CODENAME: ATHENA (2025 Edition) by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

CHAPTER 23 –

TRANSATLANTIC

COOPERATION

16:10 (Washington Time)

Monday, December 30, 1940

Washington-Hoover Airport

Washington, D.C.

United States

The British passengers of the

American Army Air Corps Douglas C-47A

Skytrain transport aircraft looked with

bemusement through their windows as their

plane was rolling on the ground towards the

air terminal of the Washington-Hoover

Airport. Situated near the Arlington National Cemetery, the installations of the sole

airport to serve directly the American capital could be described at best as limited, if not

to say primitive. The dirt strip they had landed on was cut in the middle by a public road,

with the vehicle traffic having to be stopped temporarily by guards every time a plane

landed or took off. The airport was also dangerous for planes, being in close proximity

to a factory’s high stack, a huge dirigible hangar, a high voltage line and a public waste

dump. The new British foreign minister, Sir Anthony Eden, looked at all that and

wondered aloud.

‘’By Jove! I think that the Karachi airport was better equipped than this.’’

Mike Crawford, sitting beside Nancy two rows behind Eden, reddened with

embarrassment, prompting Nancy in gently touching his arm while whispering in his ear.

‘’Don’t worry, Mike. The new national airport will open soon early next year.’’

‘’Thanks for sparing my ego, Nancy.’’

Brigadier General Menzies, head of the British Secret Services, who was sitting just

behind Eden, then saw something that displeased him seriously.

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‘’Sir Anthony, I see what appears to be a crowd of reporters and photographers in

front of the air terminal building. Somebody blew the secret about our visit.’’

Eden swore when he saw the reporters, numbering over fifty. His visit to Washington,

meant to discuss with President Roosevelt a joint armaments production program, was

supposed to be a secret. So much for discretion!

‘’Bloody hell! How did they learn about our visit?’’

Hearing that, Nancy got up from her seat and went to bend over Eden’s shoulder.

‘’Sir Anthony, this is only a theory of mine but the source of this leak may be the

ex-American ambassador in London, Joseph Kennedy. He was just replaced by

President Roosevelt and is a staunch partisan of American isolationism, especially

where the war in Europe is concerned.’’

‘’You may well be right on that, Colonel. Thanks!’’

As Nancy was returning to her seat, Eden got up and faced rearward, looking at the

members of his delegation.

‘’May I have your attention, please. It seems that our visit to Washington will not

be as discreet as we wished. I will however ask you to stay mum about the true goals of

our trip. If questioned on that subject by reporters, say simply that I am paying a

courtesy visit to President Roosevelt, in order to reaffirm the friendship between our two

countries. If you are asked about Lieutenant Colonel Laplante, say that she is simply

one of my personal aides.’’

‘’Some reporters could interpret that in a spicy way, Sir Anthony.’’ said Nancy

with a malicious smile. ‘’You may have to explain yourself to your wife on your return to

London.’’

Many in the plane laughed, while Eden smiled, himself amused.

‘’That would be quite a juicy way to put them on a false track about you, Colonel.

We will see how things will go from here and will adjust our story if need be.’’

‘’Uh, things may already be getting more complicated, Sir Anthony.’’ warned

Menzies, who was still looking outside through his window. ‘’I see a group of civilians

carrying large banners, just behind the crowd of reporters.’’

All the occupants of the plane then looked outside, towards the terminal. Mike Crawford

swore before looking at Eden.

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‘’Sir Anthony, I’m afraid that this group is made up of members of an isolationist

lobbying organization called ‘America First Committee’. That group is rather small but is

very influential right now in Washington.’’

‘’Damn! We will have to play it tight, then.’’ said Eden, frustrated.

Their plane finally stopped in front of the terminal, a two-story building of modest

size which also supported the control tower. A convoy of large official cars then rolled

towards the plane, stopping by its side as the passenger door of the C-47A was opened.

When Anthony Eden exited the plane first and stepped on the grass of the airfield, he

was greeted with a vigorous handshake by the American Secretary of War, Henry

Stimson.

‘’Welcome to Washington, Sir Anthony. I hope that your trip was comfortable.’’

Eden smiled weakly at that question: his trip had taken two days and three stopovers,

including a change of plane in Newfoundland.

‘’I am afraid that the trip and change of time zones have reduced my brain to

mush, Secretary Stimson. I will need a good night of sleep before I could be in well

enough shape to meet President Roosevelt tomorrow.’’

‘’In that case, I can assure you that the Willard Intercontinental Washington Hotel

is most comfortable, Sir Anthony. If you will take place in my car, the other cars will take

care of your delegates and their luggage.’’

‘’Thank you, Secretary Stimson. Do you know by chance how these people in

front of the terminal learned about our visit?’’

Stimson threw a frustrated look at the reporters, who were shouting questions in their

direction.

‘’I would like to know as well, Sir Anthony. The President certainly wanted to

keep your visit discreet. Well, let’s ignore these people and get in the car.’’

Showing a typically British flegme, Eden followed Stimson to the large sedan at the head

of the convoy, while the other passengers of the plane set foot on the airfield. Eden

however stopped besides the American staff car, shocked, when the reporters shouted

questions at a redoubled pace, not at him but towards Nancy Laplante.

‘’MISS LAPLANTE, IS IT TRUE THAT YOU ARE FROM THE FUTURE?’’

‘’MISS LAPLANTE, ARE YOU HERE TO GIVE SECRETS FROM THE FUTURE

TO THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT?’’

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‘’DOES YOUR VISIT MEAN THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL JOIN THE WAR,

MISS?’’

Eden looked at Stimson, who appeared as shocked as him.

‘’How could they know all this? This is supposed to be classified information.’’

‘’I don’t know but I certainly will have someone dig into this, Sir Anthony.’’

As he was taking place in the back seat of the sedan, Eden looked with worry at Nancy

Laplante, who was supervising the unloading of the trunks containing her special

equipment. She was wearing a female British dress uniform but also wore a gun belt. A

number of reporters suddenly bent under the simple chain which marked the zone

reserved for aircraft and ran towards Nancy despite the futile efforts of the handful of

policemen present. The rest of the reporters then followed, along with many of the

protestors, surrounding Nancy and her precious trunks and assaulting her with questions.

