Dancing with the Dragon (2002) (39 page)

"You eyeball the flying machine and I'll work on camouflaging our supplies," Scott suggested. "I'll get in touch with Hartwell later."

"Whatever."

"Oh, a couple of other things," Bob said. "Since the Learjet and the helicopter are based here, and we have the fix in, you won't have to get landing permits--just the usual paperwork and flight plans."

"Great," Jackie said. "We appreciate it."

"No problem. You have reservations at the Grand Hyatt, and I'll be leaving you at this point. Whatever you're doing, good luck."

"Thanks," Jackie and Scott said, and then shook hands with Bob. The tall stranger walked to a waiting taxi and never looked back.

When Jackie and Scott entered the nearly spotless hangar, they were impressed with the gleaming orange-and-white Agusta A109E Power helicopter. The medevac interior included room for two patients, two medical technicians, and a pilot.

He picked two large canvas bags out of their luggage and loaded the weapons, grenades, body armor, helmets, extra ammo, night vision goggles, and the binoculars into them. Surveying the area for anyone or anything that looked suspicious, Scott locked the bags and concealed them in the back of the helicopter.

From the pages of the Agusta training manuals, Jackie had learned a lot about the powerful twin-engine helicopter with the innovative four-bladed main rotor system. Equipped with 640 shaft horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada free-turbine engines, the EMS helicopter could hover on one engine, cruise at 150-155 knots, and had a range of more than five hundred statute miles, depending on the winds and fuel burn.

An optional SX-5 Starburst searchlight had been mounted on the helicopter. The installation limited the never-exceed speed to 140 knots.

While she was conducting an introductory preflight on the sleek helicopter, Jackie's instructor walked up and introduced himself to her. The retired former U. S. Coast Guard helicopter pilot would prove to be friendly and very skilled in the art of teaching.

Unable to reach Hartwell Prost, Scott joined Jackie and her instructor while the Agusta was being rolled out of the hangar. After introductions, Scott quietly took Jackie aside.

"Hartwell is in a meeting with the president. I'll try again after I check into the Hyatt, but I have to tell you that I have some reservations about this operation."

"So do I. Why don't you take the rest of our bags and check in to the hotel. When I get there, we'll discuss the overall picture and see if we're comfortable enough to continue."

"Yeah, we need to think through this." He glanced at the brightly painted helicopter. "Be careful."

"Always."

Beijing, China

President Liu Fan-ding, enraged over his humiliating experience in Bangkok, had called an urgent meeting of select Communist Party leaders. The men had gathered in secret within the confines of the Zhongnanhai, the sprawling estate that is considered China's contemporary Forbidden City and is located next to the original golden-roofed Forbidden City.

Following Liu Fan-ding's inflammatory remarks, top leaders met in private meetings of xiao zu (small groups) to discuss the dangerous standoff with the United States. The code of secrecy and loyalty among the men and their staffs was so intense that only a few individuals knew about the clandestine meetings.

To preserve the appearance of unity and harmony, the party leaders were accustomed to keeping their personal preferences and opinions well hidden. If there was dissension among them, the men kept it to themselves. They reached their decisions in private, with only cursory consideration of public opinion.

This occasion was no different. Even though China's immediate future was in jeopardy, the hostility between Beijing and Washington had become intractable. The bitterness was aggravated by China's intense lust for reunification with Taiwan and Washington's vow to intervene on behalf of Taipei.

After two hours of strenuous discussions and arguments, the decision was made, and it immediately disappeared behind the mysterious veil of official Beijing secrecy. Disregarding their personal concerns and grave reservations, the individual members of the Politburo reluctantly gave the flawed decision their seal of approval.

Liu Fan-ding had persuaded party leaders that it was time to call President Macklin's bluff--before the United States had time to complete the rebuilding of its downsized military and strengthen Taiwan's forces.

The People's Liberation Army was immediately granted permission to seize the renegade province of Taiwan before Taipei or Washington could implement a missile defense perimeter. The months of planning, stockpiling equipment and missiles, and staging warships, landing craft, airplanes, and soldiers was about to climax in the invasion of Taiwan.

Although China could seriously damage Taiwan, conventional wisdom concluded that Beijing didn't have the capability to make an opposed landing with amphibious forces. It would be even more difficult with American forces aiding Taipei.

Those logical conclusions were overlooked in Liu Fan-ding's fervor to rule Taiwan.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, China

Scott was admiring the magnificent view of Victoria Harbor just before sunset when Jackie gently knocked. He rose from his chair, then walked to the door and opened it.

"They wouldn't give me a--"

"Here, I have a key for each of us."

"Thanks."

"How'd it go?"

"It went very well," she said with a great deal of exuberance. "It's an easy ship to fly. I can't believe how much power it has--it's like a rocket ship with rotor blades."

"Sounds like fun," Scott said, and motioned toward the sunset. "Not a bad view, huh?

"It's beautiful, absolutely incredible."

"You want to change and go out for dinner?"

"Actually, I'd prefer to have a quiet dinner in the hotel and then take a long, hot bath--just relax."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Did you get in touch with Hartwell?"

"Not yet."

"Well, I'll change into something more comfortable," she said, turning toward the bedroom. "We'll try Hartwell later." "Hurry--maybe we can catch the sunset."

"Ninety seconds."

The E-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post

The airplane was over Arizona when President Macklin walked into the conference/briefing room. Hartwell Prost and Brett Shannon could see the anger in Macklin's eyes.

