“Indeed,” Renard said. “Your government has tapped most of its financial reserves to subsidize several key industries, the airline industry especially.”
Wu’s fork tinkled into an empty cocktail glass.
“I haven’t seen her in nine months,” he said. “We had talked about getting married, but then the war happened.”
“It’s funny,” Jake said, “how the rest of the world just calls it a blockade.”
Wu shifted in his seat as if preparing to launch a response, but Renard wanted to diffuse the emotion.
“Diplomats will call it what they want,” Renard said. “But we who fight together know the truth.”
“Damned straight,” Wu said.
“Today was a mighty victory, if I don’t say so myself,” Renard said. “But this war is far from over.”
“What’s next?” Jake asked.
An instinctive strategist, Renard had predicted the next several months of combat.
“We proved today that we can now punch through their blockade when needed,” he said. “The blockade will still hold, but its grip is loosened. Our victory today will enable the island to last, by my calculations, an additional six to nine months on top of the six months the experts predicted it had remaining before conceding.”
“Why can’t we just go kick their asses?” Wu asked. “They outnumber us four or five to one, but we’re better than they are all around. Our pilots, our surface combatants, and now even our submarines are better.”
“Easy young man,” Renard said. “Your submarines are still horribly outnumbered.”
“Then why are we backing off and doing this mercenary work for Pakistan?” he asked. “Aren’t they allies with the mainland anyway?”
A waitress brought their main courses. Steam rose from Renard’s cut of swordfish.
“Absent the Pakistani mission, what would you have the Hai Lang do?” Renard asked.
“Blast every damned Chinese submarine out of the water,” Wu said. “Take out some of their surface combatants, too.”
“Perhaps,” Renard said. “But the Chinese are already calling their submarines back to port. After losing three in one day, including two of their Kilos, they are going to reassess their submarine doctrine. They will analyze the defeat and realize that they have only one choice to reassert their impunity — sink the Hai Lang.”
Wu nodded.
“We could face them head on,” Renard said. “But consider that we instead deploy elsewhere. They will know we are at sea and will search local waters in vain. Their frustration in not finding us will become fear. Meanwhile, you and your comrades become more proficient in fighting the Hai Lang in the Pakistani-commissioned mission.”
“So you might view the Pakistani mission as a real world training exercise with the benefit of fooling the mainland by our lack of presence in the Straits?” Wu asked.
Renard swallowed a mouthful of swordfish. It had been overcooked.
“Before I leave, Commander Ye will be a master in handling the Hai Lang,” Renard said. “And you and your men will rival any wardroom and crew. As for doing the bidding of the Pakistanis, they may be allies of necessity with China, but they are the only submarine builder who will risk selling you submarines. You must look beyond this war and see your nation’s future.”
“It still doesn’t seem right,” Wu said. “We have the mainland against the ropes. We should throw more punches.”
In his mind, Renard advanced his projection of the strategic scenario. If successful, a knockout punch against the Chinese submarine fleet would be premature.
“And if so, then what?” he asked. “If you decimate half of the Chinese fleet, the blockade fails.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Wu said.
“Perhaps it would be victory,” Renard said. “Or perhaps it would beget escalation.”
“Yes,” Wu said. “I’ve seen it on the news. Some people predict that if we last through the blockade that they’ll try missile strikes to cripple our economy. Maybe even an amphibious landing of troops.”
“They prefer not to damage that which they wish to reunify, but failure at sea would leave them no option.”
“So there’s no hope?” Wu asked.
“The future is unpredictable. A rebel province may distract Beijing, an incident may create international sympathy for your island, or the Indians may attempt to reclaim lands the Chinese stole and divert their attention. There is always hope.”
Renard finished his dinner and checked that most of the others were nearing completion as he withdrew his Marlboros. He slid his gold-plated Zippo lighter underneath a cigarette, inhaled, and watched a smirk creep onto Wu’s face.
“You were an American naval officer, right?” Wu asked.
“That was a long time ago,” Jake said.
“You seem to remember a lot though,” Wu said, looking like he was straining to hold back an interrogation. “Some of the guys on the ship thought they recognized you. I know a couple of them are going to hit the Internet real hard tonight.”
“He was assigned to the USS Colorado,” Olivia said.
“You know,” Jake said, “for ex-CIA, you sure like to blurt things out. I had to pry you away from the computer to get you to eat, and all of a sudden you’re a bullhorn.”
“Wait!” Wu said. “You’re not one of the guys who went down with the Colorado in the reactor accident, are you? They said four guys died scuttling the ship.”
“They didn’t scuttle it,” Olivia said. “It sank—”
“Quiet!” Renard said. “We’ll discuss this on the Hai Lang. To foster trust, the crew will know the truth and be under order not to expose it. But not another word here.”
Renard leaned towards Wu and whispered.
“However,” he said, “since I am leading you and your countrymen into battle, I will admit that I share part of the responsibility for having sunk the Tai Chiang.”
“The lead ship of the stealth patrol craft?” Wu asked. “They told us it was sunk by a Chinese submarine.”
“Submarine, yes. Chinese, no. I’m sorry, but it was in large part our doing,” Renard said. “I will tell the details to you and any shipmate who wishes to hear the story — once we are deployed.”
Wu sat in an unreadable silence. Renard watched him, fearful that he may have lost his confidence.
“If this is a problem, please let me know,” Renard said. “If it upsets you, it may also upset your comrades.”
“I’ll wait to hear the details before passing judgment,” Wu said. “But some of my instructors at the Naval Academy knew the commanding officer of the Tai Chiang. According to them, you did the fleet a favor.”
CHAPTER 27
Olivia crept through a stark corridor that reminded her of a well-kept two-star hotel. The pinstriped wallpaper appeared sterile and the beige carpet drab.
She reached the door to Jake’s quarters and knocked.
Jake opened the door.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
“Sure.”
She entered what was the equivalent of a hotel room at the Keelung officers’ quarters. She stepped to the middle of the room, thought of nothing to say, and felt stupid.
I’m being presumptuous, she thought.
She felt him creep up behind her. Like slinking pythons, his arms slid over her shoulder. He kissed her neck.
“This is complicated now, isn’t it?” she asked.
“The only complicated thing is can I keep from laughing at that bandage on your head.”