by Andrew Watts
She nodded. “And after the reinforcements arrive?”
He stared back at her, not saying a word.
“Good. That is the correct answer, if anyone asks. I take it that the Ecuadorian military is in the dark.”
“That is correct. As are many of my own men.”
“How is the training with the locals going?”
He took in a breath. “I have been a part of several cross-training evolutions over the past few years. As you likely know, our nation has begun supplying several Latin American countries with weapons and military systems. These pieces of hardware are not simple. They are quite advanced and require much training to become proficient.”
She caught movement outside the tent. About fifty yards away, Natesh was headed toward them with a few Ecuadorian soldiers. One had a bright silver star on the center of his cover. She turned back to the colonel. “And?”
“And there is not the same sense of urgency and professionalism here,” he said. “It’s just a job to them. They don’t think they will ever use these skills in combat. The Ecuadorian soldiers arrive in the morning, they do the minimum, and they are home each night. We’ve worked with the Venezuelans, the Ecuadorians, Bolivians and some in Argentina. I don’t have confidence in the ability of these men to fight. The just don’t have the motivation.”
“I understand. What is their role at the Manta base?”
“They still see it as their base. So they are standing perimeter security. We are only just now beginning to get our defenses operational. Surface-to-air missiles, radar, and such.”
Natesh and the party of Ecuadorian soldiers entered the tent. Natesh had a worried look on his face. As he made eye contact with Lena, he mouthed, “Sorry.”
She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. No problem, my friend. This is what I want.
The Chinese lieutenant colonel Lena had been speaking with rose to his feet. He saluted the Ecuadorian man with the star on his cover. “Good morning, sir. How may I—”
Red-faced, the Ecuadorian general spewed forth spittle as he screamed. Lena’s Spanish wasn’t as good as it had once been, but she understood what he said. “Who the hell is this Chinese puta who dares to summon me on my own base?”
All the people working in the command post tent stopped what they were doing and turned. No one spoke.
The general looked Lena up and down. He contorted his face as he saw her scars. “What the fuck happened to you? Are you the puta who thinks she can tell me what to do?”
He walked up to her, standing a foot away. “I am the commanding officer on this base. I am a general. You have no authority over me. I let you Chinese onto our base because our country has agreements with yours on training and weapons sales. But I can make you leave anytime I want. Don’t you dare send your Indian servant to come get me ever again. Do you understand me?”
His men stood behind him, smirking at the dressing-down. They were fat, Lena noticed, and their uniforms were sweat-stained. One of them was eyeing Lena’s chest.
Lena had come to her feet when they entered. She did so out of habit, more than out of respect. She said, “General, do you speak English? I assume that you don’t speak Mandarin, and my Spanish is not very good.”
He glared at her and said, “I speak English.”
She spoke softly. A subdued tone. She wanted him to think that he had power over her. “General, I would like to apologize for any appearance of impropriety. Surely I did not mean to imply that you were subservient to me. Clearly, you are a great military leader. I expect that you are an accomplished strategic planner. A brilliant tactician who can teach our Chinese soldiers many things.”
The Ecuadorian general narrowed his eyes at her. “I could teach the Chinese many things if I had the time. But I am a busy man. This is not my job. You Chinese are here to teach my men how to use the weapons that you have sold us. That is all we need.”
She nodded respectfully. “Of course, of course.”
The general said, “I don’t know why we need so many of you here. But if that is what our military leaders have agreed to, then so be it.”
She walked over to the large map spread out on the center table. The men who stood there, silently staring, moved out of the way. “Now, General, as you are in charge of this base, I hope you don’t mind walking us through the security positions that you have set up? Natesh, the colonel, and I wish to be well versed in what—”
The general held up his hand. “I told you that I don’t have time for this. I do not answer to you. Now you listen to me, puta, this is the last time I will be speaking with you. Who are you? Are you with the weapons manufacturer? The Chinese government?”
She said, “I represent the interests of China.”
He spat on the floor. “You will work with someone on my staff. Unless…” He smiled and examined her body, then turned and said something in rapid Spanish. Laughter from his entourage. “No, I think this Chinese puta is not good-looking enough even for that. Perhaps with a bag over her head to cover those scars?” He stood over her, smirking.
Lena could see Natesh flush, and the Chinese lieutenant colonel tense up, looking to her for direction. She didn’t flinch. She just stared silently into the eyes of the Ecuadorian general.
Uncomfortable with her gaze, he looked away and said, “Do not waste my time like this again.” He turned and walked out, followed by his smirking underlings. One of them, while looking at her scarred neck and face, make a comment, and the others laughed on their way out.
She stared at the Ecuadorian men as they left the tent. Then she gestured to Natesh and the Chinese lieutenant colonel. Lena said, “Colonel, could you clear the room for a moment? I wish to speak with you two alone.”
The officer looked at the Chinese soldiers in the tent and waved for them to leave. A moment later, the three of them were alone, standing over the large map on the center table.
