"The documents are false," Alexei said. "I can prove it. We must pull back before everything escalates. We cannot win against the Americans. We are not yet strong enough."
Golovkin spoke for the first time since Alexei had come into the room. "Mister President, he wishes to stop us from reclaiming what is ours. His fantastic accusations are the product of a treasonous mind."
"Is that right, General?" Alexei said. "Then perhaps you would kindly explain this recording of Johannes Gutenberg on his deathbed. He clearly states that with your help he has been funding our war efforts to provoke a confrontation between us and the West. He made sure that you received false documents showing that the NATO high command would not respond if we liberated the Baltics."
"That is a lie," Golovkin said. "Gutenberg died in Switzerland."
"Mister President, judge for yourself."
Vysotsky set the recording device on the table and pressed play. Gutenberg's words sounded tinny on the small speaker but clear. Golovkin rose as if to grab the recorder.
Orlov said, "Sit down. We will hear this."
Vysotsky relaxed just a bit. The first hurdle had been overcome. The men in the room listened to Gutenberg laughing as he described how he'd manufactured the NATO documents and convinced Golovkin that there would be no intervention if the Federation decided to expand its territory. They heard him gleefully explain how Russia and America would destroy each other in a nuclear war, giving him the revenge he sought. The last thing they heard on the speaker was the sounds of Gutenberg's death and Valentina's voice demanding the recording.
The room was silent. Everyone looked at Golovkin.
"Lies," he said. "This recording is false, made up by this traitor. These are lies. Arrest him."
"If they are lies," Orlov said, "how did he know about the secret notes supposedly from NATO's high command?"
"A lucky guess. Or he used his resources at SVR to discover them. Those documents are genuine."
"You never did explain where the money came from," Orlov said. "You said you had recruited a foreign source which supported our aims. I was unwilling to pursue it further. I see now that I made a mistake, one I will not make again."
Vysotsky risked an interruption. "General Golovkin, tell the president about your personal account."
The temperature in the room was ice cold from air conditioning to keep the computers happy. Even so, droplets of sweat appeared on Golovkin's forehead.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Of course you do," Alexei said. "The private account in Switzerland with thirty-five million euros in it. You do recall it?"
"You are lying again. Where would I get that kind of money? Mister President, please, arrest this man. We are wasting time listening to this babble."
"This is true?" Orlov asked Alexei. "Thirty-five million euros?"
"It's true, Mister President. You can easily verify it. I can give you the account numbers. He siphoned off the money from what Gutenberg gave him to fund our military."
Orlov didn't like that. "Play the recording again," he said.
Alexei played it again.
"I know about Gutenberg." Orlov drummed his fingers on the table. "His organization was one of our greatest enemies. He would have destroyed us if he had not been stopped. I thought him dead."
"He is dead, now," Alexei said. "No thanks to Golovkin."
"You knew Gutenberg was our enemy," Orlov said to Golovkin. His voice was quiet, controlled. "You let yourself be persuaded because of money and now we face a crisis."
"One of our nukes has destroyed part of Riga," Alexei said. "How do you think the Americans and NATO will respond? How would we respond if our positions were reversed?"
Golovkin stood and pulled his pistol and pointed it at Vysotsky. "These are all lies. NATO will not respond. Even if they did we would destroy them. You are a traitor."
Alexei sneered at him. "You are a fool. You have put us on the path to nuclear war with America. You sold us out because you wanted the money and because you thought you knew better than the rest of us. The only traitor here is you."
Golovkin's face was white with rage. His finger tightened on the trigger.
A shot boomed harsh and loud in the enclosed room. Golovkin looked surprised, then down at a hole in his uniform jacket. Blood spread in a widening stain. He collapsed, knocking over his chair.
Orlov held a pistol in his hand. The room smelled of spent powder. All of the men in the room had seen violent death many times over. None of them had expected to see it here in the secret heart of the Kremlin.
Outside the glass enclosure, the ops center was at a standstill, everyone looking at what was happening inside the room. The guards outside rushed in, uncertain. Orlov still held his pistol.
"Get that piece of shit out of here." He waved the pistol at Golovkin's body and put the gun back in his pocket.
"General Vysotsky, sit down."
Vysotsky sat.
"Gentlemen," Orlov said. "I am convinced that General Vysotsky has uncovered the truth. We must decide how to proceed."
The first to speak was Admiral Akulin. He was a small man, dwarfed by the broad shoulder boards of his rank and his tailored uniform jacket.
"We have gone too far to retreat now. The fleet is at Riga as we speak. We can crush the city if we wish. The government will capitulate. Why give up our gains? I am not convinced that the West will risk war with us over Latvia. We could give assurances that we will pursue no territory in the other Baltic states."
"No one will believe us if we say that." The speaker was General Krupin.
"Our word should be good enough," the admiral said.
Krupin snorted.
"Our troops are in position to consolidate Latvia and turn to Estonia and Lithuania," General Kuznetsov said. He was about to continue when an officer entered the room and came over to him. He whispered in Kuznetsov's ear.
"Very well," Kuznetsov said. "Return to your post."
The man saluted and left the room. Kuznetsov turned to Orlov.
"NATO is sending advance elements to Estonia and Lithuania. My assessment is that they have given up on Latvia for now and are positioning themselves to attack from the north and the south."
"I agree," Vysotsky said. "This is only the beginning. There is an American carrier within striking range, with her escort screen. Once the weather clears they will launch air strikes and cruise missiles. We will take casualties and the commanders on the ground are certain to respond. American planes will be shot down. American soldiers will die. We will sink their carrier. Once that happens it will be impossible to stop this from going nuclear. They are at their Defense Condition 2. Some of the American bombers are holding at failsafe points near our coast. They can launch missiles and have the rest of their bombers in the air within minutes of going to Condition 1."
"If they go to Condition 1 we must attack them immediately," said Colonel-General Brezhnev. "If their bombers reach our soil some will get through."
"My missiles will make sure that they don't," said Lieutenant General Aronov.
"It would be better to halt this before we get to that point," Vysotsky said. "Everyone in this room believes in our destiny, our right to control Eastern Europe. But we are not yet ready to take it by force and hold it. The main enemy is weakening but there are forces within their government that will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against us. Do any of you seriously believe that we would survive such an attack?"
Everyone knew that the main enemy was America.
"That is the talk of a defeatist," Krupin said.
"It is not defeatist to recognize when it is impossible to win. Remember the wisdom of Sun-Tzu. Retreat used strategically can be as effective as attack to win a war. Better to retreat now and wait until we are stronger."