Five shots in rapid succession sounded. Paul thrust himself flat on the ice. He hadn’t heard any hits nearby. He hated this waiting, this not knowing.
With an oath, he threw himself at the ridge, putting his rifle on it. Using the scope, he scanned the base.
The shots—he saw a man kneeling by two Chinese soldiers. They were near the derrick, the one the two-man team had been strapping demolitions to. The man had a big gun in his hand. This man lacked the fur hat without earflaps. He had a woolen hat, the kind everyone at the oil rig used. With a shock, Paul recognized Red Cloud. The Algonquin had killed the two demo-men.
Using his sight, Paul scanned the camp. He saw two more roly-poly soldiers crawling toward Red Cloud. Taking quick aim, Paul fired, missed, then fired the rest of the magazine, killing one while the other leapt up and ran like mad out of sight.
As Paul shoved in another magazine, he heard three shots. They were the same kind of shots he’d heard before. Several seconds later, Red Cloud appeared from behind a hut. The Algonquin aimed his gun at the sky and fired twice. Then he cupped his hands, shouting.
Paul barely heard the words: “Hurry in, Kavanagh! We have to leave before the others come back.”
-8-
Decisions
Anna Chen sat alone in a large room in the White House basement. The room contained a massive table and big, cushioned chairs. There were old-style books on a shelf, and a wall computer-scroll on mute. On the scroll, it showed Susan Salisbury’s earnest features as she explained something to the audience.
Was it possible to stop the coming war? Anna couldn’t see how. It still shocked her to see the two wrecked carriers. The Chairman was deadly serious, and war with the most populous and richest country on Earth was about to begin.
A pair of double doors opened abruptly. Three men strode in. The first was Colin Green. The second was the President of the United States, a tallish, good-looking man with the sides of his hair graying. He seemed like a movie actor to Anna. The third was a large, overweight man with wisps of messy hair scattered over his otherwise bald head. He was the Secretary of State and wore a rumpled suit.
The Secretary of State halted, and he glanced at Green. “Is this another sexual harassment case among your staff?”
“No, nothing of the kind,” said Green. “Please forgive him the rude joke,” he told Anna.
She nodded guardedly.
Colin Green introduced Anna, telling the others she had a PhD in Chinese Studies and that she’d written Socialist-Nationalist China.
“An informative book,” the Secretary of State said. He slid out a chair and sat down heavily.
“Mr. President,” Green said, holding out a chair for him.
The President waved Green aside, sitting down without help. He sat across the table from Anna, inspecting her.
“Colin tells me you knew something about the attack before it happened,” the President said.
Anna glanced at Green before she said, “Yes, sir.”
“She should have told someone in authority,” the Secretary of State said.
“A good idea,” Green said quickly. “At least she forwarded a memo. I’m sure she thought that was good enough. It would have been under normal circumstances. Ms. Chen,” Green said, turning toward Anna. “You have my full permission to come and see me at any time if you have further information.”
“Thank you, sir,” Anna said.
“Enough, Colin,” the President said. “Ms. Chen, you believe the Chinese attacked our carriers?”
“Yes, sir,” she said. And she outlined what she had told Colin Green the day before.
“In your opinion, why would they make such an underhanded attack against our carriers?” the President asked.
“I believe the Chinese are using their naval exercise as a screen for a sudden land attack,” Anna replied. “They’ve loaded up an unusual number of naval brigades, and the Chinese Army rolled a regiment of T-66 multi-turreted tanks onto fast cargo ships. Maybe as telling, the ice-mobile formations in Ambarchik Base in East Siberia have been receiving mass air-shipments of supplies and air-mobile companies.”
“You’re better informed than the Pentagon,” the President said, bemused.
“Sir, I believe the Chinese objective is Alaska and particularly the oilfields.”
“Tell me why?”
“I’m not completely certain as to why,” Anna said. “But I believe the key is the oilfields in Prudhoe Bay and ANWAR, together with the oil rigs in the Arctic Ocean. They represent a large supply of crude. Maybe the Chinese are trying to corner the oil market. Their interior rice riots likely frightened the Party. Maybe with the oil market cornered, they can dictate world food prices.”
The President nodded. “I wish I would have learned of this sooner. Now with two carriers destroyed…I don’t see how we can stop this diplomatically.”
Anna leaned forward. She’d been thinking about this for some time. “Sir, I have a suggestion. The Politburo’s Ruling Committee is seldom unanimous. There are strong personalities on the committee vying for power as the Chairman’s grip weakens. Deng Fong, Jian Hong, Admiral—” She shook her head. “The names don’t matter now. My point is that maybe you can shake their resolve.”
“I’m not sure I follow you,” the President said.
“I can’t believe Deng Fong is in favor of war. Maybe you can scare the others with American resolve. Show the Chairman this was a mistake.”
“The Joint Chiefs are showing me how to do that, Ms. Chen. They talk about an ASBM assault on the Chinese Fleet.”
“You just spoke about fixing this diplomatically, sir. I realize blood has been spilled, and it is hard to reset the clock. But this is Greater China we’re talking about.”
“What is your point?”
Anna glanced at the Secretary of State. He looked stern, angry. Colin Green seemed worried. Anger smoldered in the President’s eyes.
“Sir,” Anna said, “I suggest you call the Chairman. He will want to speak with you.”
“Why?” asked Clark.
Anna said this carefully as the President and his advisors were proud, powerful men. “The Chairman believes himself to be very persuasive. In both the Siberian War and against Taiwan, he lied to those he was attacking. He lied in order to get them to drop their guard. Both Siberia and Taiwan were too weak to resist Chinese arms for long. Therefore, the leaders of both countries were eager for any possible solution short of war. Those leaders took a risk and believed the Chairman’s promises. They were psychologically primed, so they grasped at straws. The Chairman, however, believes he possesses a golden tongue, that it was his speaking gift that bewildered the Siberian and Taiwanese leaders into making foolish decisions. Several analysts now see this as his signature tactic. In the Tokyo Interview, the Chairman said that a few words leading others in the wrong direction saved thousands of Chinese lives. He asked which was worse, to speak falsely in a needed time or to let others spill his people’s precious blood.”
“You believe the Chairman will lie to me?” the President asked.
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“He will attempt to trick me, as you say.”
Anna nodded.
“Why should I speak with him then?” the President asked.
“To give him a lie,” Anna said, “to attempt to sow discord in the Ruling Committee.”
“Go on…” said the President.
“During the call you should tell him you’ve strengthened Alaska with secret reinforcements. Tell the Chairman that you know he’s attacking, that you’ve known of his buildup all along and have taken steps accordingly.”