Chapter 20

The following Saturday the weather in Kent was perfect. Sam and Cathy were married in a very small chapel near headquarters. The only people present were senior staff from SACEUR and personal friends of the bride and groom. Ned Carlson was Sam’s best man, and Kelly was the maid of honor. They were the only members of the wedding party.

Mike Callahan escorted the bride down the aisle. Kelly, standing at the altar waiting, could feel tears coming to her eyes as she watched Cathy walk up the aisle on Mike’s arm. She was a beautiful bride in her lovely white gown. The wedding ceremony was brief, and the couple went down the aisle together. Kelly was pleased to see an honor guard of senior officers at the chapel door with an arch of sabers for the bride and groom.

At the reception Cathy and Sam came up to Kelly and they both kissed her. Tears were streaming from Cathy’s eyes as she said, “Kelly, there just aren’t any words. What can I say to a girl who has given me the greatest happiness I can possibly imagine? Thank you, General!”

Several days later, Kelly and Mike left for Russia. Kevin was flying over with them in a special plane the Russian government had chartered to fly them to Moscow. They boarded it at Heathrow and three hours later were landing at Moscow. Kelly was in uniform as the aircraft rolled to a stop at waiting mobile boarding stairs. In moments, the door was opened and Kelly went out on the platform to be greeted by Mikhail Solov. He embraced her and kissed her warmly, then stepped back leaving Kelly standing on the platform alone.

For the first time Kelly had a good look at the airport and was amazed. On the ramp was a large honor guard backed by tanks. Behind them, held in check by barriers and hundreds of police, were thousands of people. As she looked, a large military band began to play. An honor guard advanced the colors of the United States and the new white, blue and red flag of the Russian Republic. The band began to play the Star Spangled Banner and Kelly came to attention and saluted. Immediately following they played the Russian National Anthem, and she held the salute.

Following the music, Solov led her to a platform draped in flags. He went immediately to the microphone and said, “Fellow Russians: It gives me great pleasure this morning to welcome to our new Republic, Major General Kelly Jackson. General Jackson has done more to achieve our liberties than any person alive. In all of history, we can find only a single parallel: Simón Bolivar in South America. Our historians assure me it a very weak parallel, at best.

“I met Kelly Jackson for the first time about a year ago. At that time she was held prisoner by the KGB in Germany. I won’t go into the atrocities that were committed against her. I will say she was a young virgin. In fact, she’s not yet twenty years old, even today.”

Kelly could hear an audible gasp of surprise from the crowd as Solov continued, “She is here today to visit our country. It is only fitting that she be the first State guest of our new nation. She has given us our freedom. I was concerned about inviting her. She has every reason to hate us. I asked her about it, and do you know what she said? She said, ‘Of course I don’t hate the Russian people! How could I? They’ve suffered far worse than I and for a far longer period. Millions have died, most for no reason at all. I’m fine now.’ Then she said, ‘I hope the Russian people don’t hate me!’

“I asked why we would possibly hate her. She replied that she has killed a great many Russians who were just trying to do their jobs. I pointed out to her that, as a direct result of her actions, most of our men — and hers — will return home alive. We have a great deal to thank her for. Do you agree?” As he said the last words, there was a thunderous cheer from the crowd that grew louder and louder. Flags, both the new Russian and the American, were being waved.

Finally the crowd quieted down and Solov asked her to say a few words. She stepped up to the microphone and in her perfect Russian began her address. As she spoke the first words, there was another thunderous cheer as the crowd realized she was addressing them in their own language.

When they quieted, Kelly started again. “I have just been told that I am an official guest of your government. I am very flattered. However, I am here to participate in a wedding joining two of my favorite people in the bonds of matrimony: Katrina Solov, the daughter of your new president, and Kevin Murphy, my aide.

“I think there is a special significance in this event. I hope our two peoples will learn to live together as happily as I’m sure these two young people will. I hope you will join me in extending to them our very best wishes for a long and happy life together. Thank you for your very warm welcome!”