“So that man is what you have been dealing with here?” She looked back and forth between the two of them.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Natesh said.
“Is he impeding your progress?”
Natesh sighed. “We have a host of impediments. He is just one of them.”
“Give me your update, Natesh. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Natesh wobbled his head from side to side. “You need a supply chain created from scratch. That is what Jinshan has asked me to work on here. I’ve done the math. Do you know how big your inventories will need to be to support the flood of troops that you will have arriving?”
“How big?”
“In dollars, the inventory level is equivalent to that of the entire North American automobile industry. Enormous. But the automotive companies have had decades to put their supply chain in place. They have teams of thousands of expert purchasers and material supply managers. Men to plan the manufacturing, so that they have the right quantities of materials produced and available to them at the right time. Men to manage the transportation, so that it is delivered to the right warehouse at the right time. Men to manage the warehouses themselves, so that when one is filled up, the excess inventory gets moved to a backup location and doesn’t clog up the trucks and trains.”
She tapped her foot. “And you are saying that we do not have this in place?”
“I’m saying that there is a complicated network that needs to be set up, and no one has started filling those roles until now.”
The lieutenant colonel frowned and said, “The Chinese military has an enormous group dedicated to logistics—”
“The Chinese military isn’t fully on-boarded to this plan yet,” Natesh said. “You know that. And more importantly, the Chinese military has been static on Mainland China for generations. They have neither the experience nor the expertise to do this.”
The officer said, “I don’t see why it is so complicated. Just order the supplies. Get the fuel and bullets. We will do the rest.”
“You are kidding, right? These Chinese milita
ry and intelligence men I’ve been working with know nothing about what is needed. They can plan for how your army will attack just fine. But then they will run out of bullets and fuel and it won’t matter. You will need a river of supplies constantly flowing to feed your army as it marches through Central America and Mexico. The moment this Slinky of tanks and jeeps expands and slows, your chances of success will as well. Trust me, I’ve read every book on war that I can get my hands on, and I know modern supply chains. The logistics and supply chain is quite possibly the most important factor in a military victory. And this one has yet to be created.”
Lena observed him. She knew just how intelligent he was and took his words to heart. “What is your solution?”
Natesh held out his hands. “I mean…” He half-laughed in exasperation. “I mean, you are asking for a miracle. This timeline wasn’t supposed to be so near-term. I was told—”
Lena raised her voice ever so slightly. “You were told what you needed to know. Do you have a solution?”
“I will need help. Assistants. Ones who have experience in this sort of thing.”
“What do you need?”
“I need a team that can support me. A competent team. Not just college students from China. I need the members of my consulting firm to assist me in this.”
“From America? You can’t be serious.” She thought about it. “We will get you help. Chinese consultants versed in the Latin American supply chain. We cannot risk using Americans.”
He paced back and forth over the map, his words rapid. “Fine. Just make sure they are good. And get them here quick.”
Lena crossed her arms. “Done. But we’ll need them under close observation. And there will be strict rules on what they can communicate and with whom. You’ll need to make that clear. I’ll have some of the colonel’s men overseeing things to make sure there are no security breaches.”
Natesh nodded. “I understand.”
Lena said, “So do you have any good news?”
“The tent camps on this base are being set up quickly and efficiently. The Chinese soldiers that are already here have prepared well for the imminent arrival of the Junxun students. The students will live in these camps. They will be trained by the Chinese commandos who are already here. The first step will be military indoctrination. After the first week, I will begin using them in logistics roles.”
“Good. What else is working well?”
“I have been pleasantly surprised by how many Chinese-made weapons and weapons systems are already in place.”
The Chinese colonel nodded. “We have built up a sizeable amount of Chinese weapons and military vehicles in Latin America these past few years. It is being used by different national governments. Different pieces of hardware are in different locations. For instance, many of our armored personnel carriers are at a single base in Venezuela. But there are several hundred anti-aircraft missiles located in Ecuador. And we have done a great deal of military trade with Bolivia, as well.”
Lena said, “How long will it take to transport all those supplies here?”
“To Ecuador?”
“Yes.”
“About two days by rail from Venezuela,” Natesh said. “But it’s through the mountains, and out of the way if the convoys will be heading north. What the colonel and I had discussed was sending a contingent of our men—those with experience using the vehicles that would be requisitioned—to Venezuela. They would meet us just north of the Panama Canal. The Bolivian convoy would be traveling about three days up the coast before meeting us here.”
Lena saw the nervousness in Natesh. “What’s wrong?”
“These movements would be open and obvious. They could only be safely executed after a total communications blackout occurs. And we would need air defense to ensure no reconnaissance flights picked up what was going on.”
“Colonel?”
“He’s right. That will be a major challenge. We will need to protect multiple large convoys from US air power. Once we get to Mexico and the continental United States, their aircraft won’t even need tankers to refuel. They will then be able to rapidly and continuously target our land forces at that point. How will we prevent this from occurring?”
