As the two men entered the Oval Office, they saw the President get up and walk towards them. He greeted Johnson with a warm smile and a firm handshake. Then he turned to Duncan and said, “Ambassador, thank you for traveling here to meet with me today. We have much to talk about.” He gestured for them to take a seat at the couches near the fireplace.
A couple of stewards brought everyone some coffee, and they got down to business. The President looked at Duncan and began, “Ambassador, whether we like it or not, we now find ourselves in a shooting war with Russia. What I need from you is some frank and honest assessments on the political environment in Ukraine and Russia. I need to have a better understanding of what Petrov’s goals may be and see if there is a way to end this war before more blood is shed.”
Duncan thought about that for a minute before responding, then he steeled himself and gave his assessment. “Mr. President, Petrov believes the US and NATO have been closing in on him. He is angry over the inclusion of nearly every former Warsaw Pact nation into NATO. The sanctions against his country’s economic and political leaders are viewed internally as America’s way of removing him (and the oligarchs who control much of Russia) from power. They view the US’s actions over the last seventeen years as a preemptive move towards regime change,” he explained, trying to clarify how they had gotten to this point.
The President sat there listening intently to what Ambassador Rice had to say. Then he posed his own question. “You believe the Ukraine’s move to join the EU was the last straw--his red line that we, along with the Ukrainian government, had crossed?”
Duncan nodded before replying, “Yes, Mr. President. With acceptance into the EU, membership in NATO was a forgone conclusion. When the US signed the lease to establish a military ground and airbase in Ukraine, it brought to fruition Petrov’s worst fear. Russia was officially surrounded by US and NATO military bases, and it would only be a matter of time before we destabilized his government and removed him from power. It was at that moment that he had nothing left to lose and everything to gain by attacking NATO.”
“Petrov had to know the US and NATO would fight back. Why would he risk a full-scale war?” probed the President, trying to better understanding of Petrov’s reasoning.
Duncan let out a short sigh before he responded, “Petrov knows he would lose a long war with America, so he has no intentions of fighting a long war. His objective, which I’m sure your military advisors have told you, is to remove NATO from Ukraine, and then negotiate a peace agreement. Petrov knows he can win a short war. He knows it will take months for the US to mobilize for war, and even longer for the Europeans. If he can succeed in pushing NATO out of Ukraine, he can then move to create a peace deal through the UN and the people of our country. The NATO member countries would clamor for us to agree to whatever terms he gives if it means ending the war. This is what he is fighting towards,” Duncan explained, feeling better now that he had put to words what he knew Petrov was going to do. It was a relief to be able to say it directly to the one person who mattered, the President of the United States.
Gates sat back on the couch and looked up briefly, thinking to himself. He then looked directly at Duncan and asked, “Do you think we should give in to him, or fight him tooth and nail?”
Duncan was a bit taken aback by the question. He was not sure how to respond to such a question. “Sir, that is not my decision to make. I am only an Ambassador. Only you and the Secretary here can answer that question,” he finally replied.
The president smiled slightly at the answer, then nodded. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, Ambassador Rice. I would like you to stay in DC for the time being and work with Johnson here on trying to negotiate an end to this conflict. Arrange a time to meet with the Russian Ambassador to the US, and start to see what their ideal end-state might look like. I am not saying we are going to agree to their terms, but I would like to know what they are thinking so that we can plan around them.”
Duncan nodded his agreement, and the President concluded the meeting.
As Ambassador Rice got up, he shook the President’s hand one last time and then left the Oval. He was escorted out of the building and offered a ride to the State Department. He accepted the offer and was driven to the headquarters building where he was met by the Russian desk team. Then they led him to a temporary work office and he began to work on arranging a meeting with the Russian Ambassador.
Techno-Communism Convention
Novosibirsk, Siberia
Marins Park Hotel
The flight to Siberia had been long but uneventful. It was probably the last time that President Xi and Chairman Zhang would travel together before their part of the global plot to remove the US and NATO as world powers went into full swing. This would definitely be the final time the two men would meet with President Petrov and his two closest advisors, Alexander Bortnikov and Foreign Minister Lavrov.
