CHAPTER 20
Zhongnanhai Compound
Home of the General Secretary of the People's Republic of China
174 Chang'an Avenue
Xicheng District
Beijing, China
June 14, 2017
1710 hours CT
"President Miller, an unexpected call. What do we have to discuss?" General Secretary Li Xibin said, to the image of the American President displayed on the large monitor in his private office.
"Interesting, the last time we talked you were in the Beijing Hall surrounded by comrades. Now you seem to be alone," President Konrad said.
"Do not gloat, Mr. President. You have a saying, 'What goes around comes around.' Perhaps our game is not yet finished. You have hidden the event from the media, your politicians, and the public. I wonder if you will survive their wrath once the information comes out," General Secretary Li replied.
"Do you remember the four craters in Mongolia that pointed toward Beijing?" the President asked.
"If you are referring to the unwarranted, naked aggression displayed by your country, then yes, I do. Thousands of innocent civilians . . ." the General Secretary began.
"Spare me the bullshit, General Secretary. We were very careful with the location of those impacts. We both know who the aggressors were. You cooperated because you had to. Trust me, you still have to cooperate, and I need some information," the President said.
Li Xibin paused, studying the face of the American president. He had a poker face, as the Americans called it, but the eyes . . .
"You didn't catch them all. You don't have possession of all the devices, do you?" the General Secretary asked, a faint smile crossing his face.
"Now who's gloating, General Secretary? Trust me; my problem is your problem. We have all the devices except one. If that device is detonated within the borders of the United States, or any of our allies, I will hold you and the People's Republic of China responsible. If we get to that point, your military facilities will disappear. I wonder how long you'll stay in power if that happens. Am I making myself perfectly clear, General Secretary?" the President said.
The General Secretary paused, looked away from the monitor, and considered his options. He had misjudged the American President before, and had been misinformed about their military capabilities. But the American President had a problem. A problem the Americans couldn't resolve by themselves.
"The People's Republic of China is always willing to cooperate with our friends in the United States, Mr. President. What information do you need?" the General Secretary asked.
This time the President paused, studying his adversary.
"Does the bastard think he can still win, or is he just playing me for concessions? He has to be under enormous pressure within his own party. His failure was too public. Too many people saw our planes and their display. Too many know about Manchuria. It would have been perceived as bending to the will of the United States He shut down the internet inside China, but that never works for long. How do I play this, hardball . . . softball, or something in between?" the President thought, while studying the smiling face of the Chinese General Secretary.
"General Secretary, you gave us the name and location of every Siberian Tiger agent that General Kung had placed within the United States. Did he have any other agents, any support organizations located within our borders? Please don't lie. I already have a partial answer, but I need everything," the President said, bluffing, hoping for the information he needed.
"What exactly are you looking for, Mr. President?" the General Secretary asked.
President Miller was out on a limb of his own making. He had made this call on a gut instinct without seeking advice from anyone else. He knew now that he should have waited, but he was beyond that point. He had to go on instinct, and the information that he already possessed.
"How far can I push him? If I was him, I'd play my cards close. I'd give something, but not everything. If I ask for everything he'll stall and I don't have the time," the President thought, while the two men played a game of high stakes poker.
"General Secretary, I want to know the names and locations of every agent that you have in the southern United States. Remember, if they detonate this device inside our borders, there will be no turning back for either of us," the President said.
The General Secretary looked away once again, considering his position.
"That bastard Kung has left me few options. We have infiltrated more places in their government, military, and business than they can imagine. How much can I discard before the whole thing falls apart? I'll give him something, and play the long game. In the end we'll still win. They are too flawed as a nation to last much longer," the General Secretary told himself.
"We might have a few personnel and facilities within that area. You probably already know about most of them, but I'll have a file delivered to your embassy in Beijing, Mr. President," the General Secretary said, while presenting his most humble and cooperative smile.
"So that's what a snake looks like when it smiles," the President thought.
"I appreciate your cooperation, General Secretary. I hope for the sake of both of our countries that the information proves useful. I'd hate to have to make another call and inform you that the information was inadequate," the President said, paused while their eyes connected, then broke the link.
CHAPTER 21
The Medical Room
230 Harlless Bridge Road
Little Rock, South Carolina, USA
July 15, 2017
1130 hours EST
"So how does the leg feel?" Lingli asked Aiguo, as he sat with legs dangling from the examination table.
"The thigh is still stiff and aches after I exercise, but I'm getting stronger every week," Aiguo said, while pushing off from the table and doing a deep knee bend.
"Chonglin and Bingwen have developed workout programs for everyone. It has helped blend the two teams into one fighting unit. We will need the unity during our future struggles," Aiguo said.
"You sound like a political commissar," Lingli said with a smile, as she knelt down and examined the scar tissue on Aiguo's thigh.
"What we are going to do will take leadership and a great strength of will. To accomplish our mission we must be willing to sacrifice everything," Aiguo said, while grabbing the doctor by her shoulders and lifting her to her feet.
