The Red Collusion Read online

  “Excellent, and now you, Brigadier General Dimitri. It seems to me that by tomorrow, we can complete all the preparations, and the day after tomorrow, we can go out to sea for the test. I’m reminding you that we are almost ready, in theory, and we have only one missing detail, which seems marginal but is not. We have no target. We have no American vessel on which to execute all this giant operation. We still don’t have a training and navigation schedule for the American submarines.”

  Dimitri glanced at his watch and calculated for a minute before turning to Yevgeni.

  “Look, it is already one past midnight, but I am going to find and wake Admiral Leonov. Only he would have a secure telephone that can connect us to our people in Washington. They promised us results within a day or two, but I want to put pressure on them.”

  Brigadier General Dimitri stood up and walked towards the door.

  “One more thing, Dimitri”, Yevgeni called to him. “Tell your friend that we will meet him tomorrow at 0800 hours for an important conference. Tell him that we want the naval captain of the trawler and also the captain of the nuclear submarine with him at the meeting, as they will also join us in the experiment. We are nearing the end of our work tonight. Let’s eat something and meet up at the residence.”

  Colonel Nazarbayev rose to his feet and walked towards the door. Yevgeni’s eyes followed him.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I am not one hundred percent certain of everything. I want to go with the local team to their section and check a few things for myself. I will join you later. Good night, dear colleagues, or should I say, good morning to you.”

  Chapter 8

  Rear admiral Illya Leonov invited his guests to sit with him around the desk in his office. He poured steaming hot tea from a glass teapot for himself, and urged his guests to do the same.

  “Did my people come up with the goods last night?” he asked, expecting only one answer.

  Colonel Yevgeni placed his cup of tea on the table.

  “I have nothing but compliments for you and your people. They truly are first-class professionals.”

  The Admiral was pleased, but then folded his arms across his chest and looked severe.

  “I understand that you are going to blow up the whole port here.” “What do you mean?” Yevgeni protested.

  “I mean”, said the Admiral, “that late last night or early this morning, a truck entered my base with three one-ton bombs aboard. No one was kind enough to warn me in advance.”

  Although the most senior naval officer spoke in a calm voice, Yevgeni did not need his sharp senses to understand that the Admiral was angry, that he was exercising his rank and responsibility, and that his words were a sharp rebuke.

  “I apologize, Sir”, Yevgeni replied. “You are correct. I should have notified you, but I didn’t feel comfortable waking you up in the middle of the night.”

  “These are Air Force aerial bombs. What exactly do you intend to do with them, with my people? I don’t have planes here, and our naval Kamov helicopters can’t lift anything like one of these bombs.”

  “You are right”, Yevgeni replied. “We’re going to install a waterproof naval fuse in one of those bombs and then try to drop the bomb into the sea using the trawler’s crane. By the way, speaking of the trawler, I requested that this meeting be attended by its captain and also by the captain of the submarine that we are collaborating with. Where are they?”

  “They will join us in a few minutes. I wanted to have a few minutes with you alone here first.”

  Brigadier General Dimitri, the Rear Admiral’s old friend, now spoke.

  “My friend Rear Admiral Leonov. As we are your guests on this base, it is my duty to inform you of all our plans for today and also for tomorrow.”

  “Only guests?” replied the Admiral in a commanding tone, “Not once in my long life of service to the Soviet Union have I had ‘guests’”, – the Admiral pronounced the word guests emphatically to sound almost like invaders – “who arrived with a letter from the Minister of Defense that states that I have no discretion and I must provide them with anything and everything they ask for. I wanted to understand, I am not complaining. It’s obvious that the Minister would have not given you such a letter had it not been of the utmost importance, but to be honest, this is the first time I have encountered such a situation.”

  No one answered, and the Admiral concluded: “Well, it doesn’t matter. Go on Dimitri, go on.”

