Chapter 50 The Brink
I don't own Captain America
FIFTY CHAPTERS!
Monday, October 22, 1962
Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel
Shortly after the President's speech on national television that evening, Peggy, still in her black pantsuit, sat on the edge of her bed in her suite while on the phone with her husband. She sighed, "Darling, I." She hesitated.
"I know," Steve responded.
Peggy frowned, "Steve, I don't think the quarantine is going to work. I mean, I suggested it and helped sell it to the National Security Council and the President, but, I have to be honest, I don't think it'll work." She sighed, "The Soviets are going to run the Naval quarantine. I can guarantee it."
"If they do, the Navy will do their job and stop the Soviet ships," said Steve in a reassuring tone.
Peggy shook her head, "Hopefully the Soviet ships will stop without any shooting."
"Hon, you know what you're doing, and you made that suggestion with your best judgment and with all the information you had. And the President is making the decision at everyone's best interest to avoid escalation." Steve paused, "Now, the decision isn't perfect, but it's the best course of action right now, and that's what we need."
"Yeah," said Peggy.
"I'm scared too, especially since I don't know what's going on as much as you do. But Peggy, we believe in you," Steve said, referring to him and the kids. "We may not know what you're doing, but we know that you'll do the best that you can do. You'll guide and advise the President to the best of your abilities. I have faith in you, and when we find ourselves out of this situation, we'll know that you were part of it." Steve paused, "And I have faith we'll get through this," he said in a hopeful tone.
Peggy smiled, "Thank you, darling." He always knew what to say to her. Though she didn't quite feel as optimistic about the outcome, she believed that her husband did, and that was enough.
Steve chuckled, "Then the kids can all say, 'My mom, helped during the missile crisis.'" Peggy laughed. It's been such a long week that it felt like she hadn't laughed at all, which wasn't true. "Speaking of, Michael wants to talk to you."
Peggy nodded, "Okay."
After a moment of silence on the line, Peggy heard her oldest son's voice on the phone. "Hi, Mom," Michael greeted.
"Hi, darling," Peggy greeted with a smile, happy to hear her son's voice. "I bet you have a lot of questions."
"Not, really," Michael responded. "After hearing what the President said, it made sense why you didn't tell us about it when you left. You had to keep it a secret until the government figured out what to do, right?"
Peggy nodded, "Correct."
"Mom, can I ask you something? I'm sure you don't want to think about it, but…"
Peggy sighed, "You want to know the likelihood of war between us and the Soviet Union."
"Yeah."
Peggy frowned, "It's no use lying to you about this because of what you just heard earlier, but the likelihood is high." She paused, "I know it's no use telling you not to worry, but I want you to try. It's not going to help and it's only going to scare your younger brother and sister. So try not to worry, okay?"
"Okay, Mom."
"And I don't want you or Sarah, talking about nuclear war or anything nuclear or war related with them either, got that, mister?" Peggy said in a commanding tone.
"I won't, Mom. I promise. I was just asking about, well," Michael paused.
"I know, darling, it's okay." Peggy nodded.
"So, is the President listening to you, Mom? If he isn't, he should," said Michael. "Dad said you're probably the smartest person working the situation right now because everyone you're working with is a politician. Which means they're either liars or cheats and when they're not kissing babies, they're stealing their lollipops."
Peggy chuckled, "Dad said that?"
"Every word."
Peggy smiled and shook her head, "I don't know how that makes me smarter than them."
"Because they're selfish and dumb," Michael joked.
Peggy laughed, "darling," she playfully scolded. "Okay, okay. But not all of them are like that, there's still some good ones." She smirked, "But, to answer your question, yes, the President listens to me."
"That's good. I'm glad he's listening to you, Mom. As he should," said Michael.
Peggy chuckled, "Well, thank you for saying that, Michael." The conversation took a slight pause as silence fell between mother and son.
"Well, how is my football star doing? Got a game this Friday?" asked Peggy.
"Yup, home game at 7PM. I'm guessing you might not be able to come?" asked Michael.
Peggy frowned, "Probably not, darling. I'm sorry." She really wished she could go home and see her son play, but realistically knew she couldn't. Nonetheless, she's very proud of her varsity football player.
"It's okay, I know, Mom." There was another slight pause followed by Michael quickly speaking up, "Oh, Sarah, Angela, and John want to talk to you."
Peggy smiled, "okay, put them on, sweetie."
"Okay, here's Sarah." But before Michael got off the phone, he spoke up in a hopeful tone, "Mom, Everything is going to be all right. I have faith."
Peggy smiled, "Thank you, darling." Though Michael was a lot like her, he also had a lot of his father in him. He shared his father's optimism and hopefulness, which she liked. It's one thing to hear her husband reassure her and another for her children too, and hearing Michael say that further lifted her from such a stressful day.
"Love you, Mom," said Michael.
"I love you too, darling, I'll talk to you soon," she said with a smile.
With that, Peggy heard her son get off the phone, and a small smile remained on her face as she waited to hear from her oldest daughter. Though it's been a long week, she's happy for this little moment to talk to her kids. Although Peggy still had much work to do and a lot to think about, she figured it wouldn't hurt to talk to her family for a little bit. Especially after the President's speech, Peggy wanted to make sure her family was okay.
Tuesday, October 23, 1962
Early the next morning, following President Kennedy's announcement of the quarantine of Cuba, the US Navy ships consisting majorly of Destroyer Squadron 16 moved into position outside of Cuba. The Navy quarantine fleet was comprised mainly of destroyers, cruisers, and other support ships from the Atlantic Fleet. The Naval cordon established itself about 500 nautical miles North and East of Cape Maisi, the easternmost part of the island of Cuba. The deployment of the ships ensured that the Navy would be out of range from Soviet Migs and IL28 bombers based in Cuba.
Though the President only just announced his course of action to the American public last night, for the past few days, the Navy preemptively mobilized ships to Cuba while the President was still deliberating on his course of action. Now, the mighty US Navy is in a better position to cordon off Cuba from any incoming Soviet freighters.
White House
That same morning, EXCOMM met again in the White House Cabinet room to discuss the quarantine procedures and any other further developments in the crisis with the Joint Chiefs. Admiral George Whelan Anderson Jr., Chief of Naval Operations in charge of the US quarantine, stood by the table, facing the President as he briefed the quarantine procedures.
Admiral Anderson, in his dress blue uniform, spoke with bravado , "The Soviet ships approaching the blockade are appearing to run the blockade, Mr. President. The immediate ships we're tracking inbound to Cuba show no signs of changing course, are the Gagarin and Kimovsk, will make the quarantine line by this time tomorrow."
Robert Kennedy, who was pacing at the end of the table by Peggy and Adlai Stevenson, spoke up, "Admiral Anderson, if the ships do not stop, exactly what are our rules of engagement?"
"Well, Russian-speaking personnel have been transferred to all our ships. When the quarantine takes effect in the morning, our ships will attempt to make radio contact with the approaching vessels." The Admiral nodded, "They'll be ordered to reduce speed and standby for inspection. An inspection team will then board and search the vessel. If weapons are found, the ship will be ordered out of the quarantine area, or if they refuse, they'll be towed to the nearest port."
"What happens if the ship doesn't stop for inspection or want to be towed?"
"We fire a warning shot across their bow."
"And what if the ship ignores the warning shot?" asked Robert Kennedy again.
"We then fire at its rudder, disable it, and carry on our inspection," replied the Admiral.
"There will be no shooting without my explicit orders," President Kennedy interjected from his seat at the center of the table. "Is that understood?"
The Admiral hesitated for a moment before responding. "Yes, sir." Like most military men, including the chiefs, he didn't like politicians telling him how to do his job. Though, he understood the President's reasons.
The President looked at the Admiral, "Well, Admiral. It looks as though this is up to the Navy."
"Mr. President, the Navy will not let you down," the Admiral confidently responded.
General Maxwell Taylor, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, spoke up from his seat by the Admiral, "There's one other thing, Mr. President. We're commencing low level photography runs over Cuba this morning."
CIA Director, John A. McCone, joined the discussion, "It'll be more detailed than the U-2 photography. This way, we'll be able to firm up our estimates of the missiles' readiness." He waved over to Peggy, "Develop target packages for strikes, and further brief SHIELD units on their areas. If you should order the strikes, sir."
"To protect our pilots," General Taylor began. "We're prepared to retaliate against any SAM site or anti-aircraft battery that may open fire."
General Curtis LeMay, Airforce Chief of Staff, interjected, "We have a flight of Thunderchiefs, that'll be able to respond within minutes to any attacks on our planes."
"And what time does these low level flights commence?" asked the President.
Admiral Anderson answered, "In two hours, sir. Two F-8 Crusaders from VFP-62, light photographic squadron 62. Commander Ecker will be leading the first flight." RF-8A Crusaders, a reconnaissance version of the supersonic, carrier-based air superiority fighter aircraft forward deployed to NAS Key West.
Peggy leaned back and eyed the Joint Chiefs suspiciously. She didn't like the idea of the low-level flights over Cuba because they required the use of attack planes armed only with cameras and flying at extremely low altitudes over hostile territory. With Castro's regime is on alert after the President broadcasted the knowledge of the missiles to the public, the low-level flights would significantly spook them. There's no way for them to know those planes are carrying cameras, not bombs. Those planes are going to get shot at, no question. But Peggy knew they needed the low-level flights for more detailed photographs of the state of the missiles. Because the moment the first missile becomes operational, the US will need to go into Cuba and destroy it.
Unfortunately, she didn't trust the military chiefs nor have too much confidence in their judgment. Though the low-level reconnaissance flights are necessary, Peggy felt as if the Joint Chiefs are setting up the President for war with their rules of engagement. The Chiefs want to go in and remove Castro and do it right this time after the Bay of Pigs debacle. Peggy strongly believed that they want a war and are arranging things to get one. If a plane gets shot down or a ship doesn't stop for inspection, it will force the US to start shooting. Sadly, Peggy thinks the Chiefs, like many other people, believe it's in the nation's best interest to fight a war with Cuba and the Soviet Union.
The President glanced over at Peggy, "Peggy, is there anything SHIELD discovered to support CIA intelligence and or contradict?"
Peggy nodded, "Our limited human intelligence in Cuba supports CIA evidence of Cuban non-participation in Soviet missile installations. However, I need to advise caution with the low-level flights." She leaned forward, "I already handed this information to the Joint Chiefs, but, early this morning, we confirmed the presence of further anti-aircraft defenses near a few missile sites, consisting of low-level air defenses, covering the inner dead-zone of Soviet SAM sites. The Soviets have positioned a handful of ZSU-23-4 'Shika' SPAAGs (Self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun) around a handful of missile sites."
The ZSU-23-4 Shika is a vicious radar-guided, self-propelled, anti-aircraft tank, armed with four 23mm 2A7 autocannons. The tank can fire at a cyclic rate of 850-1,000 rounds per minute for a combined rate of fire of 3,400-4,000 rounds per minute, and also capable of firing while on the move. The tank outclassed all NATO anti-aircraft guns at this time and posed a significant threat for low-flying fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
She nodded to General Taylor, "We provided a handful of these route corridors to known missile sites that we believe aren't covered by Shikas. These routes can be used by attack aircraft and the low-level reconnaissance flights."
The President sighed at hearing the news of further air defenses in Cuba.
Peggy continued, "As our assets in Cuba are limited in both freedom of movement and coverage, we can't guarantee the corridors are absolutely reliable, and thus, we only have a few of these routes. They are, however, the best we can come up with."
General LeMay nodded at Peggy, "We'll work with it, Peggy."
Though Peggy didn't support the idea of war and airstrikes as the first solution, she still had to do her job. The information she provided to the chiefs, she hoped, would save the lives of the pilots flying low over Cuba.
The President nodded, "Alright, thank you, Peggy." He looked over to Dean Rusk, Secretary of State, "Now, in the matters concerning the State Department." He nodded, "Go ahead, Dean."
Later that afternoon, two RF-8A Crusaders from VFP-62 took off from NAS Key West for the first low-level reconnaissance flight of a missile site in Cuba. The flight, led by the Commanding Officer of VFP-62, Commander William Ecker, and his wingman LT Christopher B. Wilhelmy, screamed across the Gulf of Mexico at extremely low altitude and more than 350 knots or 402 miles per hour. Utilizing the route corridors provided from SHIELD to avoid low altitude air defenses, the flight of Crusaders and the two other flights flown later that day should be able to make it to their targets and back with little trouble.
After less than an hour of flight, the two Crusaders crossed the Cuban coastline, Commander Ecker brought his plane closer to the deck, flying at treetop level, his wingman in chase did the same. Overflying the mouth of a river, the Crusaders followed the waterway to the missile site as described by the SHIELD route. As the Crusaders threaded the bends in the river and neared their target, the two pilots armed their cameras to take pictures.
At a missile site, a Soviet soldier leaned against the wall of sandbags around his DShk 12.7mm heavy machine gun as he stood guard against American low-level attack planes aiming to destroy the four ballistic missile launchers near him. He and his partner, as well as the other soldiers, were recently briefed on the possibility of American airstrikes. The Soviet soldier wasn't too worried as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He was more annoyed with the tropical humidity and the mosquitos than anything else. Though standing guard at the machine gun nest wasn't the most appealing duty, it beat the labor-intensive job the engineers faced with setting up the launch pads for the missiles, especially in this humidity.
