Battlefield China

Chapter 6 Complications

Ambassador Ava Hicks was four months into the occupation of Russia. Already, things were starting to fray at the ends. While there was no open revolt against the Russian Provisional Authority yet, there were increasing demonstrations denouncing the occupation and the slow progress of the postwar recovery. Of course, it didn’t help that key generals across the military were dragging their feet in helping the Allies maintain law and order.

That was not what was weighing on Ava’s mind, however. The Russians’ latest request was for them to be allowed to bring their Spetsnaz teams back home from the US and other Allied nations. Since the official end of the war, the ones that hadn’t already been hunted down and killed had been lying low in hopes of being able to return home. Ava was conflicted about how to handle this situation. The American people wanted them held accountable for the wanton destruction and deaths they’d caused within the Allied nations — and rightly so, Ava thought.

However, it wasn’t a simple one-sided argument. The Department of Defense had reasoned that what the Spetsnaz teams had done was no different than what the DoD had done to the Russians when they had gone after their power grid or the Indian railway system.

It was a tough position Ambassador Hicks found herself in. If she sided with the Russians and the US Department of Defense, then the American people and political establishment would turn on her. If she sided with the Department of Justice and the politicians, then the military and the shaky Russian government might turn on her and the occupation force.

She grabbed a chocolate bar from the secret stash in her desk and munched on it anxiously as she considered her options. Although she wasn’t proud of it, she’d gained five pounds in the last month from all the stress. There was a heavy weight on her shoulders.

As if things weren’t complicated enough with the issue of the Spetsnaz teams, she also had the far more concerning issue of the “missing” nuclear weapons. There were still almost a thousand nuclear devices that were unaccounted for. She thumbed through the papers on her desk, as if they were going to tell her something new, but she already knew what they said. The Russian Air Force report claimed that three hundred nuclear-armed cruise missiles had been destroyed during several Allied raids in the last weeks of the war. However, the US investigators countering weapons of mass destruction disputed that argument; there was no evidence that these weapons had been destroyed, only of radiation where they had been previously held.

Besides the missing cruise missiles, two Russian ballistic missile submarines had yet to be located. Her Russian counterparts continued to insist that those subs had been sunk during the war, but the US Navy had been unable to verify that claim. She thumbed through more dossiers that didn’t tell her anything she didn’t already know.

She took another bite of chocolate. It wasn’t helping.

Knock, knock.

The sudden appearance of her secretary nearly caused Ambassador Hicks to jump out of her skin. She’d been so deep in thought trying to figure out the ins and outs of the situation that she hadn’t seen her approach the office.

“Ambassador Hicks, General Brice is here. Shall I send him in?”

“Yes, please do.”

A minute later, General Luke Brice walked in with a couple of his aides in tow. “Good morning, Ambassador. How are you this fine morning?” he asked. His tone belied his alertness at 0800 hours.

“Morning, General,” Ava replied, attempting to feign cheerfulness. “I was doing well when I felt like the Russians were honoring the surrender terms and turning over their nuclear weapons. However, from the reports I’m reading, it would appear that may not be entirely true. Is there something I’m missing?”

The general and his two aides took a seat at the small conference table in her office. General Brice answered, “It’s hard to say, Ambassador. The Navy hasn’t been able to verify the loss of those two boomer subs — it is possible they were sunk, and the Navy just can’t confirm it. I’ve spoken with our counterparts at the NSA and CIA about this, and they’re going to assign some satellites and other intelligence assets to try and keep tabs on the Russian Navy and potential locations they could be hiding the subs or areas they’d look to provide them with a resupply. If they’re really trying to keep those subs hidden, then it’s going to require a long-term sustained effort to keep them supplied.”

He held up a hand to stop any potential questions. “I spoke with the Chief of Naval Operations office last night. They said they’d assign a few more hunter killer subs to help search the known SSBN bastions. They’d send more subs but there heavily tied down in Asia right now supporting operations up there. Plus, our sub force has suffered some terrible losses this last year.”

