tc.redstormrising-第113部分

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bers。　How　successful　they　were　I　do　not　yet　know。〃
〃Where　did　they　launch　their　missiles　from？〃　Pyotr　Bromkovskiy　asked。
〃East　of　Murmansk；　less　than　thirty　kilometers　from　our　coast。　A　frigate　saw　and　reported　the　launch；　then　went　off　the　air。　We　have　aircraft　searching　for　him　now。〃
〃How　the　hell　did　he　get　there！　If　that　submarine　had　launched　ballistic　missiles　at　us；〃　Bromkovskiy　demanded；　〃how　much　warning　would　we　have　had？〃
〃Six　to　seven　minutes。〃
〃Wonderful！　We　cannot　react　that　fast。　How　can　you　let　them　get　so　close！〃
〃They　won't　get　out；　Petya；　I　promise　you　that！〃　the　Defense　Minister　replied　heatedly。
The　General　Secretary　leaned　forward。　〃You　will　see　to　it　that　this　can　never　happen　again！〃
〃While　we　are　all　here；　rades；〃　Sergetov　spoke　up。　〃Can　the　rade　Defense　Minister　review　overnight　developments　on　the　German　Front？〃
〃NATO　forces　are　strained　to　the　breaking　point。　As　the　KGB　has　told　us；　their　supplies　are　critically　low；　and　with　the　diplomatic　developments　of　the　past　few　days；　I　think　we　may　safely　assume　that　NATO　is　on　the　verge　of　political　disintegration。　All　we　have　to　do　is　keep　the　pressure　on；　and　they　must　collapse！〃
〃But　we　are　running　out　of　fuel　also！〃　Bromkovskiy　said。　〃The　offer　the　Germans　have　given　us　is　a　reasonable　one。〃
〃No。〃　The　Foreign　Minister　shook　his　head　emphatically。　〃This　gives　us　nothing。〃
〃It　gives　us　peace；　rade；〃　Bromkovskiy　said　quietly。　〃If　we　continue…consider；　my　friends；　consider　what　we　were　all　thinking　a　few　hours　ago　when　the　rocket　warning　came　in。〃
For　the　first　time；　Sergetov　realized；　the　old　man　had　made　a　point　they　all　agreed　with。　After　weeks　and　months　of　promises　and　plans　and　assurances　on　how　things　could　be　kept　under　control；　that　one　false　alarm　had　forced　them　to　look　at　what　lay　over　the　edge　of　the　abyss。　For　ten　minutes　they　feared　that　control　had　been　lost；　and　all　the　Defense　Minister's　bluster　could　not　make　them　forget　that。
After　a　moment　of　consideration；　the　General　Secretary　spoke。　〃Our　representatives　are　meeting　with　the　Germans　in　a　few　hours。　The　Foreign　Minister　will　report　to　us　tomorrow　on　the　substance　of　their　new　offer。〃
On　that　note　the　session　ended。　Sergetov　tucked　his　notes　in　his　leather　briefcase；　left　the　room　alone；　and　walked　downstairs　to　his　official　car。　A　junior　aide　held　the　door　open　when　a　voice　called。
〃Mikhail　Eduardovich；　may　I　ride　with　you？　My　car　has　broken　down。〃　It　was　Boris　Kosov；　chairman　of　the　mittee　for　State　Security；　the　KGB。

