throat muscles going up and down. The colonel sounded vindictive. He shook his head.
“You’re refusing orders?” Wilson asked.
“No, sir,” Stan said, giving an over-crisp, sarcastic salute. He was sure Wilson didn’t get it. He’d have to think this over. The unit had been activated. What did the President think was going to happen that he wanted these so- very-prone-to-breakdown-tanks in California?
“I’d better get back to my tank, sir. I need to get the engine running if they’re moving us.”
“Hmm,” Wilson said. “Yes, see to it, Captain.”
Stan spun on his heel and marched for the door. Did this mean he was going to war, that the country was? He couldn’t believe it.
-5-
Into the Abyss
“Gunnery Sergeant,” General Ochoa said, nodding a greeting.
“Hello, sir,” Paul said warily. He was in one of the Ninth Division’s comm-shacks, the same one he’d used to speak to Cheri. After a tiring day at the border with Colonel Norman, Paul had headed for the showers. The lanky lieutenant he’d bluffed before told him he had a special message.
Now Paul stared at the grim-faced Ochoa. “Do you have bad news, sir?”
“I’m afraid I do,” Ochoa said. “I’ve been giving the news to others all day long.”
“Is it my wife?” Paul asked.
“What?” Ochoa asked. “No,” he said a moment later. “It’s about the survival of the United States as we know it.”
“Oh.” Paul’s shoulders loosened. He had been worried sick it was about Cheri or Mike. “Go ahead, sir. Let’s hear it.”
General Ochoa frowned before explaining the nature of Blue Swan.
“Okay,” Paul said. “I get it. EMP leaves us sitting ducks for the Chinese. What does that have to do with me?”
Ochoa nodded crisply, although he spoke hesitantly. “We need commandos to, ah…”
Paul laughed mirthlessly as the problem and plan crystalized in his mind. “You want American kamikazes to take out the enemy missiles, is that it?”
Ochoa stared at him, finally nodding.
“But those missiles are likely in the middle of enemy formations across the border in Mexico.”
“We’ve begun pinpointing them,” Ochoa said.
“And how have you done that, sir?”
“The CIA—”
Paul had worked with the CIA for some time now, ever since Hawaii, in fact. “Oh,” he said. “You mean you’re guessing.”
Ochoa stopped speaking, which left his mouth open. He closed his mouth and hunched toward the screen. “I won’t lie to you, Kavanagh. Ah…these are educated guesses by the smartest people we have.”
“Great,” Paul said.
“Can I count on you for this?”
Paul turned away.
“Twenty-four hours from now,” Ochoa said.
Paul felt himself go cold.
“It’s a gamble and it’s a raw deal for you. But we need you, Gunnery Sergeant. Your country needs you.”
“Just like the U.S. needed me in Hawaii?”
Scowling, Ochoa said, “The truth is you’re probably a dead man if you agree to this. The trouble is that if you don’t agree, our country could be dead before we start the fight. This is one of those times…” Ochoa cleared his throat. “Sergeant, we’ve been flat-out beaten before the fighting starts by a war-changing enemy weapon. The intelligence community believes the Chinese only have a limited number of these missiles. We’ve yet to spot any facing Texas. Now if—”
“I’ll do it,” Paul said. “I’m in, sir. I want to get it done.”
Ochoa blinked several times. “You know what this means?”
“Yeah, that I get to do the job I was trained for. This driving around as a chauffeur—it’s a waste of my time.”
Ochoa looked away. He shook his head. When he looked back, his eyes had hardened. “You’re a good man, Kavanagh. I’m emailing you the plan on your secure account. Study it, refine it if you can think of anything better for your team, and then tomorrow night you’re going in.”
“Yeah,” Paul said, “that’s just wonderful. I can hardly wait.”
Marshal Nung clasped his hands behind his back as a green light bathed his features. He stood over a computerized situation map of the Mexican-Californian border. Around the glowing table stood his staff officers and old Marshal Gang, the Ruling Committee’s observer.
Marshal Gang was big for a Chinese officer, with wrinkled skin and rows of gaudy medals on his chest.
“We still need several more days, sir,” General Pi told Nung, his logistical wizard. Pi looked haggard, with red-rimmed eyes and a drooping mouth. He was the eternal pessimist and therefore an oddity among Nung’s officers.
Nung breathed deeply, expanding his chest and making his medals clink against each other. He looked up at Pi and shook his head.
Pi’s frown deepened. “The Third Corps needs more—”
“Listen to me,” Nung said. His voice was raw from lack of sleep. Since his return from China he had been everywhere, inspecting, threatening, cajoling and watching. Through force of will he attempted to move two million men and their supplies into attack position. It was a daunting task. Even with a brilliant, hard-working staff, there was simply too much to do and too little time to do it in.
Fortunately, they had prepositioned masses of supplies months ago. The Americans had noticed then and the enemy had gone into alert status. Over time, the Americans became accustomed to his maneuvers. The enemy was on alert again, but Nung suspected that many Americans must think of it as routine, especially as the action had already started in Texas.
Nung breathed once more, staring at the green screen. Two million soldiers and their support groups. Masses of artillery shells, masses of bullets, body armor, boots, jackets, rifles and millions of tons of rations—there was no end to his soldiers’ needs. Tanks, armored cars, IFVs, hovers, fighter jets, bombers, missiles and the tens of thousands of drones, it boggled the imagination how much fuel he needed.
The diversionary attack in Texas had absorbed an amazing amount of materiel, but it would be as nothing compared to his needs.
The Americans had mass, too, but not as much, never close to equal to what he possessed. Besides, the enemy had vast frontages to guard, never certain where his enemy might land an amphibious invasion.
“The Chinese hammer falls here, comrades,” Nung told his officers. “We will crack the Californian defenses. First, we must smash the American air cover and destroy radar stations, anti-missile launchers, laser and flak sites. Then we will unleash Blue Swan and send in the Eagle Teams. Only then will the wave assaults wash over the shattered and shaken Americans. One swift blow given with tremendous force will shatter the American defenses into a million pieces. Ah, then comrades, then our tanks will lunge into the Californian hinterland and win the war before the Americans have time to recover.”
