But he wasn’t.
He was conflicted. Whether it was remnants of love or lust, or some strange kindred spirit warrior-spy understanding, Chase had an intense desire to find her. What he would do if he found her, he wasn’t sure.
Chase turned to Tetsuo. “Just give me twenty-four hours.”
“No.”
“The planes are leaving nonstop. We still have a few days.”
“Hell no.”
“Let’s at least discuss it…”
Tetsuo looked at him sideways. “Listen, white boy. In case you haven’t noticed, this is Tokyo. See those guys wearing the red flags? They don’t like you. You won’t be able to operate here anymore. Chase. Let it go. You ain’t gonna find her. Get on the plane. Follow your orders. Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”
Chase let out a slow breath through his nostrils. Another jumbo jet took off from the runway.
“Here comes my boy.” Tetsuo’s fellow CIA officer exited the private aviation terminal and headed towards their car. Tetsuo rolled down the window as he walked up. “Everything good?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of isn’t good.”
“I know the guy at the desk. We should be alright. Plane lands in a few minutes. Wheels up another thirty after that. We’ll have five of our VIPs from the embassy on board. Chase here makes six. No empty seats. Pilots are American, and both check out. I’ll go to the other car and brief the State Department folks.”
“So what gives?”
“They say people have been calling around. Government folks asking for passenger manifests.”
Tetsuo looked at Chase.
“What?”
Tetsuo nodded in the direction of the Chinese intelligence operatives over by the commercial terminal. “Those MSS guys are probably looking for some high-value targets to snatch and grab, if they can get away with it. I’m sure you’re on their list.”
In the distance, another gray sedan parked in back of the first one. An Asian man exited the rear vehicle, walked up to the lead vehicle and began speaking to the driver.
Tetsuo said, “As long as they stay over there, we should be good. There’s plenty of official security over there. They probably don’t realize that we’re getting special transports for our VIPs at the business terminal.”
Tetsuo’s CIA colleague standing outside the car said, “Alright, I’ll be back momentarily. Chase, good luck.”
Tetsuo rolled up the window.
Chase shook his head. “This whole situation is just wrong. Tucking our tails and leaving like this. You know how much military equipment we’re leaving behind?”
“They’re loading most of the important stuff onto ships now.”
“They really aren’t, though. It would take months to do it right. No, we’re going to be forced to leave a ton of supplies, ordnance, and data behind at all of those bases. They’ll destroy what they can, but that takes time, and they have very little time. So what will happen is the Chinese are going to take it all.”
Tetsuo shrugged. “Shock and awe, man. And the will of the people. We lost the opening battle, and the international community isn’t behind us.”
“Fuck them.”
“Yeah, well, our new president thought differently.”
“Him too, then.”
“You find out where they’re going to send you yet?”
Chase said, “Some task force. The orders didn’t say much about what I’ll be doing. All I know is I’m supposed to meet with someone in San Diego once I get off the plane.”
“Agency?”
“I don’t think so. The cable gave a name and location and said to await further instructions.” Chase sighed. “What about you?”
“We’ll go dark. Start running agents and sending info back however we can. It’s going to be a whole new ballgame once Japan becomes Chinese-occupied Japan. The world has changed, my friend. The world has changed.”
Chase swore softly. A Gulfstream taxied up near the terminal in front of them, the high-pitched whine of its engines loud enough that Tetsuo rolled up his window.
“Looks like this is it.”
Chase held out his hand. Tetsuo took it and shook firmly. “Be safe.”
Ten minutes later, Chase was on the aircraft. Everyone was buckled in and the door had been shut.
The pilot’s voice came over the speaker. “Just a few moments, ladies and gentlemen, and we’ll be off the ground.”
Out Chase’s cabin window, he could see Tetsuo and his CIA companion sitting in their Toyota. Two gray sedans pulled up behind them, cutting off their ability to move. Chase gripped his seat belt and moved closer to the window. For a brief moment, he contemplated running out of the aircraft and going to help.
Several men wearing red-and-yellow armbands got out of the car. Two of them were pointing weapons at the CIA men. Shit. Chase tried to think of something he could do.
Then he spotted Tetsuo. He was looking right at the plane. Right at Chase. Their eyes met. Tetsuo had an almost imperceptible smile and shook his head ever so slightly.
A flash of gunfire and spiderweb cracks in the glass, blood on the pavement.
The two armed men who had been standing outside Tetsuo’s vehicle were on the ground, unmoving. Tetsuo’s car door opened and he stepped out, towering over the bodies. His movements were deliberate, calm, and swift. He raised his pistol and began firing into the driver’s side of one of the sedans. Tetsuo’s colleague was also out of the vehicle, firing into the other sedan.
The other passengers on the plane were now watching. Chase heard a few gasps of breath, but no one spoke or cried out. They just watched in tense silence. Outside their window, the violent spasms of a fresh new war played out.
The plane jolted forward and began taxiing, faster than normal. Just before Chase lost sight of Tetsuo, he saw him fire at a man running away on the street. The running man took three bullets in the back and collapsed onto the pavement.
Tetsuo was right. The world had changed.
12
Admiral Manning stood behind his polished wood desk, thumbing through blue folders filled with documents. An ornately decorated chestnut inbox was filled to the brim with stacks of the blue folders. Orders, status reports, and approvals. Everyone seemed to need his signature. The cover page of each folder was signed off in rank order by the appropriate chain of command. He would never get through the pile. Eventually the strike group’s chief of staff, a Navy captain, would sign most of them and bring the admiral only the most important documents.
Like the message that was now resting on his leather desk pad.
FROM: USPACCOM
TO: FORDCSG
SUBJ: OPERATION DILIGENT PROTECTOR
US-CHINA CEASE-FIRE IN EFFECT. ALL US MILITARY AND CIVILIAN DEPENDENTS STATIONED IN JAPAN AND KOREA UNDER MANDATORY EVACUATION, ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION TWO WEEKS. FORD CSG WILL PROVIDE SECURITY AND ESCORT AS NEEDED FOR ALL US-BOUND WARSHIPS AND SEA TRANSPORTS, AS WELL AS ALL MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL AIR TRAFFIC IN PACIFIC THEATER.
“They’re ready for you, sir.”
Admiral Manning looked up at Lieutenant Kevin Suggs, the tall African-American Navy fighter pilot standing across from him. Suggs was the admiral’s personal aide, or Loop.
“Okay, thanks. Any news from the SAG?” Surface action group — the group of Navy ships that had been sent along the southern half of the Pacific.
The admiral’s Loop said, “Minimal damage, sir. USS Farragut’s crew is all present and accounted for.”