  Dimitri preferred not to discuss the issue that the Admiral had raised, justifiably, in his opinion, which actually contravened all known standing orders. The Admiral was graceful enough for someone in his position, so Dimitri continued talking technicalities.

  “Today we will work in the pier area of the port. We will board the trawler, study it, and get to know its crew. General Okhramenko will make sure that the electronic warfare equipment is installed correctly and effectively on this fishing vessel. The operators of this equipment must connect the equipment and coordinate with the boat crew. Most of the work will be done in the ordnance section, and that’s why Colonel Nazarbayev is not here with us. He is already in the section with your officers, and I hope that by the end of the day they will be ready to go out to sea tomorrow.”

  “And what are you planning for tomorrow?” asked the Admiral.

  “Tomorrow morning we will sail aboard the trawler to the area of your firing range. I understand it is about thirty miles from the shoreline.”

  “Correct”, the Admiral confirmed.

  “When we arrive there, we will perform a test drop of the bomb, with the hope that it will require no further testing.”

  “You also requested a submarine, and not just any ordinary submarine but one of our most advanced. What is its part in this?” the Admiral inquired.

  “Colonel Yevgeni and I will be on the submarine, and it will sail to a precise location that we will specify. At that point, the submarine will collect data of the blast, and General Okhramenko’s team, on the trawler, will try to shut down the eyes and ears of the submarine. In general, that is the full outline of what we are doing.”

  Someone knocked at the door of the Admiral’s office, and Lieutenant Alexey, the young submarine officer, entered. Behind him were two naval officers. The Admiral motioned to them to enter, and the Lieutenant walked several steps, came to a stop, snapped to attention and saluted. The other two officers remained at the door.

  “Sir, I have with me Captain Lev Yashin and Commander Vitaly Dobrinin, Sir.”

  “Come, gentlemen, join us”, Rear Admiral Leonov said, his eyes on the junior submariner officer, who remained at attention.

  “You are relieved, Lieutenant”, he said.

  “Sorry, Sir. I have here an envelope to deliver personally to Brigadier

  General Dimitri”, said the Lieutenant. The Admiral pointed at Dimitri.

  “Here he is. You can give it to him now.”

  Lieutenant Alexey removed a brown paper envelope sealed with red wax from under his arm. Dimitri signed a form that Alexey gave him, returned it to him, opened the envelope, glanced at it and quickly closed it.

  “Good news”, Dimitri whispered to Yevgeni who sat by his side, “We have it. This is from my conversation last tonight with our friends across the ocean.”

  Yevgeni nodded in satisfaction.

  Rear Admiral Leonov introduced the two naval captains, who took their seats at the table. He turned to the trawler’s new captain.

  “There’s only one other team member who will be aboard the trawler tomorrow”, the Admiral told the Major. “His name is Colonel Nazar… never mind. By the way, is he Uzbek or Kazakh?”

  Brigadier General Dimitri could not hide his amusement at his friend’s excessive interest in the ethnic background of his Kazakh Colonel friend.

  “His name is Nazarbayev and he is a Kazakh
by birth. He is a top officer, the best of the best”, Dimitri said.

  “All right, Kazakh”, the Admiral responded with a smile, and turned again to the two officers who had just joined them.

  “Our colleagues have come from Moscow and we are ordered to fulfill all their needs and requests. Let’s start with you, Commander. What is the status of your new vessel?”

  The Admiral pointed to Commander Vitaly. “Of course, he is the fisherman”, he added in a disparaging tone.

  Vitaly looked like a typical Russian. His face was round and fair and his eyes were blue. He seemed about 50 years old and his blonde hair was well cropped. He was average in stature with broad shoulders, and his navy blue uniform seemed somewhat worn and unkempt.

  “We have already spent thirty-six hours on the trawler”, said Commander Vitaly. “I have twenty-three seamen and four officers on board. They took their positions quickly and are in control, as our supply ship and this fishing vessel are quite similar. In general, the trawler is in well maintained, and it is now being equipped with military communication equipment. Another crew, that I assume is related to you, is installing electronic equipment, of which I don’t know many details.”

