“Yes?”
“They are lazy. And undisciplined. Not the same quality of soldier we are used to dealing with. These men have never seen combat.”
“We don’t need these men to win the war for us. We do need them to help support our supply chain as we begin to mass our forces. Do you foresee any problems with that?”
The captain shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He looked back at the gaggle of men cleaning rifles on the wooden counter on the other side of the covered area, then looked back at Lena. “If I may ask, ma’am, when will it all begin?”
“Soon,” she said.
The captain took her to his commander, a lieutenant colonel who recognized Lena on sight. It wasn’t hard. Just look for the half-beautiful, half-scarred Chinese woman who was almost six feet tall.
Still, the Chinese officer showed her nothing but respect, and Lena thought to herself that he must have been briefed by his superiors. She wondered how that conversation went. There will be a woman coming. Do whatever she says. She has the ear of our leadership. And a penchant for violence.
“Good day, Colonel.”
“Good day, Miss Chou. I am pleased that you have joined us. I have been instructed to make myself and my men available to you. I assure you, whatever you need is yours.”
They sat at his desk, situated in the corner of the command post tent. Dim artificial lights. The sound of a generator running outside. Cables and wires ran along the floor. There were very few computers. Charts were sprawled out over a large center table. Half a dozen Chinese soldiers were working on them, with a few Ecuadorian officers in tow.
A light rain fell outside. She could see it through the tent’s open entryway, and could hear the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the tarp overhead.
“Colonel, what are your standing orders?”
He looked around the room, taking in who was in earshot. “My orders are to train our partners in Ecuador, and make preparations for a large influx of reinforcements on this base.” He smiled. “Reinforcements beyond these young college students who I am told will start arriving soon.”
He was referring to the thousands of Junxun candidates who were to begin arriving today. He continued, “I am told to expect heavy military reinforcements at any time — by sea and air.”
She nodded. “And after the reinforcements arrive?”
He stared back at her, not saying a word.
“Good. That is the correct answer, if anyone asks. I take it that the Ecuadorian military is in the dark.”
“That is correct. As are many of my own men.”
“How is the training with the locals going?”
He took in a breath. “I have been a part of several cross-training evolutions over the past few years. As you likely know, our nation has begun supplying several Latin American countries with weapons and military systems. These pieces of hardware are not simple. They are quite advanced and require much training to become proficient.”
She caught movement outside the tent. About fifty yards away, Natesh was headed toward them with a few Ecuadorian soldiers. One had a bright silver star on the center of his cover. She turned back to the colonel. “And?”
“And there is not the same sense of urgency and professionalism here,” he said. “It’s just a job to them. They don’t think they will ever use these skills in combat. The Ecuadorian soldiers arrive in the morning, they do the minimum, and they are home each night. We’ve worked with the Venezuelans, the Ecuadorians, Bolivians and some in Argentina. I don’t have confidence in the ability of these men to fight. The just don’t have the motivation.”
“I understand. What is their role at the Manta base?”
“They still see it as their base. So they are standing perimeter security. We are only just now beginning to get our defenses operational. Surface-to-air missiles, radar, and such.”
Natesh and the party of Ecuadorian soldiers entered the tent. Natesh had a worried look on his face. As he made eye contact with Lena, he mouthed, “Sorry.”
She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. No problem, my friend. This is what I want.
The Chinese lieutenant colonel Lena had been speaking with rose to his feet. He saluted the Ecuadorian man with the star on his cover. “Good morning, sir. How may I—”
Red-faced, the Ecuadorian general spewed forth spittle as he screamed. Lena’s Spanish wasn’t as good as it had once been, but she understood what he said. “Who the hell is this Chinese puta who dares to summon me on my own base?”
All the people working in the command post tent stopped what they were doing and turned. No one spoke.
The general looked Lena up and down. He contorted his face as he saw her scars. “What the fuck happened to you? Are you the puta who thinks she can tell me what to do?”
He walked up to her, standing a foot away. “I am the commanding officer on this base. I am a general. You have no authority over me. I let you Chinese onto our base because our country has agreements with yours on training and weapons sales. But I can make you leave anytime I want. Don’t you dare send your Indian servant to come get me ever again. Do you understand me?”
His men stood behind him, smirking at the dressing-down. They were fat, Lena noticed, and their uniforms were sweat-stained. One of them was eyeing Lena’s chest.
Lena had come to her feet when they entered. She did so out of habit, more than out of respect. She said, “General, do you speak English? I assume that you don’t speak Mandarin, and my Spanish is not very good.”
He glared at her and said, “I speak English.”
She spoke softly. A subdued tone. She wanted him to think that he had power over her. “General, I would like to apologize for any appearance of impropriety. Surely I did not mean to imply that you were subservient to me. Clearly, you are a great military leader. I expect that you are an accomplished strategic planner. A brilliant tactician who can teach our Chinese soldiers many things.”
The Ecuadorian general narrowed his eyes at her. “I could teach the Chinese many things if I had the time. But I am a busy man. This is not my job. You Chinese are here to teach my men how to use the weapons that you have sold us. That is all we need.”
She nodded respectfully. “Of course, of course.”
The general said, “I don’t know why we need so many of you here. But if that is what our military leaders have agreed to, then so be it.”
She walked over to the large map spread out on the center table. The men who stood there, silently staring, moved out of the way. “Now, General, as you are in charge of this base, I hope you don’t mind walking us through the security positions that you have set up? Natesh, the colonel, and I wish to be well versed in what—”
The general held up his hand. “I told you that I don’t have time for this. I do not answer to you. Now you listen to me, puta, this is the last time I will be speaking with you. Who are you? Are you with the weapons manufacturer? The Chinese government?”
She said, “I represent the interests of China.”
He spat on the floor. “You will work with someone on my staff. Unless…” He smiled and examined her body, then turned and said something in rapid Spanish. Laughter from his entourage. “No, I think this Chinese puta is not good-looking enough even for that. Perhaps with a bag over her head to cover those scars?” He stood over her, smirking.
Lena could see Natesh flush, and the Chinese lieutenant colonel tense up, looking to her for direction. She didn’t flinch. She just stared silently into the eyes of the Ecuadorian general.