by Steve Berry
“Until Hedlund called.”
“That’s right. He told me about the Russian woman who’d come to his house and the gunfight.”
“We thought all of this long forgotten, but apparently we were wrong.”
“Is the president-general who fired Charon still around?”
Begyn shook his head. “He died years ago.”
“Hedlund says you know it all. But it sounds like you’re missing a lot of pieces to this puzzle.”
“Our society is a closed one. We keep to ourselves and don’t bother anyone. Today we are philanthropic. It’s important for us to stay above politics. We breached that mandate in 1812. But that was not the only time. We’ve helped out presidents and the military on several occasions after that. Which means we’ve violated the mandate that George Washington and the society founders laid down. And, as I said earlier, that may not mean much to you, but it does to us. Brad compounded things by allowing outsiders, foreigners, to learn about that.”
Luke was puzzled. “Yet nothing ever came of it.”
“Not a word, until yesterday.”
“It’s starting again,” as Hedlund had said on the phone.
Sue had sat silent, sipping her tea, listening. Daddy probably did not discuss these things with his daughter. Most of this was crap. But part of it still had to be important since Anya Petrova had come all the way from Siberia to deal with it.
Begyn shuffled through what lay on the table, then offered him one of the sealed packets. “We also did something else. More recent.”
He accepted the bundle.
“You’re holding an operational plan for the United States to invade Canada,” Begyn said. “Dated 1903.”
CHAPTER SIXTY
Zorin saw the road sign that indicated they were leaving the state of Pennsylvania and entering Maryland. He’d not shaved or showered in over a day, and his mouth tasted awful. Sleep had come in spurts but, strangely, he was not tired. Instead a tangible feeling of success swirled in his stomach, his body charged with a sense of achievement at possibly his last chance at redemption.
He thought again of Anya, wondering what she was doing. He’d switched on the cell phone hours ago, hoping she might call. He’d decided not to call until after he learned what Kelly had accomplished.
Both his wife and Anya had brought him joy, each in her own way. He’d been lucky to find them, especially Anya, who was far more adventurous than his wife had ever been.
His wife, though, had been a wonderful woman.
They met when he was still in training and married in secret, her family not approving of her choice in a husband. But his being KGB quelled any objections they might have made. They’d lived together nearly thirty years before ovarian cancer claimed her. Sadly, she lived long enough to be there when their son died, and the sadness from that tragedy never left either of them. His wife understood him, accepted him for who he was, living most of their married life alone as he moved from station to station. For their entire marriage she’d handled everything until she became too sick.
But even then, she remained in charge.
“You must listen to me,” she said, lying in the narrow hospital bed.
On her back, arms at her side, toes pointing upward, she formed a small mound beneath the sheets. Most of the time she’d stayed sedated, but there were moments, like now, when consciousness overtook the drugs and she was lucid. The clinic, on the outskirts of Irkutsk, treated only the party elite and their families. The room was large, with a high ceiling but a gloomy feel. He’d managed to have her admitted, and though they’d never spoken of the fact, where she lay, this part of the building, housed only terminal patients.
He wiped away a thin film of sweat from her gray, pallid forehead. Her hair was dank with oil. She wasn’t dirty, the nurses bathed her daily, but the odor of death she exuded seemed unmistakable. The doctors had already told him she was beyond their aid. All they could do was ease the pain and make sure he had no complaints. Though no longer of the KGB—both it and his job ended years before—his reputation had preceded him.
“I want you to do what it is you’ve been wanting,” she said to him.
His face mirrored her pain, but he was still surprised by the comment. “What do you think that is?”
“Do not treat me like a fool. I know that I’m dying, though you can’t bring yourself to tell me. Neither can the doctors. I also know that you’re troubled by so much. I’ve watched you these past years. There’s a sadness inside you, Aleksandr. It was there before our precious son died, and it remains.”
Pain began to reassert itself and she no longer lay neatly in the bed, tossing from side to side, plucking at the sheet that covered her. Soon they would come with another injection and out she would go for another few hours. He’d already been told that eventually she would not reawaken.
He took her hand in his.
It felt like a small bird, delicate and frail.
“Whatever it is that consumes you,” she said. “Do it. Resolve your anger. And that’s what you have been, Aleksandr. Angry. More so than ever before in your life. Something is unfinished.”
He sat beside her and allowed their life together to wander through his mind. She was a plain woman who had always spoken of him with respect. So many other wives he knew wore away at their husbands, some even made cuckolds—creating jealous, suspicious, agonized fools whose work suffered and reputations declined. That had not happened to him. Never had she asked for much, nor expected more than he could provide. Marrying her was the smartest move of his life.
She grew more restless and cried out. The duty nurse appeared but he waved her away. He wanted to be alone with her for just a few moments more.
Her eyes opened and she stared straight into him.
“Do not … waste … your life,” she said.
