Drone Command

SEVENTY-TWO

Ito’s aide opened the door and Tanaka marched in, his stern face frozen in resentment. Ito tapped on a keyboard.

“You summoned me?”

“Yes,” Ito said, without looking up. “Please sit.”

Tanaka sat down stiffly in the chair in front of Ito’s desk, folded his arms across his chest. His clothes reeked of heavy tobacco.

Ito finally finished his e-mail and logged off. He leaned back in his executive chair, relaxed but pensive, his fingers laced. He let the silence fill the room, gathering his thoughts. Finally, he spoke.

“We nearly found ourselves trapped in a war between China and the United States. If it had not been averted, we might well have been annihilated by nuclear strikes from either China or North Korea, or both.”

“As I’ve said all along, we need nuclear weapons.”

“And as I’ve said all along, I disagree. At least, until now.”

Tanaka raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I’ve come around to your way of thinking. We need a nuclear deterrent as much as any other country. Maybe more than any other country. And I’m making arrangements for that to happen.”

Tanaka bolted upright in his chair, a smile plastered across his face. “Hai!”

Ito allowed himself a small grin. “I thought you would be pleased. I wanted you to hear it from me first.”

Tanaka frowned. “But the Americans will never agree to this.”

“They already have. With conditions.”

Now Tanaka was really confused. “Why would the Americans suddenly agree to our having nuclear weapons?”

“President Lane and his team are reimagining American national security policy. Like us, he was both surprised and alarmed at how quickly the Mao Island affair spun out of control. He confided in me that several people in his government argued against going to war to honor their treaty obligations to us. Fortunately, President Lane is a man of honor. But he’s also a wise man and is determined to do what’s best for his country in the future. He understands that America will always have to come to our defense if we can’t defend ourselves, including nuclear defense. He said he never wants to be put in a position again where America’s nuclear shield forces him to trade Los Angeles for Shanghai to save Osaka. By giving us nuclear weapons, we can defend ourselves and free up the Americans from an unnecessary obligation.”

“They will give us nuclear weapons?”

Ito nodded. “Yes. We both agreed that we must have them in our possession immediately and then make the announcement to the world. Unlike the West, which refuses to strike preemptively against nuclear proliferators like North Korea and Iran, our enemies would not hesitate to strike us a death blow if we announced we were just beginning to develop a nuclear arsenal.”

Tanaka nodded. “Agreed.” He thought further. “The Chinese will be livid. This will only worsen our relations with them.”

“Perhaps not. President Sun is as eager as President Lane to rethink his security posture in the region. The PLA has become far too strong and too dangerous to his government. Thanks to the Mao Island fiasco, he now has the power to rein them in and start slashing military spending. But his security concerns are valid. In some ways, our vulnerability to North Korea’s nuclear arsenal puts China at some risk, since North Korea is seen as China’s proxy, which is only partly true. If we are allowed to have a nuclear arsenal, North Korea becomes an American and Japanese problem, no longer just a Chinese one.”

“The Chinese people won’t stand for it.”

“The Chinese government has engaged in anti-Japanese propaganda for decades to bolster their own legitimacy. President Sun will not only end that policy, he is also prepared to enter into a new and mutually beneficial relationship with us. He and President Lane believe that these new reforms and the resulting prosperity will better legitimize his regime.”

Tanaka fell back in his chair, thinking. “It’s hard to believe that so much has transpired in just two days.”

“Yes, isn’t it?”

Tanaka bolted back up, pointing his finger at Ito. “There’s something else going on, isn’t there?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve been planning this all along, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

Ito watched the wheels spinning in Tanaka’s fevered eyes.

“This whole affair with the Wu-14 and the Liaoning. The Americans are the ones who sank the carrier, and you knew all about it!”

“Not exactly.” Ito wondered how much he should tell his old friend. Decided it didn’t really matter at this point. “President Lane, President Myers, and Troy Pearce put together a plan to steal the Wu-14 technology a few months ago, and they needed my help. President Myers was the one who actually stole it. The idea was to acquire the Wu-14 software and confirm its operability and then reverse-engineer it to discover the best countermeasures. Once those were found, the Americans would inform the Chinese that the Wu-14 was worthless, and thus force the PLAN back into a defensive posture. But Ji and Feng had other ideas.”

“So when the Chinese launched the missile, the Americans took control of it?”

“Yes. And President Lane decided on his own to take out the Liaoning. If he would’ve asked me, I would’ve said no, but in hindsight it was a brilliant move.”

Tanaka nodded. “Yes, it was. We should be as bold.”

“How so?”

“Once we acquire the nuclear missiles, we should inform the Chinese that the Americans are the ones who sank their carrier. We can still force them into a war against each other.”

Ito sighed, shaking his head.

“Why not?” Tanaka asked. “You said yourself the Americans will do what’s best for them. So should we.”

“Yes, I agree. We should.”

“Then you do agree with my plan.”

“I don’t, but I do agree we must do what is best for our country. We disagree on what’s best for Japan.”

Tanaka frowned. “What do you think is best?”

“I agree with President Lane that Japan needs nuclear weapons immediately, but as I said before, there are conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“First, that we announce a unilateral nonaggression pact with China and any other nation that wants us to sign it. We will pledge never to use nuclear weapons in a first-strike capacity.”

“I don’t completely agree with that policy, but I understand it. If that’s what it takes to acquire nuclear weapons, we should agree to it. What are the other conditions?”

“Only one, really. Neither the United States nor China want to start World War Three. They believe there are certain elements in our government that want the two of them to go to war against each other. And they won’t allow us to have nuclear weapons unless they’re sure that those elements are silenced.”

Tanaka stiffened. “I’ll never speak again about the American strike on the Liaoning.”

“You have people throughout the government and the JSDF who share your extremist views.”

“I can keep them quiet.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“You have my word, Ito-san.”

“I want their names.”

“No.”

“I wonder which you love more? Your conspiracy or your country?”

Tanaka darkened, torn. Finally, he said, “I’ll send you the list as soon as I get back to my office.”

“No need, because we already have the names. The Naicho and the NSA have been running a joint intelligence operation tracking you and your co-conspirators for months now. I was briefed just this morning on your role in the death of the American scientist Yamada, as well as your other crimes. I should have you arrested.”

Tanaka laughed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Ito leaned back in his chair, planting his shoes on his desk. “No, I wouldn’t. Your arrest would severely cripple the legitimate cause we’ve both been fighting for all these years. And yet, you remain a serious problem for the Americans and the Chinese, and a grave threat to our nation and our people.”

“A threat? That’s ridiculous.”

“I must provide a guarantee to the Americans and Chinese that you will remain silent on all these matters even as I clean house and root out the ultranationalists who threaten all of us.”

“I’ll retire. You’ll never hear from me again.”

“That’s not good enough for them, I’m afraid.” Ito stood up. “Nor for me.”

“What do you propose?”

Ito crossed around his desk and laid a hand on Tanaka’s firm shoulder. “There is an honorable solution, old friend.”

Tanaka’s eyes hardened, fixing on a distant unseen place. “I understand.”

Ito smiled faintly. “I knew you would.”

“I’ll make all of the necessary arrangements. It will take a few days.”

“Of course. I’m sorry.”

Tanaka shook his head. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’ve been preparing for this moment all my life.”