Kelly reviewed the troops of the honor guard. She was introduced to the senior officers present but did not know what to make of their attitude. As they were being driven into the city, she asked Solov about it.

“Kelly,” he said with amusement in his voice, “that was awe. They know what you have done ... or much of it, anyway. These men are professional soldiers. You are already in the class with Alexander the Great and Napoleon.” He turned to her and asked, “Kelly, what would your attitude be if you were introduced to Napoleon Bonaparte?”

“I ... I would be stunned, I guess.”

“As would I. And as are they. First, you are taller than Bonaparte by a good bit. You are far younger. And you are one of the most beautiful women alive. Couple that with your undeniable military genius, and something quite different, military skill, and you are awesome. That’s the reaction. It’s quite simple.”

Kelly was housed in an apartment in the Kremlin palace. She and Mike looked around, and finally Kelly turned to him and said, “Mike, would you please take me on the floor? This is a museum and with our lovemaking we’re bound to break something. Everything in here is utterly priceless!”

Mike picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. While he undressed her, he said, “Darling, we’re here under orders from the President of Russia. He told me that their historians believe this to be the bedroom Napoleon used when the French occupied Moscow. The difference is they hated him but they love you.”

Soon they were in bed. Their lovemaking that night was tender and loving.

The next day they were taken on a tour of Moscow escorted by Katrina and her father. Katrina and Kelly left the touring group early to go to the building now serving as the presidential palace. One of the first decisions of the new regime had been to transform the Kremlin into a museum.

Katrina couldn’t resist teasing Kelly. “You realize, I hope, that you and Mike may be the last people ever to sleep in the Kremlin? You’re probably the first people to make love in it in over seventy years!”

They found a dressmaker and her assistants waiting for them. Katrina had insisted that Kelly’s dress should be special, so the dressmaker was waiting anxiously for Kelly to try it on. Katrina smiled and said, “I asked her to make it assuming you’re going to wear your usual undergarments: bikini briefs.” The woman was obviously nervous as she waited for Kelly to undress. She was soon stripped to her briefs.

The woman looked at her and saw the faint marks of the whip on her body and questioned Katrina in Russian, “Is this the girl who was tortured by the KGB?” Katrina said she was. “What barbarism! This girl is absolutely beautiful. Who is she? Where did you meet her?”

Both of the young women laughed. Katrina replied, “I guess you haven’t been watching the news. This is an American major general, Kelly Jackson. She is the woman to whom we owe our new liberty.”

The older woman looked up at Kelly’s face, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. “You are the one who was enslaved by the KGB in Germany?”

“For a while,” Kelly replied quietly in Russian.

The older woman shook her head. “Not for a while, for a long time. You were beaten regularly, weren’t you?” Kelly nodded. The dressmaker looked up at Katrina and said, “This dress must be special! Let us see how it looks.” The gown was made of pale blue silk. They put it over her head and smoothed it down.

Katrina clapped her hands in delight. “Kelly, you are magnificent! Come and look at yourself,” she said, taking her over to a pier glass.

Kelly was a vision. The gown was utterly magnificent. It had a full-length skirt of silk chiffon over silk. The gown was strapless and essentially backless. The pale blue was a lighter shade of the color of her eyes.

The dressmaker got to her feet and looked the dress over critically. As she looked, she was slowly shaking her head sorrowfully.

Finally Kelly asked the woman what the trouble was.

The dressmaker replied, “I can do nothing. Absolutely nothing. The General is so beautiful, nothing can be done. It has never happened to me before. I thought Miss Solov was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. But that was before I met you!”

The woman looked into Kelly’s face, and Kelly could see her tears flowing again. The woman said softly, “My husband died in prison. He was a tailor and was taken away by the KGB. We never knew why. He was just taken. And you have given us freedom and liberty! There is no way to express my gratitude. Of course, there will be no charge for this gown.”