The soldier removed a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it when he suddenly heard the faint roar of a jet. He hesitated, not sure if he believed his ears, as he looked down the river. A the roar increasingly got louder; his partner stood up from his seat and also started to stare down the river. He too not believing what he's hearing.
As the roar continued to get louder, another soldier ran to the side of the sandbags and yelled, "Americans are coming!"
Soviet and Cuban soldiers and engineers quickly scrambled for cover, grab weapons, and ready their anti-aircraft machine guns and artillery. But as the roar turned into a boom, the two RF-8A Crusaders appeared low in the sky, bearing down on the Soviet missiles before either the Soviet and Cuban soldier were able to get a shot off.
Commander Ecker and his wingman kept to their flight path, accelerating to the missiles at below 400-feet. Flying so low to the Earth, both pilots got a good glimpse of Soviet and Cuban soldiers still frantically running for their weapons near the ballistic missile site. Screaming above the panicking Communist soldiers, Ecker and his wingman shot over the missiles and successfully took several photographs of the site. With the onboard camera capable of taking several frames a second, flying low and at high-speed provided greater detailed photos compared to the high flying U-2.
After zooming over the missiles, the two RF-8A Crusaders climbed slightly and sharply turned to intercept the adjacent SHIELD corridor and departed the airspace.
Later that afternoon, the Organization of American States meeting endorsed the United States quarantine of Cuba in a surprising unanimous vote, legitimizing the quarantine. Without the mandate from the O.A.S, the quarantine would've been an act of war in the eyes of the world.
White House
That evening, President Kennedy sat at the Resolute Desk in front of a wall of reporters and journalists as he signed into effect the Naval quarantine of Cuba. "In accordance with this afternoon's vote at the Organization of American States, the quarantine will hereby be effective as of 10 o'clock tomorrow morning," he said to his advisors and the press.
With cameras flashing continuously, the President signed, dated, and stamped the authorization of the Naval quarantine.
"It almost seemed today as if time stood still," reported Walter Cronkite as he spoke in his usual calm and understanding voice on the TV. "The shooting hadn't started yet, but there weren't any really encouraging signs that it could be avoided. But worried, alarmed, afraid, perhaps even, the American public nonetheless, appeared determined and resolved."
"This is Walter Cronkite. Good night."
Later in the night after the press left and most of the White House Staff, the President, Robert Kennedy, Kenneth O'Donnell, Theodore Sorensen, and Peggy all gathered in the Oval office. President Kennedy sighed and rubbed his neck in exhaustion as he paced back and forth.
Robert Kennedy smiled and stopped by his brother, "Tomorrow, we'll see what the Navy is made of."
Peggy sat down on the couch next to Sorensen and let out a long sigh, "I hope I'm not alone in the fact I haven't slept much."
O'Donnell chuckled as he leaned back and slouched on the opposite couch, "I don't think anyone has slept since, what, last Sunday? Jesus, it's only been a week? Feels way longer than that." Robert Kennedy chuckled and shook his head.
President Kennedy stuck his hands in his pockets and stopped in front of the group, "You know, last summer, I read a book called, The Guns of August."
"Hm," Sorenson responded with a nod.
"I wish everyone in that blockade line had read that book." He paused. The President then began to speak quickly as his frustration of the week surfaced, "It's World War I, 13-million people killed. It was all because the military leaders of both alliances believed they were so highly attuned to one another's movements and dispositions, they could predict one another's intentions." He waved his hand and sighed, stopping himself from getting too excited, "but all their theories were based on the last war, and the world and technology had changed, and those lessons were no longer valid, but it was all they knew, so the orders went out. Couldn't be rescinded."
The President shook his head, "No one wanted a continental war, but they all got one. And no one in the field could tell you why their lives were being destroyed." He frowned, "Great powers can accidentally slide into war if their leaders were inattentive to the dangers ahead of them. How could those leaders stop it? What could they have done?"
Peggy crossed her arms and listened to the President speak.
"Here we are, 50-years later." The President looked at everyone in the room, "Say if one of their ships resists the inspection," he said, relating the conversation to the matter at hand. "And we shoot out its rudder and board, they shoot down one of our planes in response, so we bomb their anti-aircraft sites. In response to that, they attack Berlin." He nodded, "So we then invade Cuba. Then they fire their missiles… and we fire ours."
He fell silent, leaving the room with a tense atmosphere of fear and apprehension of the outcomes of what tomorrow will bring.
Never in human history has humanity possessed the ability to destroy the world until the creation of the nuclear bomb. With the number of nuclear weapons between the Soviet Union and the United States, it almost seemed like the two countries by themselves can destroy the world.
President Kennedy sighed, "I am not going to follow a course which will allow anyone to write a comparable book about this time called, The Missiles of October."
Peggy frowned as she thought about her family and the many outcomes that can result from tomorrow's blockade of Cuba. Anything can happen tomorrow, the next day, and the days following. She felt that the quarantine tomorrow is almost like the beginning of the end.
A little while later, Peggy left the Oval Office for the evening and found herself sitting at one of the secretary's desk outside the office, talking on the phone to her husband. It was already late in the evening, and Peggy didn't want to wait till she got back to the hotel to call home, especially when she's nervous about what's to come and, more importantly, the safety of her family.
"Darling, can you do something for me?" Peggy quietly said.
"Of course, Peggy."
Peggy rubbed her temple, "I want you to keep the kids close tomorrow after they get back home from school. Don't let them go far and keep the TV on, even through the night."
"What happened?" Steve said in a worried tone.
"Nothing. Nothing you don't already know about." Peggy sighed, "Just have the car ready to go in case I call." She shook her head, "Or the civil defense warning comes on. If I call and tell you to go or you hear the warnings, I want you to take our kids and drive as fast as you can to the North all the way to Canada if you can."
Steve sighed, "Peggy, I…"
He knew Peggy was trying to come up with a plan to save them if war erupts, but realistically, they would never make it to Canada, let alone out of the town, if nuclear war erupts. Steve knew Peggy understood that, but she was reaching for anything. Sadly, a nuclear strike in or near New York City would still kill them from radioactive fallout if the immediate blast didn't kill them.
"I'll take good care of them. Don't worry about us," Steve tried to reassure her.
"G-Great," Peggy trembled, fearing for her family. Though nothing happened yet, the world is getting closer and closer to war. The quarantine has to happen, and allowing the missiles to remain in Cuba would be unacceptable. Peace cannot exist with Soviet missiles in Cuba.
Peggy shook her head, "Uh, darling, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for worrying you."
"It's okay, Peg. I was already worried. I can understand your concern."
Peggy nodded, "Steve, I promise you. I promise, we won't let this world come to war. And I promise that I'll come back to you and to our kids." She paused, "I promise," she repeated.
"I know, Peggy." He paused, "You're smart. I know you'll help the Kennedys."
Peggy managed a smile, "I love you, Steve."
"I love you too."
Peggy sighed, "I have to go. It's getting late. Give a kiss to the kids from mama for me."
"I will."
With that, Peggy hung up the phone and leaned on the desk, sighing and tiredly rubbing her eyes. She was nervous and worried about what's to come, more so for the safety of her family.
"Peggy." Peggy looked up upon hearing her name and saw Robert Kennedy leaning against the doorframe to the Oval Office.
"Bobby," she responded, leaning back against the chair.
"What are you still doing here? Thought you went back to the hotel."
Peggy smiled and sighed, "I was going too, but, uh, decided to call my husband."
Robert Kennedy smiled, "How is he and the kids?"
Peggy smiled, "He's doing well. Worried about this whole thing, but he's doing good. Kids too." She chuckled, "They miss me, but they understand why I'm here."
"You know, if we could spare you for a little bit, we'd let you go home," Robert said with a smile. He sighed, "Unfortunately, we need you here".
"I know," Peggy said. "They all understand in their own way." She sighed and frowned, "I just told Steve if the alarms go off, to take the kids and drive as fast as possible to Canada." Peggy shook her head, "But we know that he might not make it. It only takes five minutes for the missiles to get to New York." She scoffed, "Morale for my kids, if anything."
Robert nodded and frowned, "Evacuation plan for families is pretty much the same thing. All morale." A morbid pause fell between the two. He shrugged, "Well, the President has asked Jackie and the children to come back from the country and be with him."
Peggy managed a small smile, "It's going to be good for him to have his family here."
"Yeah," responded the Kennedy. He nodded to the door on the other end of the room, "Why don't you go on back to your hotel and get some rest. I'll get you a car and be ready in fifteen minutes."
Peggy nodded and stood up, "Thanks, Bobby."
Robert Kennedy smiled and nodded, "We'll call you first thing in the morning." Peggy nodded again.
That the evening, past the international dateline on the morning of Wednesday, October 24, 1962, the US military tested a hydrogen bomb over Johnston Atoll in the Pacific, the detonation yielded 1.6 megatons or the equivalent of 1.6 million tons of TNT. The nuclear test was quickly condemned by the Soviet Union and blamed the United States for bringing the world to the brink of destruction.
Back at the home front, the worried American public prepared for the worst. Grocery stores stripped of almost every form of item, especially water and canned food, as people hoarded for their families to prepare for the coming nuclear war. Construction of in-home fallout shelters surged in the past few days as the crisis only seemed to get worse. In the eyes of the public, World War III was inevitable.
Wednesday, October 24, 1962
Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, NY
Sarah, Michael, and Angela walked into the crowded hallway of their high school about an hour before the school day officially began. The morning was like any other with the school corridors congested with teenagers hanging out with their friends, shuffling through lockers, and the handful of teens frantically doing homework they didn't do last night. Though it seemed like an ordinary morning, there was a hint of apprehension and fear in the air as everyone knew today was the day that the quarantine of Cuba takes effect. Everyone knew about it, some tried to ignore it, and some talked about it. In any case, everyone at school tried to get on with the day like it was any other.
As the trio got to the hallway intersection, Angela looked up at her older siblings and waved, "Okay, I'll see you guys later."
But before Angela left, Sarah called out to her, "Don't be late after school. Remember what Dad said, we need to be together these next few days."
Angela chuckled, "We're always together, Sarah." She frowned, "Well, except Mom."
Michael smiled, "She'll be back, Angela. She always does," he reassured.
"I know," Angela nodded.
"And you got to focus on your science test today," Sarah pointed.
Angela chuckled, "Thanks, Mom," she joked. She then pointed at Michael, "And make sure you aren't late because… Wait you still have football practice."
"Yeah" Michael chuckled.
Angela waved, "Well, I got to go to my locker. I'll see you after school," she said, twirling her skirt as she turned down the hallway. Both Michael and Sarah waved as she left.
Sarah and Michael then turned the opposite direction and headed to their lockers, moving through the crowded and chaotic hallway. As they walked through the busy corridor, Michael saw one of his best friends, Irena Kawashima, grabbing books from her locker. He glanced at his twin sister and nodded, "I'll see you later, Sarah."
Sarah chuckled, "See you later, brother," she said as Michael stopped by Irena.
Michael stepped next to his friend and smiled, "Hey, Irena."
"Oh, hi, Michael," Irena greeted with a smile. "How's your morning?"
Michael shrugged, "Eh. Could be better," he said, referring to the missile crisis.
Irena nodded and understood, "Yeah. It's a little scary thinking about what's going on."
"Are you worried?"
"Of course, I am. My whole family is worried." Irena shook her head, "Everyone is scared. Look around. Underneath all the jokes and smiles, everyone is scared."
Michael nodded, "Yeah. I'm scared too." He smiled, "But I'm sure everything's going to be all right," he optimistically said.
Irena furrowed her brows, "How do you know? You saw the news. Cronkite said there hasn't been any encouraging signs the shooting could be avoided."
"Because my mom is helping the President," said Michael.
Irena frowned, "I don't want to be mean because your Mom has been very kind to me, but do you think she'll make that much of a difference with the President? He has a group of people advising him, what makes you think he'll listen to her?"
Michael shook his head, "I don't know if the President will listen to her, but I know she'll make a big difference." He smiled, "Because no one is more tenacious than her."
Irena made a small smile in response.
Riley Richard, another of Michael's closest friends, appeared behind the two and suddenly wrapped his arms around the two of them. "Ready for the end of the world?" he grinned from ear-to-ear.
Michael sighed and shook his head.
Down the hallway, Sarah met up with her friends David Norris, Hannah Ryan, and Amy Connelly. Sarah smiled, "Hey guys."
David smiled and greeted her first, "Hey, Sarah."
Hannah smiled, "Hey."
"Hear from your Mom in Washington?" asked Amy in a worried tone.
Sarah nodded, "My Dad did."
"Well?" Amy asked.
Hannah rolled her eyes, "Amy, relax."
"Relax?" Amy angrily responded. "How can I relax when the Communists have nuclear bombs so close to our country. We're at the brink of war, Hannah!"
Sarah quickly grabbed both of Amy's shoulders firmly and effortlessly picked her up and instantly put her back down, surprising her friends. Silenced and her mouth left agape, Amy was left speechless from suddenly being picked up.
"Control yourself, Amy," Sarah commanded. She sighed, "To answer your question, I don't know anything more than you. We just have to wait and hope."
Amy sighed, "Yeah. That's what my mom said. It's just scary you know?"
Hannah nodded, "Amy, we're all scared. But we can't stop going through the day because of it. Worrying is not going to help anything."
