Casing the Colors © Week 30

Casing the Colors © Week 30 • • • CHAPTER 48 • • Alexei Katerinov's struggle with the Russian parliament continued through the spring and summer of 2023, as he tried to hold together the coalition that kept him and his reformist government in power. The southern border satellite states were systematically subdued, sometimes with force, but also with public support for President Katerinov and his vision of a unified Russian government that could re-assert Moscow's control over the future of the traditional Russian hegemony. The price President Katerinov paid for his determination was the enmity of the hard-liners who would have preferred a deeper control and less democratic reform. Alexei Katerinov continued to be the focus of Russia's political frustrations. The Alliance announcement gave comfort to many Russians who had spent hard years waiting for better times. But, it was also a symbol of Russia's economic dependence on the West, and many hard-liners seized the opportunity to try again to bring down the Katerinov government. Despite the Russian political machinations, President Katerinov continued to hold his coalition together. He often hosted dinners for key military, government and business members as a way of keeping his supporters informed and united in the face of their formidable opposition. He involved Kate, hoping they would accept her and understand her importance for their cause. At one of the dinners, a rather young businessman, Yvegeny Alentov, talked about being contacted by yet another American news magazine wanting to know how he had succeeded. "I don't mind that they want to talk to me," he said, "but it worries me that there are so few stories like mine for them to tell. Perhaps the Alliance will create more Alentovs." "Don't be misled by the western press," another guest said. "We are at the edge of success. What we need is time, political peace and practical help from the Alliance. We are winning, my friends, we are winning." Kate listened, wondering how long such conversations had been the daily food for the committed core of Russia's free market reformers. She recognized the man who was speaking. He had been at her welcome party several months before. He was an economist in Alexei's inner circle of advisors, whose job was to translate economic theory into politically acceptable programs. Alexei relied on him to keep economic reform alive by working with successful entrepreneurs and bankers in the non-political arenas away from the public parliamentary debates meant to embarrass the president. Another guest, Vladimir Roskovich, spoke up, unable to restrain himself any longer. Kate knew him, too, both by reputation and personally. He was the producer of Moscow's most widely watched TV news program and he had interviewed her during her first trip to Russia. Roskovich was a man on fire with Russia's potential and he spent all his time telling the story to Russia and the world. "What I know," he thundered, "is that we must move faster. Success cannot wait another two years, let alone another ten. If the Alliance and Russia's renewed world status do not bring results soon, we will again be in the hands of conservatives with their five year plans and centralized economy. We need jobs if we are going to guarantee the future." Kate was moved by his words, but she wondered if he was speaking for precisely this effect. Alexei settled back to listen, keeping glasses filled with wine and vodka and providing the powerful ear his guests needed to give them courage to continue. A half hour later, he motioned for cognac and began to talk, softly, almost as if he were speaking to himself, but gathering force as he spoke so that everyone around the table fell under the spell of his voice. Alexei finished what had become for him a quasi-religious invocation of the reformist movement's successes. "We are now poised for the final victory. Our army has almost completely subdued the southern Republics. In a few days, our private discussions with their governments will end with the announcement of a new organization dedicated to their economic and political futures." He paused to let his words have their effect. "The Black Sea fleet is again in our undivided control, with Ukraine and Belarus committed to looking to the Baltics for their future window to Europe. I believe that for the first time we can say with confidence that our dream of a democratic and prosperous Russia surrounded by cooperative neighbors is becoming a reality. We must now begin the huge task of providing economic stability and growth for all Russians. That, my dear Roskovich, is your challenge, to tell the story that will unite all of us in the effort to find the sunshine of a functioning free market economy." Alexei Katerinov held his glass high. "To our success, and to our beloved Mother Russia." Everyone stood, toasting together, to each other and to their president. He took up his glass again, saluting each person separately. Then, as if he were a magnet, he pulled every face toward him with a sweeping gesture. "Our Eternal Mother Russia." An hour later, sitting in their lounge, Alexei poured a small champagne for Kate and a vodka for himself. He handed her the glass and pulled her gently onto his lap. "I only hope to God we have got it right this time, Katharine. I do not believe there will be another chance." • • In the United States, Spring offered a bitter guerrilla war along the Rio Grande. The evacuation of civilians most at risk made it easier for General Bennett to frontally attack Miguel's force, which seemed to have no manpower or weaponry limits, even with Miguel dead. That millions of Americans held their place in the war zone added to Bennett's tactical problems, but Americans of almost every persuasion knew that the battle was critical and they understood that casualties were a necessary, albeit troubling, corollary. They stood behind General Bennett, offering a political solidarity rarely seen. As he took tighter control of the government, utilizing Stuart Wellford as his political and constitutional shield, America was more at ease, feeling that its destiny was at last in the hands of a strong and patriotic man of honor. President Wellford offered little resistance to Scott Bennett's encroachment, knowing that his own future was inextricably tied to the American Agenda, which had become, in effect, the agenda of Generals Gordon and Bennett. Jim Gordon was always in the background, arranging the military response to the terrorists, holding the rein on Scott Bennett tight enough to prevent the overt military act that would bring down their domestic support and with it, the Alliance. Jim Gordon had one goal, to rid the United States of the terrorist threat and of America's growing gangrenous propensities toward despotism, piously wrapped in the Constitution. He considered it his duty to put America back on its rightful path of responsible citizenship and personal self-control. Only the Mexican refugee influx stood between him and his goal. It was the one possible source of popular discontent severe enough to halt progress toward his objective.