Blackmail

71 MOSCOW

President Yuri Kalinin, accompanied by General Sergei Andropov, his chief of the general staff and senior military advisor, traveled briskly down the corridor, entering the Operations Center in the Kremlin basement. There was an eerie silence within, as the men and women monitored the red and blue symbols on their screens, with blue ones appearing at a steady rate while red ones disappeared.

The Operations Officer on duty greeted President Kalinin, then briefed him on America’s assault on Russian forces. The runways and hangars of every Iranian base housing Russian tactical aircraft had been destroyed, and they’d lost two-thirds of their mobile missile batteries on the Iranian coast.

He concluded with, “The United States prepared well for this attack and their intentions are clear. They aim to destroy our ability to blockade the Persian Gulf.” He added, “The main battle is about to begin. The American air wings will engage our surface ships, and Admiral Shimko has ordered our submarines to sink the American carriers.”

Kalinin could barely contain his fury, both at the United States and at his senior military aide. General Andropov had assured him there would be no war between Russia and the United States. Their blackmail plan, placing a stranglehold on Western Europe’s natural resources, would restrain them. His thoughts shifted to his discussion with Christine O’Connor on the Kremlin Senate balcony, where he’d explained that Americans didn’t understand Russians. Now, it was painfully clear that Russians didn’t understand Americans either. They were cutting the throats of their allies; Kalinin would destroy their oil and natural gas pipelines and their economies would sputter, throwing their countries into chaos.

Perhaps the Americans didn’t believe him and were calling his bluff. He turned to his chief of the general staff.

“Destroy several pipelines and pumping stations, including America’s Alaskan oil pipeline. That should get their attention.”