Kirov Saga: Hinge Of Fate: Altered States Volume III (Kirov Series) (11 page)

A moment’s thought answered that
question. They obviously shifted, dragging him along with them as he suspected,
but they would have found themselves in the Pacific. Knowing Fedorov, he would
have quickly learned what had happened politically here. They certainly could
not return to Vladivostok under these conditions, so they must have sailed home
to Murmansk. My god, that will mean Sergei Kirov might have learned about the
ship that bears his name. This opened door after door in his mind, dark yawning
possibilities, and each portal filled with yet more questions.

Did that damn submarine go with
them? What tremendous power they would have in that case.
Kazan
was even
more of a threat than the battlecruiser insofar as any intervention in this war
might be considered. A submarine like that would be completely invincible. It
could operate undetected, delivering its lethal torpedoes unseen, like a
whisper of death.

Volkov’s last notation was very
cryptic. It read:
“So Kirov is there, back home where it came from. My only
question now is why are you there at Ilanskiy, and not on your ship?”

Yes, Volkov was getting very
curious now, and justifiably so.

They were soon interrupted by the
Lieutenant, who walked very quickly to Karpov’s side and bent to whisper
something in his ear. Karpov could no longer control himself, sitting up
stiffly, the light of alarm in his eyes.

“You are certain of this?”

“We have three border stations
reporting now, sir. But the wireless room is still receiving signals.”

“Make certain this gets to
Irkutsk. Then find out what is happening south of Pavlodar. That will be all.”

He waited until the Lieutenant
had withdrawn, then slowly folded his hands on the table, his face set and
deadly serious now. Symenko had been finishing his brandy and thinking how to
ask for another glass when he perceived something was very wrong.

“Very clever, Symenko,” said
Karpov, the edge of danger in his voice. “Nice little theater here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know damn well what I mean!
I should string you up and blow both your airships to hell, shouldn’t I. My,
my. What have you done to so displease Volkov? It’s clear that he considers you
expendable.”

“Expendable? I have no idea what
you are talking about.”

“Don’t take me for a fool,
Symenko! Are you going to sit there and tell me you knew nothing of this treachery?”

“Treachery? What are you saying,
Karpov? I‘ve told you why I am here, and treachery has nothing to do with it.
Why else would I have allowed you to sit off my brow where you can bring most
of your guns to bear? Now what is this about?” The Captain was getting angry as
well, and the two men stared at one another until Karpov spoke.

“Three border stations have
reported shooting incidents in the last hour, all along the western border.
Volkov’s 17th, 21st and 9th rifle divisions have pushed into Free Siberian
Territory and they are all moving on your little city—the one you hoped to get
your greedy hands on Symenko. Yes, my intelligence services know more than you
may think. So now you can tell me what you are really doing here before I have
you shot as a hostile enemy behind our lines!”

Symenko was truly surprised, and
he could not keep the emotion from his face. Karpov could see it, was still
suspicious, but soon began to perceive that this Captain might have been no
more than an unwitting pawn here.

“I tell you I had no knowledge of
this. I was simply sent here to deliver that pouch, and I expect diplomatic
immunity, even if what you say is true.”

“Oh, it’s true, Captain. I will
not be surprised to learn that there is now another big operation underway out
west. Very clever, this Volkov. He baits me with promises at Omsk, and we move
in the 18th Siberian Rifles to occupy the place. Now he has pushed three
divisions across the border, and probably more south of Pavlodar. He knows we
still are sitting on our main defense line on the Ob River. So now he can take
a bite and trap our 18th Division at Omsk, and all this after all those smiles
and handshakes at our recent conference. I should have known better. So why
should I not put a bullet through your head for your part in this?”

“I tell you I knew nothing of
this! Nothing at all.”

“Does it feel good to be used,
Symenko? Is that what you are telling me here?”

Symenko’s face reddened as he
realized what had happened. Volkov, that son-of-a-bitch! He’s thrown me to the
wolves. He reneged on his promise to post me as Governor in Omsk, and sends me
here on the eve of his operation like this, knowing what Karpov would do to me.
That’s why the bastard insisted I deliver that damn pouch personally.
Sookin
Syn!

