“So, what, then?”
“From interviews with our captive MSS prisoners, we have deduced that the Chinese military team overseeing the project is one that Lena has worked with before. We want to explore the possibility of her assisting us on this. If she can use her past status to gain access to the base, she can verify Rojas’s location and provide us with the intel we need to get him back. She may even aid his escape, if the situation presents itself. Our ultimate goal is still to retrieve Rojas and transport him to the US.”
Chase shook his head. “Susan, with all due respect… look at her. Why would Lena ever volunteer to help us?”
Susan held up her notes. “Because this psych eval is bullshit. I think she does care about that child. And we’re going to leverage the hell out of it.”
10
The security guards and nurse left the room, nodding to Chase as they passed him outside Lena’s door. One of the guards said, “We’ll be observing from the hallway.”
Chase nodded and walked into Lena’s cell. The baby slept in the portable crib next to her bed. Lena sat on the floor, stretching. After a momentary flash of surprise, her eyes remained steady as she took Chase in. His own gaze passed between her and the child. He moved a few steps closer to the crib, watching the baby’s tiny chest move up and down as it slept.
Lena shook her head, clicking her tongue. “Shameful they didn’t tell you.” She was reading his face, he realized, and getting to work. Probing for weaknesses.
Lena rose from the floor, her athletic five-foot-ten frame only a few inches shorter than Chase. She took a step toward him, and he instinctively tensed. She cocked her head and smiled, then sat down on her bed.
Lena said, “So, they want something from me?”
Chase stood over the crib. He knew that Susan and his brother were watching from behind the mirror, along with the Army psychologist and two other CIA observers. But seeing this tiny child in person had floored him. Chase had trouble remembering the coaching he’d received only moments earlier.
Chase looked up at her. “What’s his name?”
“Did they tell you to lead with that?”
Chase frowned. “Why won’t you name him?”
“We can do it right now. Let’s name him together, darling.”
Venom in her voice. She wiped back a lock of her long black hair, then ran the tips of her fingers along the scar on the side of her face, studying him for a reaction.
“I don’t believe your act,” Chase said.
She shrugged and leaned back on the bed, resting on her elbows. She crossed her legs, which hung off the end of the bed. Her foot rhythmically stirred in the air. Chase thought her eyes resembled those of a large predatory cat.
He realized that she drew energy from his presence. Moments ago, through the glass, she looked uninterested. But now, she had a companion. Or an opponent. Or prey.
Lena said, “Cut to the chase, Chase. What do they want me to do?”
“Help us locate someone in Chinese custody and bring him to the US.”
Lena said, “Who?”
“A scientist.”
“How would I help?”
“They want you to travel with me and a small team. Make contact with some old PLA colleagues. Provide us with some information and help in any way you can.”
Lena arched her eyebrows. “You must be kidding.”
“We’re not.”
“Then you must be quite desperate.”
Chase smiled. “It’s very important.”
“Important enough to risk my escape?”
“Obviously we would be taking precautions.”
Lena studied him. “A tracking device? I’ll get rid of it. An implant? I’ll cut it out. Or have a Chinese surgeon remove it.”
Chase looked down at the child, and then back up at Lena.
Lena sat up and shook her head. “Stop. I told you, that won’t work.”
“You aren’t worried about his well-being?”
She leaned forward, giving him a deadpan stare. “No. I’m really not.”
Chase could feel his face redden. “Then why do you nurse him?”
She shrugged. “A transactional arrangement.”
He forced himself to breathe, trying to remain composed.
Lena said, “So you have nothing to offer me, and your only leverage is some sort of pathetic appeal to my non-existent motherly instincts. If your superiors allow me to go on an operation with you, I’ll likely escape. And I’ll let the Chinese know just how important this scientist is to you. You must already know that.” Lena nodded toward the mirror lining the side of her room. “Collinsworth certainly knows that, watching us from behind the glass. So then why are you really here?”
Chase was beginning to wonder the same thing.
Before he could answer, Lena said, “Ah. You’re here because you guys are losing. Something big happened, didn’t it? That’s what you haven’t told me. And whatever this scientist has can change your fortunes. Or so you think. Chase, you should know that nothing you do will matter. We’ve gamed out every scenario. You’re just delaying the inevitable.”
“Still a believer, eh?”
Lena narrowed her eyes. “Yes, I am. Don’t waste any more of your time. It’s finite.”
Chase took one more look at the child and sighed. Then he walked to the door and knocked. It opened and Chase left, shutting the door behind him.
Chase walked around the corner and entered the observation room.
The psych evaluator said, “Look, folks, we’ve been over this. She’s like a robot. She hasn’t named the child. Doesn’t look at him. Just feeds him and hands him back to the nurse. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
Chase said, “If she doesn’t care about the baby, why does she agree to feed him?”
The psych evaluator said, “It was one of our initial bargains after the birth. Lena said she wanted books to read and exercise equipment. We told her that she would have to nurse the child. Her idea.” He pointed at Susan.
Chase said, “She really doesn’t care about her own child?”
David said, “I’m not so sure. If she really wanted out of here, why would she have been so eager to point out our risk? If she wanted to escape, or wanted freedom, she should play the part. Lena’s always been deceptive. Why would this be any different?”
“So, what, then?” Chase said. “She wants to stay here?”
Susan and David both nodded.
David said, “I think we should…”
Chase held up his hand. “Shh! Wait. You hear that?”
The room went quiet.
The distant whining of a siren was barely audible over the hum of the air conditioning unit.
“Is that… is that the air raid siren?”
The attack was launched from Chinese stealth bombers and submarines.
Three Chinese H-20 stealth bomber aircraft had taken off from China two days earlier. Their last stop was a refuel at the Chinese-held base in Manta, Ecuador.
The H-20 was an ambitious and highly secretive project modeled after the American B-2 and B-21 stealth bomber programs. Slower than supersonic bombers such as the American B-1, the H-20 was stealthy and capable of carrying a large payload of long-range cruise missiles. These particular aircraft carried the newest generation of electronic attack cruise missiles, which the Chinese launched from a position one hundred miles north of Venezuela.
In the years before the war, the targeting data for these incoming missile tracks would have been detected by signals intelligence satellites and relayed to all American air defense forces via encrypted satellite datalink communication. But in the war between China and America, the days of uninhibited satellite communication were over. Now, US military datalink existed through a patchwork of semi-reliable drones and line-of-sight links.