  “Better that you don’t know”, General Okhramenko said dryly. This was the first time he had spoken at the meeting.

  “By the way, how far can the cranes extend beyond the deck and how much can they lift?” Colonel Yevgeni asked.

  “In general”, Commander Vitaly said, leafing through some papers, “The ship has very powerful cranes, as they need to lift fishing nets with huge amounts of fish from the sea. Here is the data. We have two large cranes, one on the stern and one on the bow, with a lifting capacity of up to four and a half tons each, and there are two more, one on the portside and one on the starboard, with a lifting capacity of three tons each. Regarding the length of the arms, I…”

  Dimitri interrupted the commander.

  “It doesn’t matter now. There are two more things that that I need from you, Commander. Tonight, we will be loading a bomb weighing one ton onto your ship. Also, we are sending several ordnance personnel and operators of electronic equipment on board your ship. Eight men in total, who are actually the most important people in all our maneuvers. Now, the most important thing for you to do is to return quickly to your ship and personally supervise all the preparations, as tomorrow at 0800 hours we set out to sea, to the area of your naval range.”

  “We will be ready and on time, Colonel. Am I dismissed?” asked the commander.

  “Yes, Commander”, replied his direct commanding officer, the Admiral.

  While Commander Vitaly was making his way towards the door, Rear Admiral Ilya Leonov tapped Captain Yashin’s shoulder with his hand.

  “Gentlemen, this is Captain Yashin, commander of Nuclear Assault Submarine K-219, Navaga class. The Captain is one of the best sons of our beloved Soviet Union.”

  The Captain looked about 40 years old, handsome, with a narrow face and blond hair combed back. He had an athletic build and his navy blue uniform gave him a distinguished look. He chose not to respond to the compliments he had just received, and remained seated in his chair, upright and silent.

  As the person closest to the submarine commander’s occupation, it was only natural that Dimitri was the one to start a conversation with him.

  “Captain Yashin, your mission will be quite simple, because it is largely passive. Tomorrow, at 0800 hours, some of our people will be sailing out aboard the trawler to a firing range that you know. When they are ready to execute the test there, your submarine will be exactly 47 kilometers north of them. Of course, you will receive a precise location point.”

  Dimitri again opened the brown envelope, and removed the contents that he had glanced at only a few minutes earlier.

  “Please excuse me for a moment “, he said.

  He stepped aside, going through the papers which he held on his knees and, a few minutes time later, he put the papers back in the envelope and rejoined the group.

  “Back to our subject; your submarine will be at the same location at a depth of two hundred and ninety meters exactly. Colonel Yevgeni and I will join you aboard your vessel There is no need for any special equipment or any particular specialist, as your full regular crew is sufficient for this mission and we will be working with them. Is everything clear, Captain?”

  The submarine commander nodded and pulled his shoulders back.

  “There is nothing to understand, Colonel. You are asking us to do nothing”, replied the submarine commander.

  “This is true”, Dimitri said. “It may be said that I need your submarine almost as inert metal at the right place, at the right time and at the right depth, but its presence there is crucial to the mission. Colonel Yevgeni and I cannot operate this monster all by ourselves. But I have something else to tell you, Captain Yashin, something very important. Nobody in the submarine, but nobody, should know that there is a vessel in the perimeter of the range or that their submarine is involved in any kind of test. We must check and see if, and what, your operators aboard the submarine discover about an explosion taking place in their range, but without them knowing anything of this ahead of time. This is a critical point, and this alone will determine if the test is successful or if it is a waste of time and resources. Please inform everyone from your deputy down that we are guests from Moscow, from the Ministry of Defense, or you can tell them that we are tourists, or you can tell them anything. That’s it as far as tomorrow. Is everything clear so far?”

  Captain Yashin nodded.