David nodded, "She's got a point. Nothing can stop a nuclear blast anyway, so why worry about it."
Sarah shot David a look, "David."
"What? It's true."
Sarah shook her head and wrapped her arm around Amy, "Let's take it a day at a time, alright? Just keep thinking that everything will be all right."
"Okay, okay," Amy nodded. "I'm all right."
Hannah chuckled, "Get yourself together, Amy." She then nodded to a tall boy who had neatly combed dark brown hair, walking toward them, "Hey, Kevin Janssen 11 O'clock," she smiled.
Sarah turned around and saw Kevin Janssen, a Sophomore and the starting linebacker for the JV football team, and one of the most attractive boys she's seen at school. Very good looking and walking with a confident smile and stride, Sarah found herself captivated and very attracted to him. Though having little interactions with him at the start of the school year, Sarah always found him attractive, but for some reason, at this moment, she was more captivated in him than before. She suddenly found herself developing a crush on him.
The three girls all gave subtle looks at Kevin as he approached them, David, on the other hand, glanced at Sarah with concern. He looked over at Kevin and sighed, "You guys really crushing on Kevin Janssen? A jock?" The three girls ignored his statements as they eyed Kevin as he walked past them.
Sarah gasped, "Wow." She shook her head, "I think I have a crush on him."
"Well get in line, Sarah," Hannah joked.
Amy chuckled, "I heard he's very particular with who he wants to date. Turned down a number of girls who made advances on him." She playfully nudged Sarah, "Almost sounds like you. Breaker of hearts."
Sarah laughed, "Very funny."
Hannah chuckled, "You should go talk to him at lunch."
Sarah looked at her friend with a confused look, "Didn't you just say, 'get in line.'"
"Yeah, I did."
Amy laughed, "Hannah isn't particular. She moves on from one crush to the next like they were tissues."
"I take offense to that," Hannah interjected.
David didn't say anything and only stared at Sarah, hiding his uneasiness of her talking about her new interest in a boy.
Sarah nodded and took a deep breath, "Okay, I'll talk to him at lunch." This wasn't her first crush, but there's always was a presence of anxiety about talking to someone you like—for example, fear of rejection and looking silly in front of him.
"Don't tell me you're nervous. You never—" Hannah began but was interrupted by the school PA system.
"This is a school wide drill on Civil Defense Alarms. I repeat, this is only a drill, when you hear the Fire Alarms duck-and-cover, " said a lady over the PA system.
Sarah sighed, "Here we go."
The fire alarm began to blare in lieu of a Civil Defense Alarm over the speakers throughout the school, prompting everyone to line the walls quickly or get under desks, and get down on the floor and assume the "duck-and-cover" position. In seconds, every student was face-down, curled up, and heads and neck covered with their hands, jacket, book, or anything they had on them.
The school was dead silent as the faculty and teachers walked up and down the hallway to make sure all the students participated in the drill and were silent for its duration.
"Stay in the duck-and-cover position, and no talking to your neighbor," one teacher called as she walked past Sarah and her friends.
Amy frowned and whispered, "This isn't helping my nerves."
Sarah grinned and whispered, "My Dad always said the best position for a nuclear attack is to grab your ankles, bend over, and kiss your butt goodbye," she joked, making light of the depressing nature of the drill. Hannah did her best to muffle her laughter as she grinned from ear-to-ear.
David chuckled, "Yeah, you should try it, Amy."
"You guys are ass holes," Amy shot back.
"I said no talking!" a teacher called from down the hallway. Sarah, Hannah, and David all suppressed their laughter.
Situation Room, White House
With one minute until the official start of the naval quarantine of Cuba, the atmosphere in the situation room in the basement of the West Wing of the White House was tense. With the smoke-filled cigarette air, all present members of EXCOMM nervously sat in their chairs as they waited for everything to start. Many of the President's advisors chain-smoked to dull their nerves while others fiddled with their hands or a pen to pass the time. The President sat at the head of the table, tapping his finger, and staring at the clock, watching the sweeping second-hand slowly tick to 10 AM.
Across the Potomac in the Pentagon, McNamara stood in the operations center with Admiral Anderson and other military personnel, predominately Navy, to oversee the execution of the quarantine for the President. He stood by a desk with a phone in his hand with the President on the end of the line as he watched the clock tick slowly to 10 AM. The room was just as tense as the White House with military personnel tracking the movements of incoming Soviet ships and plotting the positions on a massive chart on the wall against the Navy quarantine line.
McNamara tapped his finger on the phone as he watched the clock tick closer and closer to ten.
Finally, after a long minute, the clock struck 10 AM. Peggy glanced at the President as he calmly leaned forward in his seat and spoke into the speakerphone to McNamara in the Pentagon. "Quarantine is now in effect," he coolly said.
In the Pentagon, A sailor handed McNamara a small yellow paper, detailing the two nearest Soviet ships approaching the quarantine line. He glanced at the paper then back up at the wall chart to see the Soviet ships marked on the chart. "Looks like the first two ships are the Gagarin and the Kimovsk. And no signs of them stopping," he said over the phone.
Everyone in the situation room in the White House took a deep breath. This is the moment where the US enforces its Naval action, and it's not just a show of force. As everyone listened to the updates from the Pentagon, Peggy rubbed her hands together, feeling on edge like everyone else in the room. Even the Chiefs of Staff looked tense in this situation.
In the Gulf, US Destroyers spotted the two Soviet freighters approaching the quarantine line and with no signs of them altering their course or stopping for inspections. The destroyer, USS John R. Pierce, an Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer, was the closest to the two Soviet ships and began making way to cut off the incoming Soviet ships.
Onboard the Pierce in the CIC (Combat Information Center), the tactical center for information and command and control, a sonar operator tracking the two ships suddenly spotted another contact on his scope between the two Soviet freighters. He adjusted his scope and listened to the hydrophones on his headset to confirm the presence of the third contact. From what he could tell, the third contact wasn't a surface vessel but a submarine.
The sailor called out to his superior, "Chief, new contact at 2-7-5, bearing 0-9-5."
A Senior Chief Petty Officer and the Executive Officer (XO) of the ship approached the sonar operator and looked over his shoulder to observe his scope. "What do you got?" asked the XO.
"Submerged contact, sir. The Soviets got a submarine positioned between the two freighters. Likely a diesel powered attack sub."
At the instant of hearing submarine, the XO quickly walked off to the bridge to tell the Captain. Stepping into the bridge, the XO called to the CO, "Commander, we got a Soviet sub at 2-7-5 bearing 0-9-5. She's between the two freighters."
Commander J. W. Foust nodded, "Sound General Quarters," he said in a calm tone.
"Aye, sir."
Back in the situation room in the White House, upon hearing the update of the presence of a Soviet submarine with the Soviet ships, Peggy sighed, "the submarine is escorting the ships." Everyone nodded in agreement with her statement.
The President sighed and shook his head, leaning forward and speaking into the speakerphone to McNamara, "Bob, is there any way we can avoid stopping the submarine first."
"I'm afraid not, Mr. President. It appears the sub positioned itself between the Pierce and the Soviet ships. Admiral Anderson says it's too much of a risk to proceed in stopping the freighters, the Pierce would be a sitting duck for the sub," said McNamara.
Everyone looked at the President to see what he's going to do next. The President glanced at his brother then back at the phone, "Put me through to the Pierce."
"Yes, sir."
General Taylor bit his lip and leaned forward onto the table in discomfort. He, like the other flag officers in the Joint Chiefs, didn't like people, even the President, go around their chains of command. The President going around the leadership and speaking directly to a ship's commanding officer, contradicted the whole concept of the chain of command.
At the Pentagon, McNamara lowered the phone and turned to Admiral Anderson, who was overlooking the positions of his ships on the navigational table chart and called to him, "Admiral Anderson!"
The Admiral turned around at the call of his name.
"The President wishes to speak directly to the captain of the Pierce." The Admiral looked at him with a confused look. "Is that a problem?" McNamara asked harshly.
Admiral Anderson nodded, "No, it isn't, sir," he chided back. Like General Taylor, he wasn't keen on the President going around him and speaking directly to the commanding officer of the Pierce. Clearly flustered by the Secretary of Defense's message, he proceeded to connect the phone call to the Pierce over the wireless.
McNamara eyed the Admiral as he brought the phone back up to his ear, "He's putting you through, sir."
In the Gulf, Commander Foust, picked up a phone on the bridge, "This is Captain of the Pierce, Commander Foust."
The President leaned toward the speakerphone and spoke in a calm tone, "Commander, this is the President speaking."
"Mr. President," the Commander responded, surprised at hearing the President on the phone as he looked out the windows of the bridge to the two nearby Soviet Freighters.
"Is there any way you can force that sub to the surface without damaging it or yourself?" the President asked. Everyone in the room nervously watched him as the situation continued to unfold.
"I can bring it up, Mr. President, but whether it's damaged or not is up to the sub."
The CIA Director, John A. McCone, leaned forward, "Sir, even if they do force it up, that sub will be inspected over the crew's dead bodies. They'll be executed for allowing it when they got home."
Peggy spoke up, "But if we don't, we won't be able to conduct the inspections on the ships. We have to force the sub to the surface."
The President remained silent and nodded. He tensed and bit his knuckle as he thought about what to do next. The room was so silent that everyone could hear a pin drop. Everyone anxiously sat as they waited for the President to speak and make his decision, but no one could blame his hesitation. Forcing the submarine to the surface is a sensitive task that might spark a war if the US Destroyer physically damages the submarine.
The President sighed, "Commander, force the sub to the surface."
"Yes, Mr. President," said the Commander.
In the Gulf, onboard the Pierce, Commander Foust hung up the phone and turned to one of his officers on the bridge, "prepare practice depth charges, load torpedoes, and prepare to fire ASROCs."
RUR-5 ASROCs, Anti-Submarine ROCket, are all-weather, all sea-conditions Anti-Submarine missile system, installed onboard destroyers, cruisers, and frigates.
"Prepare practice depth charges, load torpedoes, and prepare to fire ASROCs, aye, sir," the officer repeated. He picked up the handset to relay the command to weapons control in the CIC.
The XO of the ship walked up to Commander Foust and asked, "Sir, practice depth charges?"
"Yeah, we don't want to damage her. The practice charges will hopefully spook her out of the water." Foust nodded to the Soviet ships, "However, if she refuses or for some reason shows hostile actions, we will fire at her with the missiles and torpedoes."
"Got it, sir," said the XO.
The crew on the ship scrambled in controlled chaos to load the weapons and prepare to fire. In less than a minute, the sailors armed the practice depth charges, loaded three torpedoes on the port side bow, and armed the ASROC launcher. Once all weapons were confirmed armed and ready, the Pierce began to alter heading to intercept the submarine's path.
The feeling in the situation room in the White House remained tense as everyone waited for news that the Pierce forced the submarine to the surface. Not a word was spoken, and the room was dead silent.
Onboard another destroyer at some distance behind the Pierce, the Captain and the XO of the ship peered through their binoculars and spotted the two Soviet freighters appearing to slow down. The XO lowered his binoculars and glanced over at the Captain, "What are they doing?"
"Looks like they're slowing down," said the Captain.
In the Pentagon, a sailor handed Admiral Anderson a message from one of the destroyer's on the quarantine line. He looked at the message and glanced at McNamara who was back on the phone with the President, "Mr. Secretary!" McNamara looked over at the Admiral when he heard his name. "I'm receiving reports the Russian ships appear to be stopping."
McNamara eyes widened at the news, "Mr. President, reports are coming in here to the Pentagon that the ships appear to be stopping."
The President's eyes widened and quickly locked eyes with his brother. He leaned forward to the speaker phone, "Bob, get the Pierce to belay that order! Belay that order now!"
McNamara called out to the Admiral, "Admiral, tell the Pierce to hold their fire!"
Onboard the Pierce, the voice of Admiral Anderson came over the radio, "Pierce, hold your fire! I say again, hold your fire!"
Commander Foust quickly looked over at his surface warfare officers, "Hold your fire!"
"Bob, where's that coming from?" the President impatiently asked.
"One second, Mr. President," McNamara responded.
"Somebody find out what the hell is going on?" the President commanded.
Peggy locked eyes with Robert Kennedy as confusion set in the room. Everyone in the room looked at each other and mumbled amongst themselves, puzzled about the news. Until this very moment, they all thought the Soviets would run the blockade, and they would be forced to bring the submarine to the surface, increasing the risk of starting a shooting war with the Soviets. But now, with the initial report of ships stopping, no one knows what's happening at the quarantine line.
Dean Rusk leaned over to the President, "Are they stopping?"
"I don't know what's happening," said the President.
Back in the Pentagon, McNamara was frantically trying to get more information from the Admiral, "Admiral. Admiral, what's happening!"
Admiral Anderson was on the phone while at the same time reading another paper message, "Yes, sir." He squinted at the paper, "It appears the ships are stopping." Suddenly, the operations center erupted with cheers and applause. So far, the quarantine is working to stop the Soviet ships.
McNamara brought the phone back to his ear and covered the other one so could he talk and hear the President, "Mr. President, reports are coming in from all around. The ships are stopping."
Peggy smiled at the Kennedys as she heard McNamara's voice on the speaker phone. Everyone in the meeting cheered and clapped.
The Admiral smiled at McNamara, "Some are turning around!" he called.
McNamara grinned, "Some are turning around!" he relayed the message to the President.
