“Mr. President,” Alexeyev said, “we have a 2015 Chardonnay and a 2015 Western Slope Merlot.” He winked at his officers. “We usually don’t get a treat like that, whether in-port or at-sea, sir. Shall we pour some?”
Vostov considered and nodded. “How can I say no to that, Captain? As for me, the white wine, but just half a glass.”
Once the meal was done, Vostov looked over at Captain Alexeyev. “Captain, why don’t you and I go to your room — your sea cabin? — and talk for a moment, privately. I would ask my chief of staff to come with us, and naturally one of the SBP detail will come, but obviously won’t listen or contribute.”
“My pleasure, Mr. President. Please follow me.” Alexeyev left the large officers’ messroom through the forward door, down a wide passageway with walls laminated with a light birchwood pattern. At the end of the passageway were two doors, one with a small window at eye level, its glass red. Alexeyev opened the other door and motioned in the president, Tonya Pasternak, and the suit-clad SBP guard. Alexeyev sat at the end seat of the large conference table, which adjoined his large wooden desk, the table and the desk forming a “T” shape. Vostov took a seat next to him in a seat facing the door they’d entered, with Pasternak seated opposite him. The SBP man stood in the corner near the door.
The stateroom was large, the bulkheads lined with large flatpanel displays, the conference table and desk dominating the room otherwise. The captain’s bed was tucked against the long wall of the room in an alcove. At the end of the bed was a large storage closet and next to that, the wall of the captain’s head. At the aft end, where Alexeyev’s end seat was, a door led aft, labeled “FOSR,” which Alexeyev explained meant “first officer’s stateroom.”
“So, Captain,” Vostov opened, “I assume you have questions about this upcoming operation. I figured you might want to air them out now, but away from your men.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. My first question is, why are we doing this? Parking ten megaton hydrogen bombs in American ports? Understood, they are military ports, but still. This seems extremely aggressive.”
“Yes. I understand that point of view,” Vostov said. “Do you think you could call for some more of that white wine? That was pretty good.”
Alexeyev reached under the table for a phone handset, pressed a button on it, and muttered a few words into it. Not a full minute from the call, the mess steward knocked and came in with a tray with the wine bottle in an ice bucket and three glasses. Pasternak waved off a glass. The steward poured for Vostov and Alexeyev, replaced the wine bottle and disappeared out the forward door.
“The defense minister would tend to agree with you, Captain,” Vostov said. “In his words, we’re launching three ICBMs, just missiles that travel at ten knots, not two thousand. My head of the SVR feels the same way, and even the top ranks of the Navy itself have objected to this idea. But I simply don’t see it that way. These weapons are sleepers. They’ll just sit on the bay bottom, inert. They won’t even be in communication with antennae, so they can’t be activated by remote.”
“What? I’m confused,” Alexeyev said. “What good is a loitering weapon if it can’t be awakened in a, well, let’s call it a ‘tactical situation’?”
“It’s not the same thing as an ICBM at all, you see. It’s just a deep contingency. Back during the Cold War, the Spetsnaz GRU used to construct weapons caches and survival bunkers on enemy soil, for use, well, just in case. This is somewhat similar. If a world war were to break out against NATO and the Americans, we’d send diver commandos to activate the weapons. For that reason, it’s important that you report back the exact location of these Status-6 units. They must be placed with precision and their positions noted with extreme accuracy, which is why your ship and
“If you say so, Mr. President. Let’s leave the purpose of the Status-6 placement aside for a moment. Why the polar transit? And the months-long passage under the ice, through the Bering Strait around South America to get to the U.S. Atlantic coast? We could make that voyage from here at a patrol quiet speed of ten knots in a little over three weeks. The polar path will be much slower, due to the ice, and will take at least three-and-a-half months.”
