Total War

Chapter Seven

Elizabeth Jordan brushed a wisp of blonde hair back from her forehead and tucked it under the thin wire band of her headset, then tapped out a response to Yuri Borstoi, who was on the other end of the hot line.

"Yuri, word is that the president will be on the line soon. What do you think on your end? Liz."

She waited as the satellite hook-up carried her message and as Yuri-the man she had known by satellite for three years-formed an answer. Like herself, Yuri was unmarried. At first jokingly, but in the last few months quite seriously, they had talked about meeting someday. The hot line was always kept open, testing and retesting that the vital link between East and West remained operational. And, when formal testing was not run, Administration almost encouraged a constant chatter along the line, to make sure it was in a constant state of readiness.

She had never heard Yuri's voice but imagined what it was like. She had never seen his face, but they had described themselves to each other, and she had a fair enough idea of his looks. Now, as she waited for his reply, she tried to picture him. It was easy. His face was thin. He had said that he was a student nights at a Polytechnic Institute with a name she could not pronounce and that he didn't get enough sleep so there were dark circles under his eyes. His hair was black and straight. He was twenty-four-a year younger than she was. He had said his eyes were brown.

"Liz," the message began, "I too am worried. Reasonable men-I should not say this-can do unreasonable things. The premier will be coming on in a-must go. I love you." He hadn't even had time for his signature. As the line went dead-the President and the Premier would be talking now-she realized too that it was the first time he had said, "I love you."