Now livid, Stimson, grabbed the shoulder of the Secret Service agent sitting in the front

passenger seat of his car and pointed the reporters surrounding Nancy.

‘’Chase away those jackals and don’t mind becoming physical!’’

‘’Yes sir!’’ answered the agent, who then stepped out of the car and called other

agents to help him.

Near the plane, Nancy was now as tense as a loaded spring as reporters and

protesters pressed against her and the trunks containing her equipment. Mike Crawford

was doing his best to keep the crowd away from her but was simply overwhelmed.

While the reporters shouted questions at her, protesters, some with placards clamoring

against the entry of the United States in the war in Europe, were aggressively taking her

to task. A few protesters were even trying to intimidate her by pushing and insulting her,

or were trying to get at the trunks of equipment. Despite all this, Nancy was more

worried about a potential assassin mixing up with the crowd. There was after all a rather

large Nazi movement in the United States called ‘The Bund’, complete with swastikas,

Nazi uniforms and portraits of Hitler. Now would be an excellent occasion for them to try

to get at her. Scanning constantly her surroundings for a possible gunman or sniper and

ignoring the questions thrown at her, she suddenly noticed a man standing on the roof

terrasse of the terminal building. He was partially hiding behind a corner of the control

tower and was pointing something at her. Nancy’s blood froze at once: she had seen

often enough snipers during her career as a war correspondent in places like Beirut,

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Bagdad and Mogadishu to be able to recognize the stance of a man holding a rifle. Her

right hand flew to her pistol, while her left hand grabbed Mike Crawford’s right shoulder,

who stood between her and the sniper, pulling him down as she herself crouched quickly.

She then heard the loud ‘crack’ of a bullet missing her head by a few inches just before

the bullet hit the ground behind her. As the reporters and protestors around her froze or

turned around to see where the shot had come from, Nancy got back up, holding her

GLOCK 17L pistol in a two-hand stance and pointing it at the sniper. Nearly all the rifles

of this time were of the bolt action type and needed two or three seconds to chamber a

new round and point again at the target. For an expert in combat pistol shooting like her,

two seconds was nearly an eternity. The sniper, situated about 35 meters away, didn’t

have time to shoot a second time before Nancy shot once. She saw the head of the

sniper jerk backward before he crumbled to the ground. Not wasting a second, Nancy

started to run at once towards the terminal, pushing the reporters and protesters out of

her way. The Secret Service agents who were coming to disperse the crowd saw her

running towards them with a pistol in her hand and hesitated, not realizing yet fully what

had happened. Nancy shouted at them as she was about to run past them.

‘’SNIPER ON THE ROOF!’’

She still had to push away an agent who seemed not to believe her and entered the

terminal by its main door, then ran up the stairs leading to the terrasse. With her pistol

held with both hands and ready to shoot, she pushed open the terrasse access door and

jumped on the terrasse, pointing her pistol towards the rear corner of the control tower

while scanning quickly her surroundings. The sniper lay in his blood, very still, while a

rifle equipped with a scope and a long silencer was at his side. Still scanning visually

the terrasse around her, Nancy approached cautiously the sniper with her pistol pointed.

She soon saw that her bullet had hit the man in the throat and had then gone through his

spine, killing him instantly. She recognized the man after a few seconds: he was a

Soviet clandestine agent who would be unmasked after the war in the history she knew.

His face was familiar to her since she had written and assembled a detailed report with

pictures on Soviet spies in the United States just before her trip.

The first American agents soon emerged on the terrasse, their revolvers pointed.

Keeping her own pistol pointed towards the ground, she threw a severe look at the three

agents now facing her and pointing their weapons at her.

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‘’This is how you protect your important guests, you clowns? Lower your

weapons and help me instead to check if this man had an accomplice.’’

As they hesitated too much to her taste to lower their revolvers, Nancy raised her voice,

close to losing patience.

‘’HEY, YOU TWITS! WAKE UP! YOU LET A SNIPER GET CLOSE TO V.I.P.

GUESTS OF YOUR GOVERNMENT. NOW, LOWER THOSE DAMN REVOLVERS!’’

A fourth American agent then stepped on the terrasse and embraced the scene before

shouting an order.

‘’LOWER YOUR GUNS! CHECK IF THAT SNIPER HAD A GETAWAY CAR

READY NEARBY.’’

As he said that, Nancy heard a car speed away and ran to the guardrails of the rear

façade. She saw a four-door sedan which was accelerating away on the road behind

the terminal. She however could not be sure if this was an accomplice fleeing or simply

someone panicking because of her pistol shot. She thus didn’t shoot, despite the fact

that she was confident that she easily could have hit the car. Now truly pissed, she

faced back the American agent who seemed to be in charge.

‘’Now that your government has proved incapable of keeping a secret or of

protecting V.I.P. guests, would you mind being kind enough to chase away those

reporters and protestors, or will I have to do the job myself?’’

The agent tensed up, offended by her remarks.

‘’Miss, you are not in Great Britain now and you do not make the law here.

Holster your pistol before I confiscate it.’’

‘’Excuse me? A foreign dignitary that you were supposed to protect just got shot

at and you want to disarm her? If your government really wants the technological

information I am bringing, then it better do a better job as a host. In case you are

interested to know, this man on the ground is named Jake Golos and he is a Soviet spy.

Now, if you will excuse me, I will go make sure that my special equipment is safe.’’

She walked towards the access door of the terrasse, her pistol still in one hand. The

head agent then shouted at her.

‘’MISS, YOUR PISTOL!’’

Turning her head, she stopped briefly but kept her pistol in her right hand.

‘’First, you may call me ‘Colonel’ instead of ‘Miss’. Secondly, nothing tells me

that there are no other assassins left around, since you failed to secure this terminal

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before our arrival. Be assured that your President will hear about this lamentable

security debacle.’’

Ignoring from then on the American agents, Nancy entered the building and walked

down the stairs, only to hit a crowd of reporters and photographers waiting for her at the

foot of the stairs. Repeated camera flashes partially blinded her as Mike Crawford was

brutally clearing his way to her through the reporters. He finally got to her and examined

her anxiously.

‘’Are you okay, Nancy? Where is the sniper?’’

‘’I’m alright, Mike. As for the sniper, he is dead, on the terrasse. I hope that

somebody is watching my equipment right now.’’

