Page 75 of Cry Havoc (Tom Reece #1)

Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

ANATOLY PENKOVSKY WAS NEVER comfortable in these types of settings. Too many eyes. He preferred working alone in his office or sitting in the audience at the opera after the curtain rose to reveal the stage. Even better was being at home with his sheet music and memories.

The Aragvi restaurant was too pretentious. If you could afford to eat here, you were somebody. Penkovsky thought it a spectacle.

Director Lavrinenko made a habit of eating at Aragvi once or twice a week and always at the same table. Starka vodka and caviar had been delivered as soon as the two men were shown to their seats. The ma?tre d’ knew better than to keep Lavrinenko waiting. Penkovsky ordered a chacha.

“Ah,” Lavrinenko said in admiration. “Grape brandy. Georgian. Most politicians, army officers, and intelligence agents I typically dine with here order vodka.”

“Well, that’s to be expected, is it not?”

Lavrinenko conceded the point as he took a sip of his drink, a sip that Penkovsky knew was not his first of the day.

“We have made it to June, Comrade. I expect you to be in my seat before 1968 comes to a close.”

“But Yuri Andropov has been director of the KGB for only slightly over a year,” Penkovsky pointed out.

“True. How long he stays there depends on the outcome in Czechoslovakia.”

“I understand he has Brezhnev’s ear.”

“He does. ‘Thick as thieves’ as the Brits would say. Andropov has political ambitions. The KGB is but a stop along the path. When he vacates, the director’s chair is mine.”

“And Prague?” Penkovsky asked.

“A tinderbox. They should know better than to push for reforms through protest. It makes the Eastern Bloc look weak and divided. There will be consequences. We must be prepared for Andropov to push Brezhnev for an invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact. We will keep a close eye on NATO and the United Nations Security Council. If an invasion is repelled or the situation escalates and there is enough pressure on Brezhnev, then we can expect leadership changes at the KGB. We must be ready.”

“What about the Americans?”

“They are embroiled in Vietnam and have too many problems domestically to do more than denounce and condemn us if we move on Prague. They have enough to worry about.”

“We have given them some of those worries.”

“True. Though one never knows what unintended consequences may arise out of their actions, whether tactical or strategic.”

“Meaning?”

“The quagmire that we helped to create in Vietnam led to President Johnson’s decision not to run for another term.”

“I regret I did not see that coming,” Penkovsky admitted.

“None of us did.”

“Their next president inherits a war.”

“Any predictions?”

“Probably their vice president, Hubert Humphrey, now that Robert Kennedy is dead. Killed by a Palestinian just weeks ago,” Penkovsky said.

“It was initially reported that he was a Muslim.”

“That was an assumption. We have a source reporting him to be a Palestinian Christian.”

“Motive?” Lavrinenko asked.

“Unknown. He was born in Jerusalem. Kennedy supported Israel, which could be a motive, but it’s also possible he was a failure in life and saw this as a chance to be remembered by history. Like Herostratus.”

“Who?”

“The Greek who burned the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus to the ground. It was one of the wonders of the ancient world.”

“What’s the connection?”

“Herostratus did it to be remembered.”

“Ah yes, I remember now. How the world can turn on the aspirations of those who are otherwise ‘nobodys’ is infinitely intriguing. Our own poet Semyon Nadson had something to say about it, if memory serves.”

“That he did,” Penkovsky said. “Nadson wrote that Herostratus was seeking kleos.”

“Notoriety?”

“And infamy.”

“Let me see if I can remember,” Lavrinenko said, setting his drink down and clearing his throat. “Nadson wrote that Herostratus was a ‘maggot squashed by destiny, in the midst of the countless hordes.’ ”

“Impressive, Director.”

“You are not the only one who reads,” Lavrinenko replied, clearly pleased with himself. “A report stated that something was written on the wall of the kitchen where Senator Kennedy was shot.”

“Yes, ‘The Once and Future King.’ ”

“Fairy tales,” Lavrinenko said dismissively.

“Their country is in shock. First, President Kennedy and now his brother.”

“Perhaps that family should stay out of politics,” Lavrinenko observed.

“Yes, perhaps. They are still reeling from riots in the wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination in April. America is falling apart. They need a savior. Their candidates will seize upon the chaos and promise stability. It could be Eugene McCarthy, one of their senators.”

“What about Richard Nixon?”

“Doubtful. He does not have a history of winning.”

