Chapter 31: Nulevoy Tochki
Time plays a role in almost every decision. And some decisions define your attitude about time.
- John Cale
Mikhail's Journal 21.03.2011
Just when I was preserving the peace by fighting in private wars and invading states to gain territory did I know I was only putting out fire with gasoline. With Marc Antony still breathing, I knew something big and grievous was lying in wait. All I needed was to hear from a recovering Dimitri what was to come. It would spread panic and desperation around the whole community should the word "nuke" ever be leaked to the public.
"Wait, let's get this straight. Are you telling me that Marc Antony has nukes?" questioned Ivan.
"Indeed he does, all deployed and ready to launch," rasped Dimitri.
"How do you know they are not dummy nuclear arms. Maybe he's bluffing like he did the last time he threatened me with a nuke," I interjected, but this only agitated Dimitri as he glared at me.
"I'm telling you, Mikhail. I've seen it with my own two eyes. He even performed a nuclear test that he invited me to observe and show me he means business.," spat Dimitri.
"Where did he fire the nuke?" asked Ivan.
"Jornada del Muerto Volcano. Ironic isn't it? It's where America tested their first atom bomb," answered Dimitri accompanied by a faint chuckle.
"What does he have to utilize nukes, a B-29 bomber like the Enola Gay or maybe ICBMs?" guessed Ivan.
"Nyet, I really don't know whether he's got missiles at his disposal. All he did was detonate a nuclear device and I saw the mushroom cloud."
"Do you know where he's stationed?" inquired Ivan.
"I really don't know, all I recall when I flew the helicopter with the little girl was seeing a desert. It was so dark at the time and I really couldn't see much. All I did was follow a compass and know where east was pointing and that's how I got here. Unfortunately I hit my head during the crash so maybe that's why I don't remember as much."
"Well you just rest and try to remember as much as you can. In the meantime I think I better forward this information back to headquarters. This is a very dangerous and precarious situation," concerned Ivan as he stood up before I did and was desperate to alert headquarters.
Dimitri's alarming and ominous news disturbed me greatly. I could not hide the fear not even from Alicia who got suspicious. She asked me whether something was bothering me. I was hesitant whether to tell her or not, but I decided it was better to keep it discreet from both her and Mina. In the coming days I would be summoned to a meeting where I would be briefed on how the situation was going to be handled. As instructed I had to wear my balaclava along with my uniform as I was directed into a room with other men with the same uniform as me and wearing their balaclavas with a beret on top. The room was dark, sterile and cold with lighting only emanating from the ceiling. We stood in a line with our eyes on the stage where we saw Ivan walk on stage. He turned to look at us with his stern and authoritative pose.
"Welcome Janissaries, you are all here because of an urgent situation that requires are undivided attention," greeted Ivan as he pulled out a remote from behind his back and pointed it at the wall behind him and we were beholden to a projected image that bared the text in clear bold lettering "Operation Nulevoy Tochki".
"I present you with Operation Nulevoy Tochki, your role in this operation is to prepare and to prevent what could be armageddon." with a click of a button the projector displayed a new slide and showed a clear surreptitious shot of Marc Antony, "One of our most notorious foes who goes by the name of Marc Antony has nuclear weapons in his arsenal and it's more than likely we will be his next target. Of course we don't know how he intends to use them, but we do know this is a serious situation and we must proceed with caution." Ivan actuated the next slide to show a map of the the northwest, midwest and southwest of the United States. It even marked in red as the occupied zone and blue for unoccupied. "Our initial priority was to take Colorado and New Mexico so we would have a barrier that would cut off the enemy's supply route and allow further expansions eastward after the pending invasion of the west and northwest. Unfortunately we will have to postpone our invasion of Colorado and shift our focus on Marc Antony and disarm him of all nukes he has at his disposal. In the meantime you are all advised to keep this discreet from all third parties and try to maintain order. You will all be given separate missions that you will receive subsequently. That is all... dismiss."
Ivan clomped his feet together as so did we in accordance. He saluted and we saluted back before we in an orderly fashion left the room.
After a long travel back home I would let myself into my own house where I was greeted by Alicia who sat in the lounge on the sofa. As always Alicia smiled whenever she saw me come back home, but this smile was different. It was as if she was excited and couldn't wait to tell me.
"Mikhail, would you come and sit down," requested Alicia, tapping her hand on the empty space on the sofa.
"Sure Alicia," I obliged.
