Tiger's Claw: A Novel

“It is confirmed, sir,” Vice Admiral Zhen Peng, commander of the South Sea Fleet, responded. “The Taiwanese are planning to deploy an attack submarine in the South Sea in order to directly challenge your newly imposed restrictions and stalk the Zheng He carrier battle group. They are purposely going to flout your orders. They are even planning on taking periscope photographs of Chinese ships and want to publish them on the Internet to prove that the restrictions are meaningless to them and to insult you and our entire country.”

“How did you learn of this, Zhen?” Zu asked.

“I have a network of spies in the headquarters of the First Naval District in Kaohsiung,” Zhen replied. “It has managed to infiltrate their computers to a very high degree. It provides us with very actionable intelligence.”

General Zu looked at his deputy, Major General Sun Ji, who was listening in on the secure telephone conversation on a dead extension. The concern on Sun’s face matched his own. “I knew nothing about this spy network of yours, Zhen,” Zu said. “The Reunification Support Bureau of the Military Intelligence Division handles espionage work against Taiwan. Fleet admirals do not run spy networks. One incompetent move by one of your so- called spies could unravel the work of thousands.”

“My apologies if I have exceeded my authority, sir,” Zhen said. He did not sound truly apologetic in the least. “But my network has been in place since I took command of the South Sea Fleet, and it has provided the People’s Liberation Army with much actionable intelligence without any hint of being discovered. I will of course dismantle the network if you order it, sir, but I request that you allow it to continue.”

“Stand by, Zhen,” Zu snapped. He put the call on hold. “Zhen has been running a spy network in Taiwan and hacking their computers without my knowledge?”

“He is indeed a resourceful and aggressive officer, sir,” Sun commented.

“He could have hacked into my computer network for all I know!” Zu growled. “I should have the man shot!”

“It might be better if you allow him to continue, with your approval,” Sun said, “until we can scan our system and try to trace any hacker trails back to him.”

“ ‘Hacker trails’?”

“Hacking a computer network is very much like breaking into a home, sir,” Sun explained. “Even the best burglar always leaves some evidence that he has been there. If Zhen tried to hack our system, we will find it. But if you have him arrested before we can do the back-trace, the network will dissolve. We do know he has managed to infiltrate the Taiwanese encryption service, and they have some of the best cybersecurity in the world.”

Zu thought for a moment, then nodded assent. “But I want the back-trace to begin immediately,” he said. “I want to know the origin of every attempted infiltration of our systems.”

“Yes, sir.”

Zu hit the hold button again. “Very well, Admiral. I was at first upset that one of my fleet admirals was engaging in unauthorized activity, but the information your network has obtained is indeed valuable, and so now I will authorize it. Just do not allow your network to be discovered.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhen said. “Thank you. I have a suggestion on what to do about the Taiwanese submarine, sir.”

“No suggestion is necessary, Admiral,” Zu said. “The acting president and I have issued our orders: anyone violating the restrictions within the first island chain is subject to detention or attack. Those orders have not changed.”

“Yes, sir, I understand,” Zhen said. “But the nature of the attack should be dramatic and leave no doubt that China means to defend and control the waters within the first island chain.”

“What are you talking about, Zhen?” Zu asked.

“I am referring to the BLU-89E, sir,” Zhen said. “Kepa debo—‘Terrible Wave.’ The weapon is still in the inventory of the South Sea Fleet, and it can be deployed on the Y-8 antisubmarine warfare aircraft immediately, and later redeployed on the cruisers escorting the Zhenyuan and Zheng He.”

Sun immediately put down his receiver and accessed a computer terminal in a far corner of Zu’s office to look up what the weapon might be . . . and when he found it, his eyes bulged in surprise. He sent the page over to Zu’s computer, who appeared to be even more shocked. “Are you insane, Zhen?” he asked.

“The weapon was taken off our ships because the latest generation of torpedoes was much more accurate and higher performance,” Zhen said. “But the BLU-89E was standard armament for our cruisers for many years—we even deployed them to the Gulf of Aden with the Somalia task force. If the Nationalists want to openly and brazenly challenge the People’s Liberation Army Navy in our own waters, we should employ every weapon in our arsenal.”

The sense of shock that General Zu experienced at the suggestion was slowly waning. “Stand by, Zhen,” he ordered, and hit the hold button again. “Is he insane?” Zu murmured. “First his own spy network, and now he wants to deploy ‘Terrible Wave’? ‘Tiger’s Claw’ and ‘Silent Thunder’ are not enough for him?”

“Sir, we had deployed ‘Terrible Wave’ for the last ten years, on both ships and navy patrol aircraft,” General Sun pointed out. “Zhen is probably the best qualified commander in the entire navy on how to use them.”

Zu thought for a few moments, then picked up the receiver and punched the hold button off. “Authorized,” he said. “One weapon only. Report to me for permission to deploy the weapon first.”

“Acknowledged, General,” Zhen said.

Zu terminated the secure connection. “I had better tell Gao what I have in mind,” he said, rising from his seat. “I do not care what he thinks about it, but he ought to be prepared in case it really is employed.” He shook his head. “We are about to unleash Long Dehuxi;—the ‘Dragon’s Breath’— again,” he said to his deputy. “It was only seventeen years ago when my predecessor last unleashed it, and it has been only ten years since the Russians did so.”

“Sun Tzu said, ‘If your forces are superior, attack,’ sir,” General Sun said. “The Americans are weak and getting weaker by the day, while China is growing stronger every day. The Americans were attacked on their own soil by the Russians, and they did not retaliate with nuclear weapons. They are fearful and undecided. This is the perfect time to assert our authority.” He paused for a moment, then said, “Sir, I suggest you contact President Truznyev of Russia. If you want to maintain his cooperation and assistance in keeping the United States off-balance, Russia will be key.”

Zu nodded, lost in thought. A few moments later he picked up the telephone again. “Get me President Truznyev of Russia immediately, secure,” he ordered. He put down the telephone. “I hope they do not have any subs in the South Sea.”

A few minutes later the phone rang, and Zu picked it up. “Colonel General Zu, secure.”

There was a slight pause as the secure channel was locked on both ends, and then an unfamiliar voice said, “This is the voice of President Truznyev’s translator, General. The president says it is about time someone in Beijing told him what in hell was going on.”

“Tell the president thank you for returning my call,” Zu said.

“The president says that the rumors of a military coup are true.”

“There has been no coup,” Zu said. “Acting President Gao Xudong is in charge until President Zhou’s condition can be . . . further evaluated.”

“Indeed,” the Russian translator said. “Even so, I assume I am speaking to the de facto president of the People’s Republic of China. So. What can I do for you today, Mr. President—excuse me, Colonel General?”

“You are of course aware of the activities in the South Sea regarding the Americans and Vietnamese military.”

“Of course. Very intriguing. Your carrier battle groups obviously possess some advanced capabilities that our intelligence services have not yet revealed. Care to talk about them, General?”

“All will be revealed to you soon, Mr. President,” Zu said. “I called because China is prepared to take our struggle over control of the South Sea to the next level, and we are seeking Russia’s cooperation.”

“In what way, General?”

“The Americans have considerable forces in the Pacific region, and they have recently indicated they are prepared to augment those forces twofold to counter China’s deployments,” Zu said. “We know Russia’s resources in the Far East are limited, but not so in the West. If Russia activated its considerable military and economic influence in the West, America would realize their capability to respond to emergencies on two fronts on opposite