Despite his injuries, Cole had insisted on attending the memorial service in China for the men who had died in the helicopter crash; there had been seven fatalities, including the pilot.
But another five had survived, including — Cole was delighted to discover — Chad Davis.
However, the big Delta Force man had suffered severe burns in the crash and a cracked sternum, and would be out of action for quite a while. Cole knew it could never make up for it, but the Paradigm Group would reward him well for his troubles.
He had been to visit the man and — true to form — ‘Country’ had been in good spirits, even singing a couple of songs with his boss.
It was only after this that Cole had sought medical attention himself, and by the time he’d signed himself into the clinic, the medics were amazed he was still standing.
But now he was back at home, and the world was mercifully back to normal; which was to say it was still the same crazy old place it always was, but was no longer under the immediate threat of nuclear destruction.
As Cole settled back into the bed, he saw the face of Chang Wubei, recently elected to the highest position in China, the People’s Republic’s new Paramount Leader.
Reconstruction work had started on the Forbidden City, and President Abrams had agreed to help pay for the cost; after all, even though she could not publically admit it, it had been her people who had destroyed it in the first place.
Cole was pleased to discover that Liu Yingchau had been promoted to Major, and had received the Hero’s Medal, the Chinese equivalent of the Medal of Honor and that country’s highest military decoration; the man definitely deserved it.
The rest of the Force One team had received their citations and their financial rewards, and had gone back to their parent units with nobody any the wiser; unheralded and unappreciated except by those very few people who knew what they’d done, Cole chief among them. He for one would certainly never forget their contributions.
Jake Navarone had come to see him in the clinic and — out of sight of the nurses — they’d shared a couple of beers as they’d discussed the operation in an informal debrief.
He’d also been honored with a visit by President Abrams herself, along with Bruce Vinson of the Paradigm Group, and Force One’s unofficial chief-of-staff. After expressing their thanks, they had an interesting tale to tell him about the Vice President, a story which made him smile, but also highlighted the importance of security; he told Vinson they would have to get together when he was back at work to discuss how they could improve things, to hide their covert operations even more effectively. Force One had proved its effectiveness yet again, and the last thing Cole wanted was for it to be discovered and shut down.
So the world was settling down, it seemed — except for the fact that Chang Wubei seemed determined to keep hold of the Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan, despite international pressure to hand them back, and Cole couldn’t help but wonder what that could mean for the future.
But for Cole personally, he was due a break, and — as he lay down on his luxurious mattress, the comfort almost unbearable after the exertions of the past weeks — he knew exactly what he was going to do with it.
He had saved Tokyo from destruction, which meant that he had also saved Aoki Michiko.
And so his daughter was still alive, somewhere in Japan.
He closed his eyes, determined that he was going to find her.
And eventually, the pain in his body draining away, Mark Cole drifted off into a dream-filled sleep, occupied only by the haunting images of a daughter he had never known.