Kitabı oku: «China Crisis», sayfa 2
McCarter leaned forward, wagging a finger at the big Canadian.
“And also the boss, chum.”
“China isn’t going to let itself be pushed into the background,” Brognola agreed, choosing to ignore the banter. “They have to been seen as the strongest force in Asia and being able to dictate terms if the need arises. This Russian desire to be able to rattle the saber again isn’t going to go down well in Beijing. So it’s in China’s interest to become a major player. They want parity with all the other big powers.”
“Back to the old cold-war syndrome,” Price said. “Full circle.”
“Not exactly,” Brognola said. “The President has green-lighted this as priority. Bad enough China up-ping its weapons capability, but it’s like being given the finger when they start using our technology to let them jump-start and draw level.”
“Government loses technology, we’re handed the baton and told to get it back?” Carl Lyons said.
“That’s what we can’t allow to happen.” Brognola turned his attention to Hawkins. “T.J., hear me out on this.”
McCarter caught the inflection in the big Fed’s voice and was way ahead of Brognola. “I smell an undercover job coming up, young Hawkins.”
Hawkins glanced at the Briton, a slight frown on his face.
“You’ve got history with this Vic Lerner,” Brognola said. “If you can make contact, maybe it could give us a way into Townsend’s organization.”
“I guess so.”
“No pressure, T.J.”
“Don’t you believe it,” McCarter stated. “Turn him down and he’ll cut your credit-card rating and stop your subscription to the Buffy fan club. By the way, you still got that life-size cardboard cutout?”
Price barely concealed her snort of laughter. She raised a hand to her mouth as she feigned a sudden cough.
Brognola allowed a wisp of a smile to touch his lips before he moved on.
“Able Team will shadow you on this. Find anything we can pin on him, and they’ll move on Townsend.”
“Get me into his computer system,” Kurtzman said, “and we can dig out all his dirty secrets.”
“Tell me how and I’ll do it.”
“I love enthusiasm.” Kurtzman grinned.
Hawkins drummed his fingers on the table. “Sure. Let’s see what we can work out. I need some kind of hook to get me involved with Lerner.”
“You are in the hands of the masters of guile and deceit,” Blancanales said.
Price extracted a file from the stack in front of her.
“Phoenix, you handle China,” she said, and handed the file to McCarter. “That’s your mission brief, guys. Everything you need to know. We want our technology returned or at least destroyed so it’s useless to any potential hostiles. You can bring yourselves up to speed while you’re on your way to Andrews. There’s a C-17 transport waiting to take you to Bagram airbase. Jack’s already on board with Dragon Slayer. He’ll make the insertion into China. The flight will give you the chance to update with Mei Anna. An incident has occurred directly tied in to this whole affair.”
“Whoa,” McCarter said. “Mei Anna? How did she get caught up in this?”
“David, she’s been back with her group for the past few weeks.”
“Didn’t she tell you?” Lyons asked.
“Lover’s tiff maybe,” Blancanales suggested innocently.
McCarter’s dark scowl indicated he wasn’t seeing the humor.
“You forgot where I’ve been the past few weeks? A little busy.”
“The important thing is, David, that Anna has background that bears directly on your upcoming mission. We flew her in from Hong Kong so she could join up with you and go into Xinjiang with you. Read the file and you’ll see why,” Price said. “Hey, I’m sure she would have let you know, but it might have been difficult getting a message to you at the time.”
McCarter slumped back in his seat. “I suppose so.”
“Part of Anna’s Pro-Democracy group has been monitoring the facility the Chinese set up some time ago,” Price said, quickly moving on. “Aaron?”
Kurtzman keyed up a series of images, showing the facility. It was set in rough terrain, with low mountains far to the north. The shots were mostly taken via long-range lens.
“The place is called Guang Lor,” Kurtzman offered. He brought up a map. “Northwest China, province of Xinjiang. It’s close to the border with Afghanistan. Well isolated, away from any populated areas so Beijing can keep it under wraps as much as possible. Intel says this is where they’re developing their new generation of long-and short-range ballistic missiles. There’s a small settlement grown up in the vicinity for workers at the facility.”
