he recognized his aide bending over him. Yes, he was in bed. The days of endless decisions and worry had wearied him. His body wasn’t what it used to be. The doctor had finally convinced him that instead of stimulants and constant attention, what he needed was plenty of sleep. Then he could make wise decisions. The aide looking over him, Nung finally realized the man was worried.
“Is there trouble?” Nung whispered.
“Uh…Chairman Hong wishes to speak to you, sir.”
“Help me up,” Nung said.
The aide was a large man and easily pulled him to a sitting position. The wheelchair was at the foot of the bed. Nung had begun to hate the thing.
“Help me to my feet,” Nung said.
The aide licked his lips.
“Do as I command,” Nung said, for the first time speaking in his normal tone.
The aide gripped an elbow and helped Nung stand. A moment of disorientation followed. Then Nung felt better than he had since the “incident” with the tranks and amphetamines. With faltering steps, he stepped into the lavatory, turned on the facet and washed his hands and then his face. Oh, that felt good. Drying his hands, he returned into the bedroom. Maybe the doctor had known what he was talking about.
“Help me into my uniform,” Nung said.
Ten minutes later, the aide wheeled Nung into the communication room. With a boiled egg in his stomach and a bowl of rice, Nung felt ready to tackle the Leader. As he ate, he listened to a situational report. The main forces continued to squeeze the SoCal Army Group as the Fifth Army coordinated with the Hover Command for another thrust up Interstate 5.
Nung rose up out of the wheelchair and had the aide put it out of visual range of the computer screen. Then he sat in a chair and activated the link. He spoke to the Leader’s secretary and waited. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take too long.
Three minutes later, Jian Hong appeared on the screen. The Leader’s hair was jet black from the best hair dye. His face was wider than it used to be, evidence that the man had gained weight.
“I will make this brief,” the Leader said.
Nung bowed his head. The Leader’s tone troubled him.
“Marshal Kao has informed me of the situation,” the Leader said. “The sudden and now complete blockage of the Palm Springs-Los Angeles route is a disturbing occurrence.”
“It is accurate to say that the Americans surprised us,” Nung said. “They have developed an amazing tank and potentially one that could do us great harm. Fortunately, they are few in number. We know this is true because otherwise they would have gone over to the attack. Notice, the Americans are content to hold the Palm Springs pass. Therefore, in truth, the few superlative tanks do not change the balance of military power or the precarious American position.”
“Marshal Kao predicted you would say such things. He says you cannot see anything but for headlong assaults. Marshal Gang has concurred with this analysis.”
Within his chest, Nung burned at these insults and he felt his blood pressure rising. Why did such small- minded men always try to interfere with his greatness? They feared, perhaps, to risk everything for glory and ultimate, spellbinding victory.
“With all due respect, Leader, the two marshals are old men who have the lost the spirit of the warrior. It pains me to say this, but they quail like the enfeebled worriers they are at the idea of taking a risk to win large.”
“There is a risk?” the Leader asked.
“In war, one must always accept risks.”
“Do you seek to teach me, Marshal Nung?”
“I do not, Leader. I am the servant of the State, the State you lead with consummate skill.”
“Hmm. I find the latest reports disturbing. We have taken heavy causalities and expended massive amounts of munitions. Already, the Navy has rushed more supplies to Mexico. This rate of expenditure cannot continue indefinitely.”
“Sir,” said Nung, “we have smashed the heaviest fortification on Earth and driven the Americans back in reeling disarray. We have surrounded the main Californian Army Group and cut them off from their supply base, in this instance, Los Angeles. It is true we have accepted heavy causalities to achieve this. Yet we have far more troops than they do. Our factories churn out far more munitions.”
“Marshal Kao suggests we use maneuver to defeat the Americans instead of attrition.”
“Yes, these things are easy to say, Leader. Yet Marshal Kao does not know how to do such a thing. I do know, sir. I am outmaneuvering the Americans.”
The Leader frowned, looking confused. “You admit to great losses and yet claim to be using clever maneuvers. Yet our boldest maneuver ended in a bloody defeat.”
“I’m sure that is how Marshal Kao put it,” Nung said. “The situation is actually quite different, sir.”
“Your confidence is intriguing. I wish you to enlighten me, Marshal.”
“The situation is this, Leader. We have stretched the Americans in California, doing so in a little more than a week. We are about to devour their main Army Group. The reason we are doing this is our relentless assault. It is costly now in men and munitions. Soon, we will reap our reward, obliterating the Army Group and then snatching California. Marshal Kao should be congratulating me for bringing the fight to the brink of annihilating victory, and this victory despite the unveiling of a truly impressive enemy weapon system.”
“It amazes me how two marshals of China can see this in such a different light.”
“I suspect that Marshal Kao sees that I am in the process of shattering two of my armies. I have hurled them at the enemy and in urban areas. Many would consider that rash. What they cannot see is that I will annihilate the Americans and still have armies to rush into the rest of the state, snatching Oregon and Washington and setting up our defenses in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. That will allow us to proceed with the next step in conquering a continent.”
“What if the American Army Group breaks out of your trap?” the Leader asked.
“They will not break out. I am constantly attacking, lunging, grinding, refusing to give them time to regroup and escape.”
The Leader tapped a computer stylus on the table. Then he lifted it and bumped the end against one of his teeth. “There are reports of new reinforcements from the rest of the U.S.”
“Paltry sums, I believe. In any case, our amphibious assault in two days will change the equation even more in my favor.”
“China’s favor,” the Leader said.
“That is what I meant, sir. My victory is China’s victory.”
“Hmm. Yes, I’m beginning to appreciate your overall theory. It is much different from what Marshal Kao tells me. You will continue with your relentless assaults. Shock and awe the Americans, Marshal. Grind their bones to dust so we may ready our other fronts for the truly great Battle for America.”
“As you command, Leader,” Nung said, his voice ringing. “We will grind their bones to dust.”
“I don’t know, Lieutenant. We ought to retreat from this spot.”
Paul Kavanagh glanced at the frightened man behind the .50 caliber machine gun. The forty-something man was a new levy, fresh from a training camp that had given him two days instructions.
There were fifty militiamen and soldiers hiding behind what had once been a Wells Fargo bank, a retail outlet and a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop. The buildings were piles of rubble, dust, shattered boards and rotting flesh. Rats had begun to appear everywhere, wild-eyed feral cats and flies, always the flies.
The Anaheim Militia Company was now composed of people from all over Southern California. Two of them were from El Cajon, their latest stop in the endless retreat from the border.
“Division told us to hold,” the Lieutenant told the man, the new Militia private. “So we’re holding the line until
