Выбрать главу

“They’d have to be out of their minds,” Hamilton said. “We have the AMERICA SHIELD, do we not?”

“The system isn’t perfect,” Knox reminded him. “If the Germans throw every last one of their missiles at us in a single volley, will the shield stop them all?”

“We’d certainly have a better chance of survival than they would,” Hamilton snapped. “What the bombs didn’t destroy would be wiped out by their slaves afterwards.”

“And a full-scale nuclear war might well destroy the entire world,” Penelope said. “Nuclear winter will finish off the survivors.”

Andrew shook his head in grim horror. “Perhaps they won’t see it that way,” he said. “They may view mutual destruction as a victory, of sorts.”

The Ambassador held up a hand. “What are their alternatives?”

“Cut their cloak to suit their cloth,” Penelope said. “They’ll have to make massive – and painful – budget cuts.”

“Which they can’t, for political reasons,” Knox commented. “They’re committed to trying to keep up with us.”

Andrew sighed, inwardly. The Germans had been fearsome – and they still were – but they’d also been very good at projecting an illusion that they were stronger than they were. The CIA had yet to recover from taking some of the German claims at face value, back in the sixties, and terrifying Congress into authorising a colossal military build-up. Now, it was the Germans who were struggling to stay in the race…

Assuming we’re correct, he reminded himself. The buggers have got themselves caught in an elephant trap.

“Maybe it would be a good time to propose limits to military spending,” the Ambassador said, calmly. “Let them off as lightly as we can.”

“It was tried, back in the seventies,” Knox said. “We caught them cheating.”

“Back when it looked as though we would lose Mexico,” Hamilton said. “We faced the same dilemma the Germans are facing now. Do they cut their losses and admit defeat or up the ante?”

He shrugged. “Our ability to influence their decision-making process is rather limited.”

“I have to speak to the President,” the Ambassador said. “Do we try to take advantage of their problems or do we commit ourselves to doing nothing?”

“Unless the Germans become more reasonable, we can’t really do much more than we already are,” Andrew said. “We cannot trust them to honour any agreement they make; they cannot take the risk of being backed into a corner… sir, the Reich is hellishly unstable. If it goes down, it could easily go down into war.”

Penelope leaned forward. “We could offer to mediate peace in South Africa.”

“We’d have problems finding a solution everyone involved could live with,” Hamilton said, darkly. “The South Africans themselves will want to remain Top Dog in the manger for the rest of eternity, while the blacks will want – at the very least – self-rule and an end to the apartheid system. And the Nasties will want to exterminate the blacks and probably add South Africa to the Third Reich.

“Remove the German forces and the South Africans will either have to flee the country or be brutally murdered by the blacks. Stop supplying the blacks with weapons and the Germans will probably shove them all into gas chambers – if there are any left alive by the end of the war.”

Andrew shuddered. The South African Government had imposed a complete lockdown on newsmen travelling to South Africa, but a handful of intrepid reporters had made the long journey to the front. They’d sent back horrific stories and pictures, including one of hundreds of villages being firebombed from high overhead and refugees gunned down mercilessly. It had shocked America, particularly the black population. The President might find it politically impossible to stop sending weapons and supplies to the insurgents. He’d be deserted by every black congressmen and senator in the country.

“And if the Germans do abandon South Africa, the chaos will spread to Germany South,” he added. It might not be a bad thing – Germany South was the world’s largest source of uranium – but it would definitely worry the German leadership. “And then it will spread upwards into French and Italian territory.”

“The Germans would be wise to consolidate what they’ve got,” Penelope said, flatly. “If they try to hold on to their entire empire, they’ll likely lose everything.”

“They seem to disagree with you,” Knox said.

“I’d be surprised if they truly understood the problem,” Penelope said, mildly. “I’ve met a great many political and military leaders who refused to even try to understand economics.”

Ouch, Andrew thought, as Knox’s face flushed with anger. A palatable hit.

The Ambassador tapped the table sharply. “I’m due to speak with the President tomorrow,” he said. “Do I advise him, then, to do nothing and just wait for the Reich to fall apart on its own?”

“I suggest you advise him to take some extra precautions, just in case,” Knox advised. “If they’re planning to strike against us, they’re not going to tell their own people until the rockets are in the air. Putting the air and missiles bases on alert might make the difference between survival and destruction.”

“They’d just be committing suicide,” Penelope argued. “It makes no sense.”

She had a point, Andrew knew. The Reich and the NAA didn’t share a border. They might be able to launch an invasion force across the English Channel, but getting the Wehrmacht to Washington DC was a fool’s dream. They’d have to contend with the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Canadian Navy. Andrew privately doubted the Germans would get halfway across the ocean before every last one of their ships were sunk. The Germans could make America miserable – tracking down Nazi sleeper cells was a persistent headache for the FBI – but they couldn’t invade and occupy territory.

“They may not realise the truth,” Hamilton said. “Or they might not care. Just because they look like us doesn’t mean they think like us.”

Andrew nodded. He’d seen what passed for education in German schools. It was long on physical exercise and quasi-military training, short on teaching boys and girls how to be anything other than interchangeable cogs in a machine. He still shuddered at visiting a school, one day, and watching the children mouth their hatred of non-Aryans. The only good thing about the whole affair was that the pictures they were shown of Jews were so horrifically caricatured that the children wouldn’t recognise a Jew if they saw one.

“See what else you can gather from your sources,” the Ambassador added. “Maybe we can find a way to let them down gently.”

“They’d hate us for making the offer,” Knox said.

“They’re already placing orders for more computers and other advanced electronics,” Hamilton added. He looked at Penelope. “How long can they pay for them?”

“Unknown,” Penelope said. “But the Reich’s stockpile of foreign currency is quite low. I’d advise the sellers to make sure they get cash in advance.”

Knox scowled. “Does that not present a threat to us?”

“Possibly,” Andrew said, before Penelope could say a word. “But you try convincing the corporations that they shouldn’t sell their outdated crap to the Germans.”

The Ambassador finished his coffee and rose. “I’ll see you all after I speak with the President,” he said, checking his watch. It was nearly midnight. “Until then, goodnight.”