Everyone in the White House situation room breathed a sigh of relief. So far, at the moment, there wasn't going to be any shooting, and that was something worth cheering. The quarantine looks like it's working, and the Soviet ships are stopping or turning around. Thus far, everything is going according to plan.
Dean Rusk smiled at Robert Kennedy, "We were eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fella just blinked." Smiles appeared on everyone, and laughter was finally heard in the room after such a tense first few hours of the quarantine.
A little while later, after the dust settled, Peggy walked back into the White House situation room with John McCone, McGeorge Bundy, and the Chiefs of Staff close in tow. "Mr. President, Mr. President, sir," Peggy called as she walked into the room.
The President stood at the corner of the room, conversing with Kenneth O'Donnell and his brother, looked over at Peggy when she called his name. He then began to make his way back to the table and meet her halfway.
"We have the tally from the NSA," Peggy said, stopping in front of the President. "We have twenty ships stopping and or turning around. Six, however, appear to be continuing for the line."
Robert Kennedy shook his head and rubbed his temple, "It's a, uh, it's a mistake." He shrugged, "They must've not gotten their orders yet. I'd—" He shook his head, "Let 'em go."
General Taylor stepped next to Peggy and shook his head, "No, that's unlikely, Bobby. We've been monitoring the radio transmissions from the Gagarin and the Kimovsk." He looked at the President, "Their radios are working just fine, Mr. President."
Peggy shook her head, "One ship, an accident, maybe. But six, Mr. President. This is intentional."
McNamara's voice came up over the speakerphone, "Mr. President, let them go."
"Oh, you're still here, Bob?" the President said, glancing at the speaker phone.
"Four of the six continuing ships are still a day away from the line. They've stopped the ones we suspect have weapons aboard. We'd look pretty bad for shooting up a freighter full of baby food," said McNamara.
Robert Kennedy chuckled, "We sure as shit would."
The President sighed, "Bob, relay to the Admiral to maintain contact with those ships and do nothing until I order otherwise."
"Yes, Mr. President."
Everyone cautiously eyed the President. With everything calmed down from their small early victory, everyone became nervous about the next few moments and the upcoming few days.
A few hours later, the President was informed that the commanders of Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Air Defense Command (ADC) announced they moved their forces up to DEFCON-2-one step below launching a nuclear strike. DEFCON-2, the highest military alert reached so far in the postwar era, gave the signal to the Soviets that the U.S. planned to escalate to war.
Back in the Oval Office, the President yelled furiously at General Taylor, "God Damn it! How the Goddamn hell did this happen?"
Robert Kennedy and Kenneth O'Donnell stood behind the President as he furiously scolded the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"I'm gonna have Powers' head on a platter!" He pointed angrily at the General, "Next to LeMay's!"
The President paced over to O'Donnell, "Kenny, did you hear me give the order to go to DEFCON-2?" He glanced back at the General, "Because I remember giving the order to go to DEFCON-3, but I must be suffering from amnesia! I've just been informed our nuclear forces are at DEFCON-2."
General Taylor nervously spoke, "They were limited, Mr. President. Those orders were limited to our strategic forces—"
"Max!" the President angrily interrupted, annoyed, pacing back to his desk.
"To our forces in the continental United States and Europe." General Taylor nodded, "General LeMay is correct. Technically, SAC has the statutory authority—"
"I have the authority!" President Kennedy yelled, slamming his hand on his desk, interrupting General Taylor. The General stood rigid and tense as the President yelled at him. "I am the Commander in Chief of the United States and I say when we go to war!"
"We're not at war, sir—" The General nervously replied. "Not until DEFCON-1."
The President eyed the General, "General, the Joint Chiefs have just signaled our intent to escalate to the Soviets. You signaled an escalation which I had no wish to signal, and which I did not approve."
A move the President did not order, and an act that upended his original message to the Soviets that the U.S. was prepared to act, while showing control and restraint and not intending to escalate the crisis. Unfortunately, the commanders decision to move to DEFCON-2 sent the message to the Soviets that the US planned to escalate to war." He sighed, "Now it's going to make our job that much harder. Do you understand that?"
The General didn't say anything.
He sighed, "Just get out of here, Max."
"Yes, sir," the General said, grabbing his portfolio off a chair, and leaving the oval office.
Robert Kennedy quickly spoke up, "Rescind the order, can all the Chiefs. Put the undersecretaries in charge!"
"We can't do that Bobby," interrupted O'Donnell.
"Yes, We can!"
"We can't fire the Chiefs, Bobby, our invasion talk would look like a bluff!" O'Donnell sighed, "Or even worse, that there's been an attempted coup."
The President sighed as he paced to the center of the room, "Jesus." He paused then looked back at O'Donnell, "Kenny, give me a couple minutes with Bobby alone, would you?"
O'Donnell nervously glanced at Robert Kennedy for a moment before leaving the oval office to leave the Kennedys alone.
Once O'Donnell left the office and closed the door behind him, President Kennedy looked at his brother and sighed, "Just—just try this on for size. We get ahold of Walter Lippmann," he said, mentioning the well-known reporter. "We leak the idea of pulling our Jupiter missiles out of Turkey, if the Soviets pull their missiles out of Cuba."
"No one is going to like this idea," Bobby replied.
"I know."
"The NSA, CIA, and hell, even SHIELD. Peggy would be the first to tell you that this is going to sound like appeasement."
The President nodded, "I know. But we're running out of options and we're running out of time. The longer this thing goes, the closer we get to war. The quarantine is not going to work by itself."
Robert Kennedy silently nodded in response.
"At its beginning, this day looked as though it might be one of armed conflict between Soviet vessels and American warships on the sea lanes leading to Cuba. American warships continue to hold their steel fence around the island fortress of Cuba," Walter Cronkite reported on CBS nightly news.
Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel
Later that evening, after a long and trying day, Peggy sat in her white bathrobe on her bed after on the phone with Sarah. Though mentally tired and exhausted, Peggy called home to hear from her family even though it's late in the evening. With the increasing tensions and the U.S. military stepping up to DEFCON-2, Peggy needed to hear from her family. It wasn't unrealistic to think that the worst war imaginable could be fought in the next few days.
Peggy managed a smile, "How are you, my darling?"
"Good, Mom," Sarah responded. "We had a, uh, civil defense drill today at school. Before school even started."
"Goodness. I guess they wanted to know if the students will be able to do the drill in one of the most chaotic times in school."
"I guess. I think we did well. Everyone got in duck-and-cover position pretty quick."
Peggy smiled, "That's good."
Sarah sighed, "But I know those drills don't do any good though. Not if the bomb is close by." She paused and silence fell between the two of them.
Peggy frowned and didn't want to say anything about the possibility of her family falling victim to nuclear war. The very idea of losing her family is too unbearable. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the very idea from loitering in her mind for too long.
After a moment, she finally spoke up, "Things aren't going well are they, Mom?"
Peggy frowned, "No. I'm afraid not." She sighed, "things… are on edge here."
Sarah frowned, "Are you doing okay, Mom? I know you're worried about us, but we're worried about you too."
Peggy smiled, "I'm doing alright, darling. Thank you for asking." She sighed, "I'm just tired. Yes, even I get tired too."
"It sounds like you're working to death out there," Sarah said in concern.
"I'm working very hard." She paused, "But I'm alright. I'm…" she was suddenly lost for words.
"Mom, you should get some rest. Don't worry about us, we'll be okay." Sarah chuckled, "It's okay if you can't call, we know you're busy and you need to rest."
Peggy smiled, "Thank you, Sarah, that's sweet. But calling home is the best part of the day for me." She chuckled, "I may be tired, but hearing from all of you lifts me up. That's if it isn't too late in the evening."
"Okay." Sarah paused, "But, I want you to know that we'll be okay, Mom. I promise you. So please don't worry about us," she reassured again.
Peggy smiled, "I'll try not to."
Like her oldest son said last night, being reassured from her daughter felt different than being comforted by her husband. Both felt good, but being encouraged by her children meant a lot because it showed how much they cared. She felt lucky to have a husband that loves and supports her, and four kids that care and adore for her. Her family is her whole world.
There was a pause in the conversation, but Peggy could hear some commotion on the other end of the line. It sounded like her husband was trying to tell her daughter something. Then after a few seconds, Sarah chuckled, "Dad says, 'stop worrying about us and save the world already.'"
Peggy chuckled.
"But to change the subject and I haven't told dad this," Sarah began.
"Uh oh."
"No, it's not bad. Well, I guess for him it's bad."
Peggy smiled, "Spit it out, darling."
"I like a boy in school."
Peggy smiled, "Oh, is that all?"
"Mom, please," retorted Sarah.
Peggy laughed, "I'm joking, darling."
"Come on, Mom."
Peggy calmed down, "Okay, okay. Tell me more."
Sarah chuckled, "I talked to him at lunch today. He's kind and seems real down to earth. He's on the JV team and is the starting linebacker. He's also very artistic and likes playing the guitar. He's a lot like me."
"He sounds like a fine boy, Sarah. What's his name?" Peggy smiled.
"Kevin. Kevin Janssen." She paused, "I really like him. Though today was my first real interaction with him. I don't know if he feels the same way about me though."
"Why would you say that, darling?" Peggy smiled. "As you said, today was your first real interaction."
"Uh, I kind of made a fool of myself trying to talk to him. It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later."
Peggy chuckled, "Okay, later then. But you did end up talking to him so that's good." She smiled, "Is this someone you would like to go on a date with?"
"Yes, very much so," Sarah responded.
"Well that's good. I'm glad you found someone you like, Sarah," Peggy chuckled. "As long as he treats you right then you can go out with him." She turned serious, "but you have to tell us if you're going on a date, got it?"
"Mom, I don't even know if I'm going to get that far."
Peggy furrowed her brows, confused, "What happened to your confidence, darling. What happened to the girl everyone wants to date?"
"It's different when I like someone, Mom. You know that already," Sarah responded. "Besides, I heard Kevin is very particular with who he wants to date. He rejected a handful of girls who were interested in him."
"Definitely sounds like you. I see why you like him," Peggy joked.
"Mom!"
Peggy laughed, "Darling, you're beautiful, kind, funny, and talented. Any boy would be lucky to date you." She nodded, "Just be yourself. And who knows, maybe later he'll return the feelings."
"Maybe, maybe not," said Sarah.
Peggy frowned, "Sarah, you barely know each other. Give it some time."
Sarah sighed, "Yeah. Hopefully."
"Sarah Amanda Rogers. You don't know the future. Anything can happen. Is it better to think about the negatives or the positives?"
"The positives," Sarah said plainly.
"Okay, so occupy your mind with those thoughts, not the negatives. Dwelling on the negatives will only make you sad," Peggy instructed.
Sarah chuckled, "Yeah, mom. You need to think about the positives too, so don't worry so much."
Peggy smiled, "Don't turn this on me, Sarah. Besides, I'm your mother. It's my job to worry."
"You know what I'm talking about," Sarah implied about the missile crisis.
"The stakes are different, Sarah, but I appreciate the thought."
Sarah sighed, "I know. I was just trying to reassure you again."
Peggy smiled, "I know. Thank you, dear. That's really sweet. " That small attempt to reassure her is why talking to her family is so important. Hard days like today, she needs to hear something good. "Now, back to Kevin," she said with a smirk.
"Uh oh, got to change the subject, Dad is coming. We can talk more about this when you get back home."
Peggy smiled, "Okay. You know you have to talk to him about this sort of thing with him eventually, right? Avoiding talking about boys isn't going to work when you actually start dating."
"I know, Mom," Sarah sighed.
Thursday, October 25, 1961
White House
Early the next morning, on the tenth day of the crisis, Peggy, in a black suit, skirt, and white blouse, walked into the White House for another meeting with EXCOMM in the situation room. As she headed to the West Wing elevator, she ran into McGeorge Bundy, who immediately greeted her. "Peggy," he said.
"Mac," Peggy returned the greeting, not stopping.
"What do you think of the Lippman column this morning," Bundy said, referring to this morning's newspaper that detailed the idea of pulling the US Jupiter Missiles out of Turkey.
Peggy continued walking, "My first thoughts are is that it's a bad idea."
"Thank God," Bundy said. He stepped in front of her, stopping her in the middle of the hallway. "Look, everybody's furious about it. We trade away our missiles in Turkey, and we're dead politically." He shook his head, "You have to stop it."
Peggy furrowed her brows, confused as to why he's telling her this.
"We know it was Jack and Bobby's idea," Bundy stressed. "They leaked it to Lippmann. The military guys are going ape—"
Peggy sighed, "Then they should speak up," she said, walking forward again, making Bundy step aside and follow her.
Bundy rolled his eyes, "Christ, Peggy, it's not that easy."
"It is."
"No, it isn't." Bundy pointed his finger, "They don't trust the people who feel this way, but these people are right and the Kennedys are wrong. We need you to talk to them." He sighed, "They'll listen to you. Especially after the Bay of Pigs."
Peggy shook her head as she turned a corner to the elevator.
"Jack and Bobby are good men, but it takes a certain kind of—"
Peggy snapped and turned around, "You mean the President of the United States."
"They're good men—"
"And the Attorney General?" Peggy sternly interrupted.
Bundy pressed, "Peggy, they're good men, but it takes a certain character, moral toughness to stand up to the Soviets. You understand that better than anybody."
