by Alex Lukeman
"Sergei, how's the board? Any problems?"
Sergei glanced at the panel of lights and digital meters that indicated the status of his weapon systems. "Negative, sir. Everything is in order."
Small arms fire began to ricochet off the hull as Dimitri's intent to cross the border became clear. The Latvian border guards were firing but the only benefit was psychological. The rounds had no hope of penetrating the tank's armor. Dimitri saw one of them lift an RPG to his shoulder and fire.
Adrenaline surged through him. His vision narrowed, focused on the potent package of explosive streaking toward him. The Afghanit protection system would destroy the round. At least he hoped it would. If it did get through, he'd been told their armor was more than enough to stop it. This was the first time the new system had been tested in battle.
I hope they were telling the truth.
"Incoming," he said over the internal system. "Hold your course."
The Afghanit system used radar panels on the side of the turret to automatically track and kill antitank missiles or artillery shells. Mounted beneath the turret, a series of long tubes could fire an electronically activated charge to intercept incoming threats.
Dimitri watched a white streak leave his tank. The RPG round exploded. Vera rolled on, undamaged.
"Sergei, take care of that launcher," Dimitri said.
The gunner chose the remotely operated Kord. He zeroed in with the laser rangefinder and opened up. The soldiers with the rocket launcher were reloading when the bullets from the heavy machine-gun tore them to pieces.
"Get rid of that roadblock," Dimitri said.
"Yes, sir." His voice was calm but Dimitri could hear the adrenaline surging underneath.
The turret swiveled and Sergei fired the main cannon. The bulldozer blocking the road disintegrated in a fiery blast. Pieces of jagged metal tore through the soldiers manning the roadblock and cut them down.
The road to Riga was open.
CHAPTER 41
In Virginia, Elizabeth's phone signaled a call from Langley.
"Harker."
"Elizabeth, it's Clarence. Pull up the satellite over the Baltics."
"Hello to you too, Clarence. Just a minute."
Elizabeth entered the command on her keyboard and the Baltics appeared on her wall monitor.
"Got it," she said.
"Focus on the Latvian border with Russia."
Elizabeth made an adjustment.
"Damn."
"That's about the mildest comment I've heard so far," Hood said.
"When did this start?"
"About thirty minutes ago. If they don't meet any significant resistance the Russians will be in Riga tomorrow. There's not much the Latvians can do to stop them."
"NATO?"
"High command has called for another emergency meeting in Brussels."
"What is the president doing?" Elizabeth asked.
"He's raised the alert status to DEFCON 2. Where is your team now? "
"Leipzig. It turns out that Johannes Gutenberg is still alive."
"I thought he died in Switzerland."
"We all did. I've sent the team after him. He's right in the middle of this. He's been funding Orlov's military buildup."
"Ah."
"The question is why," Elizabeth said. "Gutenberg isn't Russian. I can't believe he has the Federation's best interests at heart and he has to know he'll never get back the money he's spent. If we know why he's been so generous it might give us something we can use as leverage to get Orlov to back off."
"I suppose it's possible."
"We've got nothing to lose by interrogating Gutenberg."
"Elizabeth..." Hood paused. "This one has me worried. Orlov is too easily influenced by the people around him and he's surrounded himself with the Kremlin hardliners. If they have convinced him NATO is not going to respond, he's making a serious mistake. We absolutely cannot allow Russia to annex the Baltics. This has every potential to go nuclear."
"Then we'd better hope we can find something to stop it," Elizabeth said.
"I have to go," Hood said. "We'll talk later."
He broke the connection. Elizabeth set down her phone. She looked at the monitor and watched the Russian tanks crossing into Latvia. Behind the tanks, troop transports and artillery poured over the border. She couldn't help but feel that she was watching the beginning of World War III. It scared the hell out of her.