The latest intelligence reports painted a vivid picture of a dangerous flashpoint developing in the Taiwan Strait. From all indications, China was about to launch an invasion to capture Taiwan. U. S. forces and Taiwanese forces in the area were on high alert. Many of the Southeast Asian allies were diverting their warships to aid Taiwan.

SecDef Pete Adair and air force general Les Chalmers were on secure phones in the White House Situation Room.

Macklin sat down and punched the button for the remote speaker. "Pete, Les, can you hear me?"

"Yessir, Mr. President," they said at the same time.

"I've been over your plans and I completely agree with you. As soon as Beijing fires the first volley, I want to put a lid on this so fast they won't know what hit them--otherwise this could escalate completely out of control in a matter of hours."

"We have most of what we need in place," Pete Adair said, looking at the current status board. "And we have more assets en route."

"Excellent. Les?"

"Yes, sir."

"I don't want to leave us exposed anywhere else in the world, but I'd sure like to have as many bombers as you can spare."

"They're on the way, sir."

"Okay," Macklin said, glancing at the latest situation report from the Pentagon. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."

Hong Kong

After a sumptuous dinner of Peking duck, Jackie soaked in a hot bubble bath for twenty minutes and then joined Scott in the living room.

"Feel better?"

"Like a new woman." She sat on the couch next to him. "Incidentally, the helo is on its way to Chengdu. If the weather holds, it will be there early in the morning."

"Good--at least something is going right."

"For a change."

"While you were soaking, I finally made contact with Hartwell they were over New Mexico."

"What's the latest?"

"Well, he seemed a little detached, but he said everything was set for tomorrow night."

"He probably has jet lag."

"Or major problems with China."

"Let's discuss the Mianyang op," she said. "What do you really think our chances will be--the probability factor?"

"It's going to be a long shot--at best."

"What's your main concern?"

"All the unknowns," he said with a frown. "In this type of situation, we're going to have to evaluate each step as we take it. If it doesn't look right, we call it off--that's it."

"No argument here," she said. "If either one of us feels uncomfortable--at any time--we get out of Dodge. Agreed?" "That's the way I see it. No heroics this time, just common sense." She laughed. "That'll be the day."

The Situation Room

General Les Chalmers and Pete Adair were waiting when the president entered the room, followed by Hartwell Prost and Brett Shannon. As usual, Macklin's Secret Service agents quietly left the room when he sat down at the large conference table.

"What do we know?" the president asked, looking at Adair. "It's imminent--they've telegraphed everything but the launch time."

"Brett, is there anything else diplomatically we can do--any way to shock Beijing into reality?"

"Sir, I've tried everything I can think of. Our folks have pleaded with everyone from Washington to Beijing."

Shannon took a deep breath and plunged on. "Mr. President, if you would personally contact Liu Fan-ding, we might have a chance of stopping this madness."

"I'll give it a try." Without hesitation, Macklin initiated the call and talked with three screeners before he was told the Chinese president was not available. Keeping his anger and disappointment to himself, the president placed the phone down.

"Well, gentlemen, they're determined to risk it all, and I'm determined to stop them in their tracks. We will not use any ambiguous language, and we'll stand by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. Any questions?"

The room remained silent.

Chapter
27.

Chek Lap Kok Airport

The engines on the white Learjet 35A were still warm when Scott began his preflight walk-around. Although it arrived late from Shanghai, the freshly painted jet was in pristine condition.

Dressed in a stylish, conservative business suit, Scott monitored the refueling while Jackie checked the weather and filed an instrument flight plan to the Shuangliu Airport near Chengdu, China. She was attired in black slacks and shoes, white uniform shirt with four gold stripes on her shoulders, and gold wings above the breast pocket of her shirt.

When Jackie joined Scott at the entrance to the Learjet, she handed him the latest weather update. "The forecast says rain--lots of rain--in the Chengdu area for the next twelve hours or more."

"Great, just what we need."

She made her way to the copilot's seat while Dalton entered the jet and locked the cabin door.

"It looks like we're going to have to use the railroad plan," he said.

"I'm afraid so." She opened the large chart case and extracted the IFR en-route high-altitude charts and instrument approach plates for Shuangliu Airport. "There are four airports surrounding Chengdu, so we're going to have to be very careful--don't want to embarrass ourselves by landing at the wrong airport."

"I just hope we can understand the controllers."

"Unfortunately," she said with a smile, "Chinese isn't one of the languages I speak."

"Not to worry," Scott said, and handed her the checklist. "We'll make it up as we go--the old walk-in plan."

"Walk into the bank and then plan how you're going to rob it?" "You have the gist of it."

A few minutes later, they taxied away from the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre. Approaching the runway, she switched to the control-tower frequency and requested permission to take off.

With the clearance granted, Scott lined up on the centerline of the runway and advanced the throttles. At 1:02 P. M. local time, the Learjet lifted off for the flight to Chengdu, the hustling-bustling provincial capital of Sichuan. A nightlife city energized by tens of thousands of foreign and Chinese tourists, Chengdu is world famous for its cuisines featuring unique blends of peppers and spices.

Located in the fertile Ch'eng-tu Plain, the busy city of millions has always been an important communication center. Noted for its historical remains and cultural activities, Chengdu is adjacent to the Yangtze River (Changjiang) and its tributaries, the Min Chiang and T'o Chiang, which extend throughout the Sichuan Basin and beyond.

The Chengdu Shuangliu Airport is a colossal, well-manicured garden. It remains green year round, with thousands, of trees and sweet-scented flowers adding color to the beautiful scenery.