Mark Spaid - Falcon Down

“Of course, Mr. President.”

“We must have a base at Sevastopol and Hiiumaa in Estonia.”

“I cannot speak for the Estonian government but I have been in contact with the Estonian president and he is categorically opposed to any Russian presence in his country.”

“It is of vital importance to my country to have a Baltic Sea port.”

“The United States will not agree to Russia occupying Estonia for the purpose of a naval base.”

“That is unfortunate,” Sergei said. He knew well in advance what President Lexington’s response would be to his proposal. But, in any negotiation, one asks for the moon and accepts something in the middle.

“I have, however, been in contact with the Ukrainian President and he is willing to allow you to stay at your present naval base in Sevastopol.”

“Interesting and any conditions?”

“Yes, there are.”

“May I hear them?”

“Access will only be from the sea. There will be a security wall around the base and no Russian military or civilian personnel will be allowed to enter The Crimea from the base. They insist on that part.”

“I think that is workable.”

“Anything else, Mr. President?” Ellen asked with a big grin and Sergei chuckled.

“No, the base was our big concern.”

“And, The Crimea itself being off-limits?”

“Not my first choice but we can make that work,” Sergei said.

“Then are we ready to put this into words for tomorrow so we can sign with a big flourish and make Russo-American diplomatic history.” The two Presidents looked at one another for a moment then they both laughed hard briefly but when the stares occurred from staff members, they sobered up fast.

“Excuse me, sir, but I think it’s time for the bus tour,” Vasily Boronovitch said to Sergei.

“Yes, it’s time, Ma’am,” Trent Wilson added.

“Well, I guess we get moving,” Ellen said as she and Sergei stood up for more pictures. They made their way to the exit, covered closely by their security people. The bus was waiting just a few feet from the door and the two presidents were quickly ushered on board. Justin and his people were all seated in the back. Bonnie Fletcher followed Ellen and Boronovitch went with Sergei. Trent, Johnny Rodriguez and Val Wheaton were on the President’s bus and the rest of the secret service, eleven guys were in a car behind the bus. Zhadonov and his assistant Gregori Retzlaf were the only two Russian security agents on the bus as the rest were in their own car to the rear.

“We’re ready,” Trent said.

“We are too,” Vladimir said and the driver nodded, took off the emergency brake and drove away.

“Was your talk with the President productive?” Dave asked Justin.

“It was, she’s busy and preoccupied with this meeting. She told me she’s busier than she ever thought possible as President. The vice-presidency is a boat ride by comparison, which I’m sure is no surprise to anyone. She wants to talk on the plane ride home.”

“We’re now crossing the Crimean Bridge that opened in 2016. It is a connection between The Crimea and her motherland, Russia,” a tour guide said as he stood narrating the ride.

“Nothing like a pro-Russian guide to set the mood,” Tatiana said.

“In time a rail bridge will parallel the auto bridge and serve as another triumph in Russian engineering.”

“Is the ministry of propaganda open again?” Dave asked and there was laughter. The tour guide turned and gave a dirty look.

“I think you made an enemy,” Andy quipped. The bridge is without a doubt an engineering masterpiece as it stretches nineteen miles so now people don’t have to take a ferry anymore.

“We are now entering Russia,” the tour guide said and Boronovitch raised his fist in the air. Sergei shook his head no and Boronovitch nodded understanding.

“Ma’am, do you feel alright, you look kind of pale?” Bonnie Fletcher asked as Ellen sat with her head back and eyes closed.

“Just tired, Bonnie. I hate staying at hotels even good ones.” Bonnie grinned and adjusted the pillow behind Ellen’s head. The driver was checking everyone in his rear-view mirror then he talked to someone on the phone. He had an ear piece so no one noticed except Trent and Vladimir. It was part of their training to be observant and suspicious of everything and everybody. The driver was talking softly and Vladimir could not understand what he was saying. The bus was going about forty miles an hour followed by the two cars with the U.S. and Russian security agents inside. The driver said something quietly as the bus slowed down.

“What’s happening?” Trent asked as he looked at Vladimir who was also concerned.

“Why are we slowing down?” Ellen asked. Sergei was concerned and peered ahead trying to see in front of the bus. Then there was a screech and a large truck pulled in front of the bus. The driver slammed on the brakes. Trent, Johnny Rodriguez and Val Wheaton got up along with Vladimir and Gregori Retzlaf. The driver opened the front door and in a flash three armed men got on board carrying automatic weapons. They shouted in Russian and Vladimir and Gregori lowered their weapons and slid them along the floor. Vladimir turned to Trent and nodded for him and his two men to do the same thing. They did as it seemed these men meant business. Simultaneously to the boarding of the bus two black jeeps rammed the security agents’ cars behind the bus and four men jumped out with machine guns and riddled the cars with bullets. There was no return fire from the cars and when the armed men opened the doors they looked inside and gave thumbs up to each other; all the Russian and American agents were dead. The Russian car had three plants from Kulagin and their job was to take out the other agents but the orders from Kulagin were to kill them as well. Typical Stalinist tactic. Send someone on a mission and when they complete it, kill them.

“What’s happening?” Belinda asked.

“I think were being kidnapped,” Justin said.

“They can’t do that,” Belinda said.

“Lind, be quiet, they can do whatever they want as long as they’re holding those guns,” Jozette said. Tatiana leaned over, grabbed Belinda’s wrist and made a shushing sound. There was complete silence for a few moments then another man got on board. He had one of those scary appearances and he looked over everyone until he caught a glimpse of Presidents Deniken and Lexington in the back. He whispered something to one of the men with an automatic weapon then he nodded and started for the back. Trent and Vladimir were standing and they didn’t move. Their job was to protect their Presidents and getting between them and danger was the central part of their job. The guy pointed the gun at Trent and said something to Vladimir.

“We better sit down, Yankee, or he’ll kill us and everyone else.” Trent sighed as they both sat. The man with the gun went to the back and looked down at Ellen and Sergei. He said something to Sergei.

“What?” Ellen asked.

“We’re being kidnapped,” Sergei said, shaking his head as if he knew why and wasn’t surprised.

“Why?”

“We’re about to find out but he’ll kill everyone if you and I don’t cooperate fully. He is Andrei Kulagin” Ellen sat back and breathed out slowly. The man returned to the front of the bus.

“Amos didn’t say this was part of being vice-president when he asked me to run with him,” she said to herself.

“Listen to me,” a voice commanded and they all came to attention. He was physically imposing at six four and had forearms that resembled a body builder. “My name is Andrei Kulagin and you’ve been chosen to be part of the revolution. We are in control of both the presidents of Russia and the United States. The whole world will soon know and they will know our terms. If we are not satisfied then everyone on this bus will die along with millions. If I do not get what I want then I will start the conflagration that will destroy the planet.” Stunned wasn’t accurate enough to describe the mood on the bus. Trent and Vladimir exchanged looks. If there was to be any heroism it would be up to them. Assessing the situation suggested that there was next to nothing they could do but that didn’t stop them from thinking about possibilities.