Peggy stepped closer to him and lowered her voice, "Look, now they may be wrong, they may make mistakes, but they are not weak. The weak ones are these people who can't seem to speak their own minds."
"You know I don't mean that they're weak."
"No, they just lack a moral toughness!" Peggy raised her voice. "Christ, Mac. I'm not pulling a Judas for you. I'm the only woman on the committee, and you, hell, even McCone barely value what I have to say, so what makes you think I'm going to relay this message to them?"
"Peggy, this is something their father would do. This will be like Munich." He shook his head, "You said it yourself, you think it's a bad idea."
Peggy sighed, "I said it's my first thoughts. But in case you haven't noticed, we don't have much of an alternative to get the missiles out of Cuba that doesn't involve starting World War III. If that's the only other way to get the missiles out then I'll trust that decision." She then turned and walked off.
Bundy sighed, "Thought you can make the big decisions. Didn't know you were such an appeaser."
Peggy turned around, "You don't want to go there, Mac." Bundy squinted at her. "And you don't want to try dick measuring with me because I promise you mine's bigger. Just ask McCone." With that, she walked off, leaving Bundy speechless and a little flustered.
Later in the day, EXCOMM gathered in the situation room in the basement of the West Wing around the television to watch the much public debate between US and Soviet ambassadors in the halls of the United Nations. Everyone sat on edge like they were watching a sports game as Ambassador Adlai Stevenson and Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin went head-to-head in the political theater. Though the UN had ambassadors and interrupters of all participating countries, the debate focused primarily on the Cuban Missile Crisis between the Soviets and the US.
Peggy stood with her arms crossed between the President and Robert Kennedy as she watched the debate. She could tell the two Kennedys looked uneasy at the way the debate was going with Zorin continuing to press Adlai. Adlai remained passive, and everyone in the White House lost confidence in him as time progressed. It didn't seem like he could handle the political attacks from Zorin.
Bundy clicked open his cigarette lighter and lit a cigarette between his lips, Peggy glancing at him with an uneasy look before looking back at the TV.
At the massive C-shaped table, Zorin spoke in Russian to the dozens of other country's ambassadors. An English translation was broadcasted on the television, "For the last two hours, the entire world here is asking only questions. The United States is pushing the entire world to the brink of catastrophe." Zorin looked directly at Adlai, "The people of the whole world want to know why."
Robert Kennedy crossed his arms and shook his head. Zorin kept pushing and pushing, and it seemed Adlai was constantly on the defensive.
"We are told again and again about some incontrovertible evidence of offensive weapons in Cuba. But not evidence can be shown to us."
President Kennedy let out a loud sigh, watching things play out in the UN.
"Perhaps your spy planes are so secret, that you are simply incapable to present such evidence. Some planes."
Robert Kennedy leaned over to the President, "I make the call, Adlai is out. McCloy goes in," he said, referring to possibly replacing Adlai in the UN.
President Kennedy shook his head, "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."
"You simply don't have such evidence," said Zorin. "Huh? Perhaps the United States of America is simply mistaken, huh?"
Robert Kennedy turned to a phone and picked up the handset and dialed a number.
Zorin eyed Adlai, "Yes, the United States of America does not have any facts in hand, only falsifications."
Robert Kennedy spoke on the phone, "John, get ready to send your staffer in. He's gonna be coming out."
Zorin waves over to Adlai, "The chair recognizes the representative from the United of America."
Adlai nodded and leaned on the table, "Well, let me say something to you, Mr. Ambassador. We do have the evidence. We do have it, and it is clear and incontrovertible. And let me say something else."
Everyone in the situation room watched intently at what Adlai is going to say next, watching and waiting to see if he can stand up to Zorin.
"Those weapons must be taken out of Cuba. You, the Soviet Union, have created this danger, not the United States."
Bundy nodded, "Come on, Adlai," he said in encouragement as he watched the TV.
Adlai glanced at his papers for a moment, "Mr. Zorin, I remind you that the other day you did not deny the existence of these weapons, but today, again, if I have heard you correctly, you now say they do not exist." He paused, locking eyes with Zorin. Neither man spoke as the whole world watched them in the halls of the United Nations.
Dean Rusk leaned forward in his seat in front of the TV, "Come on, Adlai, don't let him off."
"Now let me ask you one simple question," Adlai said, breaking the tense silence. "DO you, Ambassador Zorin, deny that the USSR has placed and is placing medium and intermediate-range missile in sites in Cuba?" He leaned forward, "Yes or No? Don't wait for the translation. Yes or No?"
Everyone in the situation room began to laugh, proud of Adlai's rebuttal and comments. Peggy chuckled, "Atta boy, Adlai."
Zorin shook his head and dismissed Adlai, "I am not in the American courtroom, and I do not wish to respond to questions. The questions that a prosecutor would put to the defendant. You will get all the answers to your questions as this session progresses."
"You are in a courtroom of world opinion right now, and you can answer yes or no." The normally courteous ambassador aggressively continued to confront Zorin, "You have denied they exist, and I want to know if I have understood you correctly."
Zorin waved him off again, "Continue—continue your statement. You will get your answers in due course. Don't worry, don't worry." The room filled in light laughter at the exchange.
Adlai leaned forward, "I'm prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over, if that's what is needed."
The situation room erupted in cheers and applause at Adlai's comments. "Yeah!" Rusk cheered.
Robert Kennedy smiled at spoke on the phone, "John, I'll get back to you." He then hung up the phone and smile at the room. There was now no shortage of faith in Adlai Stevenson now.
"I'm also prepared to present the evidence in this room, proving that the Soviet Union has lied to the world," Adlai sternly said.
Zorin waved his hand, "If you have decided not to continue your statement, the chair recognizes the representative from Chile."
The Chilean Ambassador leaned toward his microphone, "I yield my time on the floor to the representative of the United States."
Adlai nodded, "Well, then, ladies and gentlemen, since it appears we're going to be here for a while, shall we have a look at what the Soviets are doing in Cuba?" He looked to his left, "May we have the presentation please?"
Toward the front of the room, a large board of photographs taken by the U-2s and low level surveillance flights got held up for the whole UN to see. "If you will observe in photograph 'A' we have a ballistic missile site in the area of San Cristobal."
The situation room in the White House was filled with applause and cheers at the clear success over the Soviet UN Ambassador. President Kennedy smiled, "Guess old Adlai had it in him after all."
Peggy proudly smiled at the TV. At least they're making progress in the political track, not so much physically removing the missiles from Cuba. Hopefully, they can use the momentum in the United Nations to their advantage and put more international pressure on the Soviet Union.
"This is the point at which we are concerned that there, uh, might be shooting among the ships at sea," reported Walter Cronkite on CBS. "The possibility that invasion might have to be undertaken to assure that those bases are eliminated. If invasion is undertaken, the Russians have said that they would retaliate with rocket fire. We have said if there's rocket fire from Cuba, we will retaliate. And there goes the uh, whole ballgame."
Friday, October 26, 1962
Friday morning, a Soviet freighter is stopped at the quarantine line by the US Destroyer, USS Joseph P. Kennedy, and searched for any contraband military supplies. None are found on board, and the ship is allowed to proceed to Cuba. Further photographic evidence by U-2s and low-level surveillance shows accelerated construction of the missiles sites and the presence of Soviet IL-28 bombers at Cuban airfields.
That same day, in a private letter, Fidel Castro again urged Nikita Khrushchev to initiate a nuclear first strike against the United States in the event of an American invasion of Cuba.
Then ABC News reporter, John Scali, is approached by Aleksander Fomin, the Washington D.C. Rezident, or better known as a KGB Station Chief with a proposal for a solution to the crisis. Scali then later met with the President, Attorney General, McCone, Peggy, and Rusk and informed them of the proposal. Feeling cautious and time running short before tensions become so great that war became inevitable, the President agreed to have Scali meet with Fomin to open back channels of negotiations. The proposal that Scali and Fomin discussed is the removal and dismantling of the missiles and return to the Soviet Union. The Soviets would then guarantee not to reintroduce them, and the United States would be prepared to guarantee that it would never invade Cuba.
White House
Late that evening, the White House received a long, rambling letter on the teletype from Khrushchev detailing a similar offer: removal of the missiles in exchange for lifting the quarantine, and a pledge that the US will not invade Cuba. A handful of EXCOMM members met with the President to deliberate of the legitimacy of the letter and see if Khrushchev wrote it.
In the Cabinet Room of the White House, the President and the small number of EXCOMM members gathered around the table with copies of Khrushchev's long letter, trying to decide on a course of action. Dean Rusk shook his head as he stared at the packet in his hand, "I think it's very difficult to make a decision from this document."
Robert Kennedy, who sat at the table, dropped his packet and shrugged, "It looks to me like Fomin's overture was genuine."
"That's a big 'if,' Bobby," said the President, leaning against his chair.
Peggy looked up from her packet, "It's ten pages of sentimental fluff, but he's saying it right here." She tapped her packet, "He'll remove the missiles in return for a no-invasion pledge."
"Mhmm," hummed the President in response.
McCone stepped over to the President, "Mr. President, our early analysis says this probably was written by Khrushchev himself. It's a first draft, it shows no signs of being polished by the foreign ministry, in fact, it probably wasn't even approved by the Politburo as they wouldn't let the emotionalism go by." He glanced at Peggy, "The analysts say it was written by someone under considerable stress." There was a light chuckle in the room.
President Kennedy smiled, "Well, glad to know we're not alone." Everyone in the room laughed. He stood straight and put his hands in his pockets, pacing around the table, "it never was my intention to invade Cuba anyway, until they put the missiles in there." He shrugged, "Uh, ladies and gentlemen, I think we should seriously consider this deal."
There was quiet murmuring amongst the members of the committee about whether to take the deal with Khrushchev or not. After eleven days of this crisis in Cuba, many of the members of EXCOMM felt it was better to make a deal with the Soviets to avoid a catastrophic global war.
McCone turned to the President, "Mr. President, from the earlier meeting about Operation Mongoose, I have stood down further covert teams entering Cuba at this time." He glanced at Peggy, "SHIELD already has several assets in that country, and I'm afraid if we have a surge of covert teams enter Cuba, we increase the likelihood of getting caught, thus, upsetting U Thant's talks in New York with the Soviets."
Operation Mongoose, also known as the Cuban Project, was a secret CIA program aimed at removing the Communists, particularly Fidel Castro, from power. Policy makers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace."
President Kennedy nodded, "Good." He turned to Peggy, "Peggy, uh, are you still providing teams to support the military airstrikes should we need them?"
Peggy nodded, "Yes, Mr. President. I increased the amount of teams to ten to be sent to Cuba should we require airstrikes. Since there's been an increase in air defenses in Cuba, the SPU teams will be inserted by two Navy submarines." She frowned, "But I hope and pray that I don't need to send them in."
The President nodded, "Me too," he quietly responded. "Okay. I need you and McCone to be on the same page and tying your intelligence together so our planning can be integrated."
"Yes, Mr. President," replied both Peggy and McCone.
Bundy spoke up, "Mr. President, as per our earlier discussion about U Thant's talks, and with this deal from Khrushchev, if we're unable to come to some sort of agreement, I still believe that our choices would then be to expand the blockade or remove the missiles by air attack." Everyone cautiously eyed Bundy. "Look, it's morbid to think about, I know, but we still have that option if this deal with Khrushchev is a stall for time."
Peggy frowned.
"I know no one wants to hear it, but if the negotiations fail, that's all we have left." Bundy sighed, "When the missiles become operational, and peace talks have failed, I don't know if we can negotiate at that point. The Soviets will have us by the balls, and our only option would be to attack."
The President nodded, "Well, let's hope this deal is legit, so it doesn't come to that. I again stress we consider it."
Saturday, October 27, 1962
Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel
It was one in the morning when Peggy got to her hotel after the President dismissed EXCOMM from the White House for the night. She sat down on her bed, knee-deep in silence, not a sound could be heard in her room. Peggy blankly looked out of the window at nothing in particular. It's too late to call home, and she expected the phone would ring in the next five minutes anyway- or it won't. At the rate things are going, she expected late phone calls of bad news. In the past twelve days, they had little success, so it wasn't unreal to think bad things are to come.
Unable to do anything, too tired to read and too stressed to sleep, Peggy idly sat in her business attire and contemplated the week and the crisis in Cuba. The quarantine wasn't working. The Navy is stopping ships, but the Soviets are still completing work on the missiles. Though there hasn't been any official word yet, she figured the Soviets must have made a few of the missiles operational by now. That only further shows the quarantine is failing. Besides, it was never a permanent solution to start. Its success was bringing the attention of the missiles to the world.
Peggy frowned. She felt that these past two weeks, they've been running around in circles and wasting time. There's no other way to get the missiles out of Cuba other than negotiating their removal or by destroying them. But if any of the missiles are operational, negotiations would be less effective, if not impossible, and the Soviets can demand anything and alter any deal. Essentially, nuclear blackmail, leaving war as the only way to remove the missiles from Cuba.
Peggy didn't like the idea of making deals with the Soviets. Still, if that deal with Khrushchev meant the removal of the missiles to avoid World War III, this had to be an exception. Though she wasn't a fan of the idea of removing the Jupiter missiles from Turkey, if that were part of the deal, she would be okay with it too. This situation isn't like Munich before World War II. This was more about preventing nuclear annihilation on either side.
