The patrol boat replied with a long blast from its horn. Jing Yo lowered his head, as if he could urge the speedboat faster. A second later, a geyser erupted to his right.
The ship had fired one of its guns.
The speedboat rocked violently through the roiling waves, pitching its nose down and its stern east simultaneously. Jing Yo fought to hold the wheel steady, plowing sideways in the water. He put his hand on the throttle, hoping to force it faster. A direct hit would kill them.
Hyuen Bo rose from the deck, hooking her arms around his waist.
“Hold tight,” he said, regaining control of the craft.
This time he heard the crack of the gun, and the shriek as the shell flew overhead. It hit the water two hundred yards ahead. Jing Yo jerked farther out into the channel, a feint to trick the patrol boat while lessening the impact of the swell as it rocked them sideways. Then he spun the wheel back hard to take the boat closer to shore. A third shell landed in the middle of the channel, this time behind them.
The ocean lay before them. Jing Yo turned hard to port, heading eastward beyond Dong Hoa. The patrol boat fired several more shells, but these landed far behind them, the angry flailing of a neighbor yelling at children who had fled his yard after making mischief.
“Was that a Chinese ship?” asked Hyuen Bo when they were clear.
“It was Vietnamese.”
“Why are they trying to sink us?”
“The world’s gone crazy,” he said.
The airfield near Vung Tau seemed the most likely possibility, but it would be just as easy for him to find another boat or ship and sail out to sea, where a ship might be waiting to pick him up.
What would Jing Yo do then? Follow him to America?
Easier to run. He could take a boat himself.
But the monks had taught him that there was no way to escape one’s fate. The Way could not be avoided, any more than air could not be breathed.
The sat phone’s sharp peal startled him. Jing Yo took it from his pack. He had not expected it to ring. Indeed, he thought he’d turned it off.
Hyuen Bo looked at him but said nothing.
He picked up the phone and answered it. “This is Jing Yo.”
“What is your status, Lieutenant?”
It was Colonel Sun.
“The Chinese network in Ho Chi Minh City attempted to assassinate me,” Jing Yo told him.
“You’re sure of this?” said Sun.
“An operative named Mr. Tong sent me into an area of the city where he hoped to have me apprehended. When that didn’t work, he pulled a gun on me and tried to assassinate me. He was not successful.”
“I trust that he paid for that mistake with his life,” said Sun.
Jing Yo didn’t answer. Was Sun acting surprised? This might be a trick.
Surely it was a trick.
“Where is the scientist?” the colonel asked.
“He took a ferry to the Soi Rap mouth,” said Jing Yo. “A Vietnamese patrol boat tried to stop him, but he escaped into the water. Where exactly he is at the moment, I am not sure.”
“We have his satellite phone frequency under surveillance,” said the colonel. “When he transmits again, I will give you the exact location. Have nothing more to do with any spies of any force.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“Tell me — did Ms. Hu know of this?”
Jing Yo was surprised that Sun mentioned the spymistress.
“I am not sure.”
“I do not believe that she did,” said Sun. “But I will find out.”
The colonel killed the line.
“Who was that?” Hyuen Bo asked.
“A friend,” said Jing Yo. “Or an enemy. I am not sure which.”
24
“My intention is to sail the open sea,” replied Commander Silas.
“Sir?”
“Lieutenant Commander Li, have a message sent to the Chinese captain,” said Silas, his tone formal and strong. He was speaking for the record.
For posterity, if necessary.
“Inform the Chinese commander that I intend to sail the open sea,” said Silas.
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
The sun was just creeping over the horizon behind them, throwing steel gray shadows across the ocean. The cruiser was a quarter mile off the starboard bow. Silas could see men on her forward deck, near the gun. His own people were at general quarters — their
“How’s the Seahawk?”
“Aircraft is prepped, crew aboard. Engine start on your order.”
They needed to get a few more miles before the chopper could take off. Silas had spoken personally to the helo pilots, making sure they understood the mission, and getting his own sense of how close they had to be to have adequate reserves. He would continue east after they launched, making it easier for them on the return trip. Still, the helicopters were gas-guzzlers at high speed, and this mission called for as much speed as they could muster. The launch point had been calculated down to the meter to make sure they had enough fuel.
The Chinese cruiser’s how turned toward the
The commanding officer aboard the cruiser was sending the smaller frigate to do its dirty work, Silas realized. The cruiser would stay just close enough to fire if necessary.
They’d love that, Silas thought. Undoubtedly they’d have video cameras rolling. Very possibly there was a live, direct link back to Beijing. As soon as the first missile or shell flew, it would be posted for the world to see.
“They want to ram us!” yelled one of the extra lookouts the captain had posted.
“Steady as she goes,” said Silas.
This was the way it was done — in a calm voice, a prepared voice.
Outside. Inside, a voice was screaming:
“Sir, the Chinese ship is on a collision course,” said the helmsman. “We will hit them if — ”
“Steady!” commanded Silas.
Silas knew he was playing more than a simple game of chicken. His primary concern was to accomplish his mission. At the same time, he had to do so without starting a war. Sinking the frigate and the cruiser would be personally satisfying — would it ever — but would have an immense impact on geopolitics.
Even firing a warning shot would be considered an act of war under the circumstances. Indeed, it could easily backfire, as the cruiser’s dual water-cooled 130s on the forecastle might actually give it an edge in a quick gun battle. Silas had to be prepared to fight, but under the circumstances couldn’t take the first shot himself.
On the other hand, Silas couldn’t appear to back down. And he certainly wasn’t about to let his ship get rammed.