36　…　Shootout　at　31　West！

MOSCOW；　R。S。F。S。R。
〃Shall　we　take　a　drive　today；　Mikhail　Eduardovich？　Perhaps　we　can　talk？〃　Sergetov's　blood　chilled；　though　he　did　not　let　it　show。　Was　it　possible　for　the　Chief　of　the　KGB　not　to　look　sinister？　he　wondered。　From　Leningrad；　like　Sergetov；　Kosov　was　a　short；　rotund　man　who　had　taken　over　the　KGB　after　running　the　Central　mittee's　shadowy　〃General　Department。〃　He　had　a　jolly　laugh　when　he　wanted　to；　and　in　another　guise　could　be　the　personification　of　Grandfather　Frost；　the　State's　acceptable　version　of　Santa　Claus。　But　he　was　not　in　another　guise　now。
〃Certainly；　Boris　Georgiyevich；〃　Sergetov　said；　and　pointed　at　his　driver。　〃You　may　speak　freely。　Vitaly　is　a　good　man。〃
〃I　know　it；〃　Kosov　replied。　〃He's　worked　for　us　the　last　ten　years。〃　Sergetov　only　had　to　watch　the　back　of　his　driver's　neck　to　know　that　Kosov　spoke　the　truth。
〃So　what　shall　we　talk　about？〃
The　Director　of　the　KGB　reached　into　his　briefcase　and　came　out　with　a　device　about　the　size　of　a　paperback　book。　He　flipped　a　switch　and　it　gave　off　an　unpleasant　buzz。〃
〃A　clever　new　device　made　in　the　Netherlands；　he　explained。　〃It　gives　off　a　noise　that　renders　most　microphones　useless。　Something　to　do　with　harmonics；　my　people　tell　me。〃　Then　his　manner　changed　abruptly。
〃Mikhail　Eduardovich；　do　you　know　the　significance　of　the　American　attack　on　our　airfields？〃
〃A　troublesome　development　to　be　sure；　but…〃
〃I　thought　not。　Several　NATO　convoys　are　at　sea。　A　major　one　left　New　York　several　days　ago。　It　carries　two　million　tons　of　essential　war　materiel；　plus　a　plete　American　division；　to　Europe。　In　destroying　a　number　of　our　bombers；　NATO　has　significantly　reduced　our　ability　to　deal　with　the　convoys。　They　have　also　cleared　the　way　for　direct　attacks　against　Soviet　soil。〃
〃But　Iceland…〃
〃Has　been　neutralized。〃　Kosov　explained　what　had　happened　to　the　Soviet　fighters　at　Keflavik。
〃You're　telling　me　the　war　goes　badly？　Then　why　is　Germany　making　overtures　for　peace？〃
〃Yes；　that　is　a　very　good　question。〃
〃If　you　have　suspicions；　rade　Director；　you　should　not　bring　them　to　me！〃
〃I　will　tell　you　a　story。　Back　in　January　when　I　had　my　bypass　surgery；　day…today　control　of　KGB　passed　to　the　First　Deputy　Chairman；　Josef　Larionov。　Have　you　met　little　Josef？〃　Kosov　asked。
〃No；　he　never　took　your　place　at　Politburo　meetings…what　about　the　Defense　Council？〃　Sergetov's　head　snapped　around。　〃They　did　not　consult　you？　You　were　recovering　then。〃
〃An　exaggeration。　I　was　quite　ill　for　two　weeks；　but　naturally　this　information　was　kept　quiet。　It　took　another　month　before　I　was　back　working　full　time。　The　members　of　the　Defense　Council　had　no　wish　to　impede　my　recovery；　and　so　young；　ambitious　Josef　was　called　in　to　give　KGB's　official　intelligence　assessment。　As　you　might　imagine；　we　have　many　schools　of　thought　in　the　intelligence　services…it　is　not　like　your　precious　engineering　where　all　things　are　broken　into　neat　little　numbers　and　graphs。　We　have　to　look　inside　the　heads　of　men　who　often　as　not　do　not　themselves　know　what　they　think　on　an　issue。　Sometimes　I　wonder　why　we　do　not　employ　gypsy　fortune…tellers　。　。　。　but　I　digress。
〃KGB　maintains　what　we　call　the　Strategic　Intelligence　Estimate。　This　is　a　document　updated　on　a　daily　basis　which　gives　our　assessment　of　the　political　and　military　strength　of　our　adversaries。　Because　of　the　nature　of　our　work；　and　because　of　serious　mistakes　made　in　the　past；　we　have　three　assessment　teams　who　make　the　estimate：　Best　Case；　Worst　Case；　and　Middle　Case。　The　terms　are　self…explanatory；　are　they　not？　When　we　make　a　presentation　to　the　Politburo；　we　generally　use　the　Middle　Case　estimate；　and　for　the　obvious　reasons　we　annotate　our　estimates　with　data　from　the　other　two。〃
〃So　when　he　was　called　in　to　give　his　assessment　to　the　Politburo…〃
〃Yes。　Young　Josef；　the　ambitious　little　bastard　who　wants　my　job　as　a　wolf　wants　a　sheep；　was　clever　enough　to　bring　all　three　with　him。　When　he　saw　what　they　wanted；　he　gave　them　what　they　wanted。〃
〃But　when　you　returned；　why　didn't　you　correct　the　mistake？〃
Kosov　gave　his　panion　an　ironic　smile。　〃Misha；　Misha；　sometimes　you　can　be　most　engagingly　naive。　I　should　have　killed　the　son　of　a　bitch；　but　this　was　not　possible。　Josef　suffers　from　poor　health；　though　he　is　not　aware　of　it。　The　time　is　not　yet　right；〃　Kosov　said；　as　though　discussing　a　vacation。　〃KGB　is　split　into　several　factions　at　the　moment。　Josef　controls　one。　I　control　another。　Mine　is　larger；　but　not　decisively　so。　He　has　the　ear　of　the　General　Secretary　and　the　Defense　Minister。　I　am　a　sick　old　man…they　have　told　me　this。　Except　for　the　war　I　would　have　been　replaced　already。〃
〃But　he　lied　to　the　Politburo！〃　Sergetov　nearly　shouted。
〃Not　at　all。　You　think　Josef　is　foolish？　He　handed　over　an　official　KGB　intelligence　estimate　drawn　up　under　my　chairmanship；　by　my　department　heads。〃
Why　is　he　telling　me　all　this？　He　fears　losing　his　post；　and　he　wants　support　with　other　Politburo　members。　Is　that　all？
〃You're　telling　me　that　this　is　all　a　mistake。〃
〃Exactly；〃　Kosov　answered。　〃Bad　luck　and　poor　judgment　in　our　oil　industry…not　your　fault；　of　course。　Add　some　fear　in　the　hearts　of　our　Party　hierarchy；　some　ambition　in　one　of　my　subordinates；　the　Defense　Minister's　sense　of　importance；　and　outright　stupidity　on　the　part　of　the　West；　and　here　we　are　today。〃
〃So；　what　do　you　think　we　should　do？〃　Sergetov　asked　warily。
〃Nothing。　I　ask　that　you　keep　in　mind；　however；　that　the　next　week　will　probably　decide　the　oute　of　our　war。　Ah！〃　he　exclaimed。　〃Look；　my　car　has　been　repaired。　You　may　pull　over　here；　Vitaly。　Thank　you　for　the　ride；　Misha。　Good　day。〃　Kosov　retrieved　his　jamming　device　and　stepped　out　of　the　car。
Mikhail　Eduardovich　Sergetov　watched　the　KGB　limousine　pull　away　and　disappear　around　the　er。　He　had　played　many　power　games　in　his　life。　Sergetov's　climb　up　the　Party　ladder　had　been　more　than　an　exercise　in　efficiency。　Men　had　stood　in　his　way；　and　needed　brushing　aside。　Promising　careers　had　been　broken　so　that　he　could　sit　in　this　Zil　automobile　and　aspire　to　real　power　in　his　country。　But　never　had　the　game　been　this　dangerous。　He　didn't　know　the　rules；　was　not　sure　what　Kosov　was　really　up　to。　Was　his　story　even　true？　Might　he　be　trying　to　cover　his　own　flanks　for　errors　he　had　made　and　blame　it　all　on　Josef　Larionov？　Sergetov　could　not　recall　ever　meeting　the　First　Deputy　Chairman。
〃Straight　to　the　office；　Vitaly；〃　Sergetov　ordered。　He　was　too　deep　in　thought　to　worry　about　his　driver's　other　activities。