“Anna’s Pro-Democracy group has been working the area and picking up what they can,” Price went on. “They have to be careful because the area is pretty well controlled by the Chinese. Current intel says the missile testing has been increased lately. The group has a man inside the facility now, and he’s been feeding them what he can. Pretty thin, but at least it indicates just what the Chinese are up to.”
“Take a look at this,” Kurtzman’s said. “The Pro-Democracy group took these shots a couple of weeks back in Hong Kong.”
He brought up a series of shots that showed a group of men talking together.
“This was shot in Hong Kong. The Chinese is Sammo Chen Low. No surprise that he comes from the facility at Guang Lor. He’s a negotiator and a financial specialist. The Caucasian here is Joseph Riotta, and CIA intel has him linked to Townsend’s Shadow organization. Same with this guy. Ralph Chomski. Ex-Air Force. I managed to filch that information from military data banks. Make of it what you will, folks.”
McCarter leaned forward and poked a finger at the image of another man in the group, sitting a little back, but listening intently to what was being discussed.
“Well, well,” the Briton muttered. “Our old chum from Santa Lorca. Jack bloody Regan.”
James studied the face of the man in the crumpled suit and old Panama hat.
“You are not wrong, bubba,” he said, using the man’s favorite expression.
“Still in the business,” McCarter said. “Regan has good contacts for moving ordnance. Looks like he sub-contracted to Shadow.”
“That going to be a problem for T.J.?” Brognola asked.
“No. He never met Regan on that mission. T.J. was backup on a warehouse roof. They never even saw each other.”
They spent a few more minutes tossing facts back and forth until one of the phones rang. Price picked it up and took the message.
“Phoenix, your ride is ready to take you to Andrews.”
McCarter stuck the file under his arm and stood, the rest of his team following suit.
“We’re gone,” the Briton said. “Hey, hotshots, you look after my mate. He’s a pain in the arse, but he’s my pain. We’d like him back in good working order.”
Lyons nodded. “He’ll be fine. You know our rep.”
“That’s what worries me,” McCarter said, grinning.
“Take care, guys,” Price said.
“Easier said than done,” Manning replied.
“You sure you old boys can manage without me?” Hawkins asked.
“You really sure you want an answer to that?” James asked, a wide grin on his face.
CHAPTER TWO
The aircraft waiting to ferry them to Bagram was sitting on the end of a runway, engines already warmed up. The vast cargo space of the C-17 housed the Stony Man combat helicopter, Dragon Slayer. Jack Grimaldi was inside carrying out detailed preflight checks that would go through everything from the twin-turbine power plant, electronics and computer aids. He would also run thorough checks on the chopper’s impressive ordnance capabilities. Dragon Slayer carried an awesome catalog of weapons, multibarrel chain gun, missiles and pilot-activated aim and fire through a slaved helmet array. Within the electronic heart of the machine were sensors and range-locating instruments. The satellite-linked communication setup enabled Grimaldi to call Stony Man at the flick of a button and also connect in to air-traffic feeds so he could maintain instant locations. Where they were going on this particular mission his sources would be the U.S. Military Communications Net.
The men of Phoenix Force, carrying their gear, crossed in driving rain and climbed on board. Grimaldi raised a hand in welcome as he watched the team arrive, then returned to his checking procedures. As they stowed their gear, McCarter spotted a familiar figure sitting patiently on one of the benches the far end of the aircraft.
It was Mei Anna. She wore a camou-pattern combat suit and boots, the same as Phoenix Force, her jet-black hair pulled back from her face. A backpack lay on the floor at her feet, along with her P-90 assault rifle. She carried a 9 mm Beretta pistol in a shoulder rig. She offered McCarter a brief, silent acknowledgment when he met her gaze. He nodded in recognition, then turned and made his way to the flight deck and immersed himself in the technicalities of the pre-takeoff discussion with the flight crew.
While he did that, James, Manning and Rafael Encizo secured their equipment, then joined the Chinese operatives.
“Where’s T. J.?” she asked.
“Working undercover on another piece of the mission,” Manning said. “We thought it was time he had a grown-up job.”
“It’s good to see you,” Anna said, standing and greeting them all with a quick hug.
