Chapter 92

Unlike the enemies that Cherov had in mind, during the early Cold War, the United States, in order to resist the spread of various Soviet ideologies within its borders, saw the FBI's work become even more arduous. Edgar Hoover, as the director of the FBI, was the true master of the American intelligence system in this era. By this year, Edgar Hoover had already served as the director of the FBI for thirty-five years. His contemporary, Yezhov of the Soviet Union, had long since died, yet he still firmly held his position.

The reason Cherov always thought Dulles was his rival was because the CIA was on the front lines of the global battlefield, overlooking the FBI director who had been stationed in the homeland all along.

"Quite young, huh! Haha! Does Dulles think that young people are always easy to deal with? Truly, the older he gets, the more confused he becomes..." Edgar Hoover, after reading Cherov's file, grinned widely. There were people who achieved success at a young age and those who rose to prominence later in life. Edgar Hoover was the former, and he had already blocked the path for the latter. At over sixty years old, it was hard to associate him with youthful success, but in reality, he had taken control of the American intelligence and law enforcement system earlier than Yagoda of the Soviet NKVD during the same period.

Edgar Hoover became the director of the FBI before he was thirty, younger than the current Cherov. If one had to find someone to compare him to, it would have to be from the history of the KGB, with Beria barely qualifying as a match.

After reading the file of his counterpart, Edgar Hoover picked up the phone and began to arrange the preparations for the next day. After years of propaganda following World War II, Edgar Hoover was finally pleased to see the American people's hostile attitude toward socialism. However, this also made Khrushchev's visit to the United States more difficult. Edgar Hoover almost dispatched all the FBI agents to participate in Khrushchev's security detail. This was the first time the United States had used so many people to protect a foreign leader, and ironically, the person being protected was the leader of the United States' greatest enemy, the Soviet Union.

Edgar Hoover picked up the phone and, over the course of half an hour, gave detailed instructions to the heads of various departments, sparing no effort to protect Khrushchev. It was well known that firearms were legal in the United States, and there were countless people who wanted to make a big news story! Before Khrushchev arrived in the United States, Shelepin in Moscow had already issued a warning: anyone who attempted to assassinate Khrushchev, even if unsuccessful, would inevitably lead to a nuclear war. Edgar Hoover, of course, did not believe Shelepin's threats. However, today, the news of the youngest KGB deputy chairman and Nixon's opponent had reached Edgar Hoover's ears.

First, the FBI estimated that at least 25,000 Americans wanted to kill Khrushchev during his visit to the United States. Second, the Soviet security agency, the feared KGB, had very clearly informed their American counterparts that even an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Khrushchev could trigger a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States.

Compared to Shelepin's threat of nuclear war, Cherov seemed much more honest. The idea of the entire U.S. Senate being sacrificed if Khrushchev were assassinated sounded more genuine. Under various threats, Edgar Hoover could not help but be cautious.

Edgar Hoover knew that many people were dissatisfied with him in secret, but he was clear about one thing: he was the protector of the United States, and it was his duty to keep the country out of danger.

The next day, Cherov got up early and continued the same work as the previous day. Since today was the trip to New York, Cherov took even more stringent precautions. Besides being more alert, two guards carried bags, one containing bomb detection equipment, and the other, even more dramatically, a device for detecting radioactive materials to prevent anyone from using radioactive substances to assassinate Khrushchev.

"Look at these American citizens, all here to see if the Soviet leader is a demon!" Khrushchev waved to the crowd and said to his entourage. In the car, besides Khrushchev and his wife, there was also Henry Cabot Lodge, Khrushchev's official American guide. Before arriving in New York, Khrushchev had just discussed the prospects of nuclear war with the poor guide through an interpreter.

"At least there are many FBI agents mixed in, about one in fifty!" Cherov calmly observed the crowd, looking for agents. This highlighted the difference in how the United States and the Soviet Union handled such situations. When Nixon visited the Soviet Union, the security personnel were all KGB officers in uniform. This time, the Americans had arranged for plainclothes agents.

"Yuri, for such occasions, it's best to act as if we know nothing. Don't be like Nixon, that impolite guy!" Khrushchev continued to wave, with a natural smile on his face, but his words clearly showed his dissatisfaction with Nixon's visit to the Soviet Union.

"Understood, First Secretary!" Cherov nodded. Who said the United States couldn't stage a welcoming ceremony? It just didn't need the government to do it. By guiding the public through newspapers, the scene could be just like the Soviet Union's welcome for foreign leaders.

Khrushchev's motorcade did not linger in the crowd for long, which relieved Cherov. He checked the day's schedule and immediately arranged for the personnel to carry the detection equipment into the venue for the luncheon, then followed Khrushchev and his wife into the New York City Hall.

"Yuri, there's no need to be so tense. The Americans won't be so foolish as to assassinate me! They know the consequences!" Khrushchev looked at Cherov, who was using instruments to detect toxic substances, and felt quite helpless. Finally, after Cherov confirmed there were no issues, he allowed Khrushchev to sit down.

Cherov did not consider the feelings of the New York City Hall officials and the elite present, and with an unprecedentedly serious expression, he said, "Comrade First Secretary, I have never doubted the intelligence of the U.S. government and the elite class! The American elite are formidable enemies and respected opponents! But personally, I absolutely cannot trust the American people. The American people are a prime example of low intelligence. They are terrifyingly ignorant and completely unaware of things outside the United States. They don't even know some very basic common sense!"

Cherov was speaking to Khrushchev, but his words made some of the elite present change color. Someone angrily said, "This is a land of freedom, and the people have the right to express their opinions!"

"But if they express it through assassination, it could lead to a nuclear attack!" Cherov did not back down, turning to the well-dressed crowd with narrowed eyes and said, "If it were the Soviet Union, I could reason with the people. Even if they don't welcome Americans, they would maintain a peaceful attitude because they know what is best for the country! To be honest, from a broad perspective, the American people are more like ignorant potential mobs. This is related to the American system of differential education and elite education, otherwise, the quality of Americans wouldn't be so poor..."

"They know how to protest but don't know why they are protesting, expressing their opinions through slogans! The American people are truly pitiful; they don't even know what quality is!" Cherov, after much beating around the bush, was actually trying to tell these elite individuals one thing: Americans have poor quality and low intelligence!

[My word count is a bit short, I should add more. Starting tomorrow, I should update more!]

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