It had been risky for Petrov to leave Moscow; NATO had been carrying out a number of deep strikes within Russia. They had nearly killed Petrov during the first couple days of the war when the Americans bombed the military headquarters building. After that close call, his security service was now moving Petrov to a different location every couple of days.
President Xi looked out the window as his vehicle sped through the old Russian city. It was beautiful seeing the old Byzantine architecture and the blending of both Asian and European cultures. Then he watched in disgust as they drove by signs for McDonalds and Coca Cola.
“The morally corrupt Western culture has permeated the fiber of every nation,” Xi bemoaned to himself. “Well, that is about to change. Soon, it will be the Chinese and Russian influences that will permeate the world.”
The Kortezh limousine slowed down and began to pull into the Marins Park Hotel, and several security personnel immediately began to fan out to protect the approach of the vehicle. While they pulled up to the covered front entrance, one of the security guards moved forward to open the door for the leaders of China, and proceeded to guide them into the building. As Chairman Zhang stepped outside, the crisp cool air of a Siberian autumn hit his face, causing him to momentarily shiver.
Once the group entered the hotel, they proceeded to walk down a hallway until they reached a conference room that was flanked by additional security personnel. It was very dangerous for President Petrov to be anywhere outside of a bunker. If NATO knew of his presence, they would most likely try to assassinate him with a cruise missile or one of their fancy stealth bombers.
As the leaders of China entered the conference room, President Petrov smiled and walked up to them, shaking their hands. “It is good to see you both. I am sorry we are not able to hold a formal State dinner for you. However, as you know, NATO is very intent on trying to kill me if they get the chance,” he said with a smile and a slight laugh.
The men laughed at the craziness of political assassination during a war. Not since World War II had another world power tried so hard to kill the other warring party’s leader--as if a war ends with the death of the leader. After a few pleasantries were exchanged, the men began to take their seats.
Knowing their time together was limited, President Xi opened the discussion. “I will admit, I was skeptical that your plan to seize Ukraine would work. However, it seems that your forces caught NATO by surprise. As a matter of fact, we did not believe the American technology to be nearly as far behind as your forces have demonstrated.”
Xi continued, “The speed with which your forces were able to remove NATO from eastern Ukraine was incredible. We are also impressed with the S-400 air defense weapon and the S-500 ballistic missile defense system. I am exceedingly happy that we purchased so many of these defensive systems from Russia the past few years. The Americans seem to be impotent in stopping them.”
President Petrov smiled at the compliment, and then responded, “While the Americans have spent nearly a trillion dollars on a stealth fighter program, we have spent a fraction of that on buil
ding systems that can defeat it. The new Lenovo targeting software is absolutely incredible at being able to examine both the heat, and air displacement of a stealth aircraft--it’s as if they have no stealth system at all.”
Petrov lifted his cup of tea to his lips and took a small sip, savoring the flavor before swallowing. “Defeating America and NATO, while challenging, is not insurmountable. Look at America now; we have so thoroughly distorted their media and news agencies that the public no longer believes anything they say. Our social media groups have taken the term “fake news” to a new level, dividing the public in the NATO member states and America to the breaking point. Instead of being unified against us in this war, nearly half of the American people are sympathetic to Russia.”
The Russian president leaned forward to make his next point. “Xi, this is our time. America and the Europeans have never been weaker (both economically and militarily) than they are right now. Now is the time to strike.”
President Xi nodded. He didn’t need any further convincing. A mischievous smile curled at the corners of his mouth. “When we return to Beijing, we will issue the orders to start our part of Operation Red Storm. The Americans and Europeans will never know what hit them when we annex Southeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula is once again united.”
It was time to introduce the world to techno-communism. They would spend hours discussing the details, but the cogs had already been set in motion. The men behind Red Storm would soon be the only true leaders of superpowers in the world.