‘’Sir Menzies and two of his men are watching it. Sorry if I took some time to get

to you, but some of the protestors and reporters wanted to open your trunks.’’

‘’You did what you could, Mike. Don’t worry about that. Let’s get back to the

plane and the cars.’’

Ignoring the questions shouted by the reporters, Nancy followed closely Mike, who

opened the way for her with liberal use of his elbows and shoulders. When they

emerged outside, they saw that Stimson and Eden had come out of the lead sedan and

were anxiously waiting for them, while Menzies and two British agents stood beside the

precious trunks. Nancy went directly to the two politicians, stopping at attention and

saluting Eden after holstering her pistol.

‘’There was a sniper on the roof, equipped with a rifle fitted with a scope and a

silencer, Sir Anthony. He is now dead. I recognized him as a Soviet agent by the name

of Jake Golos, who ran a spy network in New York. I suspect that an accomplice just

fled by car after I killed Golos, sir. I can now add the Soviets to the list of those who

want me dead, Sir Anthony.’’

‘’But, why would they want to kill you, Colonel?’’ asked Henry Stimson, confused

and frustrated. Nancy gave him a no-nonsense look.

‘’Because Stalin is probably scared that I will reveal to you his future plans of

conquest for Eastern Europe, Mister Secretary. One of the things which we wanted to

discuss with your government was a detailed report on Soviet spy networks inside the

United States. Believe me when I say that these networks thoroughly infiltrated your

government and include a considerable number of highly placed officials.’’

She then spoke firmly to Anthony Eden.

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‘’Sir, in view of what has just happened, added to what we know about those

Soviet networks, I have no other choice but to keep my technological information to

myself until a complete sweep of those networks can be completed. Giving my

information now to the American government would be tantamount to giving it directly to

Stalin, sir.’’

Stimson froze, horrified, as Eden nodded his head at Nancy.

‘’I concur with you, Colonel. The lack of discretion concerning our arrival did

nothing to reassure me.’’

‘’But, but President Roosevelt is expecting to receive you tomorrow morning, Sir

Anthony, with the information brought by Lieutenant Colonel Laplante.’’ objected

Stimson. Eden sighed, thorn between the need to protect Nancy’s information and his

wish to conclude quickly a cooperation pact with the Americans.

‘’Secretary Stimson, please understand that Stalin and the Soviet Union

constitute in Prime Minister Churchill’s opinion a long-term threat at least as great as the

Nazis. We simply can’t risk providing indirectly to Stalin the information we got from the

future. I thus suggest that the director of your F.B.I. talks with General Menzies and

Lieutenant Colonel Laplante, so that he could neutralize those Soviet spy networks

quickly.’’

‘’But this could take weeks! We can’t arrest hundreds of people, especially if they

are government officials, without further proof than just your documents: a judge would

free them at once for lack of proof. The F.B.I. will need time to organize the surveillance

of suspected spies and collect files on them. On the other hand, our industries are

already on standby, waiting for your technological information to start producing new

weapons. They can’t stay inactive for very long.’’

‘’Mister Secretary, if I could make a suggestion.’’ said Nancy. ‘’One quick way to

neutralize those Soviet spies would be to revoke their government security clearances,

which would then force them out of the way without the need to have to prove their guilt

in front of a judge. A security clearance can be suspended or revoked in an instant,

without the need to provide an explanation. Some key persons will however need to be

arrested at once, before they could alert the members of their networks. Armed with the

information I have on those networks, a good interrogator should easily be able to make

them confess by offering them plea deals.’’

Brigadier Menzies, who had approached the trio, then jumped in the conversation.

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‘’I support the suggestion from Lieutenant Colonel Laplante, Mister Secretary.

We already have arrested dozens of Soviet spies in England and most of them

confessed when we confronted them with what we already knew on them. Withdrawing

a security clearance would be a quick, effective way to take any Soviet spy out of the

loop until the F.B.I. could build legal cases.’’

‘’Hum, I believe that this idea has merit.’’ said Stimson, desperate to gain access

to the British technological information. ‘’I will alert the F.B.I. as soon as I am able to

drop you at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel.’’

‘’I believe that the F.B.I. will have to be involved even sooner, Mister Secretary.’’

said politely Nancy. ‘’A gunman just tried to kill a foreign dignitary invited by your

government. That would make it clearly a federal police case.’’

‘’You are quite right, Colonel.’’

‘’Then, I am ready to wait here for the arrival of the F.B.I., since I am the main

witness in this affair. I will also take that opportunity to bring myself to Director Hoover

the file on the Soviet spy networks that I have in my briefcase. That way, things will be

able to start quickly.’’

‘’Thank you for your cooperation, Colonel.’’ said Stimson before calling in the

head of his security detail. ‘’Mister Fielding, have you alerted the F.B.I. yet about this

assassination attempt?’’

‘’Yes, Mister Secretary. A team should arrive in a few minutes.’’

‘’Good! Make sure that the F.B.I. treats Colonel Laplante with courtesy. If I ever

hear that she was forcefully interrogated or accused in any way, then Director Hoover

can expect to lose his job.’’

‘’I will pass the word, Mister Secretary.’’

With Stimson and Eden then returning inside their car and with the American

agents finally getting busy dispersing the reporters and protestors with the help of a

newly arrived contingent of local policemen, Nancy helped Mike load their luggage and

the precious trunks full of equipment in a car of the convoy. Once this was done, she

watched the convoy roll away, protected by two policemen while waiting for the arrival of

the F.B.I. team. That team arrived in two cars and one van half an hour later. Thankfully,

the agent in charge of the team proved to be both polite and comprehending, taking

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Nancy’s statement and reviewing with her the crime scene. He looked gravely at the

dead man on the terrasse and at his rifle as one of his agents took pictures.

‘’Jake Golos, you said, Colonel?’’

‘’Actually, his official name is Jacob Golos, a naturalized Ukrainian immigrant.

He led from New York a spy network of the Soviet NKVD. Before saying more on this,

know that I have with me a detailed classified report about Soviet spies in the United

States that the British government is ready to give to your director. I would thus like to

meet Director Hoover as soon as possible after we are finished here, so that he can start

a cleanup of those networks. This assassination attempt actually concerns a lot more

than just me.’’

