He raised a third finger. “Fact. Russian infantry units performed so poorly, and so chaotically, during the two recent Chechen Wars, that we do not anticipate them being deployed against us in any theater at the current time. We would welcome it if they were. Their leadership corps are some of the same people responsible for the humiliating debacle in Afghanistan during the 1980s. The vast majority of their foot soldiers are either young, inexperienced, and poorly trained, or have gone through adverse experiences in Chechnya, with the attendant psychological damage that suggests.”

He stopped speaking. It was quiet in the room.

“Thank you, General,” Mark Baylor said. He looked around at the faces gathered there. The last face he reached was Lawrence Keller’s. “I like it,” Baylor said. “I think we need to strike while the iron is hot. Let’s go forward with the attacks.”

Lawrence Keller sighed.

“Mr. Interim President,” he said, trying the title out. It sounded fine to his ears. It sounded almost emasculating, as though Baylor was the caretaker of a small nonprofit organization for children, while the executive director was recovering from hip replacement surgery.

“Mr. Interim President,” he said again, more forcefully this time. “That’s all well and good, and I’m certain we can defeat the Russians in any conventional theater of combat. But we haven’t heard anything from the general about their nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. General?”

“You already know what I’m going to say about their ballistic missile capabilities,” Stark said.

“Well, a few moments ago this gentleman to your left told us that more than two hundred Russian missile silos are reporting full combat readiness. I’d like to hear more about that, if I might, before we launch a war against the world’s other major nuclear-armed power.”

General Stark’s voice suddenly rose in anger. “In what capacity are you acting that you think—”

Keller pointed at Stark. “I already told you what capacity. I am the representative of the duly-elected—”

Stark looked at Baylor. “Mr. President?”

Baylor shrugged and nodded. “Just give him the assessment,” he said. “So we can all get out of here.”

“Okay,” Stark said and sighed. He turned to a new page.

“Give us all of it,” Keller said. “Don’t hold back.”

Stark stared at him.