The Russians were advancing toward Riga from St. Petersburg, Pskov and Moscow. Elizabeth zoomed out for a wider view. The Baltic Fleet had come out of Kaliningrad and was steaming for the Gulf of Riga, ahead of a large storm front moving in from the northwest.
Orlov's crash program to modernize the military hadn't caught up with the Navy. There was one small aircraft carrier in the rusting Baltic Fleet, the Kuznetsov. She was obsolete and could only field a dozen aircraft but that was still a dozen more than the three Baltic states possessed. There was no Air Force in any of the Baltic countries. If there had been, the Russian air force would have easily blown it out of the sky.
The Kuznetsov was accompanied by two heavy cruisers and several frigates. Elizabeth assumed there was at least one submarine with the fleet as well. Once they entered the Gulf, Latvia's capital would be at their mercy.
Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office. Burps lay on the couch. The cat eyed her and rolled over on his back, paws in the air. Stephanie reached down and scratched his enormous stomach. He began to purr, an erratic rumble that sounded like a diesel engine in the next room.
Stephanie looked at the monitor. "What are you looking at?"
"The Russians have invaded Latvia."
"Oh, no," Steph said. "I'd hoped they were bluffing. What happens now?"
"It depends on how NATO responds and what the President wants to do."
"Do you think the Europeans will honor the treaty?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said. "The president will make sure of that. What's up, Steph? You look like something's happened."
"I've been watching Gutenberg's house. An ambulance pulled up a little while ago. As soon as it arrived, someone was carried out of the house and loaded into the back. It went out of there in a big hurry with lights flashing."
"You think it was Gutenberg?"
"I don't know, but it's a good guess."
"It could have been one of his staff."
Stephanie shrugged. "Maybe."
"Where did the ambulance go?"
"The University Hospital. It's one of the best hospitals in Germany."
"If it's Gutenberg, we have a chance at him."
"Maybe the bastard will die and save us all a lot of trouble," Steph said. Her voice was tinged with bitterness.
"Nick will find out if it's him." Elizabeth paused. "I'll send him in. He knows what to do."
On the other side of the world in Moscow, Alexei Vysotsky had just received news that Operation Bright Sword had begun. He put down his phone and sat at his desk, thinking.
It's started. Now we are committed. If Orlov is wrong about NATO, this will be a disaster
Alexei considered the vodka in his desk drawer and decided against it. He opened another drawer that contained a small aluminum box. He took the box out of the drawer and set it on his desk. He toggled a switch on the side of the box and a green light came on. The box radiated frequencies that made it impossible for anyone to listen to conversations in the room.
Alexei had decided long ago that paranoia was the best survival strategy. In the days of the Soviet Union, when he'd begun his career in the KGB, a misspoken word or an overheard conversation could send the speaker to the gulags. The Soviet Union was no more but Alexei knew better than most that the old ways still prevailed. Freedom was a pleasant illusion. Now that he had reached his high position he was more paranoid than ever. Paranoia was a way of life in Russia, particularly in the corridors of power.
Alexei entered Valentina's code on his phone and sent an encrypted burst that meant he wanted to talk with
her. Thirty seconds later his phone signaled her reply.
"General."
"What is your status?" Alexei asked.
"There's been a development," Valentina said. "Kepler has been taken to a hospital here in Leipzig."
"What's the matter with him?"
"I have no idea, but it gives me a chance to get to him."
"Make sure you find out why he has been backing Golovkin before you terminate him," Alexei said.
"There's no need for you to remind me." Valentina sounded annoyed. "What if he's unconscious?"
"Wake him up."
"And if I can't?"
"Kill him."
CHAPTER 42
Nick and Selena lay naked and damp with sweat on the tangled sheets of the hotel bed. Selena had one leg draped over Nick's thigh. Outside, it was raining and cold. In the room it was warm and comfortable.
Selena ran her hand along the ripples of scar tissue on the side of Nick's chest, a souvenir of Afghanistan and a near miss with a grenade.