‘’Hum, I understand. You have that file with you, you said?’’

Nancy patted the briefcase in her left hand.

‘’Right here, Mister Ralston. Taking out quickly those Soviet spies will be critical

for your government, so that we can exchange safely with it important technological

information about new weapons.’’

‘’In that case, I will drive you myself to our headquarters right away. Let me just

give some instructions to my men before we go.’’

Ten minutes later, Nancy sat with Ralston in his car, which then rolled away from

the airport and crossed the Potomac River via the bridge on 14th Street, entering

downtown Washington. As they were approaching the building occupied by the Justice

Department on Pennsylvania Avenue, Ralston thought for a moment that a car was

following them. His rear view was however cut by a truck and he lost sight of the car in

question. Dismissing it, he soon turned off the avenue and entered the underground

garage of the headquarters. Having warned in advance by radio his superior to notify

Director Hoover, Ralston guided Nancy around the huge building, leading her to the door

of Hoover’s office. Hoover’s secretary gave a disapproving look at the pistol on Nancy’s

hip before introducing her in Hoover’s office. A short, squarely-built man with a round

face, Hoover came from behind his desk to shake hands with Nancy.

‘’Colonel Laplante, it is an honor to meet you in person. So many things have

been said about you in the last months.’’

Nancy smiled in turn while pressing his hand.

‘’And it is an honor to meet the most famous policeman in American history.’’

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Hoover raised an eyebrow at those words but didn’t remark on them, inviting Nancy to sit

with him in a sofa.

‘’So, the Soviets tried to kill you at the airport. I don’t know if Sir Anthony Eden

should be insulted by you stealing the show from him.’’

‘’Oh, I think that he is actually quite content about that: he is not an expert pistol

shot, contrary to me, and would be dead if he would have been Golos’ target.’’

‘’What do you know about that Golos, Colonel?’’

‘’A lot!’’ said Nancy before taking out of her briefcase the thick M.I.6 file on Soviet

spies and handing it to Hoover, who immediately started to sift through it.

‘’He was heading a NKVD network from New York and also had agents and

sympathizers here in Washington, including a number of important government officials.

You will find in this file a detailed list of Soviet agents and networks operating in the

United States, compiled with the help of information from the future. As you can see, the

extent of those networks is quite alarming and they thoroughly compromised many

government departments. That is unfortunately preventing me and Sir Anthony Eden

from passing on to your government critical technological information needed by your

armament industries. You may thus expect the White House to press you on this

matter.’’

‘’I know, Colonel.’’ said Hoover with a meek smile. ‘’Secretary Stimson already

contacted me on this subject, insisting about making the utmost speed in this dossier.

On the other hand, your idea about revoking or suspending the security clearances of

suspected spies is an excellent way to allow us to rapidly prevent those Soviet agents

from accessing your information without involving an army of lawyers. Since you are the

source of the information in this file, could you point to me the spies who will need to be

neutralized the most quickly?’’

‘’I certainly can, Director Hoover. In fact, you will find in the annexes the line

diagrams describing these networks and their key agents.’’

Nancy spent a good twenty minutes commenting the file to Hoover and pointing

important details to him. Hoover may have been known in her history as a bigot and a

man who abused his authority in order to maintain his influence and position, but he also

was an experienced, able policeman. In return, Hoover stayed most polite with her, not

showing his habitual disdain for women who meddled in police affairs. When Nancy left

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him with her precious file, she felt that things were in good hands with Hoover. Then

going down to the reception lobby of the building, she exited on Pennsylvania Avenue,

her briefcase containing her laptop computer carried with its transport strap across her

chest. The Willard Intercontinental Hotel was situated on the same street, less than 600

meters away in the direction of the White House. She thus decided to walk in the cold,

humid air of the early evening, following the north side sidewalk. Having already being

the target of one assassination attempt today and knowing how notorious she would be

in the United States, Nancy stayed alert along the way.

She had covered maybe 250 meters when she heard a car approach her at low

speed in her back. Wanting to check that car without raising the suspicions of its

occupants, Nancy stopped facing a shop front, pretending to examine the dresses

exposed in the store. The street lamps along the avenue helped her see the reflection of

a big four door sedan that was nearly level with her. Its windows were down and two

men sitting on the right side were pointing objects at her. Reacting out of experience as

well as instinct, Nancy crouched at once and took refuge against a parked car while

grabbing her pistol. Loud bursts of automatic fire reverberated as she bent, shattering

the store’s front and the windows of the car protecting her. As she hurriedly took off her

briefcase and let it down on the sidewalk, she heard loud swears from the occupants of

the car, followed by the noise of doors opening. The car then sped briefly to turn at the

next, nearby intersection and stop, blocking the way to her hotel. The voices of three

men exchanging short orders were then heard over the panicked screams of other

pedestrians. Nancy felt a shock on realizing that the assassins were speaking in

Japanese. Getting up in a flash and pointing her pistol in a two-hand combat stance, her

holographic targeting sight activated, she saw less than ten meters away two men

carrying heavy THOMPSON submachine guns loaded with drum magazines. The Asian

men were going around each end of the car she had used as a cover, their weapons at

the ready. Choosing the nearest gunman, the one to her left, Nancy shot once, hitting

him in the heart. The man fell back, his index pressing on the trigger of his submachine

gun and sending bullets all around, increasing the panic among the passersby, who

were running away in all directions. Taking a quick sidestep, Nancy shot a second time

as the assassin on her right was starting to fire a burst from the hip, peppering the car

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and sidewalk with .45 caliber bullets. Shot between the eyes, that gunman went down

with a jerk of the head, spraying the next car with his brains and blood.

Nancy was stepping cautiously forward to check the gunman when she caught

some movement from the corner of one eye. Pivoting quickly to point her pistol, she

barely had the time to see a young Asian man holding a long knife before a side kick

took her pistol out of her hands. A ferocious smile on his face, her third attacker then

jumped towards her while shouting a piercing scream. Nancy caught him in midair with

a side kick of her own to his face. The man fell to the sidewalk but, demonstrating

remarkable agility and reflexes, rolled back onto his feet to face her, his knife held in a

combat stance typical of Japanese martial arts. Not wasting time to try to get back her

pistol, Nancy took out from her gun belt her ASP telescopic baton, deploying it with a

flick of the wrist. She then smiled to her opponent and bowed to him quickly before

taking a combat stance of her own.

