by Guerin Zand
Chapter 20
A Little Wang Time
I grabbed Katie and asked Stella to bring Wang out of stasis, then meet us in the medical center. As we walked to medical I instructed Katie that Maria was not to know we had Wang onboard.
“Have you talked to Maria since breakfast?”
“No. I don’t know what to say to her. Stella was going to spend some time with her and try to talk to her. You know Stella, she really enjoys her little talks. It seems to me she’s really into monkey psychology. I don’t think she has any idea what my daughter is like though. It should be interesting.”
“You know she’s just angry, Guerin. She didn’t mean what she said to you.”
“You’re wrong, Katie. She meant it, and I can’t blame her. It just hurts to know that our relationship will never be the same.”
We entered medical to find Wang laying back in the bed and Stella monitoring his vitals or whatever. Stella acknowledged our presence and I asked if he could talk. She nodded that he could.
“Wang, buddy. How are you doing? Not so well I see. This is Katie and she’s the one who put that bullet in your back. They sent her instead of me because they thought I might be a little too emotional. The problem with that is, well, Katie is my daughter’s best friend, and my wife and she were very close. Katie is also an excellent shot, so that bullet didn’t accidentally find just the right spot to paralyze you. Katie put it right where she wanted.”
“Is there a point to all of this?”
“Sorry, Wang. I’m just enjoying this so much. We have to get our fun in where we can, right? Like you cutting Diane’s fiancé’s throat in front of her just for your own amusement.”
“My name isn’t Wang.”
“Well we know that, but it’s not Wen Chiu either, now is it? We just decided to call you Wang Chung because it makes us laugh, like the band and the song. You know, ‘Everybody Wang Chung Tonight’.” There was no response. “You never heard it?”
Wang stayed silent. I didn’t really expect a response.
“Well, anyways, Wang, we just thought we’d come down here and let you know what a colossal fuck up you are. See, we rescued Diane and we caught you. That’s just for starters. All of the other agents that came in with that Uyghur cover, oh yea we figured that out, are either dead or enjoying our hospitality at Camp Gitmo. A lovely place. You’ll be joining them soon, but we wanted to have a little fun for ourselves first. Trust me, you’re going to love taco Tuesday. Is he going to be able to eat tacos in his condition, Stella?” Stella shook her head no. She really wasn’t pleased with how we were treating Wang, but she understood we weren’t asking for her approval.
“We didn’t totally fail. We killed your wife.”
Katie wanted some play time, so I let her take that one. “Other than just pissing us off, and ending you up here, what did that accomplish? The answer is nothing. See, the public story is a Uyghur terrorist cell was responsible for the attacks in New York, and see,” Katie pointed at a display the viewer brought up with the BBC World News playing. “There’s a nice picture of your passport photo, Wen Chiu, and you’re being called the leader of that terrorist cell. If you notice all your friend’s pictures are up there as well. Over 50 of you. The news networks are just eating this stuff up.”
“And why should I care?”
Katie looked over at me. “Please continue, Katie. Don’t let me ruin your fun.”
“Thanks, Guerin. This is, of course, being seen in China as well, and if you have any family, I’m sure your friends at the MSS are busy cleaning up those loose ends. Just like in Mission Impossible, you’ve been disavowed, mother fucker. We totally own the MSS office, and what you may not have known, was that you were never getting out of the U.S. alive. The plan was to kill you, after you handed over Diane, and let you take the rap for it all. But now that we have you alive, and all the MSS records, we have the Chinese over the barrel. We just need to get all the information out of you and we’ll be done here.”
“Torture? You think I will break under torture?”
“Oh, my dear Wang, no. We would never torture you. That would be inhumane.” I gave him a big smile. “I guess your Trogan friends couldn’t make you any smarter. Pretty shitty enhancements compared to what my friends did for me. No. Our friend Stella over there is simply going to take the information from that little brain of yours. Won’t take but a second or two. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt at all, not like in any of those scary sci-fi movies. You won’t even know it’s happening.”
Stella gave me a look and I could see she had problems with what I suggested. I took her to the side and made it clear that it was going to happen. It turned into a long discussion, so meanwhile Katie decided to chat some more with Wang.
“We’ve released the names and locations of every MSS agent currently active to any country that would be interested, even some of China’s so-called friends. It’s really causing a mess for China. So far over seventy of your buddies are dead and a hundred or so have been arrested around the world. We’re cutting the balls off the MSS thanks to you and your stupid plan.”
“You can’t stop the war that’s coming. The Trogans still win.”
“Wrong again, Wang buddy. We’ve already disabled the North Korean military and if they’re stupid enough to try and attack our forces, we’ll go through them like shit through a goose. I’d give it an hour, maybe a little more, and no more North Korea. That’s using just our conventional forces. Any other Chinese friends who try to act will receive the same.”
“See, our friends are helping us now. I’ll bet you and your Trogan masters didn’t count on that. We’re just going to wait for China to do something stupid and we’ll make them as impotent as the rest.”