Appetizers of pkhali—a colorful plate of spinach, leeks, beets, bell peppers, and green beans flavored with garlic, walnuts, and vinegar—and another plate of cheeses, including smoked sulguni and chechil, arrived. Lavrinenko dug in immediately.

“Nineteen sixty-eight could be the beginning of the end for the Decaying West,” he said, between mouthfuls.

“Nixon, though I doubt he will be president, has promised what he calls an ‘honorable end to the war,’ ” Penkovsky continued.

“Whatever that means.”

“It’s quite clever. It says just enough without really saying anything at all.

Both sides can use it to support their positions.

It is important to remember that a vast majority of the American public supports the war regardless of what is said by their media and how much attention their news outlets give to the antiwar protests. ”

“Thanks to that media and a select few presidential advisors, they fail to see that their strategy is working,” Lavrinenko said.

“They could even be victorious if they continued bombing and moved full-scale ground combat operations into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. It is so clear to me. I wonder why they can’t see it. ”

“President Johnson believes that a withdrawal will embolden us.”

“He’s right. What do we know about this new general—Abrams?” Lavrinenko asked.

“General Creighton Abrams. He is a graduate of their military academy—West Point—a classmate of Westmoreland. Graduated in 1936. Something of a hero of the Great Patriotic War. Battle of the Bulge. A tank commander. He recently took over from Westmoreland, and all indications are that he will continue the search-and-destroy strategy. Though their media says otherwise, those policies are working.”

“Westmoreland long advocated for ground incursions into the North, Laos, and Cambodia. Cut off the logistics and the Americans will win. Thank goodness McNamara and Rusk have thus far advised against it. I wonder if Abrams will have more sway than his predecessor?”

“He will have an ally when Westmoreland becomes Army Chief of Staff in July,” Penkovsky offered.

“They fail to see the North’s impatience. The NVA was decimated during Tet and again in the May offensives.”

“We understand they have additional offensives planned for August.”

“Maybe they are playing to the U.S. media, academia, and protestors.”

“If so, it’s working,” Penkovsky said. “Opposition to the war in those segments is increasing, while support for the war among the American populace as a whole is holding, possibly increasing, in response to the protests.”

“Why?”

“The protestors are at odds with the majority of the American public, which views them as communists and the antithesis of American society and culture writ large.”

“You are saying it would be a mistake for us to only focus on the media and their coverage and what appears to be support of the antiwar movement?”

“Yes, Director. The American public has not forgotten they are still in a Cold War, that we—that is to say, international communism—threatens their very way of life. More than that, they support the troops. Remember, their fathers fought in Europe and the Pacific not long ago.”

“A war we won for them.”

“Ultimately true.”

“I do not understand Johnson’s order to discontinue bombing north of the twentieth parallel. Are these the first steps toward a withdrawal?”

“I don’t think so, Director. Their Democratic Party is still on war footing. They see it as a winning issue in their November elections. The North Vietnamese see it as weakness.”

“It seems our most prudent course of action is to stay the course and do what we can to keep the Americans engaged in Vietnam.”

“Before they learn that the era of imperial colonization is over,” Penkovsky opined.

“Is it?”

“Time will tell. Regardless, they can’t possibly stay in Southeast Asia forever. If the Americans see no progress, pressure will mount to get out of Vietnam as more bodies return home in flag-draped caskets.”

“That means we are on the clock as well.”

“It does. We have six Americans at separate camps in Siberia—four Army Special Forces soldiers and two Navy pilots.”

“Dvornikov’s plan is working,” Lavrinenko acknowledged.

“It is, but we have had a complication. The Americans almost discovered Sergeant Voronin last month in Laos.”

“But they did not.”

“Only because our asset in MACV took the initiative to meet with his cutout and impress upon her the information’s importance.

She in turn broke protocol and called Dr. Brémaud at his home.

He then used the excuse of a patient having a medical emergency as a pretext to get to his office and make an emergency radio transmission to Hanoi.

The NVA was able to extract Voronin, the NVA soldiers, and our American prisoners before the raid. ”

“How did the Americans know the precise location of the camp?” Lavrinenko asked.

“Our source in Saigon tells us that a SOG man survived an ambush days earlier and tracked the NVA to the depot.”

“There is more, isn’t there?”

“Apparently, he initiated an assault on the compound and then evaded capture, making his way back to South Vietnam by way of the Sepon River.”

“One man?”

“That is correct, sir.”