Once I was sat next to Alicia, she took my hand, took a deep breath through her nostrils before looking in my eyes and telling me what was about to become a new chapter in our romance.
"We're going to have a baby, Mikhail," announced Alicia.
My reaction was neutral as I didn't know how to take the news. It was a mix of elation that I would become a father, but also fear that our unborn child was about to succumb to what could be a nuclear war.
"Mikhail, what's wrong?" asked Alicia, looking concerned.
"Nothing, I'm just surprised. I didn't think it would happen at a time like this. It's just that we are still fighting and our soon to be child will grow up in a place like this."
"Mikhail, are you sure that's what you are really thinking?"
"Nyet, I mean da, I mean... I taught you how to fight and defend yourself and now you're preganant and you're going to become vulnerable should you ever come under attack.
"Mikhail, we live in a safe place where we are protected. I don't see how anything could go wrong here. Everyone is happy and is living together. I can't possibly think of a better place and time to become a mother."
"Why do you want to be a mother, Alicia?"
"Because Mikhail I'm done fighting. I only fought to survive as you and many others did too. All I wanted was to find somewhere safe and start again. This place is all I and so many could wish for. I have you to protect me and I want to give you something that we can both work on together. With our child including Mina we can both give them love and be a happy loving family."
Alicia's heartwarming and insightful statement opened my eyes and understood what Alicia was trying to say. It's not all about fighting until peace, but trying to make the world a better place and make the people you love happy. Fighting is my occupation, but not my life. Alicia is where she needs to be, in a safe place surrounded by friendly people and somewhere where she can be a mother.
"Alicia, you are right, you are absolutely right. I just need to relax and think positively for a change. I'm happy I really am happy to know that we are going to have a kid of our own. I really am."
Alicia delightfully smiled believing I was showing signs of enthusiasm and basking in the moment with her. I took Alicia into my arms and only thought of a bright future rather than a bleak somber one.
Mikhail's Journal 15.04.2011
Weeks flew by and everything around the community was normal, everyone was enjoying their life and going by their daily routine as normal. However in secret, work was being done where engineers were assigned with the task of digging and constructing bomb shelters. I and along with other soldiers participated in the digging. We had to dig deep enough because a fallout shelter needed to be deep and big enough to contain every resident. Even with all the manpower and resources we had to construct and prep a fallout shelter was no guarantee it would be complete by the end of the month. We called the project Operation Kurgan which was named after the burial mounds that Russians in ancient times would bury their dead.
Mikhail's Journal 20.04.2011
On this particular day I received a surprise visit, someone I did not expect to see. This surprise visitor arrived in a helicopter and me being a Janissary had the task along with another Janissary (whose name and face I did not know) escort the visitor to the meeting room. As the visitor stepped out of the helicopter I noticed it was a short man well over 50, it was the man who greeted me with a gun in my face, it was Daniel Salazar. I would have flinched upon seeing him turn to look at me with a balaclava covering my face, but I was trained not to and to stand still and disciplined without any reaction. My fellow Janissary and I lead Daniel to the briefing room where Ivan greeted him in English and they both entered the meeting room together as my colleague and I stood outside the door where we could hear nothing and would secure the entrance to make sure no third party gets through. One thing I couldn't help but think was whether Daniel brought Ofelia along with him or he left her back in Tijuana at the dam where she would be safe?
Only after when my shift had ended and I was allowed to return home was I in for another surprise when I got there. First thing I noticed when I let myself in and took off my shoes did I hear the soft sound of girls chatting in the kitchen. One was Alicia for certain, but the other was another female about the same age as Alicia. I walked into the kitchen and saw this female was an acquaintance. She was a young hispanic lady with dark hair, it was Ofelia. They ceased conversation and they both turned to look at me.
"Oh hi Mikhail," greeted Alicia amicably.
"Hi Mikhail," greeted Ofelia zealously as she walked up to me to hug me.
"I'll put the kettle on," offered Alicia as she walked towards the sink to put water in the kettle while Ofelia and I sat at the table.
"Congratulations Mikhail, Alicia told me she's pregnant," smiled Ofelia.
"Thank you Ofelia, I'm looking forward to it already. So what are you and your father doing here?"
"Well papa came to basically offer support."
"What type of support, military support?"
"Yeah, he commands an army and he wants to form an alliance and help with your campaign."
"I wonder why? Maybe I should ask him myself."
"He'll be happy to see you again. He still hasn't forgotten about you rescuing me."
"You are his only daughter and I know how much you mean to him so I can only imagine."
The conversation halted and I changed the subject.