"I wish we never had to get out of this bed," she said.
"You'd get bored."
"I think that would depend on how creative you were."
"Is that a challenge?"
She kissed him. "Take it any way you like."
The satellite phone by the bed signaled a call. Nick reached over for it.
He looked at the display. "It's Harker."
"Who else would it be?" Selena said.
"Yes, Director."
"Have you been watching the news?"
"No."
"The Russians have crossed the border into Latvia," Elizabeth said. "They're driving straight for Riga."
"Shit," Nick said. "What's NATO doing?" Selena looked at him.
"At the moment they're not doing anything except arguing. They're obligated to defend Latvia but they can agree on what to do. The British want immediate action. The French are sitting on the fence and the Germans are calling for what they term 'studied consideration of the situation.' By the time they agree on anything it will be all over for Latvia. President Rice is meeting with the National Security Council. He's ready to intervene without the others and shame Brussels into honoring the treaty terms. We won't allow the Federation to overrun the Baltics."
"What do you want us to do?"
"Gutenberg has been taken to the University Hospital. He may know something we can use to help stop this before it gets worse. I want you to find out why Gutenberg has been giving money to Orlov for his war machine."
"Maybe it's just an investment. Making money by backing Orlov," Nick said.
"My gut feeling is that there's more to it than money. He's not going to get back an investment of thirty or forty billion euros anytime soon by helping to fund this war. He's after something else. I want to know what it is."
"Do you know what room he's in?"
"4417. It's on the fourth floor of the VIP wing. I'm sending you a floor layout. You can pick it up at the hotel desk"
Selena had gotten up and gone into the bathroom. Nick could hear the shower running.
"Understood," Nick said.
Harker broke the connection. Nick got up and turned on the television. He muted the sound and flipped through channels until he found a newscast. Pictures of Russian troops on the move filled the screen.
He picked up the house phone and called Ronnie and Lamont's room. Ronnie picked up the phone.
"Ronnie."
"What's up, Kemo Sabe?"
"Gutenberg's out of his compound. Meet in half an hour in the lobby."
"Copy that."
Nick put down the phone and went into the bathroom. "Room for two in there?"
Selena pulled back the curtain, her body glistening with water.
"Plenty of room. What did Elizabeth want?" She had a cap over her hair.
Nick stepped into the shower. "This is one of the things I like about being married to you."
"What?"
"Showers."
Selena smiled. "What did Elizabeth want?" she said again.
"We have a shot at Gutenberg. Much as I hate to say it, we have to hurry. I told Ronnie to meet us downstairs."
"Then I guess I'd better turn on the cold water," she said.
CHAPTER 43
The University Hospital of Leipzig was a teaching hospital with more than four thousand people working in it. Valentina slipped in unnoticed through a side entrance, dressed in a nurse's uniform purchased a few hours earlier. A plastic name badge identified her as Lisa Grunig. The badge was close enough in shape and color to the official one worn by all the nurses at the hospital that no one would notice the difference. Valentina knew most people were not particularly observant. They saw what they expected to see. When they looked at her they would see a nurse who worked at the hospital.
Earlier she'd tapped in to the SVR servers and accessed the hospital computer. Kepler was in a room on the fourth floor, in a section reserved for VIPs who had enough money to secure privacy and space. She took the stairs to the fourth floor, cracked the door open and looked out on a brightly lit hall that ended in an L.
Kepler's room was not far away. She moved to the junction and glanced around the corner. A large man sat in a chair outside Kepler's room, reading an illustrated book.
Bodyguard, she thought. Probably one or two more in the room.
The hall stretched away into the distance, like a photographer's study in perspective. There was a nurse's station some distance beyond the guard. A nurse sat behind the desk writing something, her back toward Valentina.