“That bastard betrayed me as
well! No wonder he refused my posting to the Governorship. He was just trying
to get me out of the way so he could give the city to someone else. It all
makes sense now, this whole charade—rousted out of bed at four in the morning
with special orders. Deliver the pouch personally, that was what I was told,
and now I see why. Well, don’t shoot the messenger, Karpov. I have as much of a
bone to pick with Volkov as you do. I tell you I had no knowledge that any such
operation was planned or even contemplated!”

Karpov looked at him. Symenko was
a rough hewn man, brutal at times, plain and ill mannered at others. He had
read the file on him to size the man up, and Symenko was hardly the sort to use
in a role like this. No, Symenko was not the artful dodger, one to mince words
and handle a matter of this nature. It was probably true what he said now.
Volkov had sent him all this way to be certain he was out of the picture he was
painting. But what about his airships? Did they have orders here too? Were they
getting ready to engage here to tie me down. I’ve gone and pulled in most of
our regional reserves with this Ilanskiy business. A thousand questions ran
through Karpov’s mind in an instant, yet one overshadowed them all. What was
Volkov really up to?

“So you’re just the messenger, is
it? You want to claim diplomatic immunity and have me kiss your backside and
send you merrily on your way? I should drag your ass into that spy basket and
cut the damn thing loose. That would be a nice long ride to hell, right
Symenko? We are at 4500 meters up here. But before I do that let me test what
you have said here. You tell me Volkov has betrayed you as well? Then join me.”

“What?”

“Don’t look so stupid. If it is
true that Volkov considers you expendable and sends you into the bear’s den
with that pouch, then how eager can you be to fight for him now? Is that what
your Executive officer is planning? Are you going to open your gun ports and
climb any second as part of this diversion? Well the minute I hear the first round
fired you are a dead man. But if you are innocent in this, then I won’t hear a
thing. Yes? If you are innocent, then you will have every reason to want to
screw Volkov for what he has just done to you. Right Symenko?”

The Captain steamed, his eyes
looking this way and that, clearly beside himself, and struggling with both
fear and anger here. Then a knock came and in rushed the young Lieutenant
again, this time with no message in hand.

“Air alert sir! One of the planes
scouting north has seen a large airborne contact to the northwest! There’s another
airship bearing down on us!”

Karpov smiled, and slowly reached
into his jacket to produce a revolver, which he pointed directly at Symenko’s
forehead.

Part
IV

Best
Laid Plans

“The best laid schemes of Mice and Men
oft go awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy.”

—Robert Burns:
To A Mouse,
(Paraphrased)

Chapter 10

So
there it was, and Orlov
was now in the hot seat of command with a real decision to make. Of course he
looked at Troyak to see what he advised.

“Troyak?”

The Sergeant thought for a
moment. “I could take in a single squad from here. We will be a long day to get
there, but perhaps this will have blown over by the time we do. If not, I can
set up an observation on the site and report. One way or another, a chance may
come up for us to execute the mission.”

“Or to get executed yourself!”
Orlov was not convinced this was a good idea. The whole mission was meant to
rely on stealth. This was supposed to be a backwater outpost, not a bustling
hub of military activity.

“These damn airships, they carry
troops like we can?”

“More than likely,” said Selikov.
“They could have a full regiment there now with four airships. That’s half the
entire Siberian Aero Corps! You don’t get a concentration like that without
some muscle behind it. I tell you something is going on there. Either they are
expecting us, and our cover was blown somehow, or this is happenstance, but
your best play would be to wait here on the ship. I can get us north, and
hopefully those airships will stay put where they are.”

“You want to get us lost again,
Selikov?” Orlov grinned.

“Better than the alternative,
which would most likely see us blown out of the sky if we try to go south.
Narva
is a good ship, well gunned. I can probably beat any ship they put against me,
but not four damn airships in one throw.”

