“So far Chinese state-run media has covered it up. No surprise there. But they are planning on acting next inside of Beijing, where there is a lot of international media and foreigners who can spread the word. That’s their main goal, starting a small fire that will grow and grow like the protests grew.
“They claim to have a well-trained force of over three hundred rebels, as well as small arms. They want to hit back against the Chicoms.”
Chavez was incredulous. “They want to take on the Army? Are they insane?”
Driscoll echoed the sentiment: “Excuse me if I don’t faint from excitement. They sound like lambs to the slaughter.”
Granger shook his head. “Obviously they are not going to topple the government with a counterinsurgency. Not with three hundred guys. Hell, not with three hundred thousand guys. But maybe we can use them.”
“Use them for what?” Ding asked.
“If a shooting war starts, Mary Pat wants assets in the capital city. These rebels are in place and might be just what we need. It’s hard to get a straight read on how successful they’ve been. The Chinese government makes out like they are a couple of mosquito bites, and the rebels are proclaiming that they are a gnat’s-ass distance from toppling the Communist government.”
Driscoll groaned. “I think we have to go on the assumption that, on this one issue, the official word from Beijing is closer to the truth.”
“I agree. But even if the rebels aren’t exactly an organized and elite fighting force, if we get over there with the right equipment and intelligence, we will provide a force multiplication effect.”
Ding asked, “What are their politics?”
Granger shrugged. “Confused. They are against the government — on that they all agree. Otherwise they are just a disparate band of students. Plus there are some criminals in the mix, folks on the run from the cops, AWOL soldiers.”
Chavez asked, “Are our document guys good enough to get us into Beijing?”
“Yeah. We can get you into the country, but you’ll be going in light.”
Gerry Hendley added, “Shit, you’ll be going in naked. You will be foreigners in a city that is wary of foreigners.”
Chavez said, “We’ll need to bring Caruso back for this. He can play Italian, at least in front of the Chinese.”
Hendley nodded, looked to Granger. Sam did not seem happy about it, but he said, “Do it. But not Ryan. Not there.”
Chavez said, “Okay. We get Caruso, and I’ll go. What about you, Sam?”
Driscoll was not sold. “Just trust the killers and thieves of Red Hand to take us to some untested rebel force. Is that the plan, basically?”
Granger replied, “You don’t have to do this.”
Driscoll thought it over and then said, “Under normal conditions, this would be way too thin to chance it. But I think we have to give it a shot.” He sighed. “What the hell, I’m in.”
Hendley nodded appreciatively, then said, “Damn lot of unknowns on this, guys. I am not prepared to green-light you for any action, but I will let you three go over there and sniff around. You meet with the rebels, send me your best impressions of what is going on, and together we’ll decide if this is something that we can pursue.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Chavez, and he looked at the other two men on his side of the desk.
“Works for me,” said Driscoll.
Granger stood up, signifying the end of the meeting. “Okay. Head down to operations and order a full identification portfolio for all three of you. Tell ops to double-time the credentials but do their best work. No one down there goes home until you have what you need. I don’t care if they are here all night, you will get your credos. Catch any flak and have them give me a call.”
Ding stood and shook Sam’s hand. “Thanks.”
Hendley shook the men’s hands and said, “You guys just be careful. Pakistan in January was no cakewalk, I know, but the Chinese are several orders of magnitude more competent and dangerous.”
“Roger that,” said Ding.
SIXTY-TWO
Mr. President?”
Jack Ryan woke to see the night watch officer standing over his bed. He sat up quickly; he was, after all, getting used to this. He followed the Air Force officer out into the hall before Cathy woke.
He joked softly as they walked: “I get more news overnight than during the day.”
The NWO said, “The secretary of state wanted me to wake you. It’s all over television, sir. The Chinese are saying American pilots are flying covert missions in Taiwanese aircraft.”
“Shit,” said Ryan. It was his idea, it was secret, and now it was on the news. “Okay, get the gang together. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
How did they find out?” Ryan asked the table full of his best military and intelligence advisers.
Mary Pat Foley said, “Taiwan is full of Chinese spies. Word leaked somehow. A Marine pilot was shot down and then rescued by a fishing trawler. That one event probably doubled the number of people who knew about the covert operation.”
Jack knew the real world had a habit of intruding on his best schemes.
He thought it over for a moment. “I’m reading the daily reports on our pilots’ activities. They are providing a real benefit to the ROC. Taiwan would have suffered tremendous losses to the Chinese if not for our operation.”
Burgess agreed. “Taiwan is there for the taking. A couple dozen American pilots can’t change that. But if the PLAAF had racked up another twenty-five air-to-air kills, the morale in the ROC would have already hit rock bottom, and there would be a groundswell of Taiwanese ready to throw in the towel. I’m very glad we’ve got our well-trained jet jocks over there giving it back to the Chinese.”
Bob continued, “We neither confirm nor deny the story. We just refuse to comment on China’s allegations. And we keep our guys over there.”
Everyone agreed, though Adler looked worried.
The Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Mark Jorgensen, had excused himself from the videoconference just as Ryan entered the room. Ryan had been around long enough to know that admirals did not usually tell the President they had something more important to deal with unless it was indeed more important.
Now he was back on-screen. His voice was loud, almost angry, as he interrupted the secretary of defense, who had been speaking about the situation in Taiwan. “Mr. President, my apologies. The Chinese have fired more anti-ship cruise missiles against another Taiwanese ship. They struck the Tso Ying, a destroyer that was on patrol in the Taiwan Strait, with two Silkworm missiles. This boat was the USS Kidd before we sold it to the ROC some years back. The Tso Ying is currently disabled, burning and adrift. It has crossed the centerline of the strait and is heading toward Chinese territorial waters.”
Burgess muttered, “God damn it.”
Jorgensen continued, “Chairman Su has ordered the United States to stay out of the area. He just publicly threatened to launch an anti-ship ballistic missile, apparently the Dong Feng 21, against the USS Ronald Reagan or Nimitz carrier groups, if they move within the three-hundred-mile exclusion zone Su imposed last week.”
There were gasps around the room.
Ryan asked, “What is the range of the DF 21?”
“Nine hundred miles.”
“Jesus Christ! We could move the Reagan back to Tokyo Bay and they could still hit it.”
“That is correct, sir. And it is a true carrier killer, sir. One DF 21 would sink a Nimitz-class carrier, and likely kill most everyone on board.”
“How many of these weapons do the Chinese have?”