Crimea. Mikhail Gorbachev’s Dacha. During the hostage-taking of the Communist Party Secretary, his subordinates, with the briefcase containing the missile launch codes, are in the house next door and realize that their equipment is no longer connected to the outside world. The civilian government has lost control of nuclear weapons in the USSR. Two other officials have the codes: the Defense Minister and the Chief of Staff, and both are on the side of the coup. It will never be clarified who was controlling the missile launches during these chaotic days. The briefcase in Crimea will be reactivated on August 21, after the coup has failed.