“My orders are to go at any
cost,” said Troyak.

“What
were
your orders,
Troyak?” Orlov frowned, folding his arms. He felt as though he had not been
fully briefed, in spite of being the ranking officer aboard from
Kirov
.

Troyak hesitated briefly,
remembering those last moments with Fedorov when he had asked the one question
no one seemed to want to deal with:
“And what if we encounter Karpov in one
of his zeppelins?”

“You will have to use your
best judgment, Troyak. The Admiral hopes to avoid engagement. We do not want to
let Karpov know we are here just yet. Admiral Volsky is considering the matter.
But you must protect the airship, and your men. This mission is very important.
Coordinate with Captain Selikov. He knows how to fight the airship. You handle
ground operations with your Marines. For the moment it is Volkov that we are
worried about. If the situation allows you to reconnoiter down those steps and
find him, report back. Admiral Volsky will give the final order. And Sergeant,
no one needs to know about Karpov for the moment, particularly Orlov.”

“We were to secure the objective,
then report our status to the ship,” said Troyak. “On the Admiral’s word, the
mission would then proceed.”

“Well that’s it, then. They were
not even sure if they could make a go of it, Troyak. We need to contact the
goddamn ship and report this situation. So you do everything you possibly can
to get the that radio working. Then we decide what to do.”

“And what if your radio will not
work?” Selikov continued to play the devil’s advocate. “For that matter what if
your compass remains fouled up on the ground? Then how will you find your way?”

Troyak simply smiled. “I could
get there blind folded,” he said gruffly. “But what you say about the radio
makes a good point. If we can’t raise the ship up here, it will be no different
down there on the ground.”

He had his field map open,
downloaded from the ship’s library and printed just for this mission. There was
a village very near their position, labeled Aban. The word meant “backwater”
and the place was well named, a forgotten outpost in the vast wilderness they
had been drifting over. From there he saw makeshift roads and trails south
towards the rail line. It would not be a difficult march.

“I will try some alternate bands
on the radio, Captain. See if you can get me north of this village.”

* * *

Symenko
thought quickly.
Join him? Why not? It was either that or a bullet to the head. Isn’t that why
Volkov sent me here in the first place? Then again, this could be my fire test.
Volkov was fond of leaning heavily on an officer to test his mettle. Suppose I
kill both birds with one stone. Let Karpov think I’m amenable to his proposal.
Once I get back to my ship it will then be a simple matter to get to a better
position and then stick it to Karpov here. But first, the theater. What about
Captain Petrov aboard the
Oskemen?
He certainly won’t go along with
this. Petrov is a straight shooter. In fact, he was probably sent along on this
little foray to send back reports.

“That is not our airship,” he
said quickly. “As far as I know we were sent alone. I know nothing about a
third ship.”

“You don’t sound convincing.”
Karpov was adamant. “In two minutes I’m going to blow your ships to pieces,
Captain, but of course you won’t be alive to worry about that.”

“No! Wait! What you say makes
sense to me. This is all Volkov’s doing. I swear it! I was told nothing of
this—only to come here and deliver that pouch. But Volkov, damn his soul, he
knew what would happen if we were caught here when he crossed the border. You
are correct, Karpov. I have been thrown to the wolves. So why not join them?
Yes? And why should you open fire on our ships when they might make a nice
addition to your Aero Corps?”

“That sounds a little better,
Symenko. You are starting to think now, but how can you be trusted? If you are
willing to turn colors so easily, might you not do so again?”

“What would you do in my place, take
a bullet in the head, or live to get a chance to stick it to Volkov for
everything he has done? And to me, he has done more than you know. Yes, I was
promised the governorate at Omsk. Why do you think my ship was renamed? That is
the least of it. My trouble with Volkov goes back years. I opposed him when
Denikin was still alive, and he knows that. He could not purge the ranks
completely, but that is what he has been doing—rooting out all Denikin’s old
followers one by one. I was one of the last, and always wondered how he would
try to get rid of me.” That should sound convincing, thought Symenko.