Crinkling her forehead, she asked, “What about the cruise missiles? Is that a dead end as well?”

One of the aides raised his hand slightly, indicating that he would take the question. Ambassador Hicks hadn’t really spoken with this aide before but realized from his uniform that he must be a French Air Force officer. “We are bringing in some specialized drones that we believe will be able to help us in verifying the destruction of these weapons,” he began. “I’d like to point out that despite the high levels of radiation, there was no actual nuclear detonation at the bunkers. It would appear that several of the warheads must have been damaged during the raid if that is in fact what happened. If that is the case, then that would explain the radiation levels. We’ll hopefully know more in a few weeks once the drones arrive.”

“What about the smaller tactical nuclear weapons and the large silos?” she asked.

“We’re in the process of dismantling the silos now,” General Brice said. “Nearly all the warheads have been removed and accounted for. Those are a lot harder to hide and cheat on; it would be too obvious—”

Ava cut him off. “—That still leaves the tactical nukes. Am I correct in assuming there are more accounting irregularities with them as well?”

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, the general was clearly looking for a diplomatic way to address this question. Sensing his discomfort, Ava pounced. “Just spit it out, General. If we have a serious problem with the denuclearization part of this surrender, then I need to know.”

“There are accounting irregularities,” he admitted, but he held up his hand to stop her from interrupting again. “I’d also like to point out that we have taken possession of thousands of nuclear weapons so far. I think the Russians are secretly hiding some of them, for what purposes, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s national pride, or maybe they just don’t trust us. What I can tell you is this — over time, as we build up our human intelligence networks inside Russia and start to build more trust with the local populace, we will find them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about strategies and deceptions, it’s that the more people who are involved in creating them, the harder it is to keep them a secret. Someone will talk, and when they do, we’ll find them.”

Ava snorted. She didn’t like the idea of waiting for these weapons to be discovered later. The Russians had made an agreement, and by Jove, she was going to make them stick to it. Before she could respond though, the other aide, also a colonel, broke into the conversation. “Ma’am, we need to discuss the Russian Spetsnaz units.”

Looking at the colonel, Ava noticed the Special Forces tabs on his sleeve. “Colonel, this is a touchy issue domestically,” she stated.

“Agreed, but these guys are no different than my own Special Forces teams we had operating behind Russian lines carrying out the same type of attacks.”

She quickly retorted, “Except that they lost, Colonel.”

Sighing, the colonel decided to take a different approach. “Ma’am, at the end of World War II, during the Nuremberg Trials, Admiral Karl Dönitz was charged with a number of crimes and convicted. However, one of the charges was waging unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping. On this charge, he was found not guilty, because as Admiral Chester Nimitz said, the US had the same policy in the Pacific against the Japanese. Ultimately, Ma’am, over one hundred senior Allied officers sent letters to Dönitz and the court conveying their disappointment over the fairness and verdict of his trial.”

He paused for a second, letting that sink in before he continued, “I’m not disputing the actions these Spetsnaz soldiers committed or the loss of life they inflicted on our people. What I am saying, Ma’am, is if these Russian soldiers are charged and prosecuted in America, then how are our soldiers who did the same actions in Russia any different? How are our pilots any different? We’ve bombed hundreds of cities, and invariably, civilians did die. Remember that bunker-buster bomb that was knocked off course during the opening days of the war here in Moscow? It killed more than a thousand civilians. All I’m saying, Ambassador, is right now we’re in a fight to win the peace. The war is over, but if we lose the peace because we want to exact some sort of justice on these enemy soldiers, then we’re going to lose the public relations battle we’re waging right now across the country. Allowing these enemy special forces to return home would go a long way in helping to heal the wounds of war. It may even help us with finding these missing nuclear weapons.”

Sitting back in her chair, Ava had to hand it to him; he did make a good case. She turned and looked outside the window. Spring was in the air and the trees were starting to return to life. Thinking for a moment, she finally made a decision.