They responded warmly. There wasn’t one man among Phoenix Force who didn’t hold Mei Anna in great esteem. Since their first encounter during a previous mission to China, she had proved herself to be a formidable young woman. Her dedication to her Pro-Democracy group was intense, and her fight against the repressions of the Chinese government and the often brutal suppression of civil and personal rights was something she believed in with a passion. Her fight had taken her all over China, and she was a wanted woman by Beijing. She accepted it without making a point over the matter. Her courage was something Phoenix Force was fully aware of. Her being back in action didn’t surprise them. It had been something they had all accepted as inevitable now that she had recovered from the aftermath of a wound that had taken its toll and forced her into a long recovery period.
“We had no idea you were involved in this until a short while ago,” Manning said.
“Things happened fast” Anna told him. “We’ve been monitoring the activity at Guang Lor for some time. This particular incident has given us something definite we can focus on, and it seems to have happened just as you became involved.”
They felt the aircraft vibrate as power was applied to the powerful engines. After a few seconds they felt the plane start to move, the whine of the engines increasing.
“Is David okay?”
James grinned. “He’s being David,” was all he said.
Anna touched his arm. “You don’t have to say any more.”
They braced themselves as the aircraft gained speed, the sound of the engines filling the cavernous interior, and then the deck beneath their feet tilted and they felt the momentary hollowness in their stomachs as the aircraft lifted off.
“No going back now,” Manning said.
McCarter appeared and made his way along the plane.
“Talk to you later,” James said.
They nodded to McCarter as they passed him halfway down the length of the plane and took their seats, leaving the Briton to join Mei Anna.
The woman had sat again and made a point of looking out the window. She kept up the pretence for a couple of minutes before turning to face McCarter.
“What do you want me to say, David?”
“Hello would be a start. Might make up for vanishing the way you did,” he stated.
“I had no choice.”
“Bloody hell, Anna, we all have choices.” McCarter controlled his outburst, lowering his voice. “What do you think I would have done? Locked you in the cellar and hidden the key?”
“Something like that,” the woman replied.
He moved to sit beside her. “Am I that much of an idiot?”
She laid a hand on his. “Of course not. You’re a caring man I have learned to trust and have affection for.”
“So why the disappearing act?” the Briton queried.
“You know why. If you had found out you would have tried to persuade me not to go. I was afraid you might succeed, so I decided the best thing to do was to just go. The last thing I intended was to hurt you. You have to understand my feelings in this. I was doing this kind of thing before we ever met. You know that. I would never change the times we have together, and I want that to go on. Truly. But what I do in China is something I can’t turn my back on. If a matter comes up and I’m needed, I have to respond. That was what happened, and it was why I had to go. Don’t hate me for that.”
McCarter put his arm around her shoulders.
“Hate you? Not going to happen, love. You are the best thing to happen to me in a long time. It’s just bloody hard to watch you haring off on some dangerous trek with a gun in hand and that look in your eyes. Honestly? It scares the pants off me. And I miss you.”
“Really? I haven’t given you a single thought since I boarded that plane out of England.”
“Comforting to know.”
“And not true. It was nice having you around. London can be a dangerous place.”
“Don’t I know it. Talking of dangerous places how was it going back to HK?”
“We have to be so careful now. The authorities have been coming down hard on any kind of antigovernment groups. Beijing is showing its tough face right now. Harsh penalties for anyone getting caught. It doesn’t show them in a good light when corruption or repression is exposed, so they use any means to strike back. Every so often they have a purge. Round up suspects, jail them without trial. Send them off to labor camps for reindoctrination. There are public executions, too. It doesn’t stop the groups though. Just makes the survivors more determined to carry on.”
“What the hell is it with Beijing?”
“The government is scared. They see the people getting restless, wanting change and being prepared to suffer, and die, to get it. The ruling group is terrified of allowing China its freedom because it would signal their end. They cling to power so desperately, the country pays the price.”
“So this missile deal is part of that paranoia?”
“Exactly. America is still the most powerful nation on Earth. Now Russia is updating its missile system, claiming it’s for defense. Beijing sees all this and has to respond, to bolster its own strength and to convince the people they are safe in the government’s hands. It’s all to do with saving face and maintaining the balance of power. No one has learned a thing, David. The wheel goes around and comes around.”
“More or less what we talked about back at base when we got the mission brief.”
“So we’re all after the same thing,” Anna said. “Only for slightly different reasons.”
“Not that different.” McCarter smiled. “I only said yes because I knew I’d see you.”
