Dragon Fire

The Situation Room, The White House, Washington, DC

‘Yes, Mr President, Jamie Song told me personally that they would see it through to the end, even if it meant the destruction of China,’ said Reece Overhalt on the secure line from the Embassy in Beijing. ‘He quoted from Mao about never being slaves again.’

‘Will President Tao take my call, for God’s sake?’

‘He’s not in control, sir. The military is running China for the foreseeable future. As a personal friend, Song has promised me unrestricted access to his office unless we actually get as far as breaking off relations. If you look at it as the spectrum of Chinese politics, Song is at one end, our end, Leung is at the other, and President Tao is somewhere in the middle. Tao is at least in the bunker and I suspect he is keeping in touch with Song. So use me as the conduit and I’m pretty sure Song will get the message through.’

‘Chinese missile launch,’ Tom Bloodworth spoke in a precise, and relaxed manner, like an airline pilot addressing passengers about the flight path. ‘Three missiles from separate launch sites in Xining area.’

‘The Chinese have launched,’ said Hastings to Overhalt. ‘A base at Xining.’

‘That’s the site suspected of being used for India,’ said Overhalt. ‘The DF-21 site.’

‘Second tranche launch,’ said Bloodworth. ‘Kunming area in Yunnan. Waiting for precise identification.’

No one spoke. They knew Bloodworth would have the details within seconds.

‘Chuxiong, as I thought. Brigade headquarters from Unit 80303. DF-21s again. The Chinese have five ballistic missiles in the air. Xining launch is flying at low trajectory, 95 miles. Chuxiong, waiting for reading. Seem to be heading for 220 miles altitude.’

‘Mr President,’ said Overhalt, ‘I’ll stay on the line.’

‘Less than four minutes to first impact,’ said Bloodworth. ‘Target area appears to be Tezu on the far eastern tip. This is a pre-emptive strike. Tezu was the base for the Indian missile launch which we stopped a few minutes ago.’

‘So you mean their satellites had the same real-time imagery?’ said Hastings.

‘And they’re going for Shillong. That’s the Eastern Command HQ. Tezu comes under it.’

‘They must have, sir. This is not a random action. Their missile sites are prepared and programmed to targets.’

‘With our damn stolen technology. Reece, you still there?’

‘Yes, Mr President.’

‘Stay on the line until we ascertain what they’re hitting and how hard. If it’s a conventional strike against an Indian missile base, it’ll be hard for us to complain. I don’t like it but it seems to me to be a legitimate act of war. What we’ll be needing from them, however, is a pledge that they will not go nuclear against India and that their missiles are not targeted against the United States.’

‘I’ve just been speaking to Japanese Prime Minister Wada,’ said Defence Secretary Alvin Jebb. ‘He says Japanese warplanes have been patrolling an area to the north of Taiwan. He has both signals and electronic intelligence that a missile launch is imminent from Tonghua against the Okinawa facilities. That would be a strike against American forces, sir.’

‘They wouldn’t do it,’ said Hastings, more to himself than in answer to Jebb.

‘This thing is getting a momentum, sir. I wouldn’t be so sure.’