Plan of Attack

“The United States will certainly cooperate, once we observe your forces returning to normal alert and once their status can be verified,” Thorn said.

“I thank you, Mr. President,” Gryzlov said. “I think this is an important first step in ensuring peace.” He paused for a moment, then added, “But as I said, Mr. President, there remains the problem of McLanahan’s attack forces. They are undoubtedly already on their way and ready to close in on our bomber bases. You of course understand that it would look very, very bad for myself and my government if I announce a unilateral stand-down and then several of our most important eastern bases come under attack. Ordering McLanahan’s forces to withdraw to Eareckson Air Force Base or to the continental United States would help me convince the parliament and my people that my actions truly are in the best interests of peace.”

“Negotiating a cease-fire with Russia when in eight American states radioactive fires caused by Russian nuclear warheads are still burning will not look good for me either,” Thorn said. “Besides, I’m not confirming or denying any national-security activities in Russia or anywhere else in the world.”

“I understand, Mr. President,” Gryzlov said. “I’m sure you understand my position as well, and you will do the appropriate and right thing. All I can offer is this: If you give me their location and egress-route information in a timely manner, I will guarantee their safe passage out of Russian territory and airspace. They will not be harmed. I will publicly guarantee this. If they are downed or captured, I will return them to American control immediately, with no recourse whatsoever to the Geneva Conventions. They will be treated as noncombatants and turned over to you or to a third party you designate who can guarantee their safe return.”

“This will be discussed, Mr. President,” Thorn said simply.

“Very well,” Gryzlov said. “In any case, the order to stand down Russian strategic and tactical strike forces will be issued within the hour; a copy will be sent to your Department of State via our embassy in Washington, which will be addressed to all affected Russian military forces. In that way you can verify that all of our forces that can hold American targets at risk have been notified. We will also send copies of acknowledgments and unit positions on a daily basis, so that your space reconnaissance forces can pinpoint our withdrawing forces as well. We will be happy to negotiate implementation of any other verification programs you care to propose. All the information we send is releasable to the world media.”

“I think this is an important and forthright first step, President Gryzlov,” Thorn said, “and I look forward to receiving the notifications and data from you.”

“We shall be in touch, Mr. President,” Gryzlov said, and disconnected the call.

* * *

Thorn replaced the phone in its cradle, then leaned back in his chair and stared at a far wall. Behind him was a plain light blue drape, which had served as the camera backdrop when he made his last address to the American people from his office in the converted Boeing 747. Since the attack he had made four addresses, which were broadcast around the world in many different languages. All of them had been messages seeking to reassure the American people that he was alive, that he was in control, and that their government and military were still functioning despite the horrific loss of life and destruction of American military forces.

“Mr. President,” Les Busick said, breaking the president’s reverie, “talk to us.” The vice president was on a secure videoconference line at “High Point,” the Mount Weather Special Facility in West Virginia, along with Director of Central Intelligence Douglas Morgan and other cabinet officials and members of Congress. “You’re not going to cooperate with that rat bastard, are you?”

Thorn was silent for a very long moment. “General Venti, where are McLanahan and his team members now?”

“Mr. President, with all due respect — are you serious?” Secretary of Defense Robert Goff interjected. He, along with Venti and other members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also airborne in the National Airborne Operations Center aircraft, now orbiting over central New Mexico. “You can’t recall them now!”

“I know, Robert.”

“Besides, Gryzlov can’t and won’t guarantee their safety,” Goff went on. “The minute they exposed themselves, he’d blow them all away.”

“I would never order them to reveal their location,” Thorn said. “I would expect them to execute their egress plan and get out as stealthily as they got in.”

“Mr. President, there is no egress plan,” Goff said. “The team had a due-regard point — a point of no return. Once they crossed that line, there was no plan to get them out again unless their operation was successful.”

“I was never told that!”

“McLanahan never briefed it, and there wasn’t enough time to staff the plan before it was time to issue the execution order,” Goff said. “Once McLanahan’s team goes in, it’s a one-way mission unless they succeed.”

“Every mission has a contingency plan and an emergency egress plan,” Thorn said adamantly. “Even McLanahan has enough experience to know this.”

“There’s an outside chance that special-ops forces could pull them out, but flying that far inside Siberia, retrieving several dozen men, and getting out again is difficult and dangerous for even our best guys,” Richard Venti said. “There was barely enough time to organize what forces we had. Communications are still screwed up, and every American military unit is in complete COMSEC and OPSEC lockdown — no one is talking or sharing data with anyone unless they know exactly who they’re talking to.” A base in total COMSEC (Communications Security) or OPSEC (Operational Security) status would be virtually cut off from the rest of the world — no one allowed on or off the base, no outside unencrypted telephone or data lines, and no movement on the base itself without prior permission and only under strict supervision. “No contingency plan was ever built into McLanahan’s operation — there just wasn’t time to get all the players organized.” He paused, then said, “Aside from a complete nuclear- attack plan, sir, I think McLanahan’s operation is the best chance we’ve got.”

“How in hell could Gryzlov discover McLanahan’s plan?”

“He’s guessing, Mr. President,” Busick said. “He’s bluffing. McLanahan’s whole damned operation is a hundred feet underground — no Russian satellite can see what he’s doing. He’s bullshitting you.”

“Gryzlov is smart, I’ll give him that,” Robert Goff said. “He’s a bomber guy, too, like McLanahan. He’s certainly smart enough to guess McLanahan’s next move.”

Thorn nodded, then turned to another camera and asked, “Maureen? Your thoughts?”

“Mr. President, I don’t know the details of McLanahan’s plan,” Secretary of State Hershel began. She had at first returned to Washington, but then, in the interest of safety and security, she’d been flown to Atlanta, Georgia, where a Joint Strategic Information Operations Center had been set up during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The Atlanta JSIOC was a combined federal, state, and local command-and-communications center that securely combined information from the CIA, FBI, State Department, Pentagon, and other agencies to allow law enforcement to more effectively track down and stop suspected terrorists.

Since the Olympics the JSIOC had been redesignated as a Federal Continuity of Government facility and used during exercises to relocate several governmental agencies in times of crisis. This was the first time the facility had been used for the real thing: the virtual evacuation of the Department of State from Washington, the first time that had happened since the War of 1812.

“But I trust the general to plan and execute missions that are very limited in scope, swift, effective, and deadly. I’d trust my life with his decisions.” The president masked the thought that flashed in his mind: She said that, he was sure, because she was developing a very close personal relationship with McLanahan.

“On the other hand, I do not trust Anatoliy Gryzlov,” Hershel went on. “He rules the government by fear and the military by blind, almost mythic fealty — an arrangement more akin to a military dictatorship, like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq or Kim Jong Il’s North Korea. Gryzlov’s Russia will probably end up like those two regimes — destroyed and disgraced. Unfortunately, also as in both those regimes, the dictator will probably attempt to scorch most of his adversaries on the way out, without any thought to the fate of any innocent persons, including his own people.” She paused, then ended by saying, “I recommend you let the general proceed with his plan, Mr. President. Bargaining with Gryzlov is an absolute no-win situation.”

“Lester?”

“I hate to say it, Mr. President, but that big Russian asshole has got you by the balls,” Vice President Busick said. “If you let McLanahan go ahead, he can claim you escalated the conflict instead of negotiating. If you agree to his demand, you could be tossin’ away McLanahan’s life — and that motherfucker could