Every muscle in her body screamed for her to run out of the building. She reminded herself, This is your responsibility, you CANNOT continue to let the situation escalate. “I’ll stop by on the way out. I don’t want to be keep them waiting.” Susan pulled herself together and continued walking down the corridor.
Mason led the way around the corner to Corridor 2, Ring A, Room 22. Mason pressed the buzzer on the door while Susan and the agents waited in the hallway. Captain Arnold, a twenty-eight-year-old army intelligence officer, opened the door. Mason promptly held out his badge and identified himself.
“Mr. Adams, I’ve been expecting you and President Turner. Please come into the waiting area.” Captain Arnold moved to the left of the doorway allowing them into the waiting area. Captain Arnold saluted and rendered the proper greeting of the day as Susan entered the room.
Susan promptly replied, “Thank you. At ease, Captain.”
Captain Arnold nervously moved both hands behind his back to the parade rest position. His eyes darted around the room between Susan, Mason, and the Secret Service agents.
Susan smiled in an attempt to ease the tension. “Captain Arnold, am I the first president to visit the Direct Link Communications Office?”
“Yes, Mr. President.” Captain Arnold’s face turned ghost white and he stammered. “I’m so sorry, I mean… Ma— Ma— Madam President.” Captain Arnold looked at the Secret Service agents as if he were expecting to get beaten with a baton for his slip of the tongue.
Susan took a step forward toward Captain Arnold, gently patted him on the shoulder, and chuckled. “Not the first time that’s happened. I tend to have that effect on men. Captain Arnold, what’s your first name?”
In a state of embarrassment and confusion, Captain Arnold looked around the room before answering “Umm… Steve… Madam President.”
Susan extended her arm to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Steve. I’m Susan.”
The bewildered look on Captain Arnold’s face remained as he shook Susan’s hand.
“Good. Now that we’re all friends here, there’s no reason for anyone to be nervous. I’ve never done this before either. I need to use the Direct Link Communication System, can you show me how it works?”
“Sure, follow me into the holding room. The security protocol only allows the president to enter the communications room with the terminal,” replied Captain Arnold.
Susan passed the palm print and retinal security checks and the metal door on the opposite side of the room opened. Susan and Captain Arnold walked through the door leaving Mason and the Secret Service agents behind. The room they entered contained a single desk with a computer terminal. The room itself was small, twelve feet by twelve feet with white walls. The computer terminal and desk were against the wall directly opposite the door.
Muscle memory took over for Captain Arnold. He launched into the training speech he practiced at the beginning of every shift. He explained to Susan that the computer terminal in this room was a dummy terminal meant for training. But the protocol to send a message was the same as the live terminal in the next room. To unlock the computer terminal, Susan needed to enter the passcode she was given in her daily briefing binder. After unlocking the terminal, she would be presented with a text box to enter her message.
The terminal provided an encrypted direct link to an identical terminal in Moscow. Any message sent through the system would immediately alert a Soviet team in Moscow, who would in turn alert the President of the Soviet Union. All messages sent and received by the system were marked “Top Secret—For the Eyes of the President Only.” Each message recorded a read receipt time stamp to alert the sender when their message was received.
Susan listened silently to the instructions.
“Do you have any questions, Madam President?”
“How long should I expect before a response from the Soviet president?” asked Susan.
“We test the system daily. The operators in Moscow see the message within seconds. If their protocols are similar to ours, I’d say another five minutes before the message is delivered to the Soviet president.”
Susan noted the sweat dripping from Captain Arnold’s forehead. She looked at him with questioning eyes.
Captain Arnold stammered, “I know you can’t tell me, but should I be concerned? My wife and daughter are at the Lincoln Memorial today.”
Susan nodded and exhaled. “You don’t have anything to worry about, my kids are here in the city as well. Just some friendly banter between myself and President Rosinski.”
Susan passed another set of palm and retinal security protocols and walked into the room with the live terminal. Being alone gave the room a sterile and eerie feeling.
While his driver navigated DC traffic, Mr. Anderson watched the live security camera footage of Susan in the Direct Link Communications room from his phone. He watched as Susan sat down at the live computer terminal. Mr. Anderson rolled down the privacy glass between himself and the driver. “Take me back to the K Street office.”
Sitting at the live terminal, Susan opened her daily briefing folder and found the page with the security code. She followed with her finger back and forth between the code and the terminal. She could only remember three characters from the code at a time; she wondered if the two IED blasts and the crash landing in Mosul were to blame. The expiration date for blaming the war had long since passed, but that didn’t stop the thoughts. She entered the final character and pressed Enter.
The terminal screen presented a text box to enter her message to President Rosinski. Susan paused; she wondered if this was the right move. Two countries with nuclear weapons, this close to the brink of war—there was no playbook for what she had to do. Her thoughts swirled deeper into a dark hole of doubt. She closed the folder, stood up, and paced the room. On the second lap across the room, she stopped and thought to herself, This is exactly why you wrote the message in the Oval Office. Just type the words and hit Enter.
