God Save the Spy by John Ellsworth

Author:John Ellsworth [Ellsworth, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Amazon: B08FF51G75
Published: 2020-09-23T22:00:00+00:00

40

It was early September 1962. After a dozen calls with Castro, Khrushchev agreed to place strategic nuclear missiles secretly in Cuba. The Soviets kept a steel wall wrapped around their war plans, keeping them only in longhand so that clerk typists wouldn't even know. It was these plans that Nikolai Semenov saw in Moscow. Ships sunk far below their waterlines, loaded with machines, armaments, and missiles. A massive Soviet effort was underway.

"What have our troops been told about Operation Anadyr?" asked son Sergei, referring to its code name.

"Our troops have been told they are heading for a freezing region. We have outfitted them with ski boots, fleece-lined parkas, white coveralls, and skis. Even their guns are carried in white covers. They have no idea and won't until they arrive in Havana and see palm trees and sunny beaches."

"What about the American U-2 overflights?"

"There is nothing we can do about that except work under camouflage and work at night. Chief Marshal Biryhuzov says the palm trees will offer protection from prying eyes. When all is ready, the palm trees will be cleared so that the missiles might launch."

"You must be very proud."

Khrushchev ignored this. Laudatory congratulations were the first step toward gaining a leader's confidence. He made a habit of brushing all such applause aside. A fourth-grade dropout from school, a one-time Commissar in the Party, the leader had learned the hard way never to trust. Not even his own son's plaudits were received. He had no time or affection for them.

Nikita Khrushchev only focused on what was at hand. Preparations for a possible war in Cuba were underway. Plans had been made and re-made. Now, those plans had become more serious, more likely to result in a land war in Cuba between Russian and American forces than ever before.

"Sergei," said Khrushchev to his son, "Kennedy is a weakling. We will warn that if he interferes with our ships or missiles in Cuba, it means all-out war."

"What do you believe from Kennedy?"

Khrushchev brushed away the question as if swatting flies. "He will complain, then he will complain some more, then he will accept reality. We then own the balance of power, East versus West."

Satisfied with what he believed, Khrushchev sat back at his desk. It was seven feet wide and featured a divider in the middle, left to right across the width, eight inches high, so that visitors could not see Khrushchev's side of the desk and possibly get a glimpse of what he was addressing. Along the entire wall behind him was a built-in cabinet, glass front, holding treasures he had acquired during his world travels, including antiques from his parents' peasant home that they had presented to him when he became Premier.

Across from him sat Sergei, his son, and a deputy minister in the Communist Party who almost daily visited with his father. The Party faithful knew this, knew young Sergei had his father's ear and accorded him the respect and deference such a connection called for.

Behind Sergei, stretching

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