He recalled how her eyes stayed open, lips curled in a half smile, the grip from her fingers vanishing. He’d seen death enough to know its look, but he sat there for a few more minutes hoping he was wrong. Finally, he kissed her cold brow before slipping the sheet up over her head. For so many years she’d been drawn into his dilemma, one blind step after another, trapped just like him. She knew his anger and wanted it gone.
As did he.
He recalled how grief had risen hot in his throat and threatened to strangle him. His mind had numbed with a sudden sense of loneliness. No longer could he think either of or about her. She and his son were both gone. His parents dead. His brothers lived far away and rarely communicated. He was essentially alone, with a long, empty, purposeless life ahead of him. His physical health remained, but his mental stability hung in doubt.
“Do not waste your life.”
And that was when the thought first came back to him.
Fool’s Mate.
“It’s time for us to be honest with each other,” Kelly said.
He glanced across the darkened interior of the car and brought his mind back to the present. Outside, snow was falling, not heavy or accumulating, but definitely in the air.
“The envelope I was given that night by Andropov,” Kelly said. “I was told that in the late 1970s the KGB learned some vital information from the Soviet embassy in DC. It seems one of the staffers there made friends with a man who knew some unusual things.”
All Soviet foreign diplomats and KGB officers had been taught how to elicit information without the source ever knowing of their interest. In fact, the vast majority of intelligence originated from just such innocent exchanges. They came with a low risk of exposure as no one ever suspected a thing. Just simple conversation among friends and acquaintances. What was the American and British saying from the Great Patriotic War? He’d been taught it at trade school. Loose lips sink ships.
“This unusual information dealt with Canada,” Kelly said.
He listened as Kelly told him about the Society of Cincinnati and how it designed invasion plans for America’s northern neighbor.
“The detail
of the work is remarkable,” Kelly said. “The early plan from 1812 was written by a man named Benjamin Tallmadge, who was a spy for the Americans during their Revolutionary War. The later plan, for the 20th century, was drafted by more society members skilled in warfare. I read both. Quite amazing what America had in store for Canada. Andropov’s original source learned about this and passed it on, along with something else, something even more important, which required me to reverify. It is the second move in Fool’s Mate, Aleksandr. The one you asked about, the one that wins the game.”
An excitement surged through him.
“I redeveloped contact within the society with the same member who first talked to our embassy official. His name was Bradley Charon and we struck up a friendship. The fact that the society twice planned Canada’s invasion was some sort of guarded secret. Only a few of the members knew. And frankly, that’s of little consequence. But that other piece of information. That made all the difference. Yet one question lingered.”
He knew. “Was the information correct?”
“That’s right. And it was, Aleksandr. Every detail.”
He felt compelled to say, “That society. I know of it. There were mentions of it in old KGB records. Also, that name, Tallmadge—there’s a journal he is associated with, which the society possessed. I learned that Andropov was interested in that journal, so I concluded that part of your mission was to acquire it.”
“Excellent work. You’re correct.”
“That Soviet contact in our embassy,” he said. “He reported to Andropov about a secret room in that man, Charon’s, home. A few days ago I sent someone to find that room, on the chance the journal might be there. She’s been here for nearly a week, searching. At some point I need to make contact with her.”
“She knows where the actual journal is located?”
“That’s what I have to find out. From her.”
“We don’t need it, Aleksandr. I know exactly what it says.”
Good to hear.
“It’s actually quite amazing, and ironic. And I assure you, what that journal contains is catastrophic.”
But there was one thing. “Provided a workable RA-115 is nearby.”
“You sound as if that’s not possible.”
“Is it?”
“You’ll find out, in about three hours.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Summary of Military Options in a War with Canada Dated: June 4, 1903
During the summer of 1898 the United States fought a conflict against Spain. It lasted a mere three and a half months and ended with a resounding American victory. The United Kingdom stayed neutral, but afterward it became increasingly concerned with the United States. Ownership and control of the coming Panama Canal has further agitated relations. America is evolving into a global power, a potent force on the high seas, and the United Kingdom, which currently fields the largest army and most powerful navy in the world, fears that competition.
For several decades now Canadian–American relations have been strained over a lingering border dispute in the northwestern region. Gold being discovered in the Yukon has further aggravated this conflict. The United Kingdom has just emerged from a costly war in South Africa and is unwilling at the present to supply the Canadians with any additional military assistance in their ongoing border dispute. Both the United States and Canada have moved troops to the Yukon region.
This secret document was requested by the War Department and details a plan concerning a possible full-scale invasion of Canada. American interest in acquiring Canada dates back to the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The 1783 Treaty of Paris respected Canada’s (or as it was known at the time, the Province of Quebec’s) independence. Of late, America’s interest in Canada has again sparked from a flicker to a high flame. Absorption of its territory through nonviolent means is certainly preferable, but Canada is deemed a valuable component of the British Commonwealth, one Great Briain would clearly defend. It is the second largest manufacturing country within the British empire, with Ontario and Quebec the most important industrial centers. As tensions rise between the United States and the United Kingdom, Canada is becoming increasingly strategic and vital to American national security. Recent military successes overseas and acquisition of new territories in the Pacific and Caribbean have fostered a renewed interest in American expansion northward.
