Free National Burden by C. G. Cooper

this.”
    “They already have. My office is getting phone calls as we speak.”
    “Dammit. How did we not see this coming?”
    “Our intelligence assets say the Russians learned their lesson with Ukraine and were able to keep the operation under wraps. Hell, the Lithuanian leadership found out about it after we did.”
    “What are my options, Geoff? And don’t tell me to wait.” Zimmer felt like things were unraveling fast. First the call from Southgate, and now the Russians were making a play for a bigger piece of the Baltic region.
    “You’d have to ask the Secretary of Defense, but I’d say we could start moving some of our assets into the area, standard stuff.”
    “What about the European Union? What are they saying?”
    “Nothing yet. I think they’re waiting to see how bad it is.”
    “And how bad is it?”
    “No deaths that we know of, but they have taken over control of Lithuania’s ports on the Baltic Sea.”
    “Do we know where the troops and ships came from?”
    “Yes, sir. They came from…” Dryburgh looked down at his notes. “…Kaliningrad.”
    The president’s secretary poked her head in the door. “Sir, I have the Russian Ambassador on the phone.”
    Zimmer looked to Dryburgh, who nodded. “Patch him through please, Ellen.”
    The secretary closed the door as Dryburgh moved closer to the desk so he could listen in on the conversation. Zimmer took a sip of his coffee and waited. The light blinked red on his phone and he pushed the speaker button.
    “This is President Zimmer.”
     
    +++
     
    “You two need to lay low until I tell you otherwise,” said Travis.
    “We can hang out at the house in Arlington,” suggested Daniel.
    “Good. Go now. I’ve gotta see if there’s been any word from the Russians.”
     
    +++
     
    Russian Ambassador Igor Bukov hung up the phone with a sly grin. He’d informed the American president that Russian forces had indeed seized control of Lithuanian ports, but not for any of the reasons the Americans might have believed.
    “Mr. President, I would like to apologize for not informing you earlier, but I only found out about this incident moments ago.”
    “And what exactly were you instructed to tell me, Ambassador?”
    “Our military was conducting exercises off the coast of Kaliningrad when our intelligence service received a message from a high level official in the Lithuanian government who had concerns about certain cargo shipments, possibly weapons-grade core, being delivered to their ports in the next twenty-four hours.”
    “I’ve been told that the Lithuanian government had no knowledge of Russian troop movements until it was too late. Are you telling me that’s not the case?”
    “I can only relay what I’ve been told, Mr. President. The Lithuanian government requested our assistance to deal with the situation, and that is what we did.”
    Bukov leaned back in his chair, rehashing the conversation in his highly analytical mind. Dryburgh had been right; President Zimmer seemed to be following the same path as his predecessor. Despite what had happened in the Ukraine, the American President didn’t seem to have the stomach to stand up to the Russians.
    Igor Bukov picked up the phone and pressed a button. In Russian he said, “Bukov for the President.”
     
    +++
     
    President Zimmer relayed the particulars of the phone conversation to his new Chief of Staff. Travis listened intently, shaking his head more than once. “Did he say what was supposedly in the shipments?”
    “Bukov mentioned nuclear components.”
    “From where?”
    “He didn’t say.”
    Travis turned to Dryburgh. “Mr. Secretary, have you heard from Lithuania? Did they really ask for Russia’s help?”
    “They’re calling every ally they have. I can only assume we were at the top of the list.”
    “So it’s complete bullshit.”
    Dryburgh nodded. “I’d say so. The problem is that until Lithuania unravels the secret of the mysterious official, our hands are