Elaine took Gordon by the elbow. She’d been up and dressed by four. She led him into their private dining room and closed the door. There were heaped mounds of hot food and no people. Gordon smiled, and Elaine smiled back. They sat beside each other, not across the table. She stayed close. They hugged and kissed and laughed. The companionship and closeness was comforting. Elaine knew he was sick with worry.
She didn’t bring it up, he did. ‘You know, Elaine…’ was all he said. No one else would have understood, but she did. After twenty years of marriage he need only to begin a sentence. Sometimes, he only opened his mouth and the words came out of hers.
‘What did the State Department say?’ she challenged.
He frowned. ‘Pull our troops out.’
‘And Defense?’ The same, he replied. ‘And CIA? The UN Ambassador? Your National Security Adviser? Those disgusting, loud-mouthed sycophants from Congress?’ He screwed up his face. ‘All your allies say pull out, Gordon… and so do I.’
He closed his eyes, sighed, and sank back in his chair. He was relaxed. His guard was down. ‘This job is too big for one man. Just look at this decision. I mean, what if I do the thing everybody recommends, but it turns out wrong? Sure, nobody wants to keep an army in Siberia. It’s not like I do! And nobody even considers occupying China like…’ Gordon stopped himself short.
‘Is that what it is? That letter from Kartsev? Gordon felt a twinge of nerves on mention out loud of his innermost fear. ‘Honey, that man is good at killing defenseless people, that’s it! What special insight do you think he has? Do you think he can predict the future? That anarchy will spread to China when the Russians themselves aren’t even anarchists. His whole system of power is failing completely, Gordon. It’s rotting from the top down, and it’s about to collapse.’
‘Isn’t that the whole idea of anarchy?’ Gordon shot back. ‘Maybe it’s part of Kartsev’s plan. The state withers away and then… nothing. Or something even more awful.’
‘Gordon, you’re doing the right thing. You’re taking care of the problem.’
‘I’m going to kill a man, Elaine. A man I’ve never seen, or spoken to, or know anything about, really… except for that letter. Maybe that’s why I’m obsessing about the damn thing. It’s as if the son-of-a-bitch is taunting me, you know? Because if he turns out to be right, Elaine — if China and Russia both dissolve into true anarchy…’
He didn’t finish the sentence or complete the thought, but Elaine put her hand on his sleeve. She lowered her head to his shoulder and squeezed his arm. It’s a decision you have to make, Gordon, she said without speaking. There really is no other choice.
‘My fellow Americans,’ Gordon said into the teleprompter — his hands clasped on the desk in front of him as coached — ‘I come before you tonight not to talk of victory, but of peace. For this long and horrible war is now over, and the time for a great healing has begun. General Secretary Lin Tso-chang has accepted the Security Council’s terms for a ceasefire.’ He unclasped his hands and leaned forward for dramatic effect. ‘At eighteen hundred hours Greenwich Mean Time today — approximately six hours from now — all UNRUSFOR offensive operations against the People’s Liberation Army will be halted. The Chinese will withdraw all forces in contact with UNRUSFOR to a distance of thirty kilometers. A general and complete prisoner exchange will begin immediately.’ Gordon paused as the camera zoomed in. Now, according to the script, the screen framed his head and shoulders. The director’s index finger cued him.
‘While we have halted offensive operations, let me make this point perfectly clear. All Chinese military equipment and infrastructure within the control of UNRUSFOR will be destroyed. That will include the tanks, armored fighting vehicles, combat aircraft, artillery, trucks, and other equipment used by three-quarters of a million of the PLA’s best-armed and best-trained men — over half of their heavy weapons arsenal. Strict limits will be placed on Chinese military deployments into northern Manchuria. Any violation of the demilitarized zone will be punished swiftly and severely. And any future breach of the peace by Chinese forces or violation of the Russian border will be met with immediate and overwhelming counterforce. We have in this war proven our resolve as a nation and as a people to combat Chinese aggression and we will continue to do so, whatever form that aggression should take.’
This time the pause was unscheduled. There was no pre-planned gesture. No zooming or camera switches or stage direction. Just one last nagging deluge of doubt. One last echo of Kartsev’s warning.
‘Although UNRUSFOR,’ Gordon finally resumed, ‘will maintain sufficient combat strength in the Far Eastern theater to fulfil its regional obligations, the Security Council has approved a timetable for withdrawal of forces from the Asian continent.’
There, he thought. It’s done. Somehow, however, he obtained no respite from his worries.
‘And so, as of today, this great travail has ended. The sacrifices made by our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have not been for naught. Siberia is under UN auspices. East Asia is at peace once again. Aggression has been punished severely. China’s offensive military capacity has been devastated. And we will remain vigilant against any further crimes against the peace. God bless the United States of America. Thank you. And good night.’
‘I’m glad you changed your mind,’ Chin whispered to Lieutenant Hung. His friend said nothing. The bus bumped along the rutted road. ‘Listen,’ Chin continued. ‘You were right about so many things. I’ve learned so much in such a short time! The first thing I do when I get back is to sign up for college entrance exams. They only take three kids from my home town, but you can’t imagine how dim-witted the others are. I know I’ll be one of those three!’
Chin’s news didn’t seem to make Hung happy. It pained Chin because he owed so much to his friend. He’d known the world was filled with variety. But he’d had no concept of the wealth and diversity of ideas. No understanding the way things were everywhere else! Hung had translated English magazines day and night, filling in the details and opening Chin’s mind The crash course was cut short by the end of the war. But Chin was a voracious student. And nothing had intrigued him so much as his taste of the forbidden fruit.
‘You’ve taught me so much!’ Chin said. Hung, as always, waved for him to lower his voice. ‘I owe you my life,’ Chin whispered. Hung rolled his eyes in protest. ‘No! I mean it! I owe you the life you gave me. The life filled with… ideas! I mean, who else could’ve explained the Renaissance in Europe? The fall of Communism in…?’
‘Sh-h!’ Hung said — casting Chin a fierce look.
‘No one will ever take those things away from me! Because I know them now. They’re up here,’ Chin said — tapping his skull with his finger. ‘I can never unlearn them. And I have you to thank for that!’
‘Be careful with what you know,’ was all Hung would say. His chin was buried to his chest. His voice was low.
‘What do you mean?’ Chin asked. Hung said nothing more, so Chin moved on to his real point. ‘There are also things I can teach you. They’re not brilliant things. They’re simple.’ Chin hesitated before broaching the subject. He knew it was off-limits, but he forged ahead nonetheless. ‘I’m sorry about your brother.’ Hung’s head shot up. ‘But you can’t change what happened to him!’