Susan sat back down at the terminal. From her daily briefing binder, she took out her message to President Rosinski and placed it to the left of the keyboard. She typed the message word for word.
To: President Boris Rosinski
From: Susan Turner, President of the United States of America
Subject: Maintaining Peace
I hope to maintain a peaceful and prosperous relationship between the United States, the Soviet Union, and the rest of the world. I believe that the diplomatic cables that were leaked to the public have been falsified. I do not believe the Soviet Union is responsible for the terror attacks against the United States.
Within our government there are many who blame the Soviet Union for these events and they are attempting to persuade the public that military intervention is necessary. I may not have the political power to stop them.
To avoid a military conflict that would inevitably alter the course of human history and destroy millions of lives on both sides, we must work together to maintain peace.
Sincerely,
Susan Turner, President of the United States of America
Susan pressed the Send button. She felt numb, as if nothing had changed. No alarms went off, no bells rang, there were no whistles of celebration or confetti. Susan pushed her chair away from the terminal and stood up. Out of habit, she pushed the chair back under the desk, just as she found it.
In the Kremlin, Boris Rosinski enjoyed dessert alone—a pastilla made with sour apples. His executive assistant walked in the room carrying a brown folder under his arm and waited patiently for President Rosinski to acknowledge his presence. After he finished dessert, President Rosinski motioned with his right hand for the folder. He quickly read Susan’s letter, closed the folder, and calmly placed it back on the table.
He instructed his assistant to have Director Tremonov meet him in the Kremlin library room in an hour. The Americans had never used the secure messaging system for anything of consequence. For decades the two countries operated as if the o
ther did not exist. The minimal amount of communication that occurred was conducted through intermediary countries or public announcements. President Rosinski saw a light at the end of the tunnel. It might be possible to finally have an open and direct relationship with the Americans.
41
Susan looked up from her desk and saw Agent Young walking into the Oval office, followed by Tommy. “Oh my gosh. Tommy, what happened to your lip?” Susan got up from behind her desk and walked toward Tommy. Tommy lowered his head. Agent Young spoke up, “Madam President, Tommy was involved in a minor altercation with a classmate.”
Susan put her hands on her hips. “Tommy, look at me.”
Tommy looked up with a frown. “I got in a fight at school. Mom, I didn’t start it… I promise.”
Susan exhaled heavily out of her nose.
Tommy looked down again and began softly talking. “Mom… they were calling you names… saying you were a Soviet spy and that being president was a man’s job… I just didn’t know how to make them stop. … I tried walking away. They just wouldn’t stop.”
Susan closed her eyes and hugged Tommy. “It’s okay, honey. I’m sorry.”
After Tommy and Agent Young left the Oval Office, Susan collapsed on the couch and cried. The boys had suffered enough after their father’s death; they didn’t deserve to be tormented at school. She knew all too well that the scars of emotional trauma never fully heal.
Inside the Kremlin, President Rosinski calmly folded his newspaper and set it on the reading table next to his bottle of Stolichnaya Red Label. Director Tremonov walked into the library. He stopped five feet from President Rosinski and nervously scanned the room.
“Please, have a seat. Vodka?” President Rosinski gestured for Director Tremonov to take the seat across from him.
Two reading lamps provided just enough light for the men to see each other. President Rosinski used the library as a place to get away from the constant interruptions in the Kremlin. Director Tremonov himself had not stepped foot in the president’s library since Boris Rosinski took office.
Director Tremonov sat down in the chair across from President Rosinski. He scanned the room for movement before responding. “No thank you, I’m getting old, too much vodka late at night upsets my stomach.”
President Rosinski eased his fear. “Relax Nikolai, you’re going to walk out of the room.” Before Director Tremonov could reply, President Rosinski raised his hand and motioned for him to stop. President Rosinski continued, “I received a message from the Americans, their president has lost control of the military. The American people and the military are blaming us for the terrorist bombings and they believe the leaked documents are true. If we don’t intervene, war is imminent.”
Director Tremonov sat up straight in his chair and put his hand to his chin in a nervous moment of contemplation. The men sat in silence for several seconds as the gravity of the situation permeated the room.
Director Tremonov broke the silence. “This was always a risk. We knew our expansion of the pipelines into the Ukraine, Belarus, and Latvia could spark a conflict at any moment. A war with the Americans has been brewing for decades. It’s inevitable.”
President Rosinski shook his head. “That might be. But the American president wants peace. And, so do I.”
Director Tremonov caught his own mistake: he’d revealed too much information to Rosinski. Tremonov spent too many years in the field as a KGB operative to believe that the Americans truly wanted to avoid a war. He remained silent in response to the president’s call for peace.
President Rosinski continued, “We’ll make the leaked information seem unreliable. If we can call into question the validity of the leaked documents, it will muddy the waters of public opinion.”
“And our official stance after the leaked files are picked up by the press?” asked Director Tremonov.
