Chapter 48
8:56 a.m. (Moscow Time)
Strategic Command and Control Center - Moscow, Russian Federation
Yuri Grachev, twenty-nine, aide to the Defense Minister, walked briskly through the hallways of the control center, on his way to the large situation room. His footsteps echoed along the empty corridor as he pondered the situation. The worst-case scenario had arrived. It was a disaster about to happen.
For reasons no one had explained, in the past forty-five minutes the Minister’s black nuclear suitcase, his Cheget, had been handcuffed to Yuri’s right wrist. The suitcase was old, it was heavy, and it forced Yuri to lean to his left side as he walked. It contained the codes and mechanisms to launch missile strikes against the West.
Yuri didn’t want this horrible thing attached to him. H