“Sorry, Wang, your war is not going to happen. But I’ll tell you what. We’ll just adjust your bed a bit so you can get a good view of the newscasts. You can watch China being defeated and humiliated live.” Katie adjusted the bed to raise up Wang’s back. “We owe you that much. After that, it’s back to stasis for you. No reason to waste resources feeding you and changing your diapers. Maybe one day we’ll wake you up and hand you over to China so they can execute you. That way we won’t have to get our hands dirty.”
“Guerin, do you have what we need?”
“Yep. Stella just finished.”
“Then let’s leave this little shit bird to stew in his own juices. Don’t worry, Wang, I’ll drop by later to read you a bedtime story.” Katie winked at Wang and the three of us left him in medical, strapped into the bed, watching the news.
Outside Stella was going to say her piece. “Guerin, the way you treated that man was wrong. I can’t believe how cruel the two of you were. I agreed to download his memories but the rest of that was unnecessary. I should be repairing the damage to his body. Leaving him like that goes against everything I believe in.”
I stopped walking and grabbed Stella’s hand. “I’m truly sorry for putting you in this position, Stella, but I will not apologize for what we’re doing. You forget we’re simple savages here, right, Katie?”
Katie shrugged her shoulders and nodded yes as if to apologize, but not really.
“Guerin, I know you better than that. Sammy filled me in on your meeting with the Council while you two were torturing my patient. I’m concerned that you’re letting your wife’s death affect your judgment, regardless of what you say.”
“Of course it’s affecting my judgment. I wouldn’t be human if it didn’t, but I’m also showing quite a bit of restraint. You have no idea how hard it was for me not to tear that man into small pieces, very, very, very slowly. So please don’t question my judgment. You can file your reports, and I’ll take whatever punishment the committee or Council deems fit when this is all over. If what we’re doing offends your sensibilities, then perhaps you and Sly should leave when Bart and Gladys arrive.”
“No. I won’t leave you and Maria like this. Just leave me out of your little torture sessions next time
.”
“Ok. Speaking of Maria, have you had time to talk with her?”
“Dear God, Guerin. I wouldn’t have believed it possible, but that child is worse than you.”
“What does everyone expect. You take my attitude and put it in a young girl’s body. What do you think you’re going to get?”
Stella laughed. “She’s definitely your daughter. I’ll spend some more time with her. Just give her some time and space for now. I guess I could use another challenge besides you. Maybe you can find the time and we can have a little private talk. I’m here if you need me.”
“Oh, come on, Stella. I’m not really a challenge, am I?”
“Just a little bit, Guerin, just a little bit.” Stella smiled, I smiled, and Katie couldn’t hold back her laugh. We all walked back to the mess to meet up with the rest of the team.
Chapter 21
End of Days Past
Most of the team was already in the cafeteria enjoying dinner. Roger had brought up the current status displays using a viewer interface. He and Steve were talking about something happening. Maria was there. She must have just gotten there because she was at the replicator getting something to eat. I walked up and grabbed a tray.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Maria.” The replicator indicated it was done and Maria retrieved a salad from the machine. “Seriously, you could have anything you could possibly imagine eating and you get that simple salad?”
“Dad! I’m really not in the mood for one of your vegan rants, ok?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t do vegan rants.” Maria rolled her eyes and sighed. “I was just saying you can have a steak, or a cheeseburger or anything you want. If it comes out of the replicator it’s one hundred percent vegan.”
“I just want a salad. Is that ok with you?”
“Fine.” I made the replicator spit out my favorite. A Steak and Shake triple steakburger with cheese with a side of fries smothered in plastic cheese. Initially, when I was told that the replicators synthesized the food at a molecular level, and it wasn’t real meat, I thought the food was a little off. Milly had explained to me that it was “real” meat since the replicator synthesized the blood, as well as the protein, to be exactly the same as in real meat. It started tasting better after that. She probably just said that to make me stop complaining. I wanted to believe it, so I guess it’s true.
Maria took a seat next to Steve and Katie. I sat across the table next to Roger. Stella, Sly, and Cindy were sitting at the next table. Sammy was in the control center with the rest of his crew.
Things between Sammy and I had seemed strained, and I’m not just talking about that day. We had started to become more distant ever since I started this job decades ago. When I was first abducted, Sammy and I were pretty close. He was the one Bree man I had to talk to and I thought we had bonded. Over the years, this had changed so slowly that it wasn’t noticeable and now we hardly ever talked to each other except for work. I knew he was Milly’s father, but I never mentioned it. For some reason, the Bree preferred not to acknowledge family relationships in public. I think they wanted to avoid the appearance of nepotism. Milly had asked me to keep the knowledge of her parents to myself and so I did. I guess I had wanted Sammy to talk to me about Milly. When he just ignored the whole issue I didn’t know if I could really consider him as a close friend. From his perspective, maybe my attitude towards Julie and the Council was an issue. It may also have been because of what happened to Milly as a result of our relationship, then me just turning around and marrying Anna. He was a father after all and I could understand that.
