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“Blowing up this factory will only accelerate the chatter. How’s the Shepparton?”
After gassing the town, Jin had taken the Marauder trimaran to rendezvous with their cargo ship after the attack on Port Cook to check in on it.
“Captain Rathman has her on course. All the modifications have been made to the ship, and preparations are on track for when she arrives in Sydney.” The captain didn’t know what the cargo was, and he was paid amply not to ask questions. “I’m on my way to Cairns now to meet you.”
“We’re supposed to be watching Lu’s last video today,” Polk said.
“I know. That’s why I called, so we could watch it together.”
Polk sat at the office desk and opened his laptop. He typed in the command to start the video and pointed his phone at the screen so Jin could watch as well.
Lu appeared. Though he looked haggard, his expression was almost buoyant.
“If you are watching this, congratulations. We are nearing the endgame, and after this you will hear from me no more. If you have been careful to date and have executed my plan to perfection, then the final actions should be completed without issue. You will be heroes to the cause and the beneficiary of my estate.”
“I am so glad this is the final one,” Polk muttered.
“Me, too,” Jin added.
“I think it’s time for you to know the purpose of all your efforts. By now you realize that I intend to cause five million Sydneysiders to suffer some form of paralysis. The fact that you’re watching this video means that you agree to carry out my plan despite the enormous implications. It also means that I have chosen my agents wisely.”
Lu cleared his throat and took a sip of water.
“My motive is not revenge. I bear no ill will to Australia’s citizens. Yes, millions may die and millions more will endure a lifetime confined to a wheelchair. But the round-the-clock care the survivors will need is not a by-product of my plan, it is the entire goal. It’s the only way China will break out of its confines of regional dominance in Asia and replace the United States as the world’s preeminent superpower.”
“How so?” Polk said.
Jin waved her hand at him. “Shh. We’re about to find out.”
“I am a patriot, and for too long it has been easy to isolate China. Yes, my country has been exercising its financial might throughout the world, but it’s not enough. It is too timid. I’ve argued for a long time that we should have a bolder strategy. The Party resisted my calls for expanding the empire by invasion, considering it too risky. They declined despite having decisive new weapons I developed for them like the plasma cannon, whose design was long ago stolen from the Americans and perfected by my company. So I took the weapon back, built the Marauder, and devised my own plan to extend China beyond its borders without the Party’s knowledge.”
“He wants to invade Australia,” Jin said breathlessly.
“How is that even possible?” Polk asked.
“What do you think will happen when five million Australians are suddenly incapacitated?” Lu said. “The government can’t let them all die where they are. It would be inhuman. No, they would do everything in their power to save those unfortunate souls. But Australia doesn’t have the manpower. Overnight, twenty percent of their population would need special attention. I estimate at least half of them would die within days if the country didn’t undertake a massive effort to care for them. Who would they
turn to?”
“The United States?” Polk mused.
“Not the United States,” Lu seemed to answer him. “It’s too far away and doesn’t have enough people to send. My projections are that Australia will need at least one million caregivers immediately. And what’s the only country with the resources, manpower, and proximity to provide them? China. Thanks to some recent airline bankruptcies, a hundred spare airliners are ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice, and there are a million contract employees available to the Chinese government when they are requested.”
Polk paused the video and looked at his wife. “You’ve got to admit, it just might work.”
Jin nodded. “Australia will have no choice but to take the help.”
“And with a million Chinese citizens suddenly entering the country, China has a foothold on another entire continent.”
“Lu knows the Chinese government will want to extract concessions in return. It’s a backdoor invasion. And because the Australians already think that their own military is behind the disaster, there would be virtually no resistance to bringing them in. They’d be welcomed as saviors.”
Polk continued the video.
“Of course, the Chinese military will need to send units as well, purely for coordination purposes,” Lu said. “And once they are in the country, I doubt they will be leaving. In any event, a good portion of Australia’s residents will at that point be Chinese. The invasion will take place right under the Australians’ noses, and China’s land area will double in the space of a week, giving it a larger total land area than Russia. More than enough room for a billion more Chinese.”
Lu leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look, as if he had already accomplished his goal.
“Perhaps you disagree with my plan or simply don’t share my goals. It doesn’t matter. My name will go down in history, but Lu Yang won’t be remembered as a monster. I will be known not only as the person who saved millions of Australian lives but also as the visionary of a new era for the Chinese people. For all our sakes, I hope you complete your task and become billionaires by the beginning of the new year. Good luck and good-bye.”