"So are you and your father immigrating here?"
"No Mikhail, our stay is temporary. I've never been too keen on snow, I like warm weather. Still I would like you to teach me your language and show me around."
Ofelia smiled jocosely as Alicia brought Ofelia and I our warm drinks. Alicia then brought hers, sat at the table and asked, "So Mikhail, what's going on at the excavation site you've been working on?"
Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from outside. It sounded like an explosion that was so powerful it made the floor vibrate. This tremor made Alicia and Ofelia look queasy and on edge. We ran outside and we saw there were other locals who heard the explosion too and were standing by their front porches to witness something I've never seen in my life until today. It was a cloud, but no ordinary shaped cloud, a mushroom cloud. It was far in the distance and looked like a little tiny mushroom sitting on the surface. Where it struck I hoped it wasn't somewhere where there was life. One thing is for certain, that place will be an exclusion zone and a team of cleaners will be appointed to prevent the spread of radiation. Everyone around me panicked and expressed fear of what was happening and whether this was an accident or an intentional nuclear strike. One thing I was certain of this was a nuclear strike from Marc Antony, maybe as a warning. If he does plan to launch more nukes then I knew the chances of survival were slim because our fallout shelter was incomplete. Ofelia continued to look at the mushroom cloud growing bigger and covering the sun and turning the sky orange, she had a hand covered over her mouth and a tear rolled down her cheek. Alicia took my hand and squeezed it while also looking scared. It seemed nearly everyone had witnessed a nuclear explosion and it would mean I would be called to another meeting and the entire community will be reduced to panic. Inevitably they would demand answers to how we were going to tackle a possible nuclear attack should that be the most likely outcome.
I was summoned to another meeting along with my fellow Janissaries. This time we would be forced to watch a recorded message from Marc Antony. It made me feel alone knowing I was the only one who knew Marc Antony personally while the only other Janissaries have probably never heard of him and know what he's capable of.
"Janissaries, it's time you knew your enemy and how desperate the situation is," announced Ivan as he pressed the button on the remote that played the recorded video message on the projector.
Marc Antony appeared on the projector screen wearing his extravagant clothes and expensive looking shades. He flashed his million dollar smile and greeted, "Dobroye utro my Russian friends, have I got a surprise for you today. I hope you had fun celebrating Russian national unity day and you had plenty of fireworks to celebrate with. How about I give you my firework display, might not be nighttime, but trust me it's going to be a blast. A nuclear blast." Marc Antony directed the camera man to point the camera at a truck with a long trunk where there was what looked like a long rectangle box, which pointed diagonally. "Let's show these Russians how Americans really celebrate with a bang," quipped Marc Antony's voice in the background. A missile, which I quickly recognized it was a Patriot shot out of the rectangular launcher with a loud violent hiss. The camera panned in the distance where there were mountains. A small white dot in the clear blue sky dropped down, which I knew was the missile as it found its target. It exploded and as expected a mushroom cloud emanated and turned the sky orange. This was when I and probably my comrades knew this was the same nuke we saw yesterday. In the cameraman's direction a strong howling gust of wind blew past him, which came from the impact of the nuclear missile.
The camera was pointed back at Marc Antony who exulted, "Wow look at that, now that's what I call starting a party with a bang. Unless you want to see more of these I think you should listen to what I have to say. Some friends of mine are going on a journey to the east coast and they'll be taking their wheels with them. Of course me being their friend don't want you Russians to disturb their safe journey and loot the goods, which they are delivering to our friends from the east coast who would rather die than be slaves to Russian tyranny." After a pause and a frown from Marc Antony believing he didn't clarify his demands, reformulated, "Why don't I just put this in a sentence that even you Russians in schoolboy English should understand. Don't you dare disturb my convoys otherwise I'll be showering you more of these babies right on top of your heads. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and shower. Radiation contamination is never a good thing. Have a nice day losers, do svidanya."
The recording ended and there was nothing but silence in the room until Ivan walked in the middle of the stage.
"As you saw it is clear that our enemy has nukes with unknown launch capabilities and we are unsure how many he has and how he intends to use them, but one thing that must be done is we can't allow him to launch anymore nukes and harm any civilians. Unfortunately we can't allow him to supply our enemies in the east with weapons and prolong our eastward expansion, so we must stop him from using anymore nukes and intercept his convoys. You will all be given separate missions, which you will receive personally by mail. Dismiss."
Ivan put his feet together and so did we in accordance as we saluted each other before going back to our civilian lives until duty calls.