The following pages contain a detailed analysis, along with all relevant data affecting a military operation against Canada. But here is a summary of the proposed plan:
(1) A first strike on Bermuda to eliminate the island as a possible port or supply base for the Royal Navy;
(2) A takeover of Halifax. Harbor defenses in and around Halifax have recently undergone new fortification, but its armaments remain obsolete. Without Bermuda, that port would become the main entry point for any overseas British reinforcements. An on-site visit to the port (made in preparation of this study) showed that the dockyard itself seemed a place of rust and ghosts, incapable of sustaining any long-term military operations. But that situation could be remedied, so the port should be secured;
(3) Acquire western entry points. Here the aim is to sever communications with eastern Canada and prevent reinforcements from Australia, New Zealand, and India. The same derelict-port situation from Halifax exists on the Canadian west coast at Esquimalt, where American land forces could easily be sent ashore. Another on-site visit showed that this former British base, now Canadian, is ill equipped and poorly manned, its dock currently in horrid condition;
(4) Additional ocean-capable ports at Yarmouth, St. John, Montreal, Quebec City, Prince Rupert, Vancouver, Victoria, Churchill, Three Rivers, Windsor, and New Westminster would likewise be either seized or blockaded;
(5) An initial troop land thrust would cut all rail communications, with one front in Maine, another in Montana, and a third, the main column, up through the Great Lakes where the St. Lawrence River canals would be seized;
(6) Control of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River is vital, but the bridge at Cornwall offers the fastest way to transport troops and equipment northward across the border;
(7) The Great Northern Railway connecting Quebec to the West must be taken. This would include the Pacific terminal at Prince Rupert. From a military viewpoint these railroads provide excellent transportation. Once seized, Canadian prairie farmers located along the rail lines, unable to export their crops, might be inclined to deal exclusively with the United States. This could cripple the Canadian economy with widespread food shortages;
(8) Highways will need to be controlled. While there are enormous stretches of country, particularly in the northern portion, with few or no roads, the southern portion is well served. Some 95,000 miles of roads exist, most classified as gravel, macadam, and concrete construction. Gravel roads will require extensive maintenance, especially during the spring.
The full plan anticipates a possible offensive response with Canadian and British troops sweeping down into New England, and other operations targeted at Michigan, Pennsylvania, and the Pacific, the idea being to create a multifront attack. The most effective means to counter these moves is to draw Canadian and/or British forces deeper into American territory, stretching their supply routes, lengthening their lines of communications, and isolating them.
It is our opinion, though, that Canada would most likely develop only a defensive posture, similar to what happened during both the 1775 and 1812 American invasions where local patriots waged an effective guerrilla war. Montreal and Quebec City would have to be strongly defended, most likely by the regular Canadian army, while the British navy attacked American commerce in the Atlantic. This was another tactic employed during the 1812 conflict. American naval power, though, is much different today than in the early part of the 19th century. Our fleet is now fully capable of engaging its British counterpart.
Estimates are that Canada could maintain an effective defense for only a matter of weeks. Any military force sent from the
United Kingdom in support could defend defined points for a limited time, but would eventually be overborne by sheer weight of numbers. Even if the Royal Navy managed to command the seas, the war would be lost on land. Canada would most likely concentrate on the defense of Halifax and the Montreal–Quebec line in order to hold its current bases of operation.
Our conclusion is that military operations by Canadians would be limited. We note that during our field visits (acting as casual tourists) French Canadians liked to boast that “we beat the Americans before and we can do it again.” But a British officer said that the defense of Canada would be more difficult than the protection of India.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Luke read the invasion summary, then thumbed through the pages of facts and figures used to support the suggested tactics. Sue was now scanning the summary, her reading every bit as intent as his own.
“It was a different time,” Begyn said. “Manifest destiny had taken hold. We controlled Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. To the world we had the look and feel of a budding empire. It was the era of Teddy Roosevelt, when we first flexed our muscles on a global stage.”
At times like this he wished he’d studied history closer. He knew some of what Begyn was referring to, but not the details. “How did the society come to prepare this plan?”
“Notice the date, 1903. At this point the Army War College had been formed, but the first class of students did not attend until 1904. So there was nowhere the United States planned for war, whether real or imagined. No one was thinking about possibilities, planning for contingencies. Teddy Roosevelt supported the society. He needed a plan drawn, in secret, without any attention. We could offer that service.”
“Except that it blows to hell that image of a quiet, benign social order.”
Sue finished her reading. “It sounds like they really meant to do this.”
“On May 21, 1916, the Army War College filed its own plan for the invasion of Canada. Much of it tracked this original position paper. From 1903 to 1916 the United States spent $71 million, a huge amount of money at the time, on fortifications along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, which were recommendations we made. The 1916 report came about because of England’s close ties with Japan and what the British might allow the Japanese to do in Canada. A lot of it was hysteria, but it was the kind of hysteria people back then believed.”
