Chapter Twelve

Lord Tar's messages arrived at their intended destinations either late the following day or early on the day after that. Four of them detailed what his western contingents were to do to rid the Motherland of the presence of North Americans; one of them contained directions for his small but heavily-armed and highly mobile pirate fleet to relocate to the northeastern Pacific; and one very lengthy, very vitriolic response was sent back to the man who had authored the message that had upset The Demon so fatally.

When that man, one Grigoriy Martinov, decoded and read the document, he paled and slumped back in his chair. Slowly he re-read the entire message, making sure that he understood Lord Tar's intentions. Then he read it a third time, taking detailed notes. Finally, he called his first assistant and had him set up a meeting for that night after supper.

Grigoriy spent the remainder of the daylight hours in meditation and planning, not having much appetite. When the meeting time came, he waited until he was sure to be the last one in, then entered the long room. Half a dozen of his picked, trusted men were seated around the table, and at the far end stood a large and imposing man dressed in what looked suspiciously like a uniform. It wasn't one of the recognized standards of the USS military, though. Grigoriy came to the opposite end of the table and faced him.

"Good evening, Colonel Derevenko. It was good of you to come on such short notice."

"Thank you, Gospodin Martinov. But your man impressed upon me the urgency of your situation. I could hardly refuse," he answered, his eye taking on an avaricious glint, "especially in light of the sum that he mentioned."

"Yes, well … this is a most delicate venture, one where there is no margin for error." He shook his head decisively. "No margin at all."

"Surgical precision is our stock and trade, as you know. It's what we get paid for."

"Yes, indeed. My master wished me to convey to you his satisfaction with our earlier dealings, and his hope that you would be able to repeat that degree of success."

"You may thank him for me, and assure him that it won't be a problem."

"I will do so."

"Now," said the Colonel, "what is this project you need my help with?"

In answer, Grigoriy activated a large remote monitor on the wall to his left. While it was accessing the necessary documents, he said, "You will need your entire team for this action, Colonel, and you will …"

"My entire team?"

"Yes."

"I only needed two hundred and fifty to subdue an entire central-African nation!"

"Nevertheless, you will need them all this time."

"I have almost seven hundred on staff. We haven't ever had to use all of them for one action, and I can't imagine why we would do so now."

"With all due respect, Colonel, you've never performed an exercise of this nature before."

Colonel Derevenko decided to forgo further protest and wait to see the rest of the plan.

"As I was saying, you will not have a very large window in which to work. Timing is critical. In addition to the many formidable physical barriers to incursion, the target zone is a maze of electronic detection wizardry, and is widely considered to be impenetrable by any force large enough to do significant damage. Your men will need to get in and out with all due speed and a level of stealth that would put a ninja to shame. At the same time, they will have to deal with upwards of a thousand combat-hardened and highly trained Special Forces troops, and at least three supers of unknown powers and strength."

"You intrigue me, Gospodin Martinov. What is this task that it can require an operation of such magnitude?"

Grigoriy pointed at the screen, where two maps were displayed side by side. One was a topographical map of the area around St. Paul, Minnesota. The other was a satellite image of a large, fortified compound.

The Colonel's eyes narrowed. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it is the political headquarters of the North American Union, then yes."

"This is the place we are to go?"

"Yes."

"My interest is officially piqued." He walked over to the screen and pointed to the compound. "This is the second most heavily-fortified area on the planet. You know that, do you not?"

"Yes."

"And you wish to … not blow it up, obviously, or we wouldn't be talking. You wish to infiltrate it?"

"Again, yes. Infiltrate and access one particular individual."

"Hmm. Access, you say." He paused to consider the issue. "And who is in there that only my men and I can get to?"

"Doctor Joseph Franklin Brandt."

Colonel Derevenko's look was frankly skeptical. "The President? You want us to assassinate the President of the NAU?"

"No." Grigoriy took a deep breath. "Lord Tar wishes you to kidnap him."