BOOM.
The lead scout car suddenly exploded as two RPGs slammed into it from opposite sides of the street. The other scout vehicle right behind him pushed the burning wreck aside as they pressed forward to get them out of the village. They only had another four blocks to travel and they’d be out of the urban area and back in a flat open field.
“To the right!” shouted Cortez.
A swarm of enemy soldiers rushed out of a nearby building, running right for the Bradley in front of them. The soldiers inside the vehicle began shooting out of the gun slits as fast as they could at the mob rushing them. Then a massive explosion rocked the vehicle, obliterating all the attackers in one torn and bloody mess. When the dust settled, the Bradley had been blown to the side and its right track had been completely torn apart. The vehicle was dead in the water and immobile right in the center of the road.
The Bradley’s back hatch opened and the soldiers inside tumbled out, stunned and disoriented from the blast that had rocked their vehicle. A couple of the soldiers got cut down by a hail of enemy bullets before the others snapped out of it and took cover behind several vehicles parked on the side of the road.
“We’ve got to get out of here, Captain!” shouted Cortez. He fired a long burst of gun fire at several soldiers along the roof of another building.
Depressing the talk button, Diss called out to his vehicle driver, “Keep moving forward! Push the Bradley out of the way and crush those cars on the right side of the street if you have to, but keep us moving.”
The tank lurched forward as the driver moved to get them out of the kill zone. Several of the dismounted infantrymen saw what they were trying to do and got out of the way as Diss’s tank crept up to the right rear side of their disabled vehicle and pushed it to the side of the road. Meanwhile, bullets bounced off the tank’s armor and whizzed all around Cortez and Diss, who did their best to provide covering fire for the infantrymen and keep the enemy RPG teams from disabling any more of their tanks.
The other Bradleys in their column dismounted their infantry soldiers as well, and the whole scene became a chaotic cluster mess. The gunners in the tanks tried their best to use their heavy machine guns to tear into the enemy soldiers as best they could.
“If we don’t get the column moving through this kill zone soon, we’ll all end up dead,” thought Captain Diss.
In the span of a couple of minutes, they managed to push the disabled vehicle off to the side and were once again on the move. The driver moved them quickly toward the right side of the road, rolling over several smaller vehicles parked on the side of the road, crushing them under the weight of their tank as the tracks tore the metal and plastic composite molding of the car apart.
They moved another two more blocks, past the first ambush, meeting little enemy resistance as their infantrymen did a good job of shooting any enemy soldiers they saw. Then out of nowhere, a Type-99 tank drove out of one of the alleyways with its turret already turned to meet the American tank. Before Captain Diss or anyone in his tank could react, the Chinese tank fired its 125mm cannon at near point-blank range into the side of their tank.
In the blink of an eye, Captain Diss’s mind registered his body being catapulted out of the turret and into the air, floating effortlessly for the briefest of moments before gravity took over and his body tumbled to the ground, landing in a heap. As he lay there on the sidewalk, his mind tried to compute what had just happened. The more he tried to focus, the foggier things became, until everything just went black.
Chapter 27
Endgame
General Yang Yin placed his notepad in the leather briefcase he planned on bringing with him. His suitcase had already been packed by one of his assistants. Several uniforms, a couple sets of casual clothes, his workout clothes and running shoes comprised the bulk of what he was bringing with him for this short trip. He had hoped to get the Allies to agree to a seven-day ceasefire while they negotiated an acceptable end to the war, but sadly, he had only been able to obtain a three-day cessation in the fighting.
“Perhaps the Allies know I’m just stalling to buy my country more time,” he thought.
A major walked into his office. “Sir, your vehicle is ready to take you to the airport,” he announced.
Yang nodded, not saying anything more as he grabbed his briefcase. He followed the young man out of the office to the elevator that would lead them to the garage and the waiting car. Walking through the command center, General Yang still marveled at how they had managed to stay alive in this building for so long, considering how many times the Allies had bombed it. Thus far, none of the bunker-buster bombs had made their way to his command center.
“Perhaps the Allies haven’t figured out where the bunker is in relation to the building above it,” he thought.
Many of the officers gave him a curt nod as he passed, knowing he was on his way to speak with the Americans. They hoped he’d be able to find some way to end the war without their nation having to endure a prolonged global humiliation or occupation like the Russian Federation had had to accept.
When the elevator arrived at the parking garage level, several additional armed security guards were waiting to meet General Yang. They quickly gestured for him to walk toward another blacked-out vehicle nearby, where a guard opened the rear door and President Xi got out.
Yang smiled at the sight of the President but inwardly felt a pang of fear that his presence might mean something ominous.
Xi quickly grinned, softening his demeanor as he extended his hand to the general, guiding the two of them closer to the wall of the parking lot, away from prying ears, even those of his security detail and especially the general’s men.
Leaning in close, Xi said, “Yang, it’s important that you secure an end to this war.”
Yang looked at him with a bit of surprise. Up to this point, Xi had been adamant that he try to buy more time, find a way to prolong the war until after the American presidential election, when a more amenable government would hopefully come to power. What could have changed that calculus since their last meeting?
Responding in an equally hushed tone, Yang asked, “What if the Allies demand that you step down as the leader of China? What am I to say to those terms?”
Xi had clearly thought about that question. “I will not step down if the Allies plan to replace me with that woman, President Hung Hui-ju. She’s an apostate to our form of government and will ruin everything our country has pursued up to this point. No, she would be a puppet of the West. If I have to step down as President, then the People’s Republic of China will select a new leader through our governmental processes.”
Yang nodded. This was a much better outcome than what they had originally discussed a couple of days ago, when Xi had outlined the parameters of what the PRC would accept to end the war. Still, he pressed the President for more clarity.
“If the Allies don’t agree to this option, then how far can I push them? How far are you still willing to push this war?”
Xi thought about that for a second. “You’ve made the case about further use of nuclear weapons. I agree it would be pointless to try and use them, considering we would still lose. However, if the Allies are not willing to see reason, then tell them that we will continue to arm our populace, that we will encourage and foment a never-ending insurgency across China even after they have defeated our armed forces. Also, let them know that we will look to use every cyber capability we have to turn the lights out in America. If they won’t see reason, then we will try to send them back to the Dark Ages.” There was ice and fire in his eyes as he spoke.