When I finally arrived back at the suburbs feeling really tired and enervated from both paranoia and fatigue. Only one spectacle could brighten my day and that was from a familiar face of another unexpected visitor. It was a young blonde-haired female with a fringe and lollipop head. Her thin lips stretched into a wide amorous smile as she saw my face. It was Gretchen Trimbol, someone who I thought about from time to time and questioned whether she was still alive and it thrilled me to see she was still alive and in good health.
"Mikhail," exclaimed Gretchen.
"Gretchen," I responded.
Gretchen threw herself into her arms and slung her arms around my neck, kissed my cheek and whispered delicately into my ear, "How I missed you."
"Why are you here Gretchen, I thought you and your family immigrated to Colorado?"
"We did, but we quickly learnt about Russians in Wyoming. I convinced my dad to move us to Wyoming where my dad wanted to make a proposal with the Russians. He said he could help the Russians take Colorado without any resistance as many locals including us immigrated to Montana."
"Your father is a noble man for choosing to save people rather than have them lay down their lives for an un-winnable war."
Gretchen frowned at me sardonically and asked, "So are you saying Russians are stronger than us Americans?"
"Nyet nyet, just saying it's better to come together rather than fight over territory is all I'm saying. It doesn't matter whether you're Russian or American I just think we need to work and live together if we are ever going to see peace again."
"Well maybe Russians and Americans can learn to work and live together in peace when my parents invite you and Alicia to dinner tomorrow," smiled Gretchen, showing signs of anticipation.
Mikhail's Journal 26.04.2011
Tonight was a very special night and a memorable occasion because I'll be having a dinner party with not only the Trimbols, but with the Salazars too. Madison and Travis were also invited as they were delighted to see the Trimbols again. Gretchen and Alicia greeted each other cordially followed by an embrace, it was like they were old friends. Alicia introduced Mina to Gretchen as she bent down to greet Mina fervently. Vern was more than happy to see me again, he offered me his hand that I took and felt his firm grip. Mike gave me a brotherly hug as if he was my brother and we hadn't seen each other in a long time. The Salazars were the last to arrive. Ofelia warmly hugged and greeted me. Daniel who appeared behind Ofelia also hugged me and greeted me, then he gave me what looked like a large envelope with clear bold lettering "Совершенно секретно" which means "strictly confidential". This was what I thought it was, it was my mission with instructions provided. Before deciding to open it I decided to sit at the table and try Kathy Trimbol's Colorado chili.
After dinner there was chatting and laughter at the table as everyone had a piece of Kathy's beautifully cooked cherry pie and a glass of white wine to go with it, I remembered still having the big brown envelope in my possession. Knowing it was better to view it now rather than later, I excused myself from the table.
"Sorry everyone, I need to go and get some fresh air," I announced.
"Need some company?" asked Gretchen.
"Nyet Gretchen, I just need some time alone. Don't worry I won't be gone long."
I walked outside onto the Trimbols front porch where I sat on their swing bench, opened up the envelope and examined its contents. One thing in the envelope that was a bulky and something I expected it to be was a small tape recorder with a mini tape inside. There were earphones connected to the tape recorder so I could listen to the tape recording privately. I inserted the earphones into my ears, pressed play and listened to what I assumed the mission briefing.
After the mission briefing was concluded, there was a warning that the message would self destruct in 5 seconds. The tape in the recorder stopped, sizzled and blue smoke rose out of the recorder. It kind of reminded me of Mission Impossible where the director of the IMF Jim Phelps would receive mission briefings that would self destruct after 5 seconds.
I would then proceed to read the file that was also in the envelope, which was intel and instructions regarding the mission. My mission was to travel to New Mexico and set up an observation post in Gallup in the hope of intercepting an approaching convoy and radioing an airstrike. Sounded like a boring mission, but it's what I was assigned to do and I knew the military had boring missions like guard duty and intel gathering. The other Janissaries probably had the same mission as me, but in different locations or something different and probably less tedious. It didn't matter whether I would enjoy the mission or not I knew how important this mission was and how peoples' lives were going to depend on the success and turnout. One thing that wasn't mentioned in the mission briefing in both the recording and file was Marc Antony and what course of action I should take should I see him. When I was done reading the file and I knew precisely where and what time I was to report, I pulled a red strip of paper, which I knew was a mechanism that ignites the file. Flames licked the top part of the file and the file quickly turned into flaky white ash. I took the time to light a cigarette with it before throwing it to the ground and watching it burn into a pile of hot ash. Now I was fully briefed about the mission and with the knowledge that I would be embarking on the mission tomorrow, I kicked back and smoked my cigarette to exorcise my anxiety.
