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Page 265
taken, about both matters, Mr. President. I asked Ambassador Abramov to return for consultations myself," Cherny said, his voice steady, but the quality of his English deteriorating. "I cannot imagine source you heard Abramov is detained. I assure you, you make mistake. I have appointment with him in morning." His voice rose in outrage. "And your other business is preposterouspreposterous, do you hear?"
Cole Caidin seemed on the verge of shouting back at the screen when Vincent Kellner's hand closed on his arm, warning him. Caidin paused for a swallow of water, then said harshly, "If you are resolved to deny everything, determined not to believe us, Mr. President, that is your choice. We cannot force you to face the truth, nor to acknowledge the seriousness of our situation here in North America, if the plutonium contamination is the result of a Russian missile. But I speak now in my capacity as leader of the government and the people of the United States."
"I hear you out, Mr. President." Cherny's expression was every bit as stony as Caidin's, and he was obviously outraged. "But I do not accept premise. You are telling untruth. And I speak on behalf of Russian people."
"We have initiated this call in the spirit of friendship and concern," Caidin said, his voice rising. "Three American presidents have committed themselves to helping the former Soviet Union transform itself from a despotism feared by the world to a democratic state acceptable in the society of nations"
It was true enough, but Cherny flushed at the insult.
"You prefer not to accept our friendship nor to understand that we offer it in good faith," Caidin went on. "Since the end of the Gulf War, the United States has been engaged in a steady reduction of its conventional military power. We have deactivated air wings and army divisions, and we have mothballed ships. At our last meeting, as you know, we agreed to reduce our land-based missile force to zero before the end of

 
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