“Flatterer. But don’t stop, I like it.”
“Tell me about Xinjiang.”
Anna pulled a folded map from her pack and spread it. She pointed out locations.
“Northwest China. Close to Afghan border here. Some pretty harsh country where we’re going. Some desert areas. Rocky terrain. Desolate and isolated. Which is why China’s nuclear test site is located in the area. Here at Lop Nor. It’s a long way from where we’ll be operating, so don’t worry about picking up anything to make you glow in the dark. The missile research and development facility is here at Guang Lor, with a village close by to house outworkers. There is also a military presence in the area because the indigenous population, the Uygur, want autonomy from the rest of China. The Uygur maintain their Islamic religion, and they refuse to relinquish it. Some years back Beijing decided to send in Han Chinese to bring the area under control. The Uygur opposed that, believing it would erase their ethnic identity, which is probably Beijing’s intention. So there is unrest, resistance, military repression.”
“So there’ll be more military than we might normally expect?”
“Not necessarily where we’re going.”
McCarter frowned. “I don’t know whether to take that as a yes or a no.”
“Take it as an ‘I’m not certain either way.’”
He smiled at her firm reply. One thing he had learned about Mei Anna was her refusal to be intimidated in any way, as slight as the intention might be. At her strongest, she took no prisoners.
“Here, take this map. I have another. Use it to work out what you need to do,” the woman stated.
McCarter folded the map and tucked it under his belt. “Okay. Let’s talk about your people. How many? Where are they and can we get to them without ending up with the local militia coming down on us?”
“The latest report we had said they’re on the run from the military. They located the downed missile before a search party from Guang Lor could get there. They extracted the circuit board and took photographic evidence. But they were spotted and the military pursued them. From what I managed to pick up, there had been a running fight. Hung and his surviving team took refuge in the foothills. Something about a deserted village. It was shelled by the army during one of the strikes against the Uygur. Planes razed it to the ground, the people relocated. In real terms it means many of them were killed and buried in a mass grave.”
“Do they know we’re coming in?”
Anna nodded. “We managed to get a short message through to Loy Hung. He’s our team leader in the area. He understands we have people coming in to help and to collect the evidence because he’s been prevented from delivering it to Hong Kong.”
“The board and the photographs?” McCarter queried.
She nodded and pulled a group of photographs from one of her pockets, handing them to McCarter.
“Loy Hung, Dar Tan and Sammy Cho. They are all that is left of the team. The others died during the escape into the hills.”
“And what about this Major Kang character?”
“He is head of security at the Guang Lor site and for the region. A very ruthless man. He will not have taken this incident well. It will reflect on him personally, so he will be doing everything in his power to regain possession of the board.”
“Okay.” McCarter paused as a thought intruded. He realized it had been niggling away at the back of his mind, kept at bay by more pressing matters, but it was suddenly demanding his full attention. “Anna, the information that came out from Guang Lor said the only reason the U.S. board was used for the trial was that the copies weren’t completed yet?”
“Yes. Why?”
“If we get the original back, that isn’t going to stop Lin Cheung’s development people from finishing what they started. They’ll go right ahead and complete their counterfeit boards, and still have what they want.”
“In other words, they’ll still be on a par with the U.S.”
“Not much use the President waving the genuine board and shouting, ‘We got it back, Beijing.’ All they’ll do is smile and rattle their newly equipped missiles at him and yell, ‘So what?’ They’ll do their best to stop the news leaking out about what they’ve been up to, but in the end they aren’t going to pack up developing their missile system, using technology they stole. And they probably still have other hardware they’ve bought under the counter.”
McCarter leaned back against the bulkhead. He could feel the power of the aircraft vibrating through the metal skin of the fuselage. He focused on the information Anna had given him and the implications of his own thought process and what it meant. Whichever way he turned it around, it looked as though Phoenix Force’s incursion into China was about to have its stay extended and its mission upgraded. Whatever lay ahead, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. Phoenix Force was going to drop in on a potential minefield of problems just waiting to jump up and bite them.
He paused in his thoughts. There were never any guarantees of an easy time. Stony Man didn’t exist to take on peaceful missions or easy tasks. It was here to handle situations that required on-the-spot-down-and-dirty solutions to ugly scenarios. When in doubt, send out Phoenix Force or Able Team. It was what they did best, and they were the best at what they did. He smiled at his own clichés.
