But this was for real, and yet these remote pictures, detached and distant, conveyed no hint of the drama unfolding on the ground and at sea. The contrast between the mountain calm and peace of Camp David and the grim events MacWhite was describing was almost inconceivable. Then again, Bear tried to console himself, these old walls had seen it all and heard it all before, from Pearl Harbor and the grimmest days of the Second World War, through the Cuban Missile Crisis and into his own times; dark days and desperate deeds planned in the rustic comfort of this very room.

As President Dillon looked up from the screen, Bear could see the shock and concern in her eyes. Nothing she had experienced up to this moment could have prepared her for news such as this. However, she had not become President of the United States of America without being able to hide her emotions when necessary. And it was necessary now.

MacWhite continued talking, Bear sensed, in order to give her time to better control her inner turmoil, as she came to terms with the full implications of what she had just heard and seen.

“The next question, Madam President, is whether the NATO nations will now be prepared to activate collective defense under Article Five. If they fail to do so we will be on our own and our people might well conclude that, if Europe does not have the will to help us in this undertaking, it is not for our people to die helping them. If we step back, Russia will dominate Europe, and strategically the world will have become a very much more dangerous place.”

Dillon paused for a moment and then answered, her voice full of resolve. “This is not the first time in history that the freedom of Europe depends on the resolution of the US president . . . You can depend on me. But NATO must step up to the mark, too. What is Admiral Howard’s view?”

In that moment, Bear felt once again the leadership that the West was going to need so desperately.

“He’d just seen Kostilek, the Secretary General, before he talked to me,” MacWhite answered. “Kostilek is one of the good guys, but he’s pretty gloomy. He’ll try his damnedest, but he doubts whether he can get full NAC consensus about Article Five.”

The President raised an eyebrow, but MacWhite anticipated her next question. “An Article Five event cannot be declared without full consensus from the North Atlantic Council, the decision-making body of NATO. And we know there’s more than one nation that will not sign up to confronting Russia.”

The President nodded her understanding. “Continue.”