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Page 267
act of war against the United States. So that there will be no possible misunderstanding, I suggest you inform General Kondratiev and his associates that I am ordering United States strategic forces to defcon two at once. I have nothing more to say."
Aleksandr Cherny controlled his anger. Pride and prudence struggled for precedence as he listened. Pride won. He lifted his chin. "Very well, Mr. President," he said. "I do the same with my forces. Again, I tell you truth. This so-called weapon you describe could not have been placed by any Russian, Soyuz or not. May Godif He existsdeal with us cautiously, and with mercy. I speak with you again, very soon."
"That would be wise," Cole Caidin said.
The monitor went dark.
The initial call from the White House to the Pentagon telling the Joint Chiefs that the President of the United States had accused the Russian government of planning an act of war against his country, and hence had declared defense condition two, was received with shock and surprise.
The repercussions of that call echoed throughout the halls of the huge building.
"What is it with that bastard, anyway?" General Laurence Collingwood said angrily. "As the head of the Joint Chiefs, am I not supposed to be consulted at least, before our President, God bless him, goes off half-cocked?"
"I didn't hear that," murmured his aide. "Just hope your office isn't bugged, sir. By the way, the shelter in the Catoctin Mountains is almost completely shut down, thanks to this year's military appropriations and the Office of Management and Budget. They convinced Congress and the President that we didn't need such an expensive facility any moreno external threat, and all that. Therefore, do you think that defcon two means that we'll have to reactivate the Looking Glass?"
"That damned plane, that 707, is obsolete, to begin with, and we haven't time to get all the electronic gear back on it,"

 
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