‘’AY! KYOKUSHIN KARATE!’’

The Japanese smiled on hearing her and returned her salute, then advanced quickly on

her with a piercing scream, slashing with his knife. Nancy took two steps back while

parrying the knife with her ASP baton, then struck her opponent with a lightning punch to

the plexus. The man backed off from the hit, searching for his breath. He however

proved incredibly tough, staying on his feet and still holding high his knife. The two

combatants now having a healthy respect for each other, Nancy and the Japanese

searched for new attack positions for a moment before resuming the fight. Nancy

attacked first, using both her ASP and her feet, with her adversary managing to avoid a

hit but unable in return to touch her. After a few seconds of a furious exchange they

faced each other again, breathing faster. The Japanese was not smiling anymore but he

saluted her again and spoke in a passable English.

‘’You were well trained, Colonel. Who taught you karate?’’

‘’I studied in Japan.’’ said simply Nancy before pushing a terrifying shriek and

resuming her attack. Two Washington policemen approaching at a run with revolvers

drawn hesitated and stopped on seeing the mad, deadly ballet between Nancy and the

Japanese man. They then saw the two dead gunmen and their submachine guns, along

with the cars and storefronts full of bullet holes.

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‘’Hell! Who is that fury?’’ said one of the policemen as Nancy used a nearby car

to bounce high in the air and do a summersault above the head of her assailant while

parrying with her ASP another knife thrust.

‘’We’ll ask questions later!’’ replied his partner before advancing cautiously with

his revolver pointed.

‘’POLICE! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND FREEZE!’’

Nancy stopped moving then but held to her ASP baton while keeping her eyes on her

opponent. The latter glanced quickly at the policemen, then went at a run, jumping over

the hood of a parked car. Nancy was going to follow him when a passing car that had

no time to brake hit violently the Japanese, projecting him high in the air. The broken

body then fell on the roof of a parked car, not moving anymore.

‘’Damn! I wish I could have captured him alive.’’ raged Nancy. She was about to

go check if the Japanese was dead when a sharp order froze her on the spot.

‘’I SAID DO NOT MOVE, MISS! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPON AND RAISE

YOUR HANDS, NOW!’’

She reluctantly obeyed and spoke to the policemen approaching her.

‘’CALM DOWN, OFFICERS! THESE MEN TRIED TO KILL ME AND I SIMPLY

DEFENDED MYSELF.’’

‘’WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT. LEAN AGAINST THAT CAR AND SPREAD

YOUR LEGS.’’

One of the policemen was just starting to search her, covered by his partner, when three

agents of the Secret Service arrived at a run from the direction of the Willard

Intercontinental Hotel, revolvers in hand.

‘’SECRET SERVICE! WHAT HAPPENED HERE?’’

‘’This chick in uniform was fighting with a man. She pretends that she was

attacked and was just defending herself. You have a badge?’’ said the policeman

covering his partner doing the search. Agent Fielding took out his badge and identity

card from the Secret Service and showed them to the policeman while looking at the

scene of carnage.

‘’Wow! Decidedly you attract trouble, Colonel Laplante.’’

‘’You know this woman?’’ asked the senior policeman.

‘’Yes, and she is one of the guests of the President. I will have to ask you to

release her and let her go.’’

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‘’No way! There are three dead men here and more bullet holes than I can count.

We will have to bring her to the police station.’’

Fielding, frowning, looked coldly at the municipal policeman.

‘’This woman is part of a British diplomatic delegation. Furthermore, another

assassin tried to kill her at the airport less than three hours ago. This is a federal case

and the Secret Service will take charge of it.’’

After a hesitation, the policeman gave up and left with his partner. Nancy then used that

chance to retrieve her precious computer briefcase, then her pistol and her baton.

Thankfully, her GLOCK 17 and its holographic sight were not damaged. Fielding, having

just examined the three dead men, gave a somber look at Nancy.

‘’These men, are they who I think they are, Colonel?’’

‘’They are effectively Japanese, Agent Fielding. I heard them talk when they

came out of their car.’’

‘’Decidedly, you are a marked woman today, Colonel. Brown, call for

reinforcements and alert the F.B.I., so that they can send a crime scene team here.’’

‘’Right away, boss!’’

Mike Crawford arrived at a run a few seconds later and immediately hugged

Nancy tightly.

‘’My God, Nancy, you scared me! You’re okay?’’

‘’Yes, I am alright. These three Japanese men tried to kill me but without luck.

One of them was however a really good martial artist and gave me a run for my money.’’

Mike looked with concern at the submachine guns still lying on the pavement, then at the

three dead Japanese.

‘’Damn! They really came at you with the heavy artillery this time. I wonder who

will try next.’’

To his surprise, Nancy giggled with amusement, attracting a confused look from Mike.

‘’Did I say something funny?’’

‘’Not really. It is only just that, when I heard your remark, I thought about the

Italians. Instead of pistols, they would probably have showed up with bouquets of

flowers and boxes of chocolate.’’

Mike smiled as he pictured that scene, then kissed her.

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‘’I am happy to see that you can take all this with a pinch of humor, Nancy. Are

you free to come to the hotel now?’’

Nancy looked at Fielding, who nodded his head.

‘’Go ahead, Colonel. One of my men will escort you, even though you don’t

seem to really need us to defend yourself.’’

‘’Thank you for your comprehension, Agent Fielding.’’

Fielding then watched her walk away with Mike Crawford and one of his agents, then

looked back at the dead Japanese and shook his head.

‘’This woman is a real demon when it comes to fighting. I wonder if many women

are like her in 2012.’’

08:34 (Washington Time)

Tuesday, December 31, 1940

Oval Office, White House

Washington, D.C.

‘’Welcome to Washington, Sir Anthony!’’ said jovially President Roosevelt, rolling

his wheelchair towards his guests to shake their hands. ‘’I am sorry for the rather brutal

welcome you got yesterday.’’

‘’It’s nothing, Mister President.’’ replied Eden with a wide smile while pressing

Roosevelt’s hand. ‘’Colonel Laplante is accustomed to that type of welcome.’’

Roosevelt then pivoted his wheelchair to face Nancy and shook hands with her while

smiling to her.

