“My dear Admiral Durov, it is so good to see you. It has been far too long since you have come by to visit.”

Durov stopped short, ignoring the outstretched hand. Instead, he came to rigid attention and snapped a crisp salute. “President, it is my reluctant duty to inform you that we have lost two nuclear submarines and the brave men aboard them,” he said in stiff, formal tones.

Smitrov dropped his hand and stared wide-eyed at the admiral. His face was blank, the forced smile lost. His usual pallor was even more pronounced. Durov held his salute even as he was certain the president of Russia would topple over in a dead faint.

“But how…?” he stammered. “Admiral, how did this horrible thing happen?”

Durov dropped the salute but still held himself rigid as he continued. “We sent the Gepard out on her sea trials. We knew the Americans would try to spy on her and that they might interfere as they have been wont to do in the past. Nothing serious, of course. Merely harassment. At least not until this time. At any rate, I ordered my nephew, Igor Serebnitskiv, out with his boat, the Volk, to protect her. I regret to report that both submarines are overdue to report in.”

“It could be anything. Weather? Mechanical…”

“We analyzed tapes from our remote seafloor sensors. There were several very pronounced explosions in the area where they were operating.”

There were no tapes. Durov had created them. Still, it gave the illusion of hard evidence and that’s what he needed just now.

The former college professor who now ran the government of Durov’s homeland was buying the lie without question. Smitrov put his fist to his mouth in horror.

“Oh my God!” he groaned. “All those brave men lost in some horrible accident. How is that possible? I know the boat was new, but was it not the finest—”

Durov held his hand up to stop his questions. “Mr. President, there is more. Before the explosions were detected, we found the signature of three submarines in that area, our two and an American Los Angeles class. After the explosions, all the signatures were lost. The tapes didn’t show any torpedo noises, but our experts believe the American attacked and destroyed our boats somehow. Our naval liaison in Washington reported the Americans volunteered to help with rescue operations for a submarine they said was sunk under the ice in the Barents Sea near Novaya Zemlya. This happened a day after the explosions.”

Durov paused to let this information sink in. Smitrov sat in stunned silence.