Valentina was armed with a Makarov PSM pistol and a razor-sharp dagger. The PSM fired a 5.45 X 18 mm round that was capable of punching through body armor at the close distances where most engagements took place. The PSM was compact and light, weighing in at about a pound. She didn't want to use it except as a last resort. The report of the pistol was sure to bring people running. Even with a suppressor screwed onto the end of the barrel the Makarov was still a noisy weapon.
For this operation noise was an enemy. She would have to use her Spetsnaz Systema martial arts or the knife. Valentina watched the nurse at the station get up and walk away. She straightened her nurse's cap and turned the corner, walking toward the guard. He looked up as she drew near.
"I need to check on Herr Kepler," Valentina said. Her German was flawless.
The guard looked at her. "I haven't seen you before. You have to be on a list. This room is restricted."
Valentina appeared annoyed. "Of course it's restricted. Herr Kepler is far too important to have just anyone disturbing him. Check your list, you'll find my name. Lisa Grunig."
She looked again toward the nurse's station in the distance. The nurse hadn't come back yet.
The guard bent over to his left and reached for a clipboard on the floor. Valentina stabbed him in the kidney, the blade sliding with ease into his unprotected back. The pain of the strike made speech impossible. The guard arched backward in reflex and tried to scream but no sound came from his throat. Valentina withdrew the blade and struck again, through the hollow at the base of his skull. She caught him as he collapsed back in the chair. It had taken only a few, silent seconds to kill him.
She straightened the body and placed the guard's hands on his lap with the book under them. From a distance it would look like he'd fallen asleep while he was reading.
Valentina opened the door into Kepler's room. Kepler was propped up in the bed and appeared to be asleep. An IV was hooked up to a needle inserted into his arm. Monitors recorded his vital signs. She stepped into the room and paused, distracted by the ruin of his face. A mistake. Something hard pressed into her back.
"Don't move. Who are you?"
The voice belonged to another guard. He'd been to the left of the door.
"She's just a nurse, Hans," a second voice said. "Karl let her through. She must be okay."
"I know all the nurses authorized to come in here," Hans said. "She's not one of them. Go ask Karl why he let h
er in."
The second man went outside. He was back before Valentina could move.
"Karl's dead. This bitch must've killed him."
Before she could move Hans wrapped a thick arm around her throat. He was big, much bigger than she was. It felt like being held by a gorilla. Valentina stomped down on his foot. He grunted but didn't release his hold. She was having trouble breathing. She tried to say something but his arm made it impossible.
"Time to go bye-bye, honey," Karl said. "When you wake up we'll have a nice long chat."
CHAPTER 44
Nick and the others entered the hospital through a service entrance. If someone stopped them Nick planned to claim they'd gotten lost. It wasn't much of cover.
Nick consulted the floor layout Harker had sent and found the stairs to the fourth floor of Gutenberg's wing.
"This way."
They reached the staircase without incident. They climbed the stairs to the fourth floor and looked out on the hall.
"No one there. So far, so good," Nick said.
They walked a short distance to an L-shaped junction. Ronnie looked around the corner.
"There's a guy sitting in a chair," he said. His voice was quiet. "He doesn't look so hot. He's slumped over and there's blood on his jacket."
"A guard," Selena said. "That has to be Gutenberg's room."
"Someone's been here ahead of us," Lamont said.
"There's a nurse's station farther down the hall," Ronnie said. "Nobody there. I can see a bunch of lights flashing. Must be an emergency somewhere."
Nick's left ear was tingling, the way it always did when things were about to heat up. He reached up and tugged on the lobe, what was left of it. The rest had been torn away by a Chinese bullet on the same day he'd met Selena.
Lamont, Ronnie and Selena looked at each other. They knew what it meant when Nick did that.
"This could go bad pretty quick," he said. "Try to keep it quiet. Lamont, you stay here and make sure no one comes out of those stairs behind us. Ronnie, when we get to the room you stand outside as if nothing's wrong. Pretend you're a guard. Block the view from the nurse's station. Selena and I will go in."