Chapter five
WASHINGTON, DC — MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1420 HOURS (EST)The president tried to occupy himself by studying a boring Senate committee report on constitutional amendments while he waited patiently for the Soviet ambassador. He was twenty minutes late, but the president expected that. Every Russian he ever knew was never on time. The president swung his chair around to face the large windows and the White House grounds beyond. Four minutes later, the intercom buzzed.
“Yes.”
“Mr. President, the Soviet ambassador is here to see you.”
“Tell him to come right in.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Russian smiled when he met the president at the door. Georgi Chenkovsky was a stout man in his forties, almost six feet, with dark eyes and dark complexion. He had three long scars on a broad face, evide
