They had nuclear weapons left over from the Soviet Union.

Keller pointed at a military aide sitting to Stark’s left. “Can we hear that assessment again, please?”

Stark shook his head and sneered. “Mr. Keller, you have no authority here, and you have no military experience. I’m not sure we need to—”

“Incorrect, General,” Keller said. “Do your homework. I am the authorized representative in this room of the duly-elected President of the United States, David Barrett. I served in the United States Marine Corps, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, from 1967 to 1971, with two tours of Vietnam. I spent the month of February 1968 in Hue City, taking it back from the NVA. I probably have as much combat experience as you do, General, if not more.”

Lawrence Keller was all the way out on a limb now. The situation was nuts, and as a result, he had lost his mind. Mark Baylor was watching him closely. Everyone was watching him. It was impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. It was impossible to fade back into the woodwork.

“Now let’s hear that assessment again,” he said.

The aide looked down at the paper in his hand. The paper had been passed to him from a runner who had come downstairs with the latest printouts.

The aide cleared his throat.

“Uh… as of eleven hundred hours Eastern Daylight Time, May eighth, Russian Strategic Command appears to have mobilized far-reaching military assets in response to American activities in the Middle East. Russian bombers and fighter planes are patrolling at the edge of American airspace in the Bering Strait, and have penetrated across the Arctic Ocean, testing British RAF response in the North Sea, and buzzing Canadian airspace over Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Russian bombers and jet fighters have been sighted over the Sea of Japan, and are moving eastward across the Mediterranean Sea toward the Levantine coast, hugging the contours of North Africa. Russian MIG-21s have entered Iranian airspace, at the invitation of the Iranian Supreme Islamic Council, and in an unprecedented provocation, are patrolling the borders between Iran and Iraq, as well as Iran and Afghanistan. American fighter jets have made visual contact—repeat, visual contact—with Russian fighters in both of these regions.”

The aide turned over the page, and skimmed the next one before reading aloud. He appeared to be a man of about thirty-five. His face had blushed red while reading the first page of the intelligence report. He cleared his throat again and breathed deeply.

“Perhaps most worrisome, more than two hundred missile silos across the Russian heartland and Siberia are reporting states of combat readiness. These include launch silos for nuclear-equipped intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the United States. Russian Strategic Command has issued a communiqué stating that any American or NATO attack on Syria or Iran will constitute an act of war against the Russian Federation, and will be treated accordingly.”