Dong shook his head. “That is when the Russians will become a threat.”
Jinshan looked intrigued. “The Russians?”
“Sooner or later the Russians will see that America will fall, once and for all. Up until this point, they will be happy to see Chinese and American militaries fighting each other. They will gladly ally themselves with the Chinese cause. But right before the final stage begins, after General Chen’s strikes on America’s military bases and air defense stations, as our PLA is readying for massive paradrops into the central US, as our amphibious landing on the American coastline is being readied, that’s when I would order the use of hypersonic weapons on Russian targets.”
Jinshan said, “And what exactly would your targets be?”
“I would consider a preemptive hypersonic missile attack targeting the Russian president. He is an unpredictable man. I would want to ensure the Russians are not able to order a nuclear strike.”
Jinshan took a sip of wine. “But what of the Russian successor? Wouldn’t he just pick up the mantle and have renewed incentive to attack Chinese interests?”
“No, Chairman Jinshan.”
“And why not?”
“Because if the Russian successor is not openly allied with us, he will fear the same end.”
Jinshan cocked his head. “An interesting thought. But too great a gamble, I think.”
General Chen smirked.
Jinshan turned to Secretary Ma. “Still… Minister Dong has a point. We allowed the Americans to destroy the vast majority of our nuclear capability. This makes us overly reliant upon the Russians serving as our nuclear deterrent proxy.”
Secretary Ma nodded. “We need our own deterrent.”
Jinshan said, “That would be better. The balance of power will continue to shift. As Minister Dong suggests, the Russians could become unstable. Unpredictable. The Americans themselves could even get desperate.”
“What is the solution?” Ma asked.
“We will need to develop one…” Jinshan said.
A knock at the door, and then one of Minister Dong’s assistants entered. “Excuse the interruption, sir, but you asked for any information regarding Miss Chou. We have some. It appears that Lena Chou escaped during the attack on the Florida base.”
Jinshan said, “Very good. Where is she now?”
“She sent a signal to one of our embedded agents and then went underground. We don’t know, sir.”
13
Lena and three CIA ground team members waited on the small plane. She looked out the aircraft window and saw David speaking with his brother Chase. She could guess their words by their body language: David was telling Chase not to trust her. Chase looked over his shoulder at the plane, seeing Lena staring back at them both. His eyes said, Don’t worry, brother, I don’t.
Chase boarded the US Army C-12, and the twin turboprop engines started up. Within a few moments they were airborne and flying southwest over the Gulf of Mexico.
Lena sat alone in her row, those in the rear no doubt watching her every twitch from behind. She understood their lack of trust. Lena hadn’t pledged loyalty to the United States. They simply had leverage over her. Everyone involved understood that the child — she still couldn’t bring herself to name him — was all that really mattered.
During the missile attack, Lena thought the end had come. She knew the game was up when they saw her hugging her boy. But she couldn’t help it. She needed to hold him. To let him feel her compassion, for once. She would do whatever it took to protect her child. And he certainly wasn’t safe living near her on some American military base.
They’d spent two days at a hunting cabin in the Alabama wilderness, where Susan went over the terms of their agreement in great detail. Lena’s child would be moved to safety. Lena would travel to South America with Chase and a small CIA team.
There she would make contact with the Chinese, help Chase smuggle the scientist out of the country, and return with them to the US. She would then be moved to a safehouse where she could be with the child, under the CIA’s “protection.”
“And what will I do?” she had asked. “Live out the rest of my days in peace? Picking flowers and raising my child in the American countryside?”
Susan shrugged. “If that’s what you want, yes. You’ll be taken care of.”
Lena didn’t point out that this part of the deal assumed that the United States still existed in the near future. She could feel their uncertainty when proposing the arrangement. From their preparatory brief, Lena now knew that the Chinese military presence in South America was growing by the day. Within a matter of weeks, the first ships in a massive convoy would arrive, and then the real threat would begin.
Ships could transport incredible amounts of troops and tanks. The Pacific Ocean had served as the moat keeping the US and China in a stalemate over the past year. But that was quickly changing.
The Americans were terrified of what would happen if the People’s Liberation Army began transiting up through Central America. Their economy strangled, their political allies isolated and neutered… America was losing. It would take time for this Chinese strategy to work, but they all knew it was coming.
The fact that the CIA would risk allowing Lena to betray them or escape told her just how valuable this technology was.
They might have leverage. But they were still sure as hell trusting her.
Chase had said, “We’ll keep the child safe; I promise. He will have a good home. David and I will make sure.”
While none of them knew it, those words had sealed the deal for her. Despite her continued loyalty to China, she believed that Chase and his brother would keep their word. She had spent enough time in the United States to understand the code of honor these men lived by.
“Mind if I sit here?” Her thoughts interrupted, she turned from the blue water outside the aircraft window and watched Chase sit beside her. The small propeller plane was very noisy, keeping their conversation private.
Chase said, “I’m sorry about that.” He indicated her scars.
“You should be,” Lena said, a hint of playfulness in her tone. “Is that why you don’t trust me? You think I’ll take revenge for letting me burn?”
“I don’t trust you because I saw you kill innocent people.”
Lena’s smile faded. “There are no innocent people. We are all sinners.”
“The occupants of that limousine near Bandar Abbas. The ones you killed with sniper fire?”
Lena shrugged.
“I saw you shoot an Ecuadorian officer at point-blank range in front of his men.”
“I’m not sorry about that one. That man deserved it.”
“Last year. Beijing. Rooftop garden. Televised all over the world. The Chinese president, his wife, and his daughter.”
Lena’s face grew darker. She didn’t say anything.
Chase nodded. “So, you do have regrets. Interesting.”
Lena began to respond but the words wouldn’t come.
Chase said, “I’m not trying to pick a fight. I just want you to know that I intend to hold you to your promise. You do your part. Make contact. Extract the information. We’ll take it from there. We will be watching you every step of the way.”
Lena said, “I trust that you’ll keep your promise, too.”
“You know I will.”
“I do.”
Chase rose and returned to the seat behind her. Lena leaned into the seat cushion and resumed staring out over the ocean.
She toyed with the idea of not honoring her contract with the Americans. She could warn the Chinese in Ecuador. Help them capture Chase and his team. Lena played out the options in her mind. What would happen if she betrayed them? Even if Lena went against her word, the Americans would still take care of her child. She was sure of that.