“How long’s your friend staying?” Debra asked.
“I, uh… I don’t know. He’s supposed to be protecting me.”
“There are a lot of crazies out there,” said Debra.
Josh wondered if she was worried about her kids. She didn’t seem to be.
“I can talk to him and find out.”
“It’s no bother,” she said cheerfully. “Jim might put him to work.”
“Might not be a bad idea.”
“I have some errands in town this morning. Want to come?”
“Nah, I’m just going to take it easy if that’s okay.”
“That’s good.” She smiled at him and disappeared to get her things.
The morning paper sat on the kitchen table. Josh folded it over and pushed it aside.
“Good morning,” said Tex, coming into the kitchen.
“Morning. There’s coffee.”
“Thanks.” The marshal went over to it. “Sleep well?”
“Passably.”
The marshal filled his cup. He took three sugars.
“You leaving today?” Josh asked.
“Uh… I’m supposed to hang around for a few more days. We have a couple of more agents coming out.”
“More?”
“We usually work in shifts. Can’t be too careful.”
“You really think it’s necessary? I’m old news.”
Tex grimaced slightly, then sat down with his coffee.
“Deb’s on her way out,” Josh told him. “If you’re hungry, there’s plenty of food.”
“Some eggs, maybe.”
Tex looked at him — he seemed to be expecting that Josh would make them.
“I’m not much of a cook,” said Josh finally. “There’s a pan under that cabinet there.”
“Yeah, yeah, no — I’m, uh… do they mind?”
“They won’t mind.”
Tex went to the refrigerator and looked inside. He took out two eggs and some butter.
“Damn, I forgot to tell you last night: Mara called. She wanted you to call her back.”
“Oh, okay.”
Josh felt bad about just leaving her like that, but really it was the best way. A clean break. He felt too… if he hadn’t just left, he’d probably never leave her, like a puppy pining for a master it couldn’t have.
“I got the number on my phone,” said Tex. “You want it?”
“When you get a chance,” said Josh, getting up to refill his coffee. “Later’s fine.”
“Okay.” The marshal looked at him for a moment, then turned back to the stove. “How do you get these burners on, you think?”
10
“General Trung was hoping you could give us guidance on the antitanks weapons,” said Chau. “After you have rested.”
“Let’s go now,” said Zeus.
The intelligence data showed that only one armored regiment — eighty tanks — had crossed the border. About a third of the tanks had been kept near Tien Yen to deal with the counterattack there. The rest were stalled along Route 18 between Tien Yen and the bridges Tri’s men had destroyed. Elements of two infantry divisions had gone south with the armor, but most of the soldiers were either in Tien Yen or farther north. Though mechanized, these soldiers would be severely hampered by the storm for at least the next twenty-four hours.
A shipment of Russian AT-14s was expected soon. General Tri wanted to take the weapons and use them against the tanks. But Zeus had a different idea: hit the infantry coming to support them instead.
“The tanks will be ready for an attack,” he explained. “And they’re not going anywhere. You can keep pounding them with artillery.” There was a shortage of armored-piercing shells, Tri’s logistics officer explained. They were trying to get more to the front, but there was no guarantee that they would be successful.
“You have to find them,” said Zeus finally. “And anyway, you’re not getting AT-14s to take out all of those tanks. You’re going to have to leverage what you got.”
Zeus’s idea of leverage was to strike the mechanized infantry as it came south in its APCs, striking from the east rather than the west. He wanted the Vietnamese to organize themselves into three-man teams that would set up multiple ambushes. The Chinese commander was conservative, and would be even more so after having had his nose bloodied with the tanks. He’d be bound to slow down his offensive.
That would give Tri time to stiffen his defenses. He could bring the rest of his tanks down from Tien Yen. If more Russian munitions arrived, they could take on the tanks.
The idea was to slow the Chinese assault in the east for a week. It would take them that long to maneuver the rest of their Group Army — and perhaps bring a second one to reinforce the attack.
“Delaying them is useful,” said Trung, speaking for the first time. “But it is not a substitute for victory.”
“No,” said Zeus. “The idea is to stop their offensive completely. To do that, you have to do something very bold.”
“And what is that?” asked Trung.
“Attack China.”
Since Vietnam couldn’t really prevent that, the only way to upend that strategy was to get China to reevaluate it. And the only way that was going to happen was if China saw a threat to their own homeland.
“Hit Nanning with your mobilized division, and the war will grind down to a stalemate,” said Zeus. “The Chinese will panic and pull back. Look at the satellite photos — there’s nothing in their way. You get through the border defenses, and you have a clear drive. It’s a hundred and twenty miles; you’ll be there inside a day. Maybe two.”
Trung appeared stunned. He looked at each of his commanders in turn, then at Zeus.
“The major has a provocative idea. It will be discussed. In the meantime, we will arrange for the strikes against the mechanized infantry, as you suggested. If time can be bought, it will be useful. Major, I am told the missiles are to arrive at Hanoi Airport within the hour. Can you retrieve them and instruct the men in their use?”
“My pleasure,” said Zeus.
Zeus waited near the terminal building as the plane came across the long cement apron. The storm had