Though Peggy wanted to keep the peace and avoid a war, she couldn't allow the presence of nuclear weapons in Cuba. Ultimately, if the Soviets refused the deal to remove the missiles, she would be supportive of forcibly removing them. Allowing the Soviets to keep the missiles wouldn't be living in peace; it would be living in fear, which would also ultimately lead to war regardless. As she always believed, war and violence should be the last resort when all other options have been exhausted.
The world is hanging on by a thread.
Peggy sighed and stood up to get ready for bed, but as soon as she stood up, the phone began to ring. She groaned and turned around and grabbed the phone and answered it, "Director Rogers."
"Peggy, it's Bobby," said Robert Kennedy. "We're getting another letter on the teletype from Khrushchev. I have a bad feeling."
Peggy nodded, "Ok, I'll be right there." With that, she hung up the phone and let out a loud sigh.
White House
Later that day, all members of EXCOMM met with the President in the cabinet room to discuss the recent letter from Khrushchev. Robert Kennedy paced around the room with his hands in his pockets, "It looks like Fomin was a ploy after all, and they were just stalling for time."
McCone nodded, "My specialists are in agreement, this morning's letter is not Khrushchev. Last nights was. The evidence supports only one conclusion." He paused, "There's been a coup, and Khrushchev was replaced overnight."
The President stood by his seat and glanced at Dean Rusk, "Dean?"
Rusk sighed, "At the very least, it does suggest he's been co-opted by hard-line elements. Which, at the end of the day, amounts to the same thing."
Peggy shook her head and crossed her arms, "A puppet Khrushchev. And a hard-line Soviet Government pulling strings."
McNamara stood up from his seat, "That means no deal from the Soviets, and the missiles are almost operational. What if the Soviets have no intention of honoring this deal? Then tomorrow, they make another condition." Everyone listened intently to McNamara. "Meanwhile, the quarantine isn't working, and they're completing work on the missile sites." He shook his head, "Sir, I think we have to issue pre-invasion orders for our forces."
Peggy nodded, "To add more bad news. NPIC developed the photos from this morning's surveillance flights." She stood up from her chair and handed the President a blue folder. She frowned, "It appears the Soviets have commenced a crash program to ready their missiles. The first missiles became operational last night. We expect they'll all be operational in 36-hours."
"Then we're out of time," said McNamara.
McCone shook his head, "That may not be as easy as we thought, either. We've got information that the Soviets have also deployed battlefield nuclear weapons to Cuba."
General LeMay spoke up, "Frogs, we call 'em. Short-range tactical nukes. Now, we don't know whether they've delegated release authority to their local commanders for use on our invasion troops, but the good news is, as of this moment, we know where the frogs are, and we can target them, too."
The President shook his head.
"But the longer we wait, the harder it's going to get," said LeMay.
The President shook his head and crossed his arms, blankly staring at the wall. He sighed and started to pace in silence, everyone looking at him and waiting for his response. After a long moment, President Kennedy shook his head, "We have no choice." He looked at General Taylor, "General, issue orders to our forces to be prepared to execute the air strikes Monday morning and the follow-on invasion according to the plan thereafter."
Peggy crossed her arms and watched the President. She frowned. Though she didn't like the idea of war, the operational missiles and the possibility of a hard-line Soviet government meant that war is the only solution. Peggy didn't like it but agreed with it.
She very much wanted to avoid war as long as possible, but it looks like there's no hiding from it now.
The President continued, "I need the official release orders on my desk on Sunday night."
General Taylor nodded, "Understood, sir. We'll need to step up our overflights." He glanced and nodded at Peggy, "Give SHIELD time to deploy their teams and finalize our pilots' targets in order to carry out the strikes." The mood in the room turned apprehensive and even fearful as the idea of World War III became very real.
"Permission granted," said the President.
"Yes, sir," General Taylor said. He then grabbed his documents and portfolio from the table then quickly exited the room, followed by the other Chiefs, to go to the Pentagon for preparations.
After the Joint Chiefs left the room, the President leaned on a chair and sighed, "Well, ladies and gentlemen. If anyone has anyone has any great ideas, now's the time."
The room remained silent and tense, no one, not even Peggy, could find a solution to avoid what's to come next.
Peggy's leg trembled as she did her best to keep a stoic expression on her face. She's scared like everyone else. Though many of the men in the room were initially supportive of war as the first solution, the reality of what that meant finally struck them. Peggy could see the fear in everyone's eyes. Even Bundy and McCone couldn't hide the worry in their eyes.
They say, "there's nothing to fear but fear itself," yet, in the Atomic Age in the Cold War, that isn't true. Many things are worse than fear, like the idea of total annihilation by nuclear fire. There's no doubt that nuclear weapons would be used in a war with the Soviet Union, thus leading too mutually assured destruction. World War III will bring the end of the world, plunge it into nuclear winter, and kill millions.
Peggy covered her lips as fear began to erode at her person. She's scared for her family and the idea of losing them to the coming war. Peggy tried her best to think of a solution to avoid World War III, but all ideas have been exhausted. Negotiations have failed, and there's nothing left to do, and allowing the missiles to remain in Cuba would only delay the inevitable.
Cuba
Major Rudolph Anderson Jr. flew high in the sky over Cuba, fourteen miles above the Earth in the stratosphere, in his unarmed and slow U-2 spy plane on another reconnaissance flight. The objective of this mission was to photograph missile sites within his target area so NPIC can confirm how many more missiles have been completed. His mission, as well as the other surveillance flights of the day, are critical to giving the US a better idea of how many ballistic missiles are operational.
Though not originally on the flight schedule, Major Anderson lobbied hard when the mission was added. Mission 3127, Anderson's sixth flight over Cuba as part of the series of reconnaissance flights, would be his most dangerous, with more Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) sites operational all over the island. With war seemingly imminent, there could be no mistakes on this mission, especially losing an aircraft to hostile fire.
Shortly after entering his target area, Major Anderson switched on his camera and began to take photographs of the missiles below. Everything was quiet as he flew high above Cuba.
Below him, the Soviets launched two massive SA-2 surface-to-air missiles at him after tracking him since entering the airspace. The two missiles shot into the sky at a rapid rate, guided by radar to Anderson's slow U-2.
Anderson calmly flew his route until his plane began to blare a series of loud and obnoxious alarms. He snapped his head to flashing red lights on his instrument panel, indicating "Radar Warning" and "Missile Warning." He then quickly added max power and turned the U-2 in the direction he thought the missiles were coming from, hoping to turn tight enough, so the missiles pass him.
He gripped the controls as he frantically looked around to find out where the missiles were coming from. The alarms continued to blare in his helmet as Anderson aggressively pitched the plane up to gain altitude. Unaware of where precisely the missiles were coming from, he desperately continued to make his U-2 execute evasive maneuvers. Blind to where the missiles were, he was unable to see the first SA-2 missile come from behind him and explode. The proximity warhead sent shrapnel through the fuselage and into the cockpit, puncturing Major Anderson's pressure suit, killing him instantly and causing it to decompress at high altitude.
The second SA-2 missile's proximity warhead exploded by the fuselage, breaking up the plane and plummeting the destroyed bits and pieces 72,000 feet to the tropical island below.
The U-2 has been destroyed and Major Anderson has been killed. The first casualty of an escalating crisis.
White House
It didn't take long for word of the shootdown to reach the White House Cabinet Room. Now, with the loss of an American over Cuba, the crisis seemed to be spiraling out of control. The Soviets firing and killing an American made war that much more real, and the ways to escape it were crumbling.
The feeling in the meeting with EXCOMM was tenser than any other previous meetings or days for that matter. The loss of Major Anderson to Soviet missiles made war nearly certain. With that news, EXCOMM argued, mainly the Military leadership, to retaliate with force. In contrast, few others argued to maintain diplomacy to avoid war.
General Taylor stood up, raising his voice, "Sir, it's hard to believe, with the Soviet centralized command structure, that this could've been an accidental launch!"
"The question is," the President responded, standing by the table. "Does this attack on our plane represent a definitive intentional escalation on the part of the Soviets?"
McCone leaned on the table, "Mr. President, taken with the events of the past few hours, I believe this confirms our worst fears. We're now dealing with a hard-line Soviet Government, perhaps with Khrushchev as a puppet head, perhaps now. We don't know."
Assistant Secretary of Defense, Paul Nitze, an older Caucasian man with white hair, sighed, "they fired the first shot, Mr. President."
The President nodded, "Yeah. We're now in an entirely new ball game."
General Taylor spoke up in a serious tone, "Mr. President, our pilots are in danger. We must order punitive air strikes against the SAM site that shot down Major Anderson per our rules of engagement."
President Kennedy shook his head and turned around to face the window. The room tensed to hear what he had to say as he stood in silence, looking out the window.
Peggy spoke up, "Mr. President." President Kennedy glanced at her. "I support the airstrikes as our absolute last resort, but considering what will happen when we do that, I strongly urge that we desperately find another diplomatic track."
McCone shook his head, "Peggy, diplomacy has failed. It's time to act." He glanced at Nitze, "as Paul said, they fired the first shot."
Peggy shook her head and looked at McCone, "It hasn't failed yet because we haven't done everything we could yet."
"What options do we have? There are no other diplomatic options? We've been burned in backchannels and the Soviets will only stall for time."
"We have to find one. Another backchannel, perhaps. Point is, we have to find a way because what's going to happen after we attack Cuba, and invade will be the worst event in human history." Peggy frowned, "We cannot make this decision to attack lightly or out of emotion. Retaliation will escalate the situation, and we'll be in a nuclear war." She shook her head, "Don't deny that nuclear weapons will be used. If not by us, then by the Soviets."
General LeMay frowned at Peggy, "It's per our rules of engagement, Rogers."
Peggy sighed, "I understand that, General. But the events after that is what I'm trying to avoid."
President Kennedy shook his head, "No," he said, turning around to face everyone. Everyone turned quiet and looked at the President, unsure as to what he said "no" to. "I want confirmation that it wasn't some sort of accident first."
"Mr. President," General Taylor protested.
"The airstrike is the first step, is it not, General?" The President asked. General Taylor nodded. "It isn't the first step that concerns me, but both sides escalating to the fourth or fifth step, and we don't go to the sixth because there is no one around to do so," he said.
General Taylor stood rigid as he looked at the President.
General LeMay spoke up, "I think waiting is a good idea, Mr. President. I can wait a few days, be safer for my boys to get the SAMs on Tuesday when we get the rest of the bastards." He glanced at Peggy, "Also gives SHIELD time to deploy their teams to Cuba."
NAS Key West
In the SHIELD occupied hangar on board the naval base, the ten teams of SHIELD's Special Purpose Unit gathered around the table-sized map of Cuba for another briefing. Captain James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, commander of the SPU detachment to Key West, stood in front of his men with a serious and tense demeanor. In fact, everyone reflected his mood. They all knew what their deployment meant and what it will lead. No one took the gravity of the situation lightly and were prepared to do their job. World War III is coming, and they'll be the first offensive ground personnel in Cuba.
Bucky sighed, "As you know, a U-2 was shot down over Cuba a few hours ago. We've been waiting for word to go, and it looks like we're getting that."
Samuel Ward, leader of Team-2, sighed, "Shit."
"Plan is the same. Five teams per submarine and we'll take rafts to our respective zones." Bucky nodded, "In approximately forty-five minutes, we'll assemble by the docks and board the submarines. The Navy will then drive us out to the staging areas by Cuba and we'll wait for final word to go. Questions."
A SPU trooper rose his hand, "When do we get that final word?"
"Right, the exact time we'll be landing is up to the Director." Bucky nodded, "She's calling the shots directly."
Another trooper spoke quietly, "the Director doesn't really take charge of our ops unless it's big."
"World War III is about to start. I don't blame her," another trooper said. "We must really be fucked."
The group silenced as the tension in the room began to rise.
Bucky nodded, "Alright. Grab your gear and get ready to move out." With that, everyone broke off from the meeting around the table and headed to their respective areas to get their gear ready.
Bucky didn't move and stayed behind by the table, looking over the map. The map has been continuously updated from intelligence provided by the reconnaissance flights which meant many aspects of the plan for the SPU changed. Though the mission of the SPU remained the same, the method of insertion changed, areas of responsibilities changed, and timing of the air strikes changed. But it wasn't the mission and the changes that bothered Bucky. It was the purpose behind it all that bothered him. World War III.
He sighed, blankly staring at the map. Ward walked up to him and nodded, "Not liking this either."
"Yeah," Bucky responded.
Ward shook his head and looked at Bucky, "I got a bad feeling about all this."
"Me too. But we have to do it." Bucky patted Ward's shoulder, "And we'll do it well."
Ward didn't respond and only nodded.
A SHIELD agent popped his head outside one of the offices along the side of the hangar and called out to Bucky, "Captain! Phone for you! It's the Director."
Bucky turned around, "I'll be right there!" He looked at Ward, "You all right?"
Ward nodded, "Yeah. Let's just get this over with." With that, Bucky nodded and walked off to the office.
Bucky walked into the office and was immediately handed the phone by the SHIELD agent. "Barnes," he crisply greeted.
"Bucky, it's Peggy."
"What's the word?" he asked.
Peggy spoke in a serious tone, "Listen carefully, once the submarines get in position, do not, I repeat, DO NOT execute Operation Black Vanguard until you explicitly hear from me. Understood?"
Bucky nodded, "Understood."