“Silence. The world will be caught chasing their own tail, trying to figure out what information is true and what is a lie. The Americans will focus their hatred inward and we can continue building economic security for our people.” President Rosinski stopped his speech to look down at his buzzing phone.
The text message read, “I’m here—Dominika.”
President Rosinski looked up from his phone. “Understood?”
Director Tremonov’s eyes looked upward to gather his thoughts and assess the timeline. “We can have something out to the press by tomorrow afternoon. It’s just a small alteration to a response plan we have on the shelf.”
“Good.” President Rosinski stood up from his chair. Director Tremonov followed him to the door of the library. “Nikolai, I trust you to handle this.”
Back in the United States, anti-Soviet protests continued across the country. The front page of every major newspaper focused on the same message: The Soviets planned the terrorist attacks and they needed to be stopped at all costs.
Susan picked up the telephone handset and dialed her chief of staff, Mason Adams. Ten seconds later, Mason walked into the Oval Office.
“Mason, I need to let the American people know what’s going on. How soon can you set up a town-hall-style meeting? I want it to be outside the White House and open to the public.”
Mason dropped his head and put his hands behind his back. “The Secret Service informed us that they can’t protect you in public. And with the riots in DC, Atlanta, LA, Detroit, and New York, I agree with them, it just isn’t safe.”
Susan put her hands on her hips. “So you’re telling me, as the President of the United States, I’m not safe in my own country?”
Mason sighed. “Yes, Madam President, I’m sorry. I went through several scenarios with the Secret Service, it just isn’t safe. Maybe in a few weeks, but not now.”
Susan responded sharply, “Fine. Does the Secret Service have a problem with me giving a State of the Union address from the White House?”
“A State of the Union address? That tradition died decades ago.”
“Well, I’m bringing it back—the American people deserve to know what’s going on. These rumors have got to stop. Tell the media and get the live video feeds set up.”
Mason tipped his head forward to acknowledge the order and turned to walk out of the Oval Office. Three steps from the door, he stopped and turned around. “Can I… never mind.”
Before Mason could turn around, Susan stopped him. “Mason. What is it?”
Mason took a deep breath. “I know it’s not my place to say. But I’m worried about the media’s reaction. I know you don’t watch the news, but they’ve been really hard on you since the terror attacks. And I’m concerned that it will… I don’t know how to say it. I guess I’m just concerned that it will get out of hand if you don’t put the blame for the attacks on the Soviet Union.”
Susan looked down at her desk, then stood up and leaned forward with both of her hands on the desk of the Oval Office. “Mason, I didn’t take this job because I wanted people to like me. If being an honest, caring, and compassionate leader makes me a horrible person in the eyes of the media, then so be it. Let them label me a coward in the history books. I will not be responsible for leading our country into another series of senseless wars.”
Mason locked eyes with Susan. “Yes, Madam President. I’ll get the video feeds set up and send out a memo to the press.”
At 7:00 Eastern that evening, Susan delivered her State of the Union speech to the American people and the world.
“My fellow Americans: We are five years into our new form of democracy. These last five years of peace were preceded by decades of continuous turmoil that unfolded with two generations of Americans fighting three long and costly wars, resulting in a vicious recession that spread across our nation and the world. It was, and still is, a hard time for many Americans.
“Just like many of you, I witnessed firsthand the horror of continuous war and economic depression. Let us never forget the pain that brought about our new form of democracy. It is our duty not to repeat the m
istakes of the past. We must stand strong and not bend to the will of our enemies.
“I believe with all of my heart that the Soviet Union is not responsible for the horrible terror attacks that occurred in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. If we continue to tear our country apart seeking retribution, our enemies will win. I will not allow our enemies to win. We will find those responsible for the attacks and bring them to justice, but we will not start a world war by seeking revenge.”
Susan continued her speech, emphasizing the importance of community and the principles of American democracy. After addressing her dismay for the anti-Soviet violence, Susan ended her speech with a quote from Benjamin Franklin: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
The reaction across America to Susan’s speech was neutral at best. Those who wanted retribution against the Soviet Union used her speech as more ammunition to support their cause. The media used the speech as an opportunity to question whether Susan was mentally fit to be a leader. Her history of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder were brought back by the media as leading news stories.
42
KGB Agent Larov stepped over yellow caution tape and into the foyer of the apartment. A Soviet police officer stepped in front of him and put his hand up. “This is an active crime scene.”
Agent Larov pulled out his KGB Badge. “Larov, KGB. I’m here on orders from KGB Director Tremonov. What have you found so far?”
The police officer backed down. “Not much yet. It looks like he was alone. Follow me, the body is in the living room.” The officer turned and headed toward the entryway to the living room and Agent Larov followed.
Larov scanned the living room and inhaled sharply. He picked up a hint of a smell that seemed out of place, but he couldn’t put his finger on the source. He continued to scan the room; everything seemed neatly in order. His eyes stopped on President Rosinski’s naked body lying on the floor in front of the couch. A thick brown leather belt remained cinched around his neck.
Selected: A Thriller Page 19