Natesh looked at Lena.
“Colonel,” Lena said sharply, “that will be enough for now. While I respect your expertise and the work you are doing for us, you are not yet privy to the entire scope of our operation. When we are ready to divulge further information, you will be informed of our plans. For now, please continue to train your men and prepare this base for the imminent arrival of our troops. That information in itself is highly confidential, and I implore you to keep it to yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am. Of course.”
Lena looked at the map and then up at the two men. “Soon this base will become the first military outpost in China’s expansion into the West. Keep working to make that a success.”
The colonel drove Lena around the base in his jeep, making sure that she was aware of the perimeter defenses, as well as the plans for growth.
A giant grey transport aircraft flew overhead, landing on the runway.
The colonel said, “Ah, so they have begun to arrive.”
Lena said, “Are those our new recruits?”
“Indeed they are, ma’am.”
She shook her head, amazed that Admiral Song had been able to get it done so fast. He had organized a voluntary winter Junxun for all first-year university students and those who would be attending university the following year. The deal was sweetened by promising highly sought-after government jobs. Jinshan’s cyberoperations team had amplified the message over Chinese social media, and over two thousand students had volunteered so far.
While they’d thought the special winter training would take place at an island base just off the coast, the Chinese military transports actually took them across the Pacific Ocean to Manta, Ecuador. That was one piece of information that the students had not been aware of when they’d signed up. The other was that their military service was indefinite.
The whole world would know soon enough, Lena thought.
The jeep stopped near one of the hangars. A PLA captain walked up and saluted the colonel. Lena squinted as she realized that she knew the man.
Lieutenant Lin.
Now promoted. Captain Lin. She was rarely surprised, but she found this shocking. Her face betrayed nothing, however.
“Good day, Captain,” the colonel said. “What do you have for us?”
Lin looked at Lena and Natesh, but it appeared that he didn’t recognize her. Perhaps it was the scars. Or the two decades of age. “Sir, we are filling up the hangars with supplies, and sending out clothing and other materials to the new personnel.”
“Very well. Is everything on schedule?”
“Yes, sir.”
Now Captain Lin paused when he looked at Lena. She was unsure if he recognized her or if he was just staring at her scars.
“Something wrong, Captain?”
“No, Colonel.”
“Very well, that is all.”
“Yes, sir.”
The man saluted and walked back towards the hangar, where they were unloading the contents of a pallet onto the back of a truck. She saw him turn and glance back at her as he walked.
Lena said, “Is he one of yours?”
The colonel said, “You mean is he one of my commandos? Oh no. He is just a logistics officer. One of the ones who came over with us. Why?”
“No reason,” Lena replied.
14
Panama
Chase and the US Navy foreign affairs officer shared a cab back to the US embassy after they finished the Farragut briefing. The Naval officer was only needed to make sure that there was Navy involvement when providing orders to the Navy ship captain.
Chase then traveled to a CIA safe house on the eastern side of Panama City. Several members of Task Force SILVERSMITH were already there, including specialists from the NSA and military cry
ptologists. There were also two US Marines wearing plain clothes.
Chase shook hands with the Marines, a senior enlisted by the name of Darby, and the unit’s commanding officer, Captain Calhoun.
Gunnery Sergeant Austin Darby and Captain Jake Calhoun were members of the US Marine Corps Special Operations Command. The outfit had recently been renamed the Marine Raiders, an homage to the elite Marine Corps units of World War II. In 1942, Raider battalions were involved in combat action against the Japanese in places like the Solomon Islands and Guadalcanal. Today, the Marine Raiders were the Marine Corps’ own elite unit within SOCOM, the US Special Operations Command.
Chase had worked with Marine special operators in Iraq. They were used there to train and fight alongside Iraqi special forces in battles against ISIS. Chase considered the Marine Raiders among the elite soldiers of the world. They were much like the SEAL teams he had been a part of.
The CIA briefer sat them down at a table and opened his laptop. After typing a few keystrokes, he brought up a screen that said OPERATION SILVERSMITH.
“Who comes up with this stuff?” asked the gunnery sergeant.
The CIA man replied, “Actually, for this one…I did.”
“Ah.”
“Alright, gentlemen, we now have approval to move forward with this portion of SILVERSMITH. Some quick background…” He tapped a key and the screen changed, showing a bar graph. “Over the past decade, China has sold an increasing number of arms to nations around the world, including Latin America. It started off with just nonlethal supplies. Uniforms. Medical aid. But in recent years, they have switched to some more advanced weaponry…”
An image of two Chinese Z-9 helicopters appeared. Then an image of an armored personnel carrier. Then a tank.
“And that has raised some eyebrows. There are two main concerns. First, the Chinese are arming nations that have sometimes-adversarial relationships with the US, like Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. Also—many of these financial deals didn’t make sense.”