Three hours later, Ambassador Hicks was sitting across from General Sobolev, the current president of Russia during the transition period. During the past few months, Ava had spent a great deal of time working with the general and had made a point of spending time with him outside of work as well. Sobolev had taken her to a couple of Russian opera and ballet events and shown her some of the better places to eat in the city. Ava knew if she was to be successful in her position, then she’d need to develop deep personal and working relationships with her Russian counterparts.

While this meeting had been scheduled, the tensions between the two parties had been increasing. However, since the meeting was just between her and Sobolev, she hoped she might be able to get a bit more done in such a close personal setting than with a group.

After the usual cursory conversation about family over a cup of tea, she placed her teacup down on the table between the two chairs. “Mr. President,” she began, “there are two important items I want to discuss with you.”

Sobolev put his own cup down and turned slightly so his body was fully facing hers. “You want to discuss the nuclear disarmament,” he said, pulling no punches.

She nodded, knowing this was a touchy issue. “I do. I’ve also come to a decision on your soldiers who are still in hiding in the Allied nations.”

Sobolev raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. These soldiers were the ones that had been under his command and direction during the war. She knew they meant a lot to him.

“There appear to be a lot of accounting irregularities in regard to your nuclear weapons. It could just be an oversight, and perhaps you’ll let General Brice know of a few new locations he should check to find them, but this needs to be addressed.”

Smiling at the obvious opportunity she was giving him to turn them over and save face, he nodded. “This is a sensitive issue, Ms. Hicks. I have been looking into it as well and I believe there are a few places I may be able to direct your general to check. I’m still working through some, how shall I call them — personnel issues with the Ministry of Defense right now. Some generals and senior leaders are not very happy with the surrender terms I agreed to. If our remaining special forces soldiers who are still in hiding in America and Europe were allowed to return home…it would give me more leverage with some of these problems.”

Ava nodded, knowing exactly who Sobolev was talking about. “So General Chayko is still causing problems,” she thought.

“I understand there’s still a lot of distrust and animosity between our nations. Emotions are still raw. You and I though, have to get past them. We have to be the ones to push our people past them, so we can collectively pick up the pieces and move forward.” She paused for a second as she thought of what to say next, and how to say it in Russian. She was fluent in the language, but trying to figure out the specific translation of certain complex phrases sometimes caused her to have to stop and consider her words carefully. “I’m going to take some serious hits politically back home and amongst many of the Allied nations for this, but I’m going to agree that your Special Forces soldiers and operatives will be allowed to return home to Russia and will not face federal criminal prosecution in the United States. I cannot fully guarantee that other Allied nations will not try to prosecute your men, but we will not. However, this is a major concession I am making for you, Mr. President — I need a much stronger show of good faith on your end with the missing nuclear weapons, particularly the two ballistic missile submarines.”

The general sat back in his chair and eyed Ava for a moment. He then turned and looked at one of the paintings on the wall in his office, clearly deep in thought. Without returning his gaze to her, he said, “I may know where your General Brice can find some bunkers that may have been mistakenly missed on our nuclear inventory list.” He twiddled his fingers. “As to those two ballistic missile submarines…I will have a more direct conversation with General Chayko and my fleet admiral about them. I have been told they were lost during the war. That may be true, but I will investigate further. If I am not satisfied with what I find, then you may notice a series of…personnel changes and early retirements. If that happens, I can assure you, those particular individuals will not be a problem. The sooner my nation complies with the terms of surrender and we are able to move past this occupation, the better it will be for all parties involved.”

Within days of Ava’s decision to allow the enemy Special Forces still hiding in the Allied nations to return, the Allies discovered another large trove of “previously unaccounted for” nuclear weapons at nearly a dozen bunkers hidden across the country. While the mystery of what had happened to the two ballistic missile submarines remained, more than a handful of senior military and government officials had suffered some coincidental heart attacks, car crashes and other freak accidents. While the tensions between the Russian people and the occupying force hadn’t gone away, they appeared for the time being to have cooled off as the remaining Russian soldiers returned home to their families.