From the Authors
Miranda and I hope that you have enjoyed this book. We are currently working on the third book in the Red Storm Series, which will be released in March of 2018. We also just released an audio version of the first book in the World War III Series, Prelude to World War III.
The two biggest ways that you can help us to succeed as authors are:
1. Leave us a positive review on Amazon and Goodreads for each of our books you liked reading. These reviews really make a difference for other prospective readers, and we sincerely appreciate each person that takes the time to write one.
2. Sign up for our mailing list at http://www.author-james-rosone.com and receive updates when we have new books coming out or promotional pricing deals.
You may also enjoy some of our other works. A full list can be found below:
Non-Fiction:
Iraq Memoir 2006–2007 Troop Surge
Interview with a Terrorist
Fiction:
World War III Series
Prelude to World War III: The Rise of the Islamic Republic and the Rebirth of America
Operation Red Dragon and the Unthinkable
Operation Red Dawn and the Invasion of America
Cyber Warfare and the New World Order
Michael Stone Series
Traitors Within
The Red Storm Series
Battlefield Ukraine
Battlefield Korea
Battlefield Taiwan (to be released March 14, 2018)
Acronym Key
ASAP As soon as possible
ASW Anti-Submarine Warfare
ATU Anti-Terrorism Unit
AWACs Airborne Warning and Control System
BCT Brigade Combat Team
BG Brigadier General
BMP Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty (Russian infantry fighting vehicle)
BTR Bronetransportyor (Russian armored personnel carrier)
CAG Commander, Air Group
CAP Combat Air Patrol
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
CIC Combat Information Center
CID Criminal Investigation Division
CJC Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
COG Continuity of Government
COS Chief of Station
DAO Defense Attaché’s Office
DCOM Deputy Commander of US European Command
DDoS Distributed Denial of Service
DIA Defense Intelligence Agency
DNI Director of National Intelligence
DoD Department of Defense
DOJ Department of Justice
EU European Union
EUCOM European Command
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigations
FDC Fire Direction Command
FIST Fire Support Team
FSB Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti (Russian intelligence agency that came after the KGB)
GRU Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye (Russian military intelligence)
HARM High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile
IBA Individual Body Armor
ICS Industrial Control Systems
IED Improvised Explosive Device
IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle
IoT Internet of Things (all devices that are network-enabled, including thermostats, cars, printers, etc.)
JDAM Joint Direct Attack Munition
JIOC Joint Intelligence Operations Center
JSOC Joint Special Operations Command
LATV Light Armored Tactical Vehicle
LLDR Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder
LNG Liquid Natural Gas
LNO Liaison Officer
LT Lieutenant
LTC Lieutenant Colonel
LTG Lieutenant General
MANPADS Man-Portable Air Defense System
MBT Main Battle Tank
MEU Marine Expeditionary Unit
MG Major General
MOP Massive Ordnance Penetrator
MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected
MRE Meal-Ready-to-Eat
NCO Non-commissioned Officer
NSA National Security Advisor or National Security Agency
PFC Private First Class
PM Prime Minister
PR Public Relations
PRC People’s Republic of China
PV2 Private 2
QRF Quick Reaction Force
RPG Rocket Propelled Grenade
RSO Regional Security Officer
S2 Intelligence Officer
S3 Operations Officer
SACEUR Supreme Allied Command, Europe
SAD Special Activities Division
SAM Surface-to-Air Missile
SAR Search and Rescue
SCIF Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility
SDO Senior Defense Officer
SecDef Secretary of Defense
SES Senior Executive Service
SFC Sergeant First Class
SHAPE Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe
SINCGAR Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System
CSM Command Sergeant Major
SM-2 Standard Missile 2
SVR Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (Russia’s external intelligence agency, mainly for civilian affairs)
Tbps Terabit per second
THAAD Terminal High-Altitude Area Directory
TOW Tube-launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-guided or Wireless
WP White Phosphorus
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