Situated on five acres of prime beachfront, the famous resort is a luxurious oasis of tranquility in the heart of Waikiki. With its expansive courtyards and lush tropical gardens the "House Befitting Heaven" embodies the true spirit of Hawaiian hospitality.
An attractive and gracious young lady of Samoan heritage escorted Jackie and Scott to their suite, where registration was completed in privacy. They were impressed with the bowl of fresh fruits and the assorted Halekulani chocolates arranged on a table.
Once the administrative details were completed, they went to the lanai and soaked in the panoramic view of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. Many visitors considered the monolith of hardened lava to be the most recognizable symbol of Hawaii. The clear emerald waters along Waikiki were dotted with surfers and outrigger canoes. In the distance a stately cruise ship was barely visible on the horizon.
"This is fantastic — incredible," Scott said, turning to Jackie. "Especially being here with you."
"My sentiments exactly." She looked down at the oceanside swimming pool and the open-air restaurant. "How about a dip in the pool — then a nice quiet lunch?"
He smiled and shook his head. "After last night, I don't know if I'm ready to go back in the water."
"I promise, there are no submarines in the swimming pool."
After a refreshing swim, they toweled themselves and went into the covered open-air restaurant. They ordered seafood and had an unhurried lunch while watching a light rain shower pass.
When he was finished with his meal, Scott leaned back and folded his napkin. "One of the things I like most about Hawaii is the rainbow that accompanies every shower."
"That and the smell of the flowers," Jackie said, pausing as the waitress removed their plates.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, drinking in the scene along the world-famous beach.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Jackie asked.
"Sorry," Scott said, and reached for his iced tea. "I just can't get this situation with the Chinese off my mind."
"What do you think is going to happen with the China and Taiwan standoff — more rhetoric or some military action?"
"Well, this ongoing game is about more than Taiwan moving toward independence. It's about Beijing's belief — and they're firmly convinced by their obsessive distrust of others — that there's a conspiracy among the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan to destroy China and force them into a mold that suits the U.S."
"Like bringing the gunboat diplomacy from Kosovo to China. The U.S. will change the cognitive and psychological profiles of the people in China to match our model of what's right and perfect in the world."
"Precisely." Scott glanced at a darkly tanned woman in the smallest bikini he'd ever seen.
"Heell-oh!" Jackie waved her hand in front of Scott's face. "We're having a conversation here, remember?"
"Sorry." Scott chuckled. "The Chinese leaders have always relied on high diplomatic theater, lots of theatrics and huffing and puffing to get their way. They've always expected other nations to send emissaries to the Chinese capital to present tribute, bow a lot, and kowtow to the emperor."
Jackie nodded. "And Liu Fan-ding sees that tradition changing with the rapidly expanding Westernization of China."
"Of course. Reality is setting in and it scares the hell out of him.
The U.S. is a powerful country. He knows we move fairly rapidly. Fan-ding's country is very large, twenty percent of the world's population, but at the present time it's a middle power at best — and they move at glacial speed."
Scott leaned back to avoid a collision with one of the many birds scavenging for crumbs. "We, on the other hand, are making the U.S.-China gap grow larger by our quantum leaps in technology, both in the civilian sector and the military. We have long-range sea power and air power, space superiority, and a helluva lot more nukes."
"That could change if we continue to let the Chinese steal us blind, undermine the foundations of our financial markets, and build a military power along the Panama Canal."
"True, but Beijing really had a meltdown when we agreed to cooperate with Japan on research and development for a theater ballistic missile defense program."
Jackie frowned. "What really rankled them was when we announced that the missile defense shield would protect not only Japan but much larger areas of the Asia-Pacific region."
"That's right. The operative word is Taiwan."
"I'm sure they had the same reaction in Pyongyang."
"Yeah, I'll bet that caused some tirades."
"I can just hear the North Koreans," she said. -Japan and the U.S. are going to jack-slap us into the dirt if we don't stop screwing around.'"
"I think you have accurately captured the essence of their reaction." He looked down the beach at the surfers and the colorful outrigger canoes. "Economically, China is way, way overrated, and they have a petroleum deficit of over six hundred thousand barrels a day. Militarily, it's a second-rate regional menace with hopes to evolve into a powerful blue-water navy using the technologies they have purchased or stolen."
"With Taiwan under their control."
"Taiwan, the Spratly Islands, through the Ryuku Islands, across the Philippines, and then sweeping around the South China Sea — a dangerous neighborhood where trust is a foreign word."
"It seems to me, if Beijing had a large enough blue-water navy, the dragon could swim out to Japan, down through the Western Pacific, on to Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam."
"True," Scott said. "But we're back to China's problems. At the present time they're not a major power and their economy is relatively weak. Politically, Beijing's influence is feeble, and the country is basically backward, isolated from the rest of the world and the technology revolution."
"Not totally isolated from the technology gains."
"Okay, but we're diametrically opposite." Scott caught her eye. "The U.S. is a nuclear superpower that can checkmate Beijing at any given moment."
"I agree with what you've said, but I still believe China is a wild card that could do a lot of damage if they go berserk in Beijing."
He nodded. "I'd have to agree with that assessment. They do have some long-range nukes that are capable of hitting our West Coast."
"And, thanks to you, the White House has confirmation that the Chinese possess some very powerful laser-based weapons cruising the oceans of the world — they could be everywhere."
"That's the problem with China — their tendency to employ military force in all directions."
"And now they have their sights set on reclaiming Taiwan," Jackie said with a trace of scorn.
Scott glanced at a distant yacht. "Let's lighten the conversation and take a nice barefoot stroll down the beach — all the way to Diamond Head."
"Sounds good," Jackie said, gathering her things. "It's time to relax and have some fun."
"Roger that," Scott said, slipping into a colorful Hawaiian shirt that matched his swimming trunks. "Besides, we need to walk this meal off so we'll be ready for the luau."
"Hey, speak for yourself." She laughed. "I didn't eat like some crazed glutton at breakfast."
He smiled as he buttoned his shirt. "Floating around at night in a sea full of sharks, and then getting lifted out of the water by a submarine — well, it tends to increase my appetite for a few days."
Chapter 21
Pete Adair and Gen. Les Chalmers sat quietly while the president responded to an aide's attempt to contact the Chinese president. From the deep color of Macklin's complexion, Adair and Chalmers knew things were not proceeding well.