General Schwartz said, “Midway and Johnston Atoll both now have military facilities and runways established. They’re located sufficiently far away from population centers in case of — er — any accidents.”
The conversation went on for a few more moments before the national security advisor said, “Do we really think we have a chance of building these black hole devices and getting them to work before the Chinese get there?”
“We’re going to do our best, sir.”
After the meeting, Luntz typed up his report to the ONI’s director, a rear admiral. It pissed Luntz off to no end that he’d been there for decades, and the Navy kept putting idiotic admirals in charge of him. He was smarter and more knowledgeable about the job than any of them. He should be in charge of ONI. But instead he was treated like some second-class citizen because he wasn’t in the military. It was bullshit.
But the one thing that made his daily charade worth it was proving just how stupid they all really were.
He finished typing up his summary of the meeting and placed it into the top-secret message folder, where it would be reviewed and sent to his boss back in Suitland, Maryland.
He then folded up his computer and headed out of the office.
“Going to lunch, Luntz?” one of his nosy coworkers asked.
“Yup.”
“Want some company?” The guy was CIA. The whole office was a hodge-podge of three-letter agencies and military, all supposed to work together like one big happy family. Fuck that.
“Oh, no, thanks. I need to run a few errands.” And send our plans to my Chinese handler.
He left the building and drove into town. It was a quaint little place. The kind of old-town America that you could still find in rural areas. Places like these were great for dead drops or a covert rendezvous. There were fewer people who could be watching him, which meant that his surveillance detection routes could be much more efficient.
While he drove, he quietly recited what he had heard in the brief, as if he were talking to himself. “So they want to use Johnston Atoll and Midway as locations for a new technology that could neutralize the Jiaolong-class ship, and deny all other areas of water around Hawaii with large minefields. The minefields could be ready in a few weeks, but they don’t know if the new weapon system on the islands will be ready in time, or if it will even work.”
He made a turn and drove onto a curving road that would take him to the next town. There was a drugstore open there. A rarity, considering the supply-chain issues America was facing now. Before he went into the store, he removed a memory stick from the small audio-recording device under his steering wheel. The device had automatically encrypted the memory stick contents.
Inside the drugstore, he picked up a small pack of ibuprofen. As he did, he fixed the memory stick to the underside of the product shelf, where it was hidden from passersby and wouldn’t be touched by shelf stockers.
He purchased the ibuprofen and a bottle of water.
The guy at the register said, “Headache?”
“Yeah.”
“Hope you feel better.”
“Thanks.” Asshole.
Luntz was glad to help Jinshan. Jinshan had certainly helped him. Two decades ago, in Thailand, the police had jailed Luntz for a full day after catching him in the act with an underage prostitute. His career would have been over if the US government had ever found out.
Enter Cheng Jinshan. Luntz knew that he was only doing it to get something in return. But Jinshan offered a lot. He’d not only gotten the Thai authorities to drop all charges, but he’d made sure that Luntz got even better girls that evening. Jinshan had no problem with Luntz’s fondness for young Asian women. And Jinshan had even helped Luntz’s career through various means. He doubted he would be a GS-15 today if not for some of Jinshan’s string pulling. Jinshan still sent Luntz presents of women. The two men always coordinated meetings to coincide with Luntz’s vacations. Jinshan and Luntz hadn’t met in years; both men were too senior now. But the relationship had turned into something so much more than just a way to score hot girls. Now it was about the excitement of sticking it to the government assholes who didn’t appreciate him.
As Luntz drove back to Raven Rock, he knew how happy Jinshan would be with him when he got today’s message.
25
General Chen sat behind his desk, sipping tea as his staffers briefed him on the day’s events.
“Guam has been fully reinforced, General. Our long-range bombers have been placed on the island, along with several infantry divisions.”
They rolled out a monitor. One of the staffers began flipping through different slides they had prepared. Maps displaying Chinese military positions. Images from key engagements. Twice a day, General Chen joined Chairman Jinshan’s senior leadership team for updates on the status of the war.
Within the Chinese mountain bunker headquarters, thousands of intelligence analysts received reports from around the globe, dissecting and identifying the most important reports. Piping them up their chains of command. Editing what was to be shared and what was to be held back. Massaging the information. Formulating the best message.
The general’s staff knew that he didn’t like bad news. Therefore, they minimized any negative information in his briefs. He also detested facts, figures, or details in general. Instead, they packed his presentations with images. The general liked to select only the very best images to bring to Chairman Jinshan, like a cat presenting a mouse to its master.
“And what of the Southern Fleet?”
General Chen was the only one still referring to the fleet that way. Everyone else was calling it the Jiaolong Battle Group, because the Jiaolong-class battleship had become such a heroic symbol of Chinese victory. While Admiral Song still maintained the aircraft carrier Liaoning as his flagship, the Jiaolong had quickly become the pride and joy of the Chinese military.
But General Chen despised the thought. The idea that a navy ship would steal from his glory irked him to no end. This war would eventually be fought and won with his armies, or at least his strategic vision. He thought of himself as a brilliant tactician.
As several of his peers in the leadership team reminded him, he had not seen the importance of the Jiaolong-class technology. After Guam had fallen, he had suggested that the newest two carriers, which were still in the Sea of Japan, should be dispatched to Hawaii immediately. Their firepower, in combination with their support ships and submarines, would surely be enough to take on the single American carrier that guarded the island state, even with the air support from the island. But Jinshan had opted to wait for the beloved Jiaolong. It was humiliating to be the head of the Chinese military and get overruled by a man who hadn’t spent a day in the uniform.
“The Liaoning Carrier Battle Group has begun their journey north, sir.”
Headed for Hawaii. The prize of the Pacific. Once they had Hawaii, it was only a matter of time before Chinese troop transports landed in the Americas. It would be fierce fighting, but they would prevail.
Still, Hawaii needed to be taken. And the general needed to save face, lest one of those spineless fools on the leadership team try to dethrone him by getting in Jinshan’s good graces. General Chen had sacrificed his only daughter for the cause. Surely Jinshan would always remember that. And he had been loyal. Well, that had mostly been paid back with promotions and other contributions to the general’s well-being. His bank account certainly hadn’t suffered. But that was how things were done. As long as Chen continued to be of value to Jinshan, both men would prosper. But if General Chen fell out of favor…