"And that includes you. We have begun to have planning discussions. Most think that you should be excluded. But I think that has been a mistake. You are part of the team, and the team is only as strong as it weakest member," Aiguo said, while staring into Lingli's eyes.
"No one has told me anything, Aiguo, but I'm not a fool. I have noticed the change in attitude amongst the men over the last few weeks. At first, I sensed that some of them were afraid. Then I sensed resignation. Now they seem unified, focused . . . more alive. What are you planning to do with these men?" Lingli said, while slipping out of Aiguo's grasp and taking a step away from him.
"We are going to complete our mission. We are going to destroy the United States of America," Aiguo said, and smiled.
Lingli stared up at him amused, then stunned when she saw that he was serious.
"But how? You have one weapon. It is a powerful thing, but it's nothing compared to the size of this country. Even if you blew up Washington, they would survive. Their military would survive. China would not survive," Lingli said.
"Chairman Mao once said, 'Don't make a fuss about a world war. At most, people die... Half the population wiped out - this happened quite a few times in Chinese history... It's best if half the population is left, next best one-third.' We will survive, Doctor. The American people are soft. Remove their electronic toys and their grocery stores, and they will tear each other apart. They are the nation that will cease to exist, not China. Our mission is to bring about that day," Aiguo said.
"But how . . . you only have one bomb?" Lingli asked again.
"Like
the story of Jesus . . . the loaves and the fishes . . . from one comes many. That is how, good doctor. It's quite simple," Aiguo said, while walking past her and toward the door.
"Planning session at 1400 in the upstairs barracks. Make sure that you are there," Aiguo said, as he opened the door and left the Medical Room.
The House
1400 hours EST
The second floor of the house was one long room with a bathroom at one end. The original owner had built it as an entertainment room. Beds now lined both sides. A pool table sat in the center. The table was now covered with plywood and served as a planning table for the Siberian Tigers.
"Over the past few weeks we have discussed the need for action. We were sent here by General Kung to accomplish a mission that would solidify China's position in the world. The so-called United States of America is a blight on this planet. Their perverse culture is a cancer that has spread across the globe. Their greed has enriched them and allowed their influence to spread. It is time for all that to end," Aiguo began, while pacing at the head of the table.
"You all know that we possess the sole remaining weapon that was part of General Kung's great plan. You also know that I intend to put this weapon to good use. Today, you will all find out our final target," Aiguo said, then paused to judge the impact of his words on each individual in the team.
"Due to our limited printing capabilities, a map has been cobbled together by Sergeant Heng from 8 ½ by 11 sheets of paper. But, as you can see, the detail is still impressive," Aiguo said, directing their attention to the mosaic mounted on the makeshift table.
"What we are looking at is a satellite view of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant located in central North Carolina. The plant sits adjacent to a lake that supplies cooling water for plant operations. It was originally designed to have four nuclear plants on the site, but they were only able to complete one unit because of cost overruns. Capitalists are always fighting over money. It leaves them incapable of building anything in an efficient manner. For our purposes, the operating plant is irrelevant. What we are interested in is this," Aiguo said, while pointing at a long rectangular building on one side of the facility.
"As I said, the site was designed to have four nuclear plants. To support that, they built a Fuel Handling Building with the capacity to store spent fuel from all four units for the operating life of each plant. After the other units were cancelled, the utility still had this huge building, but only one unit filling its spent fuel pools. Being crafty capitalists, they began storing spent fuel from other, older sites that the utility possessed. These other sites had run out of storage room due to the lack of support from their federal government. As a result, over the last 20 years, this building has become the largest spent fuel repository in the Southeast United States," Aiguo said, then waited for a reaction.
When it came, the source was unexpected.
"You want to put the weapon in there . . . and detonate it?" Lingli asked, as a shiver ran up her spine.
The others stared at her, then at Aiguo. Then they all began talking at once.
"Quiet! Are you clucking hens or Siberian Tigers?" Aiguo asked.
"The good doctor is quite perceptive . . . and correct. Our new mission is to insert our remaining weapon inside the Fuel Handling Building and detonate it. The spent fuel pools, and their connecting canals, contain over a million gallons of water. The two major pools contain over 3000 spent fuel assemblies. Each assembly contains 8 kg of U-235, 942 kg of U-238, 9 kg of Plutonium and a few kg of other assorted transuranic elements. Before Chonglin's head bursts trying to add up the numbers, that adds up to over 960 kg or 2100 pounds of deadly, long-lived radioactive isotopes in each assembly," Aiguo said.
"That's over 6,000,000 pounds," Lingli said.