‘’I have to say that you make a lot of people talk around Washington, Colonel.

The local newspapers are certainly full of you this morning. My wife is anxious to be

able to have a cup of coffee with you sometimes today.’’

‘’And I will be honored to speak with her, as I am honored to be able to meet with

you, Mister President.’’

‘’In that case, let’s sit and talk!’’

Eden, Menzies and Nancy sat in a sofa forming a ‘U’ with two other sofas in which

already sat Secretary of War Stimson, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Secretary of the

Navy Frank Knox, Vice-President Henry Wallace, Presidential Counselor Harry Hopkins

and the chiefs of staff of the Army, Navy, Army Air Corps and Marine Corps, plus

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Admiral Leahy, the President’s chief of staff. On his part, Roosevelt rolled his

wheelchair to the side of the ‘U’ left opened and looked at Eden with a serious

expression.

‘’I was informed yesterday evening about this business concerning Soviet spy

networks which have supposedly infiltrated my government. I was also told that you

would not release your technological information until those spies would all be

neutralized. Is that correct?’’

‘’Yes, Mister President. These Soviet agents occupy many important positions in

your administration and in various federal departments. You even have one here in the

White House.’’

‘’Who is it?’’ asked at once Roosevelt, shocked. Nancy put one hand on Eden’s

arm to ask him to answer that, with Eden nodding his head to her.

‘’Your economics advisor, Lauchlin Currie, Mister President. He is part of the

network headed by the man who tried to kill me yesterday at the airport. His NKVD

codename is ‘Page’.’’

‘’Are you certain about that information, Colonel?’’

‘’It his historical knowledge in 2012, Mister President. In many years in your

future, the encrypted communications between the NKVD and its agents in the United

States will be decoded as part of a project called ‘Venona’. Much later, after the

dismemberment of the USSR in the 1990s, the NKVD archives will become available

and will confirm the information from Venona.’’

‘’My God!’’ said softly Roosevelt, shaken. ‘’Why did he betray me like that?’’

‘’He didn’t betray you personally, Mister President. Like most of the other

persons implicated in those spy networks, he betrayed the United States by sympathy

towards the communist cause, as represented by the USSR.’’

‘’But the United States is not the enemy of the USSR! I was ready to help Stalin

against an eventual German invasion, and Currie knew that. Why would Stalin risk

losing that help this way?’’

‘’Why, Mister President? Because Stalin has fixed ideas about the kind of world

he wants to see coming out of this war. What he wants in the medium term is to control

Eastern Europe and, in the long term, to become the most powerful man in the World.

For that, he needs all the information he can get to produce new weapons and build his

empire. He will not hesitate to lie in your face to get what he wants from you. I

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personally believe that Stalin is a bigger long-term threat to the United States than

Germany or Japan. I set up in your conference room my television set, so that I can

show you a few documentaries made in the future. One of these documentaries will

cover the period that will be called the ‘Cold War’, between the USSR and the western

democracies. Another documentary will cover the events both before, during and after

the planned Japanese attack to come against Hawaii in 1941.’’

Roosevelt looked at his officials and generals at those words.

‘’In that case, what are we waiting for? Let’s go watch our future, gentlemen!’’

11:06 (Washington Time)

Presidential conference room

White House

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was silent for a long moment, like his officials,

admirals and generals, after the documentary on the history of the Cold War ended.

Nancy had specifically selected that documentary because it showed to the utmost the

duplicity and thirst for power of Stalin, as well as his monstruous brutality. The

documentary about the attack on Pearl Harbor had also struck Roosevelt hard. The

President finally looked at his political advisor, Harry Hopkins, who had taken copious

notes during both documentaries.

‘’Harry, what do you make of all this? What should be our policy towards the

Soviet Union now?’’

‘’Well, Mister President, we certainly will have to modify drastically our Soviet

policy and relationship with Stalin. We obviously cannot continue as it is. This however

raises a dilemma: do we let the Soviets fight the Germans alone when the latter will

attack the USSR next year? If we do help Stalin, then do we risk that way to eventually

give him Eastern Europe and let him plan all these wars by proxies against us?’’

Roosevelt, a hard expression on his face, then looked at Nancy.

‘’Colonel, you are the expert about the future. What would you counsel me to do

in this case?’’

Nancy bit her lips, not liking what she was going to say. World politics was unfortunately

too often a case of having to choose the least bad solution.

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‘’Mister President, I will hate myself for saying this, but your duty is clearly to

ensure the long-term security of the United States and of its allies. Stalin already made

himself an accomplice of Hitler in this war, by signing a non-aggression pact with the

Germans in 1939 and then invading half of Poland in conjunction with the Germans.

During and after the war, Stalin will have millions of persons killed or sent to camps in

Siberia and he will support the North Koreans in a war that will cost a lot of American

lives. Stalin is in my mind a huge long-term threat to your country and does not deserve

your support. Most of the Soviets who may die because of a decision by you not to

support Stalin materially will anyway die at the hands of Stalin and his NKVD. I say: let

Stalin pay for his pact with Hitler and let him deal alone with the German invasion to

come, Mister President. You may also consider the fact that the assassination attempt

against me yesterday had to be ordered by no less than Stalin himself, which amounts to

a hostile act against your country as much as against me.’’

Roosevelt nodded, apparently convinced.

‘’And, as for our policies concerning Japan, do you think that we should change

anything, in order to avoid a war with Japan?’’

Nancy bent forward and fixed Roosevelt as she answered him.

‘’Mister President, are you ready to accept the continued occupation of China by

Japan, or the future occupation of French Indochina? In my history, you sent many clear

messages to the Japanese to curb their imperialistic appetite, to no avail. The militarist

faction which presently dominates Japan will accept nothing less than what they are

already planning to annex and which they call the ‘East Asia Coprosperity Sphere’, and

will certainly not put an end to the Japanese atrocities in China. According to my history,

the Japanese succeeded at first in their war of conquest around the Pacific because the

allied forces were poorly prepared, poorly equipped and poorly led. This, however, can

still be changed, if no time is wasted. I already advised Prime Minister Churchill to get

rid of his worst military commanders in Asia, starting with Air Chief Marshall Brooke-

Popham, the commander of the fortress of Singapore.’’

‘’And…did he fire them?’’ asked General Marshall, the chief of staff of the Army.