He felt Anna’s eyes on him. She had a wistful smile on her lips, head slightly to one side as she observed him.
“What?” the Briton asked.
“I was just imagining what I’d like to be doing right now if we were back in London. Maybe breakfast in that café near the flat,” Anna told him.
“You just fold those thoughts up and store them away, love. Keep them safe until we get back.”
“Okay. I have something else for you. Loy Hung has a man inside Guang Lor. He’s been established for some months. It’s why we got the information on the circuit board and the downed missile. Hung’s man has also passed him detailed information on the security setup and locations within the site. Could be helpful.”
“Will we be able to depend on this man if we hit the site?”
Anna shrugged. “We can’t say. The last time they spoke, Hung’s man said he was concerned Major Kang might be on to him.”
“Let’s hope he’s okay.”
Anna glanced at her watch.
“David, I’m going to get some sleep. It feels like I’ve been in the air for the last week.”
“You do that. And I’d better go have a chat with the lads. Tell them what a pleasant spot we’re going to drop into.”
He pushed to his feet and made his way along the aircraft to where Manning, James and Encizo were checking equipment.
“Briefing session over?” Manning asked.
McCarter joined them. “Oh, yes. You want the good news or the bad news?”
“What’s the bad news?” Encizo queried.
McCarter couldn’t resist a wide grin. “The bad news is, there’s no good news.”
“I hate it when he gets that smug attitude,” James said.
“He likes to think he has comic timing,” Encizo said.
“I do,” McCarter announced.
“Miss-timing more like,” Manning said.
“I just talked to Anna,” McCarter said. “Her people are on the ground and hiding out, waiting for us to make contact, haul them out of trouble and take this circuit board off their hands.”
He passed the photographs Anna had provided so the team would know Hung and his men.
“These are the people we have to locate and lift out,” the Phoenix Force leader said.
“But?” James asked, waiting for McCarter to drop the bombshell he was keeping to himself.
“Collecting one board isn’t going to make the problem go away. And the problem is that the Chinese will still have the copied version of whatever they stole from the U.S.”
“I feel something’s coming that I’m not going to really want to hear,” Manning said.
“Along the lines of we have to neutralize the missile center,” Encizo guessed.
“And make sure all the stolen technology is destroyed,” James added.
McCarter didn’t respond until he felt three pairs of eyes on him.
“Well, yes, something like that.”
“Let’s take a stroll in the park suddenly turned into a rumble in the jungle,” James said.
“We have to be flexible, chums. This was part of the mission brief so we had to expect it.”
McCarter produced the map Anna had given him. He spread it out, and his teammates leaned in closer as he pointed out the various locations.
“So we concentrate on Anna’s group first?” Encizo asked. “Get them clear before we go take a look at this missile base?”
“That’s the way we run it. Once we have them sorted, we can decide if going on to Guang Lor is feasible.”
“Does Anna have a figure on the kind of resistance we might face if we do try for the base?” Manning asked, tracing routes across the map with his finger.
“We won’t get that information until later,” McCarter admitted. “But Anna’s group has a man on the inside. He’s already passed on some information about the place, so hopefully we’ll have some data.”
“Oh, that will be helpful,” Manning said.
“I do understand the sarcasm,” McCarter stated. “And I wish we had better intel. If we can’t pin it down to numbers, we’re not going to walk in like a bunch of amateurs.”
“Can we have that in writing?”
The question was posed by James and Manning in the same breath.
McCarter glanced at Encizo, who simply shrugged.
Kai Chek Village, Guang Lor, Xinjiang, one day earlier
L OY H UNG CAUGHT the man’s sleeve and pulled him inside, closing the door.
“What is so urgent?”
The man’s face blanked. His gaze wandered the room, in itself an admission he was nervous.
“Kam Lee?”
Lee hung his head, hands nervously toying with the wide straw hat he held.
“Kang…”
“I know about Kang. You have had to deal with him all these months.”
“I think he may have suspicions about me.”
“After all this time? Why?”
Kam Lee shook his head. “A feeling. Loy, I think my time at Guang Lor may be finished.”
“Then we will have to bring you out,” Hung said.
Lee seemed relieved. “I will complete this assignment, then we will do it.”
“So what is you need to tell me?”