"Correct, Doctor Zhang. When we detonate our nuclear device inside this building, a building filled with over a million gallons of water and 6 million pounds of radioactive material, there will be an explosion unlike any in history. The water in the pools will instantly turn to steam . . . and the building will explode. All of the radioactive material will be atomized and hurled high into the atmosphere. The prevailing winds in this area blow from southwest to northeast. This one little device will render the mid-Atlantic and the northeastern United States uninhabitable for centuries. This area is the heart of their economy and government. The United States of America will cease to exist," Aiguo said, pausing once again, to judge the impact of his words.
"If we do this . . . they will destroy China. Their rage will be unimaginable," Lingli said.
"Before we detonate the weapon, we will go public and absolve China of all blame. China has attacked no one. It will be the responsibility of a few rogue terrorists, not the People's Republic of China. China will then step forward and assist the world in recovering from this disaster. China might even forgive America its mountain of debt to aid in their recovery. China will emerge as the lone super power. In time, this will become a Chinese planet," Aiguo said.
"This is insane! We will be responsible for the deaths of millions of people," Lingli said.
"The plans and actions of The Great Helmsman resulted in the deaths of over 50 million Chinese. A birth is often a bloody event. It was the price of the re-birth of our nation. It resulted in the final unification of a culture that had existed for millennia . . . a culture that was responsible for many of the great discoveries that led to global civilization. Our division allowed the greedy capitalists to carve up our country like one of their Christmas turkeys. The Japanese were an extension of the West. Their culture was contaminated by capitalist ideals. Their warlike nature, combined with modern technology, created a beast that even the West could not tolerate. The Chinese Nationalists were no different. They wanted the United States of China. Mao knew that this was not what the Chinese people wanted. He wanted complete freedom from the West. This is the final step. After this, China will be truly free," Aiguo said, smiling as others around the table nodded in agreement.
"Fine words, Comrade Lieutenant, but what is your plan? I do not think that the Americans will allow us to walk into this nuclear power plant and drop our weapon in one of these pools," Guan Xing asked.
"Correct, Comrade Sergeant. As the Americans say, 'The devil is in the details,'" Aiguo said, as Heng placed a notebook on the table.
CHAPTER 22
3400 Avent Ferry Road
New Hill, North Carolina
July 21, 2017
0630 hours EST
The sun was just starting to come up when Security Sergeant Jonathan Davies slipped in through the side door of his small, single-floor brick house. He knew that his wife would still be asleep. Dorothy would be in bed until the girls, Emily 3 and Callie 4, made an entrance around 0730. A beer and a quick shower, and he'd be in a deep sleep before they tiptoed into the room and woke their mother. She would slip out of bed, close the door, and tend to their young daughters. That was their standard family routine when Dad was working night shift. If they got noisy and woke him up during the day, somebody was in big trouble.
Jonathan stepped inside and locked the door. Then he glanced to his left, noticing that the kitchen light was on.
"Like we don't pay Duke Power enough every month already," he said, then yawned, and began walking toward the brick stairs that led into the small kitchen off the carport.
He didn't even notice the black-clad man hidden in the shadows, until the 9mm was pointed at his face.
"If you move, I will kill you," the man said, in an odd accent.
Jonathan's right hand instinctively slid toward his own weapon at his hip.
"If you touch it, I will kill you. Then I will kill your family," the man said.
Jonathan stopped, and raised his hands into the air.
"Don't hurt them. I'll do whatever you want," Jonathan said, as he felt another weapon pressed against the back of his skull.
"Put your hands on top of your head. Interlock the fingers," the man behind him ordered.<
br />
Jonathan did as he was told. All he could think about was Dorothy and the girls. He barely noticed his own 9mm being removed from its holster.
"What do you want? I don't have a lot of money in the house, but I'll give you everything we've got, everything of value. Just don't hurt my family," Jonathan said, as the man began to push him toward the stairs.
"We don't want your money, Sergeant Davies. We just want your cooperation," the man behind him said, while the other man turned, climbed the stairs, and opened the door into the kitchen.
Jonathan entered the kitchen, turned left, and halted. On the other side of the kitchen was a small circular dinette. Dorothy sat in the shadows at the far end, facing him. His two girls had their arms wrapped around their mother. All three were shaking with fear. A third man stood behind his wife with a pistol pressed against her right temple. Tears were streaming down Dorothy's face.
"Whatever you want, I'll do it. Please, don't hurt them," Jonathan said, his heart pounding in his chest.
He was an Iraq vet and had been in the 'shit', as the saying went. He was more afraid now than he had ever been in combat.
"Well, I'm very glad to see that you're so cooperative. That will ensure that we all get what we want," Aiguo said, while lowering the pistol from Dorothy's head.
"I am not interested in your money. I am not interested in harming you or your beautiful family. What I want is information, Sergeant Davies. Information about where you work. If you provide that information, I give you my word that you and your family will be released unharmed. If you refuse to provide exactly what I want, then I will slit your daughters' throats, while you and your wife watch. Then I will slit your wife's throat, while you watch. Then I will kill you very slowly," Aiguo said, while ruffling the hair on the youngest child.
HARRIS (Detonation) Page 8
