The Third World War: A Terrifying Novel of Global Conflict

58

'President Song is unavailable,' said Alexander Yushchuk, frowning when Kozlov simply tilted his head in response. The Russian President watched his daughter, whom he could see through the door, and whose cello music filled the small study. Satellite images of nuclear clouds over India and Pakistan were being relayed on a screen that Yushchuk had rigged up above his desk. Yushchuk was about to say something else, when BBC and CNN, showing on two separate sets, almost simultaneously, broke into their programmes and switched to the same pictures.

Kozlov had no idea what Ekatarina was playing. He had never been much good with music. Her boyfriend, his uniform neatly pressed and his boots polished, sat bewitched across the room, smoking. He was a confused young man from the army, an engineer whose bland practicality soothed Ekatarina. He had a military mind, yet tried to be an intellectual to impress her father, and Kozlov was not sure if he liked him; not sure if any father liked his daughter's first boyfriend. If Russia became like India, he would send them into the bunker together, so he could die knowing they would give him a grandchild.

He glanced at the screens, where there was so much destruction, all looking so much the same, that the thought of a kicking baby in Ekatarina's womb made him feel good.

'Get me Jim West, then,' he said softly.

Yushchuk pressed a button. 'Actually, he's calling you right now.'

Kozlov stood up and kicked the door to close it. He caught Ekatarina's eye and noticed fleeting disappointment. A note faltered before she found sanctuary in the music sheet. Through the gap, as the door closed, Kozlov blew a kiss and smiled at her.

'Jim,' he said in English, giving the American President no time to initiate the conversation. 'The only useful thing you can do right now is make sure that Japan does nothing. If you have to make a statement, keep it bland. Do not respond; do not react; and do not threaten. I hope you understand perfectly what I am saying.'

'We need to talk properly—'

'No, Jim. We need to think properly. You chose to strike Pakistan. Nolan, with your blessing, struck North Korea. And this is what has happened. If Jamie Song has lost control in China, you are headed into a big war. And I have treaty obligations with China that would set Russia against the United States.'