"I was given the immediate rank of captain, and as the war effort grew, I was promoted to major and, most recently of course, to lieutenant colonel."

"Are you comfortable with that, Colonel?"

"Not really, General. I like to think I'm doing a good job, but I keep telling myself I'm a college professor in a costume. I'm not a professional soldier. Sir, I am no more a soldier then I am a Martian, and I sometimes feel uncomfortable when people confuse me with anyone who has actually served his country and been in combat."

Marshall's expression softened. "And you doubtless don't want to be a professional soldier for the rest of your life, or actually see combat, either. Yet you're an expert on the Russian military?"

"Sir, I have to amend that. I have memorized all the names, weapons, statistics, and organizations that I could get my hands on, but no, I am not an expert on the Russian army. There are others who are far more qualified than I am in that area. My area of expertise is in Russian culture, the current Russian mentality, and how they got that way. The history of Russia, sir, is one of tumult and torment, and they are a people who behave quite differently from us.

"Sir, I was told that military intelligence can rather easily tell of a country's capabilities, but gauging its intent to use those capabilities is quite another matter, and that's where my so-called expertise comes in. Just because a nation possesses an army does not necessarily indicate it will use it."

"Have you studied Stalin?" Marshall asked softly.

"Yes, sir. As extensively as is possible."

"Ever met him? Ever been to Russia?"

"No to both questions, General. I hope to rectify that after the war."

"Colonel, my staff tells me you are rather unique and somewhat unpopular because of opinions you hold regarding our erstwhile ally, Russia, and its leader. Would you please give me your opinion regarding Stalin's state of mind."

Wow, Burke thought. Where the hell is this going? "General, in my opinion Stalin is certifiably insane. He is a cruel and calculating mass murderer. If he were in this country, he would be locked up in an insane asylum, hanged for his crimes, or be some gangland boss in Chicago."

Marshall almost smiled. "Colonel, a few months ago, our political leaders met and carved up postwar Europe. Now it looks like the man FDR used to refer to as Uncle Joe may be taking a larger piece of the pie then he's entitled to. Does that surprise you?"

"Absolutely not, sir. That would be consistent with his behavior."

Marshall nodded. "It now appears that he might not let us have our share of Berlin. Along with that, he's taking over countries that rightly belong to their inhabitants. In order to forestall this, I have been ordered to send a military force to Berlin to try and enter that city. As a rationale, we are telling Stalin that we are doing it to continue pressure on the Germans, thus preventing them from swinging their armies around to take on the advancing Russian armies. However, there is concern that Stalin will see this as a provocative attempt on our part to take credit for ending the war, credit that he believes is rightfully his. In your opinion, what do you think he would perceive and how would he react?"

Burke paled. He swallowed and composed himself. "Sir, I said the man is mad and a criminal and I stand by that, which means he is impossible to predict logically. Among other things, he is paranoid, and yes, he might just see it as a power grab on our part.