Soviet Union 1991

"Hello, President Mario, I am Comrade Vladimir, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Yes, I am here to negotiate with you today. Perhaps you are a little surprised why I called you at this time, right?"

President Mario didn't know how to answer the other party, so he kept silent and listened to what he said.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to accuse anyone. The United States will definitely be very interested in everything that happened in Moscow, but I'm sorry that I can't reveal any information for the time being. As for where Comrade Yanayev is, this is also a secret that cannot be told. When everything is over, your people may naturally be able to obtain intelligence and know the inside story."

Mario signaled the people around him not to speak, and he finally couldn't help but speak, "Then why did Comrade Vladimir call? What is happening in Moscow now is what you should be more concerned about, right? Aren't you afraid that this call will lead to earth-shaking changes in the entire situation? "

Vladimir laughed on the phone, his laughter was a little sharp, as if he was mocking President Mario, "The victory is already decided, they have no way to retreat. Now I'm going to talk about another matter. It may be related to the Moscow Embassy in the Soviet Union, so I'm giving you a heads up in advance."

"Huh?"

President Mario frowned. He didn't know that the coup also involved the US Embassy in Moscow. From Vladimir's tone, it seemed that there was a close relationship between him and the US Ambassador. He was a little worried that the US Ambassador to the Soviet Union was doing something behind the scenes that Washington didn't know about, which affected his judgment of the situation.

"You talk, I'm listening."

Mario's palms were sweating. He took a deep breath, ready to meet any impact and questioning from Vladimir.

"I hope that if anything happens in the future, you will not get involved in the political turmoil in Moscow. This is the advice from our friends in the free world, really."

Comrade Vladimir on the other end of the phone spoke in a flat tone, as if he was talking about something insignificant, but it made President Mario nervous. He mistakenly thought that the US Embassy in the Soviet Union was involved in the conspiracy coup, and Vladimir's tone was more like a censure.

Very terrified.

"Washington is not aware of it, and this is also the Soviet Union's responsibility. We will not get involved. As for the embassy, ​​we will notify it."

"Thank you, President Mario."

After saying this, Vladimir decisively hung up the phone, leaving only a busy tone echoing in Mario's ears. He woke up and immediately came back to his senses and picked up another phone.

Director Tenet and Consultant Berger didn't know what the president said on the phone. They only saw that the other party had a solemn look on his face after hanging up the phone, and he also sighed.

"What's wrong? Mr. President? What did Vladimir tell you?"

Tenet was very anxious. He needed to know the latest developments. The CIA was ready in Moscow. As long as President Mario gave an order, they would take action immediately.

"Director Tenet, I want to know if the CIA has been carrying out any secret operations behind the scenes of the White House recently?" Mario spoke to the CIA director sitting opposite him. "Comrade Vladimir just called and specifically told the US Embassy in the Soviet Union not to take any action. You and I both know that there are agents planted in the embassy. Isn't it carrying out espionage activities that we don't know about behind the scenes of the White House?"

The eyes of the two people present were focused on Tenet. He changed his expression in an instant and explained, "No, not really. President Mario, I swear, even I didn't know about this. I only learned about it when the Dzerzhinsky Division surrounded the Supreme Soviet Building. I don't know much more about Moscow than the president."

Berger fell into deep thought. He didn't know why Vladimir said such a thing. He always felt that there seemed to be something fishy in it. He turned to President Mario and said, "So, Mr. President, are you going to take action next? Vladimir told the embassy not to act rashly, so why should we listen to Moscow? Maybe we can get something out of the coup?"

He had always guessed that Lukyanov had Yanayev's secrets, and he also wanted to try to contact the conservatives in the Supreme Soviet to learn the final inside story.

But President Mario rejected his opinion.

"Not for the time being."

President Mario's doubts grew stronger and stronger. "Maybe the other party said this just to make us take risky actions. Everyone knows that Yanayev's schemes are linked together. If we act rashly, we may fall into the other party's trap."

Director Tenet put forward his own point of view. "Since Vladimir said this openly, it means that he must have a back-up plan. No one knows what this secret is. I suggest that we call and warn the American ambassador and the ambassador's counselor immediately. No matter what the Soviets ask, they are not allowed to agree. And impose martial law on the embassy, ​​stop all in and out activities, and put the US military in the embassy on alert to deal with any possible emergencies. At the same time, call the Minister of Defense and the General Staff to stand by at the Pentagon. If the situation gets out of control in the end, the Allied forces in Eastern Europe may be mobilized, President Mario."

"..."

"Once the situation is out of control, I think it will not be a coup, but a political issue between the two countries. It is not good for anyone to be exposed as a political scandal like "American embassy personnel participated in the Moscow coup."

This is definitely an international political scandal. President Mario finally stabilized the situation. He does not want the two sides to become deadlocked again. Originally, he was watching the show with gratification, but now it seems that he is not in the mood to watch the show.

"Well..."

Fear and sense of crisis were infinitely magnified in his heart. President Mario realized that things could not continue like this, so he immediately called to try to warn the American ambassador and counselor, warning him that no one in the embassy was allowed to go out before the Moscow coup was over.

Director Tenet hurried out of the White House office. He needed CIA agents to make full preparations in Moscow. Once the situation changed, they would immediately send the American ambassador out of the city and take him back home.

No one would have thought that in the White House thousands of kilometers away, everyone became nervous because of Vladimir's ambiguous words.