Susan said, “What do you mean, we need one? Why?”
Diaz said, “You told me that you need evidence on what the Chinese are up to, right? Evidence that will prove to the Chinese leadership that there is a rogue element — a secret army — operating without its approval?”
“That’s the idea, yes,” said Susan.
“Well, we can’t very well show them our own signals intelligence that they’re operating in Ecuador. But if you get me one of those crypto keys, that’s China’s own technology. It would allow me to show the Chinese hard evidence of their own creation that would be easier for them to understand. Plus, it wouldn’t divulge any of our own closely guarded secrets.”
David said, “So we need to get one of the crypto keys from the Chinese?”
Diaz said, “Yes.”
“That doesn’t sound easy.”
“I imagine it wouldn’t be. But there’s something else. You know how I said that it operates on a ninety-six-hour reset?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s another obstacle you’re going to have to worry about. It’s a security measure. Every ninety-six hours, they change the codes. So if you steal one of these suckers, the codes it’s holding will only be good for ninety-six hours. After that, it turns into a big, heavy, useless black box.”
David said, “Oh. Good. So we have to steal one of the Chinese crypto keys, but it’ll expire ninety-six hours after we steal it?”
“Yes.”
Susan, David, and the director met with General Schwartz as soon as the interrogation finished.
“Sir, we hit the jackpot. It appears that the Chinese have been sending transport aircraft to Manta, Ecuador. Air Force reconnaissance drones just confirmed the location, and our friends at the NSA confirmed the method of hiding the military assets. We believe that they’re sending troops and supplies there. Some of the transport jets remain on the Red Cell island. When the aircraft that are headed to Ecuador overfly the island, they are changing out their identification, using special crypto keys. These are the pieces of hardware that identify the military asset on the Chinese network. We now believe that the military assets working for Jinshan and Admiral Song have their own unique crypto keys. They can use these to talk with and locate each other, without the rest of the Chinese military leadership knowing about it.”
The general said, “Why would they do that?”
“Because they aren’t telling everyone in their chain of command what they’re up to,” the director of the CIA said. “We don’t yet know how many of these Chinese military and intelligence personnel are aware that this is a rogue operation. But it is a rogue operation. We know that Cheng Jinshan and Vice Admiral Song are in on it. They’re not being forthright with their leadership.”
The general shook his head. “Unbelievable. So what then? We just need proof to show the Chinese president? They’ll execute Jinshan and the admiral tomorrow, right? My God… does this mean that we’re about to go to war with Iran all because of these two men?”
No one spoke.
Finally the director said, “We need to get hard evidence to show not just to the Chinese leadership, but also to our own politicians. I’m facing some fierce resistance in our own government whenever I broach the subject of China. There is so much intensity on Iran after the Beltway attacks, it’s hard to sway opinions. So, general, we’d like your help in drawing up plans to get that hard evidence.”
The general said, “Of course. What do you have in mind?”
Susan said, “We want to steal one of their new crypto keys from their base in Manta, Ecuador. They must have one there. These crypto keys would have the unique data, which our folks at the NSA can then clone. It would provide irrefutable proof of what they’re up to. It would also provide us a snapshot of where all these Chinese assets really are. We can then show this both to our political leaders, and to the Chinese leadership. If we can do that, our hope is that the Chinese hostilities would cease immediately, and we might even be able to scale back what’s going on with Iran.”
12
A loud whistle sounded over the 1MC throughout the ship, followed by, “Liberty call, liberty call. All hands, liberty call.” A muffled cheer could be heard below decks.
Victoria stood on the fantail, looking out on the pier. Seagulls flew over the vendors’ shops. The vendors were the local salesmen from Panama City who would sell trinkets and cigars to the throngs of sailors about to go out on liberty.
They had left port shortly after the terrorist attack on the D.C. Beltway, two weeks ago. It was a security precaution, ordered by the Navy. But Victoria agreed that it had been the prudent course of action. But after several months at sea with only a few port calls, everyone was pretty upset that they had only been able to get away for a few hours before being recalled.
She had given the same speech several times now. We need to be thinking about the lives of the men and women who were just taken from us. Our job is to protect and defend. No one should complain about something as petty as going out on liberty at a time like this. The speech rang true. She could see it in her men’s eyes.
But after two more weeks at sea, when Big Navy had reset the threat level in Panama, they had been allowed back in for another port stop. The captain had given his own speech about how the crew needed to represent the values of our nation, especially after something like the Beltway attack.
She wondered what was going on in the world. There were too many “Attacks” lately. The Dubai attacks. The Blackout Attack. Now, the Beltway attack. Was everyone losing their minds?
Victoria walked through the wardroom and found her pilots already in civilian clothes, chomping at the bit to get into the city. She shot them a crooked smile. “Where the hell do you guys think you’re going?”
Plug smiled back. “I’m taking Juan here into Panama City. He’s my liberty buddy. And he also happens to be a native Spanish speaker. Might come in handy.”
Juan rolled his eyes. “I don’t technically think you would call me a native Spanish speaker since I was born in the US, but my mother is Mexican and I can speak Spanish.”
Plug said, “Did you acquire your Spanish speaking skills at an early age?”
“Sí.”
“Are you able to produce fluent, spontaneous discourse in said language?”
“Sí.”
“That’s native enough to make sure I don’t get ripped off by the bartenders.”
“Sí.”
Victoria chuckled. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Plug said, “You sure you don’t want to go out on the town with us, boss?”
You could hear a pin drop as they waited for her to answer.
While they had invited her out with them the last time they pulled in, that had been the appropriate thing to do. She had accepted, and the polite “hanging out with her men” box had been checked, even if it had ended early. But she knew that the last thing any of them really wanted was for their boss to be out on liberty with them today. Especially Plug.
She said, “Well… I could have one of you guys stay here on duty tonight instead of letting you go out, now that I think about it…”
She looked at the expressions of the four junior officers. She made a face like she was thinking about it, trying to inflict as much pain as possible before declining.
The four pilots held their breath at the threat of losing the only thing that really mattered to them right now. Liberty was more than a meal and a few beers. On ships with little to no Internet, liberty was often the only time they could speak to their wives, families, and significant others. And that was the fuel that kept spirits alive during military deployments.