This one wasn’t expected.
The Chinese PLA captain who was in charge of the airfield’s flight operations called his superior, but he couldn’t be reached. So the captain cleared the aircraft for landing and sent out a team to taxi it in to the nearest hangar. He and his men watched it from the control tower with curiosity.
As the rear ramp went down, he was surprised to see a platoon of fully armed military police walk off and begin separating into groups, heading to different parts of the base, their leader shouting and pointing as they marched.
“Sir, there is the colonel,” one of the men said, the only one in the control tower to speak.
Indeed, the base commander had driven up to the aircraft in a jeep, with two other vehicles behind it. The military police filled them, and the small convoy raced off to the other side of the runway, where the barracks were located.
The military police were to arrest only one person on the base. The others were to stand down and await further orders. They were all to be recalled to China within the week, according to the senior ranking officer of the military police unit.
“Where is she?” the military police captain asked the base commander. His men had searched her quarters, but they were empty.
“The last report that I received on Lena Chou was that she was in her quarters with the Indian man.”
The base commander spoke the truth. Just like he was told, he had kept a close eye on her as soon as he had received the call from Beijing. One of his trusted lieutenants had been watching them this morning, and he was told to notify the base commander of any unusual activity.
They called the lieutenant over. The one that had been watching her from his own office window.
“Where are they?” demanded the military police captain.
“Sir, Miss Chou and Mr. Chaudry were in Captain Lin’s trailer this morning. I saw them go over there about an hour ago. I have been watching them as instructed. I did not see them leave.”
“Captain Lin?” the military police captain said.
The colonel said, “What of him?”
The military police captain was thinking that a Captain Lin was the one who had contacted them, letting the PLA military police know that Ms. Chou was the one they were after, and where she was located.
“Nothing. Where is his trailer?”
The man pointed to another trailer fifty meters away. “The last one in that column. He bunks with three other logistics officers.”
The military police vehicles raced over there, and a team of them entered. One of the men who went in came out a moment later. He looked like he would be sick.
The military police captain said, “What’s wrong with you? Are they not in there?”
The man shook his head.
Furious, the military police captain pushed by him and into the trailer.
Captain Lin lay on his bed. Blood running out of his mouth. A knife jammed into his chest.
The military police captain swore profusely and walked outside. After a few more minutes of arguing, the military police force was instructed to fan out and search the base.
Their efforts were fruitless. Lena Chou was gone.
David read the headline of the New York Times with delight.
IRAN-US Stand-Down as China Negotiates Truce
At the bottom of the front page, which would have been below the fold on an actual print version of the newspaper, was another headline.
China returns 18 Americans, apologizes to US — Rogue Chinese intelligence mastermind arrested
Chase walked up to his brother’s cubicle. “Pretty wild, right?”
David said, “There will be massive repercussions.”
“When does it say that the Americans are coming home from the island?”
“They’re in Korea now. It says that they’ll be transferred to the States within twenty-four hours.”
Chase looked proud. “You did great, David.”
“Thanks. You too.”
“Are you going to go back to In-Q-Tel?”
David looked around his CIA office space. “I don’t know if I can.”
“What, like they won’t let you?”
David shook his head. “No, I mean — there’s nothing that compares to the work they do here. It’s invigorating, being a part of something like this. The work the people at the CIA do… it really saves lives, and protects our country. It’s just so…”
“Fulfilling?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Chase nodded. “I get it. You don’t feel like the research you were doing was the same.”
David looked over at the group of CIA analysts a few desks down. Their normally serious faces were all smiles. They were gathered at a single desk, enjoying their morning coffee and basking in their recent victory.
The intelligence collection and analysis that they conducted lead to massive global decisions. The SILVERSMITH team had, in less than a week, stopped a war. It had freed American hostages. And it had saved American lives from a Chinese attack.
Most importantly, the intelligence community, including the NSA, DIA, and CIA, had illuminated the truth. In a world of ever-increasing moments of espionage and disinformation, it was these dedicated patriots that had saved the day.
David knew that preventing the US-Iran war was only part of it. Jinshan’s group had tricked the US and Iran into attacking each other, yes. But their real objective was much larger. By uncovering Jinshan’s plot, millions of lives might have been saved.
David still wasn’t sure if it would have been possible — but Jinshan was going to launch a Chinese invasion on the United States. Many of the other members of the SILVERSMITH team laughed at the idea. It wouldn’t have been achievable, they had argued. But a few weeks ago, they might have said the same thing about Jinshan’s other terrible achievements. David knew in his heart that his CIA team had prevented a large scale invasion on the United States of America.
Chase nodded to the New York Times article on David’s screen. “Does it say what’s going on in the Persian Gulf now?”
David read, “American and Iranian forces are both being ordered to stand down, as it now appears that many of the recent regional hostilities were triggered by a massive deception. Sources close to the White House are saying that rogue CIA agent, Lisa Parker, is now believed to have been working with Chinese billionaire Cheng Jinshan. These same sources say that there is now credible intelligence pointing to Jinshan as the one who ordered the assassination of Iranian politician Ahmad Gorji, the event that provoked the Iranian attacks on US military assets in the region. Incredibly, Jinshan also appears to have been the primary communicator responsible for the Iranian sleeper cell’s attack on the Washington, D.C., Beltway. Chinese diplomats have apologized profusely for these actions, which they claim were conducted in secret, without the knowledge or consent of Chinese leadership.”
Chase shook his head. “This is crazy.”
“I know.”
The brothers sat in silence for a moment. Finally Chase said, “You said you might not be able to go back to In-Q-Tel. So what, then?”
“I’ve actually been talking to Susan about sticking around here.”
“As an analyst?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
“But first, we plan on taking some vacation. Lindsay, the kids, and I.”
“Nice. Where at?”
David shrugged. “Henry Glickstein has a beach home near Destin, Florida. He’s down there now and offered to let us stay there. We might take him up on it.”
David could see his brother reading the article in the paper. “You’re looking for her, aren’t you?”