Nancy answered calmly while looking straight into his eyes.

‘’Yes, General!’’

A ripple went through the generals and admirals present: a simple lieutenant colonel,

and a woman to booth, with enough influence to have an air marshal replaced, sounded

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like a near sacrilege to them. Many around her then started to take her much more

seriously from that moment on. On his part, Roosevelt stared for a moment at Nancy

through his small round spectacles before looking at his secretary of state, Cordell Hull.

‘’Secretary Hull, I believe that this only reinforces the legitimacy of our present

policies towards Japan. We will thus continue in the same vein while reinforcing our

military capacities in the Pacific. As for the USSR, we will keep discreet for the moment

about that spying business but will refuse privately any request for support from Stalin.

Secretaries Stimson and Knox, I believe that it is now more urgent than ever to rearm

and reorganize our forces. I thus authorize Director Hoover to arrest the most important

Soviet agents and to revoke immediately the security clearances of every person named

in the file brought by Colonel Laplante, so that we can have access to the good colonel’s

technological information. Vice-President Wallace, make sure that all the officials who

will lose their security clearances will effectively leave their offices for good no later than

noon tomorrow. Coordinate that with Director Hoover. I will take care myself of Mister

Currie. Secretary Knox, I want all our defense plans for Pearl Harbor and the Pacific

reviewed in order to prevent or defeat the kind of Japanese attack that we saw in

Colonel Laplante’s documentary. I want a list of deficiencies in men and materiel done

and then submitted to me soonest.’’

‘’It will be done, Mister President.’’

Lieutenant General Henry Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, then raised his hand.

‘’Mister President, the conception and production of military aircraft is a business

that takes months and years. Is there a way to get some of that technological

information from the future now, instead of having to wait for the F.B.I. to clean up all

those Soviet spies?’’

Roosevelt in turn looked at Nancy.

‘’Colonel?’’

Exchanging a glance with Eden, Nancy took out of her briefcase a number of documents

and distributed one copy to each person present.

‘’Mister President, this is a short list of recommendations made by me concerning

the various existing armament programs which should in my view be cancelled in order

to avoid serious wastes or resources and time. The second part of that list names

programs which, in contrast, should be improved or accelerated. Concerning the

programs to be improved, I am ready to meet immediately with the chief designers

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responsible for those projects, to discuss with them the various technological

improvements which could be made. Since the various officials compromised as Soviet

agents do not generally get implicated at a detailed technical level, I believe that my

information could then be kept secret from the Soviets, as long as it is not discussed

above the level of the conception or production shops.’’

‘’This sounds like a reasonable solution.’’ said Roosevelt before starting to read

his copy of the list of recommendations. A number of generals and admirals let out

exclamations when they saw that some of their pet projects were recommended to be

terminated.

‘’You want me to cancel the XP-75 FISHER?’’ exclaimed General Arnold. ‘’But

we need desperately a long-range fighter.’’

‘’And that is why you were ready to order 1,500 copies of that flying monstrosity,

even before the first prototype was built, General? The XP-75, like too many other

military projects, is the perfect example of how not to procure military equipment. I don’t

blame you personally for that but I believe that you let yourself be sold a mirage by your

officer in charge of aircraft acquisition. Have you noticed that the XP-75 is being

conceived by General Motors, a car company with no experience in producing planes, or

that your official is actually a recent director of GM? You already have a real long-range

fighter, the Lockheed P-38 LIGHTNING, which is now in pre-production stage. The P-38

is in my opinion your most promising aircraft project at this moment and I know many

ways to make it even better. In fact, I was planning, with your permission of course, to

go visit soon the chief designer of the P-38 in California, to discuss a few things with

him.’’

The head of the Navy, Admiral King, was the next to ask her a question.

‘’And this new concept of modified aircraft carrier, could you talk to my chief naval

designer about it?’’

‘’I will speak gladly with him, Admiral. I now believe that I should let poor Sir

Anthony, who is anxious to talk about joint armament production, speak before he

strangles me to shut me up.’’

A concert of laughs went around the group, with Eden smiling to Nancy before starting to

present his own points.

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17:32 (Washington Time)

Friday, January 10, 1941

Oval Office, White House

Washington, D.C.

‘’You wanted to see me, Mister President?’’

‘’Yes, Colonel!’’ said Roosevelt in a friendly tone. ‘’Please sit down.’’

Nancy took place in one of the sofas in a corner of the Oval Office as Roosevelt

approached her in his wheelchair, then fixed her for a long moment before speaking.

‘’Colonel, what are your personal projects for after the end of this war?’’

Taken by surprise, Nancy hesitated for a moment.

‘’Uh, to be frank, Mister President, I am presently content to simply do my best to

survive this war in one piece, something that is not assured as things goes. My only

personal project concerns marriage.’’

‘’Oh?’’ said Roosevelt, smiling. ‘’And may I ask who is the lucky one?’’

‘’Major Crawford, the American officer accompanying our delegation since

London.’’

‘’I have to say that my Eleanor thinks highly of the good Major Crawford, Colonel.

She would approve of your choice.’’

‘’Really, Mister President?’’ said Nancy, an idea then coming to her head. ‘’Really! But let’s go on to serious matters. If you have not made plans for the

future, then let me offer you an option. You have proven indispensable during the last

two weeks and have helped tremendously our rearmament effort, apart from warning us

about a serious internal threat. What I am proposing to you is a position as a

presidential advisor, be it for me or my successor. I doubt that even a Republican

candidate would refuse to employ you as an adviser. Your project to marry an American

officer only makes my offer more pertinent, I believe.’’

Nancy immediately found Roosevelt’s proposal most interesting. Even though she

respected enormously Prime Minister Churchill, many aspects of British imperial policies

grated on her. On the other hand, American policies, foreign and domestic, also had a

lot to be criticized about, starting with racial segregation.

‘’Mister President, I must be completely frank with you. When I accepted to

become Prime Minister Churchill’s advisor, I warned him in advance that I would be

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brutally frank with him about my opinions concerning his policies and decisions. I also

warned him that I would keep to myself any information that I believe could ultimately

harm Humanity as a whole. If I am to become your advisor, then I will insist on the same

terms and conditions.’’

Roosevelt stared at her, surprised to hear that a man as pig-headed as Churchill could

have accepted such conditions.

