Susan didn’t answer.
Tetsuo had sent a cable from Beijing saying Lena Chou killed Jinshan. No further details at this time.
Susan turned the screen back around and David sat in the chair across from her. He leaned back, flabbergasted, shaking his head. “It worked. Your plan worked. How did you know she would do it?”
Susan said, “I knew that by allowing Lena to go on the mission with Chase, there was a reasonable likelihood of several positive outcomes. We had several of the world’s best psychological operations specialists create an in-depth model of what makes her tick. I knew what triggered her. With her concern for her child, she was in a fragile state, and she’s always been capable of inflicting violence. She was allowed inside again because Jinshan trusted her. The NSA hacked into her MSS recruitment records years ago. But only in the past year did we learn that Li Chen was Lena Chou. Her loyalty to Jinshan was her driving force. With that removed…”
David said, “So the PSYOPS specialists said she would kill Jinshan?”
“No. My intention was to have Tetsuo re-establish contact with her in Beijing. I wanted her to work for us there, alongside Dong.”
David whistled. “And now Ma will be in power, with Dong as the vice president. Dong has already told Tetsuo that he wants to end the war, right? With Dong influencing Ma, this is exactly what we’ve been hoping for.”
A knock at the door.
Susan said, “Come in.”
One of the CIA operations officers stuck his head in. “Susan, you better come see this.” He looked worried.
Susan and David got up and walked out onto the operations floor.
The celebrations had stopped. Now everyone was looking up at a TV screen. The woman who had been celebrating when David entered the office was now covering her mouth in horror. Someone else swore.
Susan said, “What’s going on?”
A woman in an Air Force uniform answered. “We’ve been attempting to establish communications with Dong or members of his team for the past two hours through backchannels. We’re in contact with the State Department, and they’re doing the same through official and unofficial channels. No replies.”
David whispered, “What are we watching? Why’s everyone so upset?”
“CNN is piping in a live feed of China’s politburo. They’ve been called in for an emergency session following Jinshan’s death.”
David read the ticker tape on the bottom of the screen.
GENERAL CHEN TO BE NAMED NEW CHINESE LEADER
“Someone please turn up the volume.”
David could hear a voice on the TV. A newswoman with a British accent.
“And we are hearing now that General Chen, formerly the highest-ranking military officer in China, has assumed the leadership role after Jinshan Cheng’s death. General Chen was….”
The voice droned on, giving Chen’s biographical information.
David turned to Susan. “How is this possible? I thought all of our analysts said that Ma was named successor?”
Susan didn’t respond. She was staring at the screen.
The newscaster came on again.
“And now you can see General Chen, in full dress uniform as he proceeds down the main aisle of the grand auditorium. There are thousands standing and clapping. General Chen is flanked by his senior staffers and, we are told, by his daughter.”
David watched General Chen march up the auditorium stairs and stand behind the podium. The thousands of Chinese politicians and leaders sat, and the room went silent. When General Chen began speaking, his voice was animated, his hand moving like he was giving a show. David couldn’t understand what he was saying, and no translation was given. But it reminded him very much of old black-and-white footage of another leader, that one from a dark period in European history.
General Chen’s voice grew stronger. His words faster. His pitch higher. Rising to a crescendo. The audience fed off his energy, working themselves into a frenzy. They were giving him a standing ovation now. Then he marched off the stage and back down the aisle, his staff following him.
The auditorium began emptying, the audience members following him as his entourage passed.
“What are they doing? Why are they all following him?”
The CIA analyst said, “They’re going to the courtyard outside.”
“Why?” David noticed that the most disturbed people in the Silversmith office were the Mandarin-speakers.
The TV footage changed to a view of an expansive courtyard, which at first appeared to be mostly empty. Two tanks were set up before a row of soldiers.
The newscaster said, “We are being told that these are… prisoners. They have prisoners lined up.”
The prisoners were bound at their wrists as they stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the tanks. Now the men and women from the auditorium, led by General Chen, entered the screen’s view. The politburo members funneled around, gathering near the tanks. Soon thousands of audience members joined them, surrounding the row of prisoners.
Awaiting the public execution.
General Chen walked over to stand in front of the group. He began speaking into a microphone as two soldiers escorted a prisoner toward him. The prisoner also began speaking, his voice carried by outdoor megaphones.
“That’s Dong. Holy shit. That guy speaking now is Dong.”
“What’s he saying?”
“That the men standing here have committed crimes against the state… he and all of his countrymen should be grateful that General Chen will provide excellent leadership for their future… Something like that. Dong is basically pledging allegiance to Chen, publicly.”
One of the analysts said, “I think those prisoners are Dong’s staff. Damn. Actually, I think some are politburo members, known to be aligned with Dong. General Chen is publicly executing Dong’s allies. And he just made Dong pledge loyalty to him.”
“Wait, who’s that one?”
“Oh, holy shit. That’s Ma. That’s Secretary Ma.”
“He just said that Secretary Ma led a coup d'état attempt. That Ma is the one who killed Jinshan.”
“I thought it was Lena Chou?”
“It was.”
“…. and that the punishment for such treason is death. He’s saying Ma is going to…”
General Chen raised his hand, pointing at the row of prisoners. Two chain guns on top of the tanks unleashed a stream of yellow tracers, cutting down the men in a horrific spray of red. Limbs and bodies flew dozens of meters.
David glanced at Susan, who looked like she’d been punched in the gut. Her carefully laid plans to insert Dong into a position of influence had been wiped out in a flash of violence. “This is bad,” she said, shaking her head.
On the TV, the audience who had just witnessed the executions were now applauding like crazed fanatics as General Chen continued speaking into his microphone. Huge banners were released from the rooftop of the government building behind him. Giant red propaganda banners with yellow stars in the center.
“What’s he saying? He keeps saying the same thing over and over. What is he saying?”
One of the Mandarin speakers said, “It’s a Chinese saying that effectively means ‘the gloves will come off.’ Now he is saying that ‘our progress in the war against our American enemies continues. We will invade their country and crush our enemies.’”
David watched as General Chen gained energy from the crowd, spittle flying from his mouth, his animated motions and crazed eyes reminiscent of dictators past. David couldn’t help but think that Lena’s actions had allowed this to happen.
That they had empowered a monster.