Patrick McLanahan Collection #1

by Dale Brown

  “How do you know that, sir?” Stepashin asked skeptically. “If I were he, I’d go after the ballistic-missile sub bases—Rybachiy and Vladivostok. He should know that all of our Pacific ballistic-missile subs are based there, and that we keep most of them in port. Our bombers have scattered—there’s nothing to hit at any of those bases except for a few empty planes.”

  “I know him, and I challenged him, so that’s what he’ll do,” Gryzlov said confidently. “Even if the bases are empty, he’ll bomb them just to show us and Thorn that he can bomb them. Thorn will keep him on a tight leash. He won’t want to provoke a nuclear counterattack by striking our nuclear-sub bases—that would be an overt act of aggression, and Thorn isn’t built for that.”

  Gryzlov picked up the telephone to the communications center. “Get me President Thorn immediately on the hot line.” To Stepashin he said, “Listen to me carefully, Nikolai. You may get only one chance to stop him. I have studied McLanahan, his weapons, and his tactics. I believe that this is the best way to stop him:

  “First, his stealth technology is second to none,” Gryzlov began. “He will come at you from every direction, even from behind. It is absolutely critical that your defensive forces not use radar, except for long-range surveillance. The first targets he will attack are surface-to-air missile-defense systems. Activating surface-to-air missile radars will only result in their being destroyed. It is important not to waste your defensive-missile systems, because the initial attacks are designed only to clear a path for follow-on forces—those are your main targets. They will attempt to degrade or destroy your defensive systems enough to allow less stealthy special-operations transports to fly in, and you cannot allow that to happen.

  “The fighters are your first line of defense. You must mass your fighters around your important bases, use long-range-surveillance radars only, and have the fighters use just optronic sensors to the maximum extent possible. The minute they turn on radar, they will be shot down. Any targets you see on surveillance radar are your real targets, but you must assume that they are being escorted by stealth aircraft with substantial air-to-air capabilities. Therefore you must have your fighters go in fast, strike at long range, and then get out of the area. There is no use in doing visual identifications or trying to close in to dogfight-missile range—McLanahan’s stealth aircraft will eat your forces alive. Knocking down as many of the special-operations transports as possible is more important than knocking down the bombers.

  “However, you must assume that some special-operations forces will sneak in—most likely McLanahan’s Tin Man armored commandos,” Gryzlov went on. “Unless you receive intelligence information that indicates otherwise, I suggest you augment forces at every bomber base with additional heavy infantry. Don’t bother with heavy armored vehicles: The Tin Man commandos are far too fast, and they carry penetrator weapons that can disable even main battle tanks with ease. Light, fast armored reconnaissance units, helicopters with precision-standoff antiarmor weapons, and dismounted infantry with antitank weapons can deal with them effectively.

  “More important is the Tin Men’s ability to vector unmanned bombers and attack aircraft, so you must supplement your ground forces with as much antiair weaponry as possible,” Gryzlov said. “Use passive infrared and optronic sensors, not radar. Don’t try to detect their aircraft from long range—you won’t see them until the attack has begun. The Americans will go after command and control, communications, power generation and distribution, air defenses, radar, and airfields first, so have each base decentralize and disperse its resources, and have alternate, backup, and emergency networks in place.

  “McLanahan’s forces hit fast, hit hard, then disengage,” Gryzlov summarized. “The better your forces can ride out the initial standoff attack and then give chase as they try to withdraw, the more success they’ll have in whittling down his Tin Man forces. Killing one Tin Man is equivalent to destroying an entire mechanized infantry platoon or tank squadron. Do you understand, General?”

  “Yes, sir.” Stepashin picked up a telephone and began issuing orders.

  “Mr. President, Thomas Thorn is on the line for you,” the command center’s operator announced. “An interpreter is standing by.”

  Gryzlov picked up the phone and nodded for the connection to be opened. “Is this Thomas Thorn?” he asked.