"Regardless of what military personnel direct you too or say, you will not debark those submarines for any circumstances unless I tell you too." Peggy paused, "I will contact you directly through the subs' radio."
"Got it," Bucky responded. "Expecting something?"
"In case there's some sort of communication error between the military and the President, I don't want my people to be caught in the middle. Worse, I don't want you to be landing in Cuba when we had no intentions in doing so."
Bucky nodded, "Right."
"Any more questions, Buck?"
"No."
"Alright, good luck." With that, he heard Peggy cut the line.
Bucky let out a sigh and hung up the phone before heading back out to get everything ready.
White House
Peggy, sitting at one of the secretary's desks outside of the Oval Office, hung up the phone and dialed home to briefly talk to her family. She sighed as she listened to the ringing tone, waiting for anyone in her family to answer. Since it's a Saturday afternoon, Peggy figured someone should be home to answer. That being said, she didn't know what to say if anyone picked up. She just wanted to hear her family.
After a moment, she heard the line connect followed by Steve's voice, "Steve Rogers."
"Steve," Peggy greeted, a small smile managing to creep on her lips.
Steve's voice turned soft, "Peggy. Everything okay?"
Peggy frowned and shook her head, "No. Its. I—" She couldn't find the words.
"I understand," Steve sadly replied. He didn't need anything more.
Peggy was about to speak again, but couldn't say anything. What could she say? How could she talk about the unimaginable to her family.
"Peggy, we'll be okay," Steve reassured.
Peggy closed her eyes and frowned, "Steve, I—"
She was interrupted when Robert Kennedy stuck his head out the Oval Office and signaled her to come in.
Peggy sighed, "Darling, I'm sorry. I have to go back to work."
"It's okay. We love you," Steve said.
"And I love you all," with that, Peggy hung up the phone and stood up from the desk and walked to the Oval Office.
Peggy stepped into the Oval Office and instantly saw the President sitting at his desk, looking at her. Dean Rusk and Theodore Sorensen are also present, sitting in front of him, and Kenneth O'Donnell and Robert Kennedy standing beside them.
Robert Kennedy greeted, "Peggy."
"Bobby. What's going on?" Peggy asked.
The President nodded, "We want to make the deal in Turkey. I want to know what you think."
Peggy walked over and stood by the President's desk, "I think it's a bad idea." Robert Kennedy and the President locked eyes with one another. "But, we don't have much of a choice, considering the alternatives."
Robert Kennedy nodded.
"However, the dangers of this deal is that the Soviets can force us into trade after trade, until finally, a couple months from now, they demand something we won't trade, like Berlin." Peggy frowned, "Then we end up in a war anyway. But that's the worst case if we make this deal. But again, what choice do we have."
Dean Rusk sighed, changing the subject, "Mr. President we have only 30-hous left, and whatever response we send, it will take several hours for the wire to be received by our embassy and delivered to the Kremlin. We're looking at early tomorrow morning at the earliest before Khrushchev can respond. We're running out of time."
The President looked around the room and rubbed his temple, "Which one of you geniuses is gonna tell me how to explain it to the world if we don't make this trade?" Everyone remained silent. "So, what are we going say to the Soviets about this offer?"
Sorensen removed his glasses, "Well it depends. I mean, do we really believe there's been a coup?"
Robert Kennedy spoke up and leaned on the Resolute Desk, "Yeah, what if Fomin wasn't a ploy? What if his message was real? What if what is happening is, uh, a series of accidents?"
"Accidents like them shooting down our U-2?" Rusk interrupted.
O'Donnell nodded, "Yes, accidents like that."
The President leaned back in his chair, "And the accident's making the second letter seem more aggressive and the whole situation appear worse than it really is."
"Guns of August," said Peggy.
"That's right," Robert Kennedy responded.
The President waved his hand, "So we just reject the second letter?"
"No," Sorensen interjected. "No, no. We don't reject it."
"We accept the first letter," Robert Kennedy spoke up. "And we pretend the second letter doesn't exist."
Later that evening, EXCOMM met again in the Cabinet Room to discuss a deal with the Soviets and the potential of diplomacy before initiating airstrikes on Cuba.
"It won't work because that's wishful thinking!" McCone yelled in anger.
"He made an offer, so I—" Robert Kennedy shot back.
"That's the same wishful thinking, Bobby, that blinded us all these months while the Soviets were sneaking those missiles in under our noses," McCone sneered.
Peggy had an idea and stood up, "Look, ignore the second letter, and agree to the conditions of the first."
General Taylor shook his head, "There's no reason to believe the Soviets will let it go!"
"Max is right," argued someone else. "Why will they accept it?"
Peggy slapped the table, "IT can work if—IF they believe we're going to hit them and hit them hard." Robert Kennedy pointed at Peggy and nodded in agreement. "It's all about perception to the Soviets. We got time for one more round of diplomacy, and that's it. The first airstrikes start in less than 28-hours."
The President didn't say anything as he sat at his seat with his chin resting on his hand.
Rusk called out, "But we have to make them agree to it!"
"Right," McNamara responded.
"So how do we do that?"
The President finally spoke up, "Well, we give them something. We tell them we're going to remove the missiles from Turkey—" The majority of the room began to actively grumble. "Hang on! But we do that six months from now, so it appears there's no linkage."
Peggy nodded, "We also tell them if they go public about it, we'll deny it."
"Right." The President gestured with his hands, "Deny it and the deals off."
"And we do it under the table, so we can disavow any knowledge of it."
McCone frowned, "It's transparent, Peggy. The press will be all over it."
"Six months from now, we're not going to care, are we?" Peggy crossed her arms, "We can deal with it then."
McNamara nodded, "At the least, it'll expose whether Khrushchev has been overthrown. We'll know who we're up against."
The President leaned back, "Well, I've been thinking about Khrushchev, and if this is a move to appease the hard-liners in his government." He stood up, "then it may be just the bone he needs to regain control of his own house."
Rusk spoke up, "But whoever carries the message has to hit the nail on the head. Come across as too soft, they'll push us. Too hard, they'll be cornered, and even more dangerous."
McCone frowned, "All of you." He pointed, "All of you do understand that there is an enormous risk in offering this deal." Peggy carefully eyed her counterpart. "Because if they turn us down, and we already told them that we're coming in on Monday morning…"
General Taylor shook his head, "They'll strike first."
The President frowned and shook his head. After a moment, he looked at his brother, "Bobby." Robert Kennedy looked up at the President. "You know Dobrynin best," he said, referring to Soviet Ambassador, Anatoly Dobrynin.
"Yeah," Bobby Kennedy said.
The President walked over to him, "Then you're it. You gotta go in there and make them understand that we have to have an answer tomorrow. Because Monday we go to war."
Everyone in the room tensed at the President's last sentence.
Later that evening, Robert Kennedy left the White House and was driven to the Department of Justice Building to meet with the Soviet Ambassador to discuss a deal to end the crisis. As his car passed the Soviet Embassy, he saw lines of protestors chanting for the USSR and the US to find peace. But what worried him more is the sight of thick black smoke billowing from the chimneys, meaning only one thing. The Soviets are burning their documents, preparing for war. All this made Robert Kennedy feel that much more uneasy.
Department of Justice Building
Robert Kennedy stepped out of the elevator and immediately saw his aid waiting for him. "Sir," the young man greeted. Robert Kennedy nodded and handed him his briefcase and started to take off his overcoat, the aid quickly stepping up to help him remove it. "Ambassador Dobrynin is already here. He's waiting in your office," the aid continued.
Robert Kennedy nodded again, "Thank you." With that, he took back his briefcase and headed for his office.
Outside the doors to his office, he took a moment to collect himself before facing the Soviet Ambassador. After taking a last deep breath, Robert Kennedy opened his doors and stepped into his office and saw the Soviet Ambassador sitting on one of the armchairs. The Ambassador, a tall man with grey hair and glasses, stood up and nodded at him with a courteous but nervous smile.
"Mr. Ambassador, thank you for coming," Robert Kennedy said, walking over to him and shaking his hand.
"Mr. Kennedy," Dobrynin greeted.
The two men took a seat on the pair of armchairs, both facing each other. Robert didn't wait and initiated the negotiations, "Well, let's get this started. Mr. Ambassador, my brother, my friends, my countrymen, and I cannot and will not permit those missiles to become operational. I promise you that."
Dobrynin frowned, "Then I fear our two nations will go to war and I fear where war will lead us," he morbidly said.
"If the missiles do not become operational if you remove the missiles, then there will be no war," the Kennedy urged. Dobrynin looked down and remained silent. "At this moment, the President is accepting the terms of Secretary Khrushchev's letter of Friday night. If the Soviet Union halts construction immediately, removes the missiles, and submits to UN inspection, the United States will pledge to never invade Cuba or aid others in that enterprise."
"If your Jupiter missiles in Turkey were removed also, such an accommodation could be reached," Dobrynin countered.
Robert Kennedy sighed, "That's not possible." He paused, "The United States cannot agree to such terms under threat. Any belief to the contrary was in error."
"You want war?" Dobrynin shot back. Both men locked eyes for a long tense and uncomfortable moment, both men trying to do what's best for their countries.
Dobrynin frowned and grabbed his briefcase by his feet. But as he was about to stand up, Robert Kennedy stopped him, "However." Dobrynin looked up at him and listened. "While there can be no quid pro quo on this issue, the United States can offer a private assurance. Now, our Jupiter missiles in Turkey are obsolete and have been scheduled for withdrawal for some time." Robert gestured with his hands, "This withdrawal should take place within, say, six months." He leaned back in his chair, "Of course, any public disclosure of this assurance would negate the deal and produce the most stringent denials from our government."
"This private assurance," Dobrynin began. "Represents the word of the highest authority?"
"Yes."
"It can be relayed beyond comrade Khrushchev's ears to the top circles of my government?"
"Our pledge can be relayed to any government officials Secretary Khrushchev sees fit to satisfy," Robert Kennedy said. "With the caveat that it is not to be made public in any way, shape, or form." He leaned forward, "And we must have an answer tomorrow, at the latest. I cannot stress this point enough."
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
Dobrynin let out a sigh and stood up, "Then you must excuse me and permit me to relay the substance of our discussion to my superiors." He paused and offered the Kennedy his hand.
Robert Kennedy stood up and both men shook hands, "of course," he evenly said.
"We have heard stories that some of your military men wish for war," Dobrynin said and Kennedy nodded in silent response. He smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "You're a good man. Your brother is a good man. I assure you there are other good men."
Robert Kennedy understood his words and nodded. As an Ambassador for the Soviet Union, Dobrynin interacted a lot with him, the President, and the State Department. In his own way, Dobrynin got to know the Kennedys very well. He was also key to Soviet Union-United States relations to the point most diplomatic business, such as the current meeting, channeled through him.
"Let us hope the will of good men is enough to counter the terrible strength of this thing that was put in motion," Dobrynin said, turning and walking away.
Willard InterContinental Washington Hotel
Late that night, Peggy, still in her black suit, sat on her bed with the phone in hand as she waited for her husband to pick up. As the ringing tone buzzed in the handset, Peggy looked down and thought about tomorrow. If Khrushchev rejects the deal, the two countries will be at war, and the world will fall into another global conflict. But as opposed to the two previous world wars, World War III will surely bring destruction with nuclear weapons. The reality of nuclear war is too unimaginable to think about though the idea has popped up a lot these past few days.
She shook her head, trying to not think or worry about tomorrow. Peggy sighed, very much wanting to hold her family in her arms right now and be done with this situation.
Peggy was so deep in thought; she didn't hear her husband answer the phone. "Hello," Steve said. Peggy didn't respond as she silently sat with the handset in her hand. "Peggy, is that you?" Steve asked.
Peggy shook her head, "Oh, darling. Sorry. I-I was lost in thought." She made a small smile, "I'm glad you answered."
"I couldn't sleep," he responded.
Peggy made a light chuckle, "Yeah."
"What's going to happen?"
Peggy sighed, "I don't know. We made an offer, but we'll find out in the morning." She frowned, "Hopefully—hopefully, we can find a way to—"
"Have peace," Steve finished.
"Yeah."
Peggy frowned, "I wish you were here. With me." She sighed, "I wish we were all here, so we can all be together for this."
"I know." Steve paused. "Everything will be okay," he reassured.
Peggy nodded.
"I know it. I promise it will," Steve said.
Peggy loved his optimism.
Sunday, October 28, 1962
White House
"This is Radio Moscow, Premier Khrushchev has sent a message to President Kennedy today. The Soviet Prime Minister reemphasizes the need for urgent measures to prevent a fatal turn of events and to preserve world peace. In addition to instructions earlier transmitted to stop construction work on installations in Cuba, the Soviet government has ordered the dismantling of weapons in Cuba, as well as their crating, and return to the Soviet Union."
Early on this Sunday morning in the White House situation room, the President read a letter translated by the State Department of Premier Khrushchev's communique. With tired eyes and stress, the President read the letter with nervousness:
Dear Mr. President:
I have received your message of October 27. I express my satisfaction and thank you for the sense of proportion you have displayed and for realization of the responsibility which now devolves on you for the preservation of the peace of the world.
I regard with great understanding your concern and the concern of the United States people in connection with the fact that the weapons you describe as offensive are formidable weapons indeed. Both you and we understand what kind of weapons these are.
