Toledo’s radios were reconfigured so that Smitrov could be placed in direct communication with the Russian government committee responsible for the nation’s defense. When President Smitrov reached the council, they were already meeting in emergency session in a hardened underground bunker, buried under tons of rock and concrete on the outer perimeter of Sheremetyevo Airport. The complex was built to withstand the full might of a total nuclear war and support the Russian government for an extended period. Although rarely used after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was still maintained and was fully operational. The council meeting room could have been one of the ornate chambers in the Kremlin, all gold gilt, red velvet draperies, and mirror-polished marble floors. Only the whisper of filtered air wafting through the space and the concrete walls behind the drapes gave away the location.

At the first word from the United States about the threatening missile attack, the Security Council and the rest of the senior government officials had boarded a special high-speed subway train for the quick trip here. The subway had only two stops, the Kremlin and this bunker. It, too, was a relic of the Cold War, but had also come in quite handy on this historic day.

Just minutes before Smitrov’s call, the council had heard confirmation that the missile had hit the upper floors of the Mezhdunarodnaya Hotel. The old pile of cement was heavily damaged and there were casualties. Fires were raging on several floors and the building was in danger of collapse. No one could imagine why the hotel had been the missile’s target. Several speculated there might have been an error in the bird’s navigation computer, that it was aimed at the Kremlin. Thankfully, the missile was nonnuclear and the hotel was the only building damaged. There had been a collective sigh of relief as the Russian high command realized they had been spared a nuclear holocaust. Though they still held their breath, this attack appeared to have been the only missile launched so far.

Gregor Smitrov’s voice crackled through the speaker at the head of the huge conference table. The amplification filtered out much of the weakness in the president’s voice. His tone was all action.

Smitrov gave the command to place his armed forces on full alert and dispatched all the antisubmarine forces he could muster into the White Sea. A submarine, even one of Durov’s sparkling new Akulas, would have a tough time staying hidden from them for long in that tiny, enclosed sea.

Army divisions, known to be loyal, were swung into place to blockade Murmansk and Polyarnyy. The problem was the immense distances involved and the primitive transportation into the area. By the time the Army had surrounded the trouble spot, anyone inside would have more than ample time to escape.