"We can destroy them," Aronov said.
"Yes, we can," Alexei said. "And they will destroy us, as Gutenberg wanted. No one will win. The Rodina will become a radioactive wasteland. Think of Chernobyl."
Orlov held up his hand. Everyone in the room stopped talking.
"Enough. General Kuznetsov. You are certain that the intelligence you received regarding NATO is accurate?"
"Yes, Mister President."
"Very well. We have been deceived by the false documents Golovkin presented. Our time will come but it is not now. I will call the American president."
Alexei had been holding his breath, waiting to hear what Orlov would say. He let it go.
He hoped it wasn't too late.
CHAPTER 50
Nick hadn't slept for a day and a half. The last time he'd shaved had been the morning of the day they'd gone to see Gutenberg. He wore the same clothes. A wrinkled tan jacket, dark green Dockers and a white shirt open at the collar. The outfit looked long overdue for the laundry.
Selena was just as tired and looked it. Her face was pale, her violet eyes bloodshot from sleeplessness and stress. Even so, she managed to look almost elegant in a black pantsuit and a lavender blouse.
Their plane landed in Washington at six in the morning. Stephanie met them at the airport.
"Welcome home, guys. Thank God you're okay."
"Hi, Steph," Selena said. "Thanks for meeting us."
Stephanie turned to Nick. "Elizabeth wants you to come right in."
"I expected that."
"Any news on Ronnie and Lamont?" Selena asked.
"No."
They got into the car. Nick got in the back seat. Selena sat up front with Stephanie.
"What's happening in the Baltics?" Selena asked.
"The weather has cleared up but everything is on hold. The Russian advance has stopped but they haven't pulled out. The nuke destroyed a sizable chunk of Riga and took out one of their tank battalions and a motorized division. There are thousands of dead and wounded. The airport wasn't damaged and international relief teams are flying in even though war could start at any moment. NATO has been building up their logistics in Lithuania and Estonia. They're ready to attack if the order is given. Rice has held off on the air strikes until we know if Orlov is going to back down. If he doesn't, Rice is going take his foot off the brake."
"Has he talked with Orlov yet?"
"All I know is that they had a brief conversation several hours ago. That was a big improvement and the reason why Rice is holding back."
Stephanie looked at her watch. "There should be a call happening right now."
Traffic was moderate. Forty minutes later they were at Project headquarters. Elizabeth looked up as they came into her office. They took a seat on the couch opposite her desk. The cat jumped up on the couch next to Selena, draped himself across her lap and began purring.
"He's glad you're home," said Elizabeth. "So am I. How's your arm, Nick?"
"I'll be all right. I'm supposed to keep the cast on for a few weeks."
"Selena?"
"I'm fine, Director."
Elizabeth picked up her pen and began turning it around in her hands. "We have to talk about what happened. Ronnie is out of immediate danger but Lamont is in a medically induced coma."
"He's tough," Nick said. "He'll be fine." His voice made it clear he wasn't going to hear anything different.
"I'm sure he will be," Elizabeth said. "But it's going to be quite a while before either one of them will be ready for duty. I'm down to just you and Selena. I need to know how the two of you feel about things."
"What do you mean?" Nick said.
"This has been a bad year. No one would blame you if you said you'd had enough."
Nick was about to answer when Elizabeth's direct line from the White House signaled a call. She picked up.
"This is Director Harker."
"Please hold for the president."
"Rice is calling," Elizabeth said.
"Director Harker, this is the president."
"Good morning, Mister President."
"I'm calling because I want you to know that your team has been instrumental in averting war with Russia."
"That's very good news, Mister President. I'm not sure how you've arrived at that conclusion but thank you. My team is here with me, sir. I'd like to put you on speaker if that's all right."
"That will be fine, Director."
Elizabeth activated the speaker. Selena reached over and took Nick's hand. The cat purred on her lap.
"President Orlov has guaranteed that his forces will withdraw back into federation territory beginning immediately," Rice said. "He is committing significant resources towards the relief effort in the aftermath of the nuclear explosion. The missile launch was not intentional. It appears to have been an electronic problem with the control system on one of their advanced tanks. The tank was destroyed in the explosion, so we'll never really know. He swears that no direct order was given to fire that missile. I believe him."
Elizabeth said. "It made no sense that they would fire a nuke in that situation. An accident explains it."
"It seems that your team acquired information that convinced Orlov he had made a mistake by invading Latvia. He was unusually forthcoming in our conversation. I hope it's the beginning of a better relationship with the Federation in the future. He's a dictator and I don't trust him at all but he's not stupid. When he understood he would be entering a conflict with us and our allies he realized the risk was unacceptable."
"Sir, how close did we come?"
"Close. I was about to go to DEFCON 1 and move to KNEECAP when Orlov called," Rice said.
KNEECAP was the designation for Air Force One when it took over as the airborne presidential command center in a wartime situation. Rice continued.
"They would have responded in kind. I don't think it could have been stopped after that. In that situation there are too many opportunities for someone to make a mistake and there are too many people on both sides who think they can win."
"Yes, sir."
"I understand that two of your people were badly wounded in Germany while you were obtaining that information."
"Yes, sir, they were."
"I am sorry to hear it. Your team has performed an outstanding service for our country. Well done, Elizabeth. Please convey my deepest gratitude and my wishes for a speedy recovery to everyone."
"Thank you, sir, I will."
Rice ended the call.
"His deepest gratitude," Nick said.
"You don't sound like you believe it," Elizabeth said.
"Oh, I believe it all right. At least he's someone I can respect. Rice may be grateful but I don't think anybody else gives a damn. I'd rather have Lamont and Ronnie sitting here than the words."
"You sound bitter, Nick," Stephanie said.
"Maybe I am."
"That brings me back to what I was going to say before the president called," Elizabeth said.
"You mean about whether or not I've had enough?" Nick said.
"Yes. Have you?"
"I won't say I haven't thought about it. Honestly? I don't know. I need some time to think."
Elizabeth said, "What about you, Selena?"
Selena looked down at the cat and scratched him behind the ear.
"You're right about it being a bad year," she said. "I wouldn't want to have another one like this. I'm like Nick, I need some time to think about it."
"I understand," Elizabeth said. "I won't pretend that I'm happy about it but I understand. Take two weeks. Go away from here and heal up. But I need a definite answer when you return."
"That's fair," Nick said. "Is there anything else, Director?"
"No, that's all. You heard what the president said. I want to tell you the same thing. The four of you have made a difference, even if no one except us ever knows about it."