In the early hours of the morning before the sun came up, I woke up and saw what time it was. I had enough time to get dressed and meet my ride outside. Alicia was still sleeping and as much as I was tempted to kiss her on the cheek or even whisper into her ear and tell her I love her, I didn't want to disturb her because she looked peaceful and beautiful as she slept. Instead I got out of bed, got changed and quietly made my way downstairs.
The entire house was quiet, which was most pertaining to the type of mood I was in. I was going on a mission and I might not come back alive. Not always was I going to get the chance to have one last kiss from Alicia or a hug from Mina, but if I had to be punctual early in the morning, I knew that I would not always have time for last goodbyes. I left the house after taking one final look at the empty lounge with the premonition this could be the last time I would see my home.
I waited at the front of my house until a jeep came roaring up and halted at my porch. There I saw Daniel was sitting in the back and tapped his hand on the empty seat, prompting me to get in.
"Good morning, Mikhail. All set for your new mission?" smiled Daniel.
"Don't have a choice do I, I have to carry out orders," I mourned.
"Ah stop worrying, Mikhail. You'll make it back in one piece. Just got to be optimistic and think of success. I always knew whenever I marched to battle I might not come back alive, but then I asked myself how much I wanted to come back alive. You just got to keep moving forward and see the light at the end of the tunnel, that's what my comrade told me."
"Da that's true, very insightful, Daniel. I just have to accept that I can't fight fate and if it takes me then it takes me."
"But you won't let it take you, will you?" glared Daniel.
"Nyet, I will not let it. I will come back alive. We will stop Marc Antony and put an end to his devilish scheme to blow us up with his nukes."
"That's more like it, Mikhail," Daniel slapped my leg, "You need to be back for the wedding, your wedding with Alicia I mean."
I laughed at Daniel's remark because I haven't even proposed to Alicia yet, but the thought had occurred to me. Alicia is having a baby and we thought it would be ideal to wed just for the baby's sake and because our love is genuine and pure.
Once we were at the base, I had an already prepared ready to eat breakfast before I was suited up and issued my equipment. Then Daniel would escort me to my transport, which was a motorcycle. What struck me the most about this motorcycle was how familiar it looked and how it gave me deja vu. The motorcycle was an Irbis and it was the same model and color as the one I received back in Los Angeles. I'll never forget how it was destroyed when someone tried to steal it and caused it to self destruct, which killed him in the process.
"Does it have an anti-theft mechanism that will cause it to self-destruct?" I asked.
"Oh yes Mikhail, it's also equipped with machine guns and shoots heat-seeking rockets," said Daniel, but as I looked at him with a sarcastic look he burst out laughing as I did too. "No not really, but it does have a stealth setting, you should be able to ride down the road without making a racket."
"Just what I hoped it would do," I hopped on the Irbis, looked at Daniel and asked, "Do you think you're going to be okay?"
"Don't worry about me, Mikhail. The fallout shelter is almost complete and the anti nuclear defense system is installed. I'm sure not one nuke will find its way here. Even if Marc Antony has more of those missiles he would need something more long range to shoot a nuke into the base or anywhere in the community. Either that or he has an air-force, but even with an air-force he would be shot down before he could drop a nuke. Even if he doesn't intend to use nukes or is incapable of deploying them we can't have him deliver nukes to any other third party. That would be disastrous and a hazard to those who could be exposed to radioactive poisoning. You got to stop him, Mikhail. We can't have this mad man running around and causing more chaos and anarchy. I just want to go back to being a father to Ofelia and give her the future I intended for."
"You're so lucky Daniel and you don't even know it. I will always be fighting until the day I die. I'm property of the Kremlin and I'm suppose to die for the Kremlin, but I will fight for the people I'm sworn to protect and for my family... oh and for a better future if I may add."
Daniel approached closer to me, placed his hand on my shoulder and bade, "Just come back, Mikhail. Don't let fate take you, the will to live is stronger than what fate throws at you."
"I will Daniel," I swore.
Daniel offered me his hand as I took it and he wished, "Good luck."
"Spasibo."
Daniel walked away leaving me to gaze down the empty rode where I saw the sun slowly emerge from the horizon and radiate its warm bright yellow rays on my face. Without any further hesitation and looking back I started the engine and rode towards the rising sun.
To be continued...