  “This is President Thorn. To whom am I speaking?”

  Gryzlov paused a moment to collect his thoughts, took a deep breath, then said through his interpreter, “This is President Gryzlov, Mr. Thorn.” He purposely tried to keep Thorn off balance by not using his title of “president,” addressing him as just another bureaucrat or functionary. “I just wanted to call to inform you that we have detected movement of General McLanahan’s forces from Battle Mountain.”

  “Do you expect me to confirm that information for you, Gryzlov?” Thorn asked. “Or did you call just to make more threats?”

  “I am glad to see you did not attempt to deny it,” Gryzlov said. “You are not very good at lying, and your truthfulness is your most endearing virtue. It will also be your downfall.”

  “Let me guess, Gryzlov,” Thorn said. “You will say that I should recall all my special-operations forces immediately; that any forces in your country will be caught; that if caught, they will be summarily executed; and that if there are any attacks on any base in Russia, then you will have no choice but to retaliate with all weapons under your command. Is that what you called to tell me, Mr. President?”

  “I am calling to tell you, Thorn, that you will be responsible for triggering more death and destruction, and it is totally and completely unnecessary,” Gryzlov said. “Our attacks on your bases were done out of frustration and desperation. It is not a sign of an all-out war between our countries, I swear it. I hereby promise to you that I will order a complete stand-down of all Russian strategic and tactical forces around the world immediately.”

  Thorn paused for several moments. Finally he said, “I am very glad to hear it, Mr. President.”

  “I know that McLanahan’s bomber forces and most assuredly his Tin Man commandos are even now moving toward staging locations at Eareckson Air Base on Shemya Island, and that a number of his Tin Men are already located there,” Gryzlov went on. He thought he detected an uneasy rustling and a slight intake of breath on the line and was pleased that he’d apparently guessed correctly. “Our intelligence also indicates that McLanahan intends to strike our bomber bases at Ulan-Ude, Vladivostok, and Blagoveshchensk. These attacks are not necessary, Thorn. I wish to do everything in my power to convince you to stop these attacks from commencing.”

  “I’m sure you do, Gryzlov.”

  “I will order all Russian strategic and tactical forces to stand down—but not our defensive forces. All air, coastal, and base-defense and -security forces will remain at one hundred and fifty percent manning and at full alert.”

  “I think that is a very wise and reassuring move, Mr. President.”

  “But it would not look wise or reassuring for my base defenders to have to fight off your attack planes and armored commandos after I announce a cease-fire,” Gryzlov said. “I think it would be most wise to recall McLanahan’s forces and any other military, paramilitary, or intelligence operations you have ongoing against my country. We certainly cannot commence negotiations for a complete end to hostilities with foreign military troops on our shores.”

  “Now that your military objectives have been met, you want to negotiate an end to hostilities, is that it, Gryzlov?”

  “I told you before, Thorn: Our actions were not premeditated,” Gryzlov said. “They were born of desperation and frustration on our part—not of American hegemony but of our inability to make any progress in reversing our own economic misfortunes. As the only remaining true world superpower, you must certainly understand the enormous pressure on myself and my government to come up with results. The military response was unfortunate and miscalculated, and I take full responsibility for
it. Russia will do everything possible to compensate the United States for its loss and ensure that such a horrendous, unspeakable catastrophe never happens again.”

  “What do you propose we do to decrease the likelihood of another attack on one another, Mr. President?” Thorn asked.

  “Russia’s actions will be unilateral,” Gryzlov said. “I will immediately order all ballistic-missile submarines to unload American targeting data from their missiles’ computers, leave their alert launch positions, and return to their bases; I will order all land-based ballistic-missile forces to unload target data and return to normal alert; all mobile land-based missiles will unload data and return to their shelters; and all strategic and tactical aircraft will unload their nuclear weapons and return them to storage. I will hope that the United States will follow suit, but there is no condition for our own actions.”

  “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 en
forcement 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.”