“B’liad!* B’liad!! Bunch of B’liad!!!”[6]
Chapter 12
In Moscow, Svetlana showed the United States Ambassador into the office of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Unlike his past visits, this time the Ambassador did not utter a word. He wore a severe expression and was obviously very upset. General Secretary Vladimir Petrovich Yermolov motioned him to sit across from his desk with no greeting. He then looked at his watch and turned to Svetlana.
“It is now ten minutes past ten, and where is the Minister of Defense? I requested his presence at this meeting with the Ambassador. Try to find him again.”
“Yes, Mister Secretary.” Svetlana replied, and hurried out of the room.
The Secretary continued to read a document that he held in his hand, and spoke to his guest without lifting his eyes from the paper.
“Mister Ambassador, you have exactly ten minutes. Now, please tell me what is so urgent and why you threatened that if we do not meet, there would be ‘grave consequences’ et cetera.”
The Secretary put the document back on his desk and looked straight at the American ambassador. Only then did he notice that the Ambassador was extremely agitated.
“Mister General Secretary, I understand that you have decided to start a war against us and our European allies. I have come to notify you on behalf of the President of the United States that all our forces, including our strategic air and sea forces, are already on high alert, and only if …”
The furious General Secretary interrupted the Ambassador mid- sentence, hitting his desk forcefully with his fist. His face was red with indignation.
“What the hell are you talking about? I don’t need your approval to handle an insurrection in the German Democratic Republic!”
The American Ambassador now spoke very undiplomatically, raising his voice.
“Does Mister Secretary need to mobilize over 20,000 tanks, thousands of armored personnel carriers and thousands of guns to pacify a few thousand civilians and demonstrators? Are the dozens of squadrons of jet fighters, surface-to-air missile batteries, and helicopters that have advanced to forward bases in the last twenty-four hours — is all this force also intended to suppress striking workers in the German Democratic Republic? We have intelligence, solid confirmed knowledge, that even this is not the end of your mobilization and that you are intending to push more and more divisions to the front. The Pentagon is convinced that this insane order of battle has only one purpose, and that is the occupation of West Germany, or even Western Europe!”
The General Secretary was too shocked to reply. He couldn’t believe his ears and his fury was boundless. He summoned all his might to contain his rage, trying to hide it from the American Ambassador.
Suddenly, and to the Ambassador’s astonishment, the General Secretary rose from behind his desk, walked around the table and approached the Ambassador, who scrambled to his feet. The General Secretary placed his hand on the Ambassador’s shoulder and spoke very slowly to his face.
“Look me in the eye, Mister Ambassador, and tell your President that you have heard me, with your own ears, stating that we have no intention of attacking you or your allies in Europe. We have no intention of attacking you. Now, did you understand me or should I say it again? We have no intention of attacking you!”
The door suddenly opened. Svetlana stood at the entrance.
“Gospodin Vladimir Petrovich Yermolov, the Minister of Defense
Marshal Budarenko is here. Shall I let him in?”
“Not now”, the Secretary shot back in anger. “Let him wait outside.”
Several minutes later, as the American Ambassador was leaving the General Secretary’s room, he walked past Marshal Budarenko, who bowed his head very slightly in disdain.
The Minister of Defense entered the General Secretary’s room. His face was sullen. He leaned forward against the Secretary’s desk with his fists resting on it.
“You humiliate me, and what’s worse, in the presence of the United States Ambassador? Why did you leave me cooling my heels outside? Why did you do this to me?”
The Secretary sprang like a tiger from his seat and walked towards the Minister of Defense. He pointed to the chair and thundered, “Sit down! From this moment on, only I will speak and you will not say a word.”
The Minister quickly sat in the chair. The Secretary was pacing back and forth behind the back of the Minister, who couldn’t make out his superior’s behavior. The Secretary continued pacing the room like a lion in its cage.
“What in heaven’s name do you think you’re doing, Marshal? I give you my approval to enter the German Democratic Republic, and you go behind my back and mobilize enough masses to flood Western Europe? Where do you want to stop? On the coast of the Atlantic Ocean? Have you lost your mind? The Americans, with all their 10,000 nuclear warheads, are already on high alert because of you, only because of you. You leave me no choice. I will have to fire you. Yes, fire you.”
General Secretary Yermolov continued pacing behind his Minister of Defense and accusing him. He repeated the information that he had just heard from the American Ambassador to the ears of his Minister of Defense.
Colonel Yevgeni and his four team members had just entered the underground command headquarters in the secret base outside of Moscow. It was Gregory, the team’s coordinator, who summoned them to the war room. The bunker buzzed with activity like a beehive. Many soldiers sat before large communication instruments, strange sounds were heard, and green and red indicator lights were flashing with increasing frequency.
Judging by the awe, perhaps even the fear, displayed by the soldiers in the bunker towards Gregory, the team members realized that this unassuming man held a very senior position on the base in which they had already spent quite a few days.
Gregory and his teammates sat in a side room surrounded by glass walls, known as The Aquarium. The unbearable tension felt by Yevgeni and his teammates made them reticent and solemn, each lost in thought. Every few seconds, they glanced at the clock on the wall and at their wristwatches.
The glass door opened and a soldier burst in to hand Gregory a sheet of paper that the teleprinter had just spat out. Gregory hardly glanced at it before he suddenly shot out of his chair, shouting.
“Now! Now, get me the Minister of Defense. Right now!”
“What happened?” It was Brigadier General Dimitri who wanted to know what had gone wrong, but Gregory ignored him and shouted again.
“I said, at once. Get me Marshal Budarenko now!”
To everyone’s astonishment, Dimitri got up and literally pulled the sheet of paper out of Gregory’s hands. Gregory remained in his seat, not responding, his eyes on the soldiers walking back and forth outside the aquarium. Dimitri started reading the paper quickly, and Yevgeni came closer, trying to read it as well.
A soldier was heard behind the door.
“Sir, the Minister is with the General Secretary. I am speaking with the
General Secretary’s private secretary. She can’t disturb them now.”
Before the soldier had finished his words, Gregory jumped out of his seat and ran frantically to him, grabbing the telephone from his hand.