  “From tomorrow”, Dimitri continued, “After we return, your submarine will not sail anywhere. It will remain here at the port on a sea-mission alert, with a six-hour advance notice. At the moment, I cannot tell you how long it will last. On the day that we sail out to our operation, your submarine will escort the trawler. You will follow it by periscope. Before going out to sea, you will receive an envelope from me with another top secret mission. You will be allowed to unseal this envelope only after our trawler reaches its destination and drops anchor there. That’s all, Captain. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  The submarine commander rose up, bowed his head slightly to the Admiral, and hurried out the door. Yevgeni looked at Dimitri and smiled ironically.

  “What’s so funny?” Dimitri asked.

  “I don’t think you’ll end up as good friends, you and the submarine commander. No matter, the most important is that we’ll be in good hands tomorrow. Say, maybe you should go alone? It simply doesn’t seem natural to me to enter an iron pipe and even dive in it. It may be more suitable for unhealthy people, I mean, not right in the head. Well, I think we’ve exhausted the subject. Let’s go visit our Kazakh friend. That poor fellow hasn’t had a second of sleep in forty-eight hours.”

  “Thank you, Rear Admiral Leonov”, Yevgeni said.

  “The best of luck, Colonel”, the Admiral said, remaining at his desk, and the four team members left the room.

  Lieutenant Alexey led the four team members on the paths leading to the vast hangars of the ordnance section, where they were to meet Colonel Nazarbayev. Yevgeni stopped the group near a small and derelict-looking hangar. He opened its door and looked inside.

  “Follow me”, he called out to his teammates. “Lieutenant Alexey, please remain out here. Make sure that no one disturbs us.” “Will do, Sir”, Alexey replied.

  Predictably, it was Vladimir, whom Yevgeni and Dimitri had dubbed “the sixth fellow”, who must secretly represent military intelligence, who first questioned Yevgeni.

  “Colonel Yevgeni, what are you doing?” “Follow me and you’ll all see”, replied Yevgeni.

  The four walked into a small hall that looked like a welding workshop. In the center of the workshop stood an iron table with remnants of sheet metal and iron bars. Yevgeni motioned to his friends to join him around the table.
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  “Dimitri”, Yevgeni said, “you can open the envelope here. The contents of this envelope are the heart of the matter, and here we can assume that there are no hidden microphones or cameras and that nothing will leak out. Do you understand me now, Vladimir, my friend?”

  Vladimir watched Yevgeni without expression and did not say a word.

  Dimitri opened the envelope which, to his teammates’ surprise, contained only two pages appearing at first glance, to be photocopies of documents taken under less than optimal conditions. At the top of each page, the U.S. Navy emblem was printed, and in each center, a golden eagle, with its wings spread, held an anchor in its talons, with the writing: “The Second Fleet – Norfolk”. Dimitri let out a whistle, admiring the document.

  “I thought sailors weren’t allowed to whistle”, said Yevgeni.

  “Yes, but only at sea”, Dimitri said.

  Dimitri continued to look at the pages. He looked mesmerized.

  “What is Norfolk?” asked General Okhramenko.

  “It’s the largest naval base in the world and it’s in Virginia, the United States, on the Atlantic coast”, Dimitri replied and continued his thorough examination of the papers. “The truth is, I took a look at the pages earlier during our meeting, but I focused on the map and missed the description on the other side. I swear, our guys in Washington are really good. Correction; they are the best.”

  “So this is what we have here”, continued Dimitri in an admiring tone. “This is the navigation training program of the American nuclear assault submarine fleet in the Atlantic Ocean for the month of November 1981. Stunning. Simply stunning.”

  “I see a map on this page, and the second page has tables”, Yevgeni said. “Can you tell us briefly what this data means?”

  “The map shows the navigation route from their base on the East Coast of the North American continent, more or less towards the north of Norway, and then they turn south”, Dimitri said, tapping on the map with his finger.