“The missile test went wrong,” Lee said. “Something to do with the stabilizing system. It sent the missile off course and it crashed close to the border.”
“My people will have been tracking it,” Hung said. “I haven’t spoken to them during the last couple of days.”
“There is one more thing,” Lee said. “I was nearby when Controller Kwok was talking to Kang. One of the circuit boards on the missile was a stolen one. It came from America.”
“Truly?” Hung asked.
“Yes.”
Hung smiled. “Just what we need to prove what Beijing has been up to.”
“And because of that, Kang will be working hard to get it back,” Lee stated.
“Have they sent out a search party yet?”
“It’s being organized now.”
“Then we don’t have much time,” Hung said. “You are certain about this stolen board?”
“Yes. Orders came from Beijing for the test of the new missile to go ahead immediately. No excuses. The technicians were still working on the copies of the board, and they knew they wouldn’t get them ready in time. Mau Sung fitted one of the stolen boards so there would be no delay. If the test had gone as planned, the board would have been destroyed when the missile hit its target and detonated.”
“We have to get our hands on that board. This is better than we expected,” Hung told him.
“I should return. If I stay longer, someone might notice,” Lee said.
Hung nodded. “You go. I’ll make contact with our team to locate the missile and retrieve the board. If we can clear the area before the search team arrives, we have a chance.”
“Hung, be careful. Major Kang will be leading the search team personally. If he learns of your involvement…”
“Don’t worry. I know all about Kang. His reputation doesn’t alarm me,” Hung replied.
“Be careful,” Lee advised.
Hung waited until Lee was well away from the house. He closed up and made his way out to the rear of the building where a battered panel truck was parked against the wall. He climbed in, started up the vehicle and drove out of the settlement, picking up the dusty road heading north. Once he was clear he took a cell phone from inside his tunic and switched it on. The cell was Tri-Band and worked through a satellite signal. Hung tapped in a number and waited until his call was picked up.
“I’ve just learned about the missile crash. Have you found it?” Hung asked.
“Yes. We know it landed miles off track. We have it on our monitor.”
Hung explained about the stolen circuit board and the need to get their hands on it.
“I’m on my way,” he said. “Get the team moving. If they are close they should be able to reach the missile well before the team from Guang Lor can assemble and take off. If we locate this board, it has to be moved out of the area quickly before Major Kang can pin us down. Make sure that everyone is armed in case Kang does show up.”
T HREE HOURS LATER Hung met up with the group. There were five of them, all armed and ready to move. He parked his truck alongside their vehicle.
“Have you located the missile?” he asked.
Dar Tan, heading the group, nodded. He led Hung across to the team’s 4x4. The rear door was open and one of the team sat over an electronic tracking system.
“Show Hung where the missile is, Sammy.”
Sammy Cho, a thin, young man wearing a faded denims and a baseball cap, indicated the readout screen on his tracking station.
“We had the missile’s flight path locked in from the moment it was launched,” he said. “It was easy to follow the flight path. It left enough of a signature from its engines that we were able to keep it on screen. Even when it went off course we managed to keep tracking, and after it went down I was able to work out the location.” Cho leaned out the door, pointing in the direction of low hills to the northeast of their position. “No more than thirty miles from here.”
“Good. Can we reach it by vehicle?”
“Should not be a problem,” Cho told him.
“Then we go now. I want to try to be out before Kang shows up. We’ll take your 4x4. That old truck of mine isn’t fit to tackle those foothills.”
T HE MISSILE LAY at the end of a shallow furrow it had gouged in the dry ground, coming to rest straddling a wide stream. The moment the 4x4 stopped, Hung, Tan and Cho went directly to the missile. Cho had a tool kit slung from his shoulder. The rest of the team spread out to form a protective shield, keeping watch while Cho went to work.
Hung took out a digital camera and started to take shots of the missile, following the actions of his team and what was being done.
Cho knew exactly where to go. While Tan held the open tool kit the young technician used a power-pack-driven tool to remove the flush retaining screws holding the access panel in place. The whine of the power tool was the only sound to break the silence of the desolate location. Once he had the screws out, Cho used a steel pry-bar to break the seal holding the access panel secure. With the panel free Cho leaned inside the body of the missile, probing the shadows with a flashlight until he located the section he wanted.