‘’Do you truly believe that the policies of the United States are so different from

your ideals, Colonel?’’

‘’In the case of racial segregation, certainly, Mister President. American policies

concerning Latin America also strike me as being often paternalistic and unjust towards

the poor classes. As I said earlier, I tend to be brutally frank, Mister President.’’

‘’I see that you would irritate many people around Washington, Colonel. On the

other hand, it would be nice to have in the White House at least one voice that could not

be considered that of an ass-licker. My offer still stands, even with your conditions,

Colonel.’’

‘’In that case, I will keep it seriously in mind for the end of the war, Mister

President. Could I ask you a favor before my departure on Sunday?’’

‘’You may ask anything of me, Colonel.’’ replied a smiling Roosevelt. ‘’Then, would you accept to marry me to Major Crawford, here at the White

House, Mister President?’’

The smile on the President’s face then became a grin.

‘’Colonel, me and Eleanor would be delighted to grant you your wish.’’

09:42 (Washington Time)

Sunday, January 12, 1941

Washington-Hoover Airport

Nancy gently pressed Mike’s hand while smiling tenderly at him as their plane

took off from Washington, heading for Newfoundland and then England with the British

delegation. At least her misfortune in time would have brought her a positive personal

point. Mike gave her a long kiss before whispering to her.

‘’Would you like us to have children, Nancy?’’

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‘’Yes, but not before the end of this war, Mike. I would not wish for our first baby

to possibly become a war orphan.’’

‘’I can understand that. I will be patient.’’

‘’No need to stay chaste until then, Mike.’’ Said Nancy, giggling, making Mike

smile.

‘’Chaste? What’s that?’’

They then kissed again, with the other occupants of the plane turning their heads away

to preserve the couple’s intimacy.

14:58 (GMT)

Tuesday, January 14, 1941

Athena Section, Home Office Building

London, England

Jennifer Collins let out a huge sigh when a proud and happy Nancy announced to

her assistants at the Athena Section that she had married Mike Crawford.

‘’I knew that a widow with a young boy had no chance against you. Damn, damn

and thrice damn!’’

Peter Stilwell also sighed, a false air of sadness on his face.

‘’Single life, here I am again.’’

Nancy laughed good-heartedly at the faces made by her assistants.

‘’Don’t worry, guys: I still love you all.’’

Mary Miles showed up then at the door of the section.

‘’Nancy, the Prime Minister would like to see you right away.’’

‘’Is there any other way he wants me?’’ asked Nancy before running to the office

of the Prime Minister and knocking on his door.

‘’ENTER!’’

Nancy, still wearing her dress uniform, opened the door and came to attention three

paces in front of his desk, saluting him.

‘’Lieutenant Colonel Laplante, reporting as ordered, Mister Prime Minister.’’

‘’At ease, Colonel!’’ said Churchill, a cigar in his mouth. ‘’Sir Anthony just briefed

me on his visit to Washington. He reported that your performance there was exemplary

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and that you displayed extraordinary talents of organization, administration and

leadership during your stay in Washington.’’

‘’Thank you, Mister Prime Minister!’’

‘’I am the one who needs to thank you for your performance, which gave us a lot

of credits in the eyes of the Americans. Know that, in return, I will contact General

McNaughton of the Canadian Army and advise him that I recommend you strongly for an

immediate promotion to the rank of full colonel, a rank that would better reflect your real

abilities and present responsibilities.’’

‘’Thank you again, Mister Prime Minister.’’

‘’One last thing before you go, Colonel: I am giving you a one-week vacation

period, so that you could have some private quality time with your husband, Major

Crawford.’’

Nancy’s eyes widened with joy on hearing that.

‘’Thank you one more time, Mister Prime Minister.’’

Nancy saluted, pivoted on her heels and left the Prime Minister’s office. She waited until

she was back in the Athena Section before screaming with joy, making her assistants

jump in their chairs.

15:35 (North American Central Time)

Friday, December 20, 3383

Time laboratory, New Lake City University campus

Great Lakes region, North America

Farah Tolkonen shut down Pran Osef’s computer, completely discouraged. The

schematics of the time distorter were nowhere to be found in the laboratory, either in

print or electronic form. Pran Osef and Telvi Ran must have brought those blueprints

with them before disappearing. She thus had no choice left but to try to reinvent that

said time distorter, using as a basis the drawings of the auxiliary systems used by the

two missing physicists. That promised to be a long and difficult job. Farah got up from

her chair, intent on having a decent meal before passing the bad news to Daran Mien.

She suddenly started to see double just as the space-time analyzer let out an alarm and

as all the instruments in the laboratory seemed to go wild. Farah understood that

another wave of temporal distortion was hitting the continuum. The ghost image of the

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lab then split from her normal vision of the room. To Farah’s surprise and horror she

saw another her walking across the phantom lab. Her double was however dressed in a

totally different manner. Worse, her double carried on her hip what appeared furiously to

be a weapon. In the society of the Global Council, all weapons had been banished for

close to four centuries now. Her double then looked in Farah’s direction and opened

wide her eyes with surprise: they could both see each other! Farah started running out

of the lab while screaming hysterically but had to stop soon: the disorientation caused by

the ghost images was too severe for her. Focusing her attention, she was able to see

more people inside the phantom lab. All were bald and had six fingers per hand, like

Farah’s compatriots of the Global Council. They however appeared much more

muscular as a whole and wore military style blue uniforms, apart from being armed. To

Farah’s relief, the ghost images faded away after a few minutes, allowing her to get back

up again.

Her legs still shaky, Farah tried to make sense of what she had seen. What had

been at first simple space-time distortions were now something much more serious in

her opinion. What she had just seen was probably a complete duplication of the space-

time continuum, with the ghosts she had seen being copies of Global Council citizens

now populating a new continuum, or timeline. Something in the past had changed

drastically history, creating distortions and finally splitting the timeline in two. Farah

returned at a run in the lab and looked at the indications recorded by the instruments

during the period of distortion. Her heart accelerated when she saw the screen of the

space-time analyzer: instead of the single frequency line which had always appeared on

it, there was now two lines, with the second line coming from the first but now being

clearly distinct. Farah then understood that she had the frequency of the new continuum

and jumped at once on the lab’s videophone to call Daran Mien.