“There have even been unconfirmed reports that commandos from the Taiwanese army have been operating on the mainland, helping to foment the unrest.”
“We have also been informed that we have twelve hours to leave the country or face arrest. Xenophobia is sweeping the Revolutionary Council and China is closing its borders to the outside world.”
“This will be our last broadcast as—”
“Nothing from the CIA or NSA?” Kelly asked as Quinn turned the volume down.”
“Some troop movements. The Twenty-sixth Army is indeed being moved in near the capitol. The PLA is doing a shell game, moving units away from where they were conscripted and putting them where they’ll be more likely to shoot at the local populace if ordered to do so.”
“And the Taiwanese?” Kelly asked.
“According to the CIA the Recce Commandos, part of the Taiwanese special forces, have infiltrated several teams into mainland China to do exactly as the reporter said. And China is closing off from the rest of the world.” Quinn looked up from his computer screen. “Do you think this site in China is important?”
“I don’t know,” Kelly said. “Turcotte and Nabinger did, and obviously whoever is pulling strings from Antarctica thinks it is. I just wonder who is who here and what their motives are.”
“Well, whoever this STAAR is, they sure have a lot of power,” Quinn noted.
“We need to keep an eye on things in case Turcotte and the others need help.” Kelly knew that Quinn would give her information, but he would not help her try to stop the mission.
“Already on top of that.”
“What about the person from STAAR who took over your bouncer?” Kelly asked. Quinn shrugged. “She seems to be waiting.” “For what?” “Your guess is as good as mine.”
The duty officer for the 1st Special Operations Squadron (1st SOS), home-based out of Okinawa, looked up as the secure SATCOM terminal machine nestled in the corner hummed with an incoming message. He put down his book and went over to the machine. After five seconds the humming stopped and the message was spit out. The man’s eyes widened as he read the message.
CLASSIFIED: TOP SECRET ST-8
ROUTING: FLASH
TO: CDR 1ST SOS/ 1ST SOW/ MSG 01
FROM: NATIONAL COMMAND AUTHORITY VIA CIA
SUBJ: ALERT/TANGO SIERRA/AUTH CODE: ST-8
REQ: ONE MC-130
DEST: OSAN AFB/ROK
TIME: ASAP
POINT OF CONTACT: CODE NAME ZANDRA, CIA
END: TBD
CLASSIFIED: TOP SECRET ST-8
The duty officer grabbed the phone and punched in the number for the commander’s quarters.
“That’s Qian-Ling,” Nabinger said, tapping a satellite photo that showed a large mountain. He was looking at the satellite and thermal imagery tacked to hastily erected plywood bulletin boards. The others followed him. They had landed at Osan less than ten minutes ago and an Air Force major had immediately escorted them into this hangar, past the armed guards standing next to the door, and then left them alone.
Turcotte peered at it. “Big target area. How do we find Che Lu and get into it?”
They all turned as the door slid slightly open and a figure stepped in. “Fancy meeting you here,” Turcotte said as he recognized the tall, slender form.
“Captain Turcotte, Dr. Duncan, we’ve met,” the woman said. She turned to the other person. “Professor Nabinger, my name, as far as you are concerned, is Zandra.”
Nabinger raised a bushy eyebrow. “Greek?”
“It’s just a code name,” Zandra said, a bit taken aback. She gestured around the room. “We have all the information we can gather about Qian-Ling here for your use, including imagery from Aurora.”
“What’s the plan?” Turcotte asked.
“This is the launch site, and I will be your FOB commander,” Zandra began, only to be interrupted by Duncan.
“You are going to have to speak English here. Launch site for who and what is an FOB?”
“An FOB is a forward operating base,” Turcotte explained. “In Special Forces it’s the headquarters with operational control of deployed elements.” He indicated his two comrades. “Are we to be the deployed element?”
Zandra shook her head. “You will have a Special Forces split A-team accompanying you, Captain. And only you are going.”
“Split A-team?” Duncan asked.
“An A-team has twelve men on it,” Turcotte said. “A split team is six men, with each specialty: weapons, demolition, medical, and communications; represented by one man, plus a commander and intelligence expert.”
“I’m going too.” Nabinger stepped forward.
Zandra shook her head. “Captain Turcotte can relay back via digital video any information they find in Qian-Ling or get from Professor Che Lu. You’re too valuable to—”
“I’m going or you’re not getting my assistance.”
Zandra stared at him for a few seconds. “It’s the tomb, isn’t it? Can’t pass up the opportunity?” She didn’t wait for a reply. “Fine. You can go.”
“And I’m staying here with you,” Duncan said, earning herself a sidelong look from Zandra.
“Where’s the split team?” Turcotte asked, feeling more comfortable knowing that he would have six men with him who were part of his Green Beret brotherhood.
“Already isolated next door. They’ve been planning since they were alerted,” Zandra said. “They don’t know the actual objective, just where you are going and that they are to get you in and out in one piece.”
“Does that mean alive?” Nabinger asked.
“That would be beneficial to mission accomplishment,” Zandra said without the slightest crack of a smile.
“How are we getting there?” Turcotte asked.
“MC-130. The plane is en route from Okinawa,” Zandra said. “It’s the quickest and safest way in.”
Turcotte turned to Nabinger. “Have you ever parachuted?”
Nabinger’s eyes got wide. “Wait a second! Parachuting?”
For the first time there was some amusement in Zandra’s eyes. “You want to see the tomb, you jump. Don’t worry, at five hundred feet it’s just falling off the back ramp of the plane. The static line will open the chute and then you land.”
Turcotte looked at the woman more closely. “This doesn’t give us much time. We’ll be going in tonight.”
“That should not be a problem. The team has been doing your mission planning for you. They’ll be briefing back shortly. You just go for the ride and to discover whatever Airlia artifacts, if any, are in Qian-Ling. You try to make contact with Che Lu and find out what she knows. Then you come home.” Zandra turned toward the satellite imagery. “By the way, we believe that Che Lu and her party have been sealed inside the tomb by the PLA, so you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
“Stop,” Che Lu ordered, although the command was unnecessary, for once she stopped her slow and careful steps along the tunnel, the students all froze behind her.
“Turn off the light,” she ordered, and Ki complied.
They were bathed in blackness. Che Lu blinked, and peered down the tunnel. “There,” she said, pointing. There was the faintest of glows ahead, just the tiniest smudge of something in the inky darkness.
“Come on,” she said. Ki turned the light back on and Che Lu held the bamboo pole in front of her, the cloth hanging down to the ground. Slowly they made their way toward the light.
As they got closer, Che Lu could see that it was a small beam of light crossing the tunnel from upper left to lower right. She wondered if it was another one of the killing beams until she got even closer and could tell it was daylight. She felt a lightening of her heart as she stepped up close to the shaft. It came in from a hole in the upper left of the corridor about six inches square. The beam crossed and disappeared into another hole the same size in the lower right.