe Swedish or Finnish. You know a Swedish or Finnish freighter could sail into New York harbor without batting an eye, whereas an Egyptian freighter will garner some second looks. I say we keep tailing her, and when she initiates a cargo transfer, we surface the sub and have the SEAL team on the Charlotte board her."
"That's a plausible theory, " the CIA director said.
"Why not board it now, Mr. President?" Cynthia Hewitt asked.
She had a good point. And what if millions died in Copenhagen because he failed to act? Mack again prayed silently for guidance.
"Because we're already in trouble for the perception that we sink unarmed freighters and because the freighter has done nothing illegal on the high seas that we're aware of." Why didn't that explanation take the knot out of his stomach? He turned to his CIA director. "Mr. Director, where's the dossier on this Egyptian captain?"
"We're working on it, Mr. President."
"Speed it up. I want to know everything about him. I want to know who his mamma was, who his daddy is, where he was educated, what groups he's been a member of… the whole works."
"Yes, sir, Mr. President."
St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral St. Petersburg, Russia
In the case of the People of the Russian Republic versus Commander Peter Miranda, on the charges of crimes against humanity and destruction of – and conspiracy to destroy – property of the Russian Republic, we will now hear from the prosecution."
A slim officer wearing the green dress uniform of the Russian Army rose to his feet. He stared for a second at Pete, and then turned and faced the three crusty officers sitting at the tables in the chancery of the cathedral.
"Generals. Admiral. I am Major Konstantin Andropov of the Russian Army. We gather today, in this great cathedral, a building dedicated to the great men of the sea who gave their lives for the motherland… to see that justice is done.
"Russia is a great nation. We are at peace. True, we have our internal conflicts such as Chechnya, as every nation has such conflicts. But we are at peace.
"The question in this trial is whether our great and peaceful nation will extend protection to our civilian ships on the high seas from acts of aggression and piracy.
"Today, I am sad to report that one of our own ships, the freighter Alexander Popovich, has been sunk and its crew murdered by the heinous war crimes committed by the defendant and his crew."