Night was settling over the nation’s capital, a light rain falling from a blanket of dark gray clouds as a black Lincoln Navigator sped south on the George Washington Parkway. In the backseat of the vehicle, Christine O’Connor’s eyes were fixed on the passing scenery, but her thoughts were focused on the upcoming meeting. She had received the president’s call less than an hour ago, directing her to conduct a brief at the Pentagon tonight.
Earlier in the day, the staggering information had filtered in: Bogdanov’s confession in Sochi, followed by verification of his claims after a weapon inventory in Gadzhiyevo. The classified brief in Christine’s lap pulled together everything they knew: Mixell, Kazan, nuclear warheads, and Futtaim. There were still many unanswered questions, but enough information to warrant action.
The Lincoln Navigator peeled off from the parkway toward the Pentagon’s River Entrance, the portico’s bright lights in the distance wavering through the rain, illuminating the steps descending from the Pentagon terrace toward the Potomac River. Her vehicle stopped at the base of the steps as Cadillac One, bracketed by two more Navigators, ground to a halt behind her.
She stepped from her SUV as the president emerged from Cadillac One, joined by Chief of Staff Kevin Hardison, National Security Advisor Thom Parham, and the president’s senior military aide, Captain Glen McGlothin. Christine joined the entourage, flanked by Secret Service agents, as another vehicle arrived and Vice President Bob Tompkins and his Secret Service detail hustled to catch up.
There was no conversation along the way as they descended to the National Military Command Center, relocated to the Pentagon’s basement during the last phase of the building’s fifteen-year renovation. Upon reaching the entrance, Captain McGlothin swiped his badge and entered the cipher code, then held the door open for the president.
Christine accompanied the group into NMCC’s Current Action Center, with several tiers of workstations descending to a fifteen-by-thirty-foot electronic display on the far wall, then into a conference room along the top tier. Already seated and rising when the president entered were the Joint Chiefs of Staff: the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and National Guard, plus the vice chairman and chairman, General Gil Bohannon. On the other side of the table sat several members of the president’s cabinet: Secretary of Defense Tom Drapac, Secretary of State Dawn Cabral, and Secretary of Homeland Security Nova Conover. Christine took a vacant seat at the end of the table, across from the president.
The president looked to Christine. “Go ahead.”
Christine passed around copies of the brief, then began.
“There are a lot of unanswered questions, but the high-level takeaway is—we believe the Russian submarine Kazan is carrying twenty Kalibr missiles armed with nuclear warheads, and that the submarine’s commanding officer has been paid to launch them.”
There were murmurs around the table, as some of those present hadn’t yet been briefed on the latest details.
Christine flipped to the first page of the brief. “Here’s what we know.”
She walked everyone through the issue and what they had learned thus far: who Lonnie Mixell was, that he had funded the cancer treatment for Plecas’s daughter, paid Bogdanov and Korenev to swap and arm twenty Kalibr nuclear warheads, and that the missiles had been loaded aboard Kazan. Based on the letter from Plecas to his wife, Kazan would launch its missiles in approximately three days.
There was a somber silence in the conference room as the occupants digested the information.
“What are the targets?” Chief of Staff General Bohannon asked.
“We don’t know,” Christine replied. “Kazan could target anywhere in Europe or most of Africa from the Mediterranean or Atlantic. However, based on the projected timing of the launch, it’s likely the targets are along the East Coast of the United States. Using the datum of Kazan’s interaction with USS Pittsburgh near the GIUK Gap and a transit speed of ten knots, Kazan will be within launch range of major cities near the Eastern Seaboard in three days.”
The president interjected. “The Navy is already working on tracking down Kazan before she launches. What are our options to reduce the number of lives lost if she does?” He directed his question at Secretary of Homeland Security Nova Conover.
“The short answer is—defend or evacuate.” Conover then asked Christine, “What’s the range of these Kalibr missiles?”
“About fifteen hundred miles.”
Conover processed the information, then turned back to the president. “Evacuation isn’t an option. If Kazan launches from near the coast, her missiles could reach all the way into Texas and Colorado. There’s no way to evacuate over half of the country in three days; the roads can’t handle it. An evacuation of that magnitude would take weeks.”
“That leaves us with defend,” the president replied. To General Bohannon, he said, “Put together a plan to defend all major cities in the eastern half of the country.”
“We’ll put something together, sir, but without knowing the targets, our missile defense will be spread too thin. Cruise missiles are difficult to shoot down, and Kalibr is one of the best. For a successful defense, we need to concentrate our assets near the targets.”
“Then we need to prevent the launch,” the president replied. “Where do we stand on locating Kazan?”
Admiral Tom Blaszczyk, Chief of Naval Operations, answered. “Kazan’s location is unknown, with her last reported position being northwest of Iceland six days ago. We’re sortieing all Atlantic Fleet ASW assets to sea and borrowing what we can from Pacific Fleet, but we’re in a similar situation as homeland security—the area Kazan could be in is too vast for our resources. Our current containment is too porous. We need queuing data so we can concentrate our forces.”
Silence enveloped the conference room as the men and women around the table waited for the president’s next words.
Finally, he said, “The way ahead is difficult, but clear.” He fixed his eyes on Christine. “First, find Mixell. We need to know what the targets are.”
To Secretary of Defense Tom Drapac, he said, “Locate and sink Kazan.”