He took deep breaths, looking out over the distant rolling green hills, remnants of cloud filling the valley. There was nothing out here for hundreds of miles but this network of military bunkers. It had taken thousands of men years to make this structure. It had been sold as a doomsday bunker, but Jinshan had earmarked the project for a more planned scenario.
Running this war.
He had made sure that the builders had installed the best communications and computing equipment. Redundant systems. Adequate quarters not for just surviving, but for living and working over a prolonged period. Still, one needed to see daylight every once in a while.
He sighed. Was this all for naught?
“You wanted to see me, Chairman.”
Jinshan didn’t bother to turn. General Chen’s voice was distinct. At once arrogant and ignorant. Not a good combination. Jinshan didn’t often make mistakes in choosing personnel, but he hadn’t thought of General Chen’s position as one that needed anything more than a figurehead. A warm body to serve as his puppet. One that he could control.
But Jinshan hadn’t counted on his cancer and treatments lowering his strength so much. His weakness had left him out of commission just long enough for this oaf to stumble into making a real decision. And that decision had cost them. If the carriers of their Northern Fleet had remained in play, they might have been able to overcome the American air attack on the Southern Fleet. But now…
General Chen said, “The Liaoning has made it through the minefield with minimal damage.”
“And the ships that were escorting her?”
“A quarter of them have made it through.”
A quarter. Seventy-five percent losses. Unthinkable only a few days ago.
“The fleet is heading to Dinghai for replenishment and repairs.”
Now Jinshan turned. “You say this as if it is good news.”
“It is better than the alternative.” He looked as if he regretted saying it as soon as it came out.
“What alternative?”
The old general was wide-eyed, but he continued. “It is better than if the carrier had been sunk.” He still actually thought himself faultless, Jinshan realized.
Jinshan’s face contorted in disgust. “If you had not ordered our other carrier fleet to attack Hawaii early, this battle could have turned out differently.”
Even General Chen knew to be quiet now. The look in Jinshan’s eyes was the last vision of many men.
Jinshan waved him away. “Get out of my sight.”
Jinshan thought he heard a whimper as the general walked away. He almost had relieved Chen on the spot, but he would need to find a replacement first. Someone trustworthy and competent. A truly rare combination.
“Mr. Chairman, it has been thirty minutes, sir. We should go.” His security detail waited on the footpath to escort him back into his subterranean hell.
“Very well.” As he hobbled along the rocky path, he thought of Lena Chou.
Jinshan hated losing the battle, but a battle was not a war. He still had cards to play. His mind was already thinking up ways to overcome the loss.
But the thought of losing her. That hurt just as much. And to think that her ignorant father had had a part in it. She was Jinshan’s special creation. His prima ballerina. It was such a shame to lose her.
Lena sat in a small rectangular room, resting her elbows on a bare white table. Concrete floors. One long mirror taking up a full wall. She knew what was on the other side of that mirror. She used to sit in one of those seats.
God help her, Lena felt awful. Maybe she had caught something. Some kind of stomach bug. Or maybe it was this same feeling of anxiousness that she had been dealing with for the past few weeks. Whatever it was, she wanted to puke.
The door opened and in came a middle-aged white woman. Lena recognized her. She knew her by reputation, though not personally. Susan Collinsworth was a career operations officer within the Agency. She was hard-nosed and detailed.
And the look on her face told Lena that Collinsworth had information.
“What is it?” Lena asked. Her hands were cuffed, so she blew away the errant strand of long black hair that flowed down her face.
Susan’s expression changed slightly as the move exposed more of Lena’s facial burn scars.
Susan said, “The Chinese think you’re dead.”
Lena stared unblinking. “So?”
Susan placed a manila folder on the table. She tapped it. “There’s something in here you’ll want to know about.”
“So then tell me.”
“It may come as a shock.”
“Nothing shocks me anymore.”
Susan said, “We can help you.”
Lena let out a short laugh. “Unlikely.”
Susan turned the folder around and opened it to reveal two black pictures. Lena stared at the images, her mind trying to fit them into place. At first, she thought they were satellite images or some type of acoustic signature, but that wasn’t it. What the hell was she looking at? They almost looked like…
Lena’s face went pale. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
Susan said, “That’s to be expected, in your condition.”
This couldn’t be possible. She shook her head, staring at the images, then looking up at Susan’s face. The woman was calm. Lena knew that she was telling the truth. Because… because Lena herself had known it, deep inside.
“How…” Her voice faltered. She took a deep breath, then said, “Is it healthy?”
“Our doctor says that it is a healthy boy. So you really didn’t know?”
She shook her head, anger and shame rising up within her.
Lena was looking at the sonogram, breathing heavier. Then she stopped breathing as the thought occurred to her. She looked up at Susan. Does she know who the father is?
Susan said, “This changes things for you, Lena.”
Lena stared back across the table, a new set of emotions forming. A desire to protect this being inside her womb. And a most unfamiliar sensation: fear.
Susan said, “Now let’s talk about ways that we can work together.”
40
Chase sipped through the froth of his IPA and then guzzled down big gulps of cold beer.
Victoria watched him with one eyebrow arched. “Easy there, tiger.”
They sat in an open-air beer garden. Green trees and curated lawns, flagstone flooring, white-cloth table umbrellas and finished wooden lawn chairs. The place was full. Probably one of the first weekends that business was coming back, now that electricity and utilities had been restored.
It had been two weeks since the Battle of Johnston Atoll, as it was now known. The Chinese attack had been repelled, and the United States was on the mend. The patrons of the brewery looked happy. You could almost forget there was a war going on. But everyone was talking about some aspect of it.
David arrived at the table holding two more full glasses and placing one in front of his sister.
“What’s this place called again?” David asked. “It’s pretty great.”
“Stone Brewery. It’s good stuff,” Chase said.
Victoria raised her glass. “To Dad.”
The other two followed suit. “To Dad,” they said in unison and clinked glasses.
They ordered plates of hot appetizers and burgers. They spent most of the evening recounting tales of the past few weeks and remembering their father. It felt good to be together, even if it was only temporary.
“Where will you go now?” Victoria asked.
David said, “We’re both headed back to Florida tomorrow morning. I’ll be staying there, working on the same team I’ve been with.”