Roger turned to me and started to update me on the situation. “The Americans and South Koreans had joint exercises planned for next month. They have moved that up and are in position to start tomorrow. It’s not unusual for countries to move up these types of joint operations when tensions are high. Sort of a way to let your opponent know you’re there and you’re ready. The North Koreans responded in their usual manner. They announced, and attempted, a short-range missile test hours ago but I had Sammy do his magic. He explained it to me but the hell if I know what he did. I think he rendered the fuel non-reactive, the rockets gas went bad. Now they’re running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to figure out why it failed.”
As Roger took a breath I asked, “Have we been monitoring the communications between them and China?”
“Yes, and after the test, the comm traffic exploded and it is continuing at an elevated level.”
“Have Sammy shutdown communications between China and the DPRK.”
“Guerin, don’t you think that might escalate the situation?”
“Roger, the situation is going to escalate regardless. I want them to know we are not sitting back and just waiting for them to make a move. I want them to know the failure was caused by us and I want them to be confused. They don’t actually know it’s us. It could be the Americans for all they know, right?”
“That’s true. You want them to worry that maybe the American’s have capabilities that they hadn’t anticipated?”
“Correct. We and the Americans know better, but they don’t. It may make them more cautious. Like I said, it’s going to escalate. What we want to do is limit that escalation. Talk to the Americans. Make sure they know that we are going to take out their comms and power if the DPRK starts an offensive, so there is no need for them to bomb these strategic assets. When the shit hits the fan, I want the Americans to limit their response. The goal in the DPRK should be to remove the regime, pacification, and ultimately reunification.”
“I agree, and we’ve already had those discussions. The allies have always been prepared to take advantage of a regime change scenario. They only plan to stop any advancing troops and then take the major military bases. Special operations forces, both American and South Korean, are prepared to land on the capital and capture and/or kill the regime leaders.”
“Good.”
“There are plans to start humanitarian assistance as soon as they can safely land cargo planes. They are hoping most of the commanders at the bases will surrender, not having any communication with their leadership. If that’s the case, they’ll secure the armories and send the troops home with food and supplies. South Korean officers trained for such a scenario will then work with the DPRK officers to keep order. The regime doesn’t treat the bulk of their military any better than the civilians, so most of them aren’t hardcore supporters. If they resist, the only difference will be the number of dead. Japan is also ready to assist with the aid program.”
I took a few minutes to digest all of that as I finished my meal. “Roger, have we seen any Chinese movement along the North Korean border?”
“Not yet, but they’d have to cross the Yalu River which would be a risk. The Americans could easily take out those bridges if they tried to cross. They could send troops by ship across the Yellow Sea, but that would take them too long. Besides, most of their Navy is in the Pacific posturing to deter the American Navy.”
“Well, if they do try to reinforce the DPRK we need to shut down the communications to whatever units they send. Have Sammy muck with any Chinese aircraft that cross the border. Knock out their comms and navigation systems. Make it so they can turn around or crash. I want to make sure that every offensive step they take, we counter. I want to give them a chance to realize their efforts are pointless. If they dare to try and deliver any nukes, then have Sammy work his magic and disable the entire Chinese nuclear arsenal.”
“On the political front, Cindy provided the Americans with the information we’ve gathered from Wang. They have more than enough now to prove that the attacks were carried out by the MSS and not a group of Uyghur terrorists. There is a meeting planned for later today between the U.S. and Chinese ambassadors at the U.N. It will be a private meeting and the U.S. ambassador will present them with the evidence. They are going to demand China apologize and pay reparations. They’re willing to let them
blame it all on the MSS minister and make him the scapegoat to save face for China.”
“I doubt that will work, Roger.”
“I agree, Guerin, but it does give them a way out. I think everything we’re doing here is trying to give them a way out as well. If they don’t take it, oh well. I don’t think I need to tell you that is probably more than they deserve after what they’ve done.”
“Here we are, sitting in a spaceship, planning World War III. It makes the movie Dr. Strangelove seem sane. No matter how hard we plan, we are going to miss something. We need options. Stella, can you get Sammy and see if Bart and Gladys are available? I’d like to talk to all of you at once before this gets out of control.”
“What are you thinking, Guerin? We have a plan.”
“And what did Rommel say about plans?”
“No plan survives contact with the enemy.”
“Right, Steve. Am I the only one that thinks the four of us here planning out WW III is total insanity?”
“What do you want to do, Guerin. You said it yourself, this is going to escalate.”
“Yes, Roger. The four of us have convinced ourselves that’s true. Remember though, we aren’t the smartest people here. I want to give Sammy and the Collective representatives a chance to voice their opinions. Maybe they can give us an idea we haven’t thought of.”
Bart and Gladys had come over from their shuttle, it was covering the other hemisphere, and Sammy had joined us as well. The reality of what was really going on had hit me. Maybe my wife’s death had distracted me from the reality around us. Maybe our plan was the best option. I doubted everything at that point in time.