In order to eliminate as rapidly as possible the conflict which endangers the cause of peace, to give an assurance to all people who crave peace, and to reassure the American people, who, I am certain, also want peace, as do the people of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Government, in addition to earlier instructions on the discontinuation of further work on weapons construction sites, has given a new order to dismantle the arms which you described as offensive, and to crate and return them to the Soviet Union…
After reading the opening statements of the letter, the President let out a long awaited sigh of relief. The crisis is over.
Later that morning, the President walked into the Cabinet Room to address EXCOMM, his Cabinet, and his White House staff and was welcomed by loud applause, whistles, and cheers. The President smiled and waved at everyone as the room continued to erupt with cheers.
McNamara walked up to the President and smiled, "Mr. President." President Kennedy patted his back and shook his hand with a smile. "Great job," McNamara congratulated.
"Thank you," the President quietly said.
"Hold it! Hold it" a man called with is hands raised, silencing the room. Once the room quieted down, the man smiled, "Well, Mr. President, I think I can speak for everyone here when I say 'bring on those midterms. There's no stopping us now.'" The room erupted in applause again.
"That's right!" called another.
"Four more years!"
"All right!" called another man.
The President smiled and raised his hands, silencing the room, "You know, uh, it's been a long two weeks, and or whatever, but… I'd like to thank you all. I think you all did a great job, and I just think…I don't think we should be gloating too much." He looked around the room, "It was just as much a victory for them as it was for us."
"Hear, hear," Adlai called.
"Enjoy your morning," the President said, turning to leave the room. The room again erupted in applause.
"Thank you, Mr. President," called one man.
McNamara called out to the President as he left the room, "Get some rest, Mr. President." The President glanced back and flashed him a smile before walking away.
Peggy and Bundy joined McNamara and smiled in pride at their President.
McCone came up behind them and wrapped his arms around the shoulders of Peggy and McNamara and smiled, "We got a lot of new clout right now, and we can run the table on Khrushchev, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia."
McNamara nodded, "Right. That's right."
The group of them smiled, happy, and relieved that this crisis has come to an end. Words could not explain the feeling of relief at the end of this terrible event.
Bundy turned to Peggy, "So, Peggy." Peggy looked at him and raised a brow in question. "What's next?"
Peggy smiled, "I'm going home as soon as possible." She chuckled, "Got some stuff to do, but I plan to go home at the earliest time possible."
McNamara nodded, "You definitely earned it."
McCone stepped back and stuck out his hand to Peggy, "Peggy."
Peggy looked at his hand, then back up at him and raised a brow before cautiously shaking his hand.
"You did a great job. Couldn't have done it without you," said McCone with a warm smile.
"Thank you, John," she responded.
Monday, October 29, 1962
Though the missile crisis ended yesterday, Peggy remained behind for part of Monday for follow up meetings with EXCOMM, which coordinated with the UN when to begin supervising the dismantling of Soviet missiles. Peggy also had to make sure her SPU teams by Cuba returned safely, all her assets were recovered, or remained undercover.
Then later that afternoon, the President let Peggy go home. Feeling that she didn't need to be in DC to help monitor the Soviets dismantling the missiles, the President felt Peggy earned much needed downtime. If anything urgent came up, he knew they could coordinate with her in SHIELD headquarters in New York or recall her back to DC.
Steve & Margaret Rogers Residence, Scarsdale, NY
It's early in the evening with the sun hanging barely above the horizon by the time Peggy's motorcade pulled up to the curb alongside her house. Peggy looked out of the window and stared at her house, a smile creeping on her face. It's been a long two weeks, and she missed her home and especially her family. She saw the lights on in the house and grinned happily, excited to see her family.
Agent Floyd, her usual driver, and aid looked through the rearview mirror and smiled, "Welcome home, Director." He then opened his door to get out and grab Peggy's.
Peggy smiled, "I got it, thank you, Floyd," she said, opening her door. Floyd nodded and remained in the driver's seat. "Thank you for driving," she said, grabbing her bags and stepping out of the car.
Peggy left the car in a hurry and made her way up the path to her house, passing the agents of the lead and tail cars standing outside for security. As she walked up the steps of the front porch and reached the front door, excitement, and joy of seeing her family after such a long few weeks overwhelmed her. She gripped the door handle, noticing it was unlocked, pushed open the door, and immediately felt at home. It felt so good. Peggy missed her home and family so much.
Upon stepping into the house, she could hear music playing on the radio and could smell Steve's home cooking in the kitchen. It looks like she made it in time for dinner. Peggy didn't make it far in the foyer when John spotted her from the top of the stairs.
"Mom's home!" John called as he rushed down the stairs to greet her.
Peggy closed the door and dropped her bags on the floor then immediately rushed to embrace her youngest son in her arms. John collided with his mother and hugged her tight, "Welcome home, Mama!"
Peggy smiled and kissed him multiple times on the head and cheek, "I've missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Mama."
Athena, the black German Shepard, then bolted from the family room and collided with Peggy, wagging her tail and jumping to greet her.
Peggy smiled and let go of her son to greet the dog. "Hi there, sweet girl. Did you miss me?" she said, petting the dog and scratching the back of her ears. Athena whined in excitement, wagging her tail vigorously.
Angela and Michael also rushed out of the family to greet her. Both of them quickly snatched her up in a big, long-awaited hug. "Welcome home, Mom!" Michael yelled.
Angela smiled, holding her mom in her embrace, "We missed you so much!"
Peggy smiled and happily returned the hug, kissing her two kids on the heads, "I've missed all of you too, so much." She kissed Angela again, "I've missed all of you so much. So, so much," she repeated. Angela's grip tightened as she held onto her mother.
John joined the group hug, "We love you, Mama!"
"And I love you," Peggy smiled. She looked around and noticed Steve and Sarah weren't present. "Where's your father and sister?" she asked, confused.
Steve and Sarah appeared from the kitchen, both of them wearing aprons. Peggy let go of the group hug so she can greet her oldest daughter. Sarah rushed over and embraced her mother with a big smile, "Welcome home, Mama."
Peggy hugged her tightly, planting a kiss on her temple, "Thank you, darling. I've missed you so much."
"I missed you too."
Steve joined the group and smiled at his wife, "Sorry, Sarah was helping me with dinner."
Peggy chuckled and let go of her daughter, "You're helping your father cook?"
Sarah shrugged, "yeah, we wanted to make you a welcome home feast with all your favorite foods. It's a lot so I offered to help."
Peggy smiled, "That's sweet, but you didn't have too. Coming home to all of you is all I need."
Steve chuckled, "We wanted too." He paused, "We, uh, also baked a cake."
"A cake? Darling, you're spoiling me." Peggy chuckled, "no wonder why it smells so good in here."
Steve shrugged, "It's the kids idea."
Peggy looked around at her family, "Aw. All of you are so sweet."
"Welcome home, Mom!" John and Angela called. Peggy chuckled.
Sarah nodded, "Plus, it's not every day our mom saves the world from disaster."
Peggy chuckled, "Ah, let's not talk about that right now. It's been a long trip."
"Right, sorry," Sarah said. "I'm glad your home though."
Peggy hugged her again, "Me too."
John looked up at her and asked, "Mom, you don't have any more surprise business trips coming up do you?"
Peggy shrugged, "I don't know, darling. Maybe, maybe not. I'm just happy to be home right now."
John nodded, "me too."
Peggy furrowed her brows and looked at Michael, "Wait, Michael, why aren't you in football practice right now?"
Michael shrugged, "I wanted to be around when you got here." He looked at his dad, "I asked Dad for permission and he talked to the coach." Steve smiled and nodded in response.
"Oh?" She looked at Steve, "And what did you say?"
Steve shrugged, "Family emergency. I left it vague." Peggy chuckled.
Sarah spoke up, "So we're all here to see you, Mom!"
Peggy laughed, "I'm glad all of you are here," she said, wrapping her arms around Michael and Sarah.
Steve clapped his hands, "Right, kids and teenagers, get ready for dinner." He looked at Sarah, "Think you can man the kitchen 'till I join you and finish up."
Sarah took a step back, adjusted her apron, and smirked confidently, "Please, Dad, think I can't manage that?"
"You have become a great cook," he smirked.
"Learned from the best," Sarah said, walking off, Michael, Angela, John, and Athena following close behind.
Once they were alone, Peggy quickly wrapped her arms around her husband and planted a long, loving kiss on his lips. Steve happily reciprocated and brought her close to him. After a long moment, Peggy broke the kiss, "I've waited for that for too damn long."
Steve chuckled, "Me too." He kissed her again, "Welcome home, hon."
Peggy looked up at him, "Steve, thank you." Steve raised a brow. "Thank you for the support and, most importantly, taking care of the kids while this was going on. I know that had to be hard."
Steve nodded, "We were all worried, but we had each other. In fact, we were more worried about you than anything else." Peggy smiled.
Peggy suddenly frowned, "We were close." She shook her head, "I can't believe how close we were to—"
Steve put a hand on her cheek, "Let's not think about that." He smiled, "We made it through. You, the President, and all those advisors saw us through it. Let's not worry about what could've happened and let us live in the moment." He nodded, "You're home with us now."
Peggy smiled and nodded.
"Come on, it's almost dinner time," Steve said, nodding to the kitchen. Peggy linked her arm with his, and the two of them made their way to rejoin their kids.
Though the Cuban Missile Crisis ended, there's still work to be done to counter Soviet action. But for now, that can wait until tomorrow.
Later that night, Angela laid in her bed, reading a book with the lamp on. Though it's getting late and there's school tomorrow, Angela couldn't sleep and opted to continue reading. Besides, reading always helped her sleep and relax.
As she flipped the page, there was a knock on the door, followed by the creaking sound of it slowly opening. Angela turned her head and saw her mom, in a robe, poking her head into the room.
"Darling," Peggy greeted. "It's late, you have school tomorrow, what are you doing up?"
Angela put her book down on her chest and shrugged, "I couldn't sleep."
"Aw," Peggy said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. She walked over to her daughter and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Is something on your mind?"
Angela frowned, "Um." Peggy cocked her head to the side, waiting for her response. "About the thing that happened."
Peggy nodded, "The missile crisis in Cuba."
"Yeah." Angela sighed, "You and Dad told us not to worry, but I was scared. I couldn't sleep." Peggy frowned. "The school started doing drills on what to do when a nuclear bomb explodes nearby. Dad didn't talk much about it, neither did Michael or Sarah, but the school, that's all they talked about. Then the TV kept talking about it. I thought the world was going to end." She sighed, "John was scared too. He didn't know what was going on."
Peggy frowned, "Angela, I—"
"I guess Dad didn't say much about it because he was trying to reassure us and not to worry so much. But I could tell he was scared too." Angela frowned, "I overheard him expressing his fears to you, Sarah, and Michael."
Peggy didn't respond and listened intently.
"Mom, I know what nuclear weapons are and what they can do. I'm not unaware of war." Angela sighed, "But I want to know. How close were we to war?"
Peggy knew she couldn't lie or hide the truth to her daughter. Angela is brilliant and probably knew the answer to that question already. She just wanted confirmation of it. Peggy understood there's no sense in hiding it or lying about it. "Very close," Peggy quietly said.
Angela didn't say anything and only nodded.
Peggy smiled, "But don't worry about it anymore, darling. It's over." She placed a hand on her daughter's cheek, "this crisis opened the eyes of both of our countries and I doubt this will ever happen again. We're all right and we're safe, okay?"
Angela nodded.
"Don't worry, my darling," Peggy smiled. "The world isn't over. I wasn't going to let it end on you." Angela sat up and quickly hugged her mother in a tight embrace. Peggy smiled and returned the hug, kissing her daughter on the head.
Angela smiled in her mom's arms.
Peggy began to hum a tune and sway side-to-side with her daughter in her arms. "You are my Sunshine, my only sunshine," she sang. "You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you." Angela closed her eyes and made a bigger smile. "Please don't take my sunshine away."
Peggy smiled, "The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms…"
Dear Mrs. Anderson,
I was deeply shocked by the loss of your husband on an operational flight on Saturday, October 27th 1962.
The courage and outstanding abilities of your husband were evident throughout his career, as witnessed by the award to him during the Korean War, of the Distinguished Flying Cross with two clusters. His tragic loss on a mission of most vital national urgency was once again the sacrifice of a brave and patriotic in time of crisis the source of our freedom since the founding days of our country.
On behalf of a grateful nation, I wish to convey to you and your children the sincere gratitude of all people. I have directed the award of the Distinguished Service Medal to your husband.
Mrs. Kennedy joins me in extending to you our deepest sympathy in the loss of your husband.
Sincerely,
John F. Kennedy
Arguably, the loss of Major Anderson prevented the crisis from further escalating by signaling to both President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev that things were spiraling out of their control.
The Cuban Missile Crisis is considered the closest the Cold War, or humanity for that matter, came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
In reality, the meeting with Admiral Anderson on the Naval Quarantine occurred on 21st of October, while the President was still deciding on his course of action.
"I am not going to follow a course which will allow anyone to write a comparable book about this time called, The Missiles of October." Quote was actually only between President Kennedy and his brother, Robert Kennedy.
Teletype: electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations
Obviously writing historical fiction at this point with the introduction of Marvel characters.
Again, quotes from both the book and movie "13-Days."
FIFTY CHAPTERS! Technically I have more than that, BUT, 50 official story chapters! Here's to 50 more!
