Kill Chain: The Next War (Kirov Series Book 42) by John Schettler

Author:John Schettler [Schettler, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: The Writing Shop Press
Published: 2019-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Part VII

Alliances

“Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations...entangling alliances with none”

— Thomas Jefferson

“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.”

— John F Kennedy, on the NATO Alliance

Chapter 19

Fedorov found Karpov in his quarters after the sendoff, and there was much the two men had to discuss. They both seemed heavy with emotion, as if they had lost something, even though Karpov had finally been given the ship he had coveted so long, and this time, he was to be the Admiral on board.

“A promotion? To full Admiral?” Fedorov was quite surprised. “That is quite a leap—three more stripes on your cuff.”

“Well,” said Karpov, “it gets me just a little closer to the position I left behind in the 1940s. Speaking of promotions, Fedorov, I am putting a pair of new stripes and two more stars on your shoulder boards as well. I’m making you Captain Lieutenant, the same as Rodenko. I would certainly want you as Starpom, but Rodenko has been in that role, and serving well. That said, I’m willing to bump him and give that to you.”

“No, no,” said Fedorov. “It will be hard enough to explain the promotion to the other officers. Leave Rodenko as Starpom. I’m here to support you any time you need me.”

“Well enough. You’ve been Captain here before, so do not be shy with the authority I now give you. Yes, Orlov still ranks you, but don’t let him give you any guff. If he does, I’ll take him down a peg or two, and move you higher.”

“Not now,” said Fedorov “We’ll manage. But tell me what happened ashore?”

Karpov smiled. “I met with Tyrenkov, just the two of us. He was the one who made me an Admiral, and in a very sly way. He want’s my loyalty. It was a big recruiting ploy.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing, really. He asked me to decide, and left the Admiral’s uniform and my hero’s medal on the table. I’m to be in charge of the covering force now. I’m to be Tyrenkov’s warhorse.”

“Then he knew who you were?”

“Of course. That man can see through a steel wall. He found Tunguska. He knows we’re here, and that you and I know far more than the two men he arranged to kill the day before those live fire exercises.”

“Then he confirmed that?”

“Yes, and now I think he did this to make certain we could debark from Tunguska with no repercussions.”

“But how could he know we were coming here, or that we would even get to this milieu in time?”

“He learns very fast, Fedorov. He knows this was the only place where we could take any further action against him, which is why he preempted our arrival here—the bastard turned up here twelve years ago. He’s been ticking off the days on his calendar ever sense, and rooting himself into the intelligence service.

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