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34
Drake hesitated.His and Ru’s deal had been that they would contact each other only in moments of international crisis and that no one must ever know. They had agreed to not so much as answer the phone if anyone else was present.
Now Ru had handed off his phone as if this was a party call. Not that Drake himself was in any position to protest. He had cut off the Situation Room microphones to the Marines of the National Security Council who managed any data requests from the room. But the President and National Security Advisor sat silently by him, listening in on the speakerphone.
He now had a choice. Hang up or trust the one person on the planet he trusted least. President Cole nodded but Roy didn’t understand who they were dealing with. And now that the phone was in another’s hands, Drake didn’t understand either.
“You may speak to me or I can have General Zhang Ru tortured for all of the details that can be extracted from his mind, then executed—and this connection will never be available again.” The man’s English was better than Ru’s and had a slight British accent.
At least Ru was finally in over his head, which made Drake feel a little better. He repeated himself regarding the attack.
“Satellite-launched? You think that we are like your Cold War movies of evil Russians with missiles parked in orbit ready to rain them down upon you.” Drake could hear thepitifuljudgment but the man had the decency not to voice it.
“A,” Drake looked down at his notes from Miranda, “nuclear-powered, micro-pulsed laser with a three-hundred-kilowatt delivery capability, operating in the infrared or near-infrared range.”
There was a distinct pause.
“That would not explain the damage our satellites observe on your carrier.” The man spoke far more carefully. He was no fool, he knew what all of that description meant, including what damage it could cause.
He also hadn’t denied such a laser’s existence, which should have been his first action. Of course, he would realize that Drake wouldn’t believe a word of it, so perhaps he’d chosen to not waste their time.
A glance showed that neither Sarah Feldman nor Roy Cole had failed to note that as well.
“The attack killed one of our pilots on landing. His final dying action, in an apparent attempt to abort the landing and save the carrier, inadvertently caused the damage.”
Again a long silence, before the unknown person continued. “That is an honorable pilot.”
“Yes, hewas.Now, was it you who attacked our pilot? As I informed your colleague, answer very carefully.”
“I am not a child.”
Drake couldn’t stop the laugh. He knew that Ru had to be still standing there, though apparently only hearing half of the conversation. Whoever was on the phone would know that and was using it.
That’s when he connected who that meant he was talking to. He scrabbled for a pad and pen.
Sarah shoved hers across the table at him.
He wrote down a name, followed it with a question mark. Then, on consideration, crossed out the mark and spun it for the others to see.
Liú Zuocheng, co-Vice Chairman of the CMC. The second most powerful man in all of China.
Sarah looked aghast. President Cole looked thoughtful.
“Is your President sitting there, listening with you?” Zuocheng was neither a child nor stupid.
Cole sent him a questioning look that askedConsequences?
Drake could only shrug.
Cole tapped his finger three times on the table then answered, “He is.”
In the background, there was a faint shifting of sound. A slight breeze across the microphone? As if Zuocheng was walking. Pacing? Or walking away from Ru?
“Let us be frank with each other then.”
“Yes,” Cole answered.
“I firmly disavow your right to intrude in our territorial waters of the South China Sea with your warships.”