NORTHWOOD；　ENGLAND
Toland　scanned　the　satellite　photographs　with　great　interest。　The　KH…11　satellite　had　passed　over　Kirovsk　four　hours　after　the　missile　attack　and　the　signals　sent　by　real…time　link　to　the　NATO　mand　center。　There　were　three　frames　for　each　of　the　Backfire　bases。　The　intelligence　officer　took　out　a　pad　and　started　his　tally；　manding　himself　to　be　conservative。　The　only　aircraft　he　counted　as　destroyed　were　those　with　large　pieces　broken　or　burned　off。
〃We　figured　a　total　force　of　about　eighty…five　aircraft。　Looks　to　me　like　twenty…one　totally　destroyed；　and　another　thirty　or　so　damaged。　The　base　facilities　took　a　real　beating。　The　only　other　thing　I'd　like　to　know　is　how　hard　their　personnel　were　hit。　If　we　killed　a　lot　of　crews；　too…the　Backfires　are　out　of　business　for　at　least　a　week。　They　still　have　the　Badgers；　but　those　birds　have　shorter　legs；　they're　a　lot　easier　to　kill。　Admiral；　it's　a　new　ball　game。〃
Admiral　Sir　Charles　Beattie　smiled。　His　intelligence　chief　had　said　almost　exactly　the　same　thing。

LANGLEY　AIR　FORCE　BASE；　VIRGINIA
The　F…15　interceptor　streaked　over　the　runway　at　a　height　of　one　hundred　feet。　As　she　passed　the　tower；　Major　Nakamura　threw　her　fighter　into