The Beijing conspiracy

CHAPTER 80

‘T he second problem is China,’ President Bolton continued, glaring at his Secretary of State. Like everyone else in the room, the Secretary of State could sense he was on borrowed time and he held his tongue.

‘I want a threat analysis prepared immediately and that’s to include their likely influence in space as well. Space is absolutely vital to the defence of the United States and let there be no doubt, as long as I’m in the White House, we will control it. Any threat to our satellites will be dealt with first and we’ll ask questions later.’ Bolton looked around the room, daring anyone to disagree with him. China had already sent a shot across the bows of the United States’ space program, firing a 40-tonne KT-2 ballistic missile and destroying one of their own satellites 860 kilometres above Xichang, a major Chinese launching pad in the far south of the country. The ageing Feng Yun weather satellite was well past its use-by date, but that was not the point. China was looking very closely at the vulnerability of the satellites of the United States. Used for a myriad of top-secret tasking, the big US satellites were vital for GPS navigation in the military, guidance of smart bombs and for any surveillance the President and his military might order.

‘One of my predecessors had the wisdom to sign an order denying our adversaries the use of space,’ President Bolton declared. ‘We will continue to reserve our right to deny access to space to any country which even looks like being hostile, and that includes the Chinese.’

Not wishing to risk any publicity over his discussions with Richard Halliwell, the President met with him in the now-vacant Vice President’s residence at Number One Observatory Circle later that evening. The heavily guarded, turreted nineteenth century mansion in the grounds of the Naval Observatory in Washington DC overlooked Massachusetts Avenue.

‘Congratulations, Mr President,’ Richard Halliwell offered without sincerity as the two men settled on the couches in the cosy first-floor library. ‘I wish it were under happier circumstances.’

President Bolton took a sip of bourbon before he replied. ‘Are you planning to run, Richard,’ he asked bluntly.

Richard Halliwell smiled deprecatingly. ‘I haven’t decided, Mr President,’ he lied, ‘but if I do, rest assured, you’ll be the first to know.’

‘You’ll be wasting your time,’ Bolton warned, ‘so be it on your own head. More importantly, how are we doing with the Ebolapox research?’

‘I’m due to have another meeting with Dolinsky shortly but getting him onboard has been a masterstroke,’ Halliwell enthused, his coming battle with Bolton and the Republican nomination for the White House temporarily forgotten. ‘He’s confident he’s overcome the last of the technical difficulties with the cutting enzymes, and he’s produced several different combinations of DNA and RNA. Even more pertinent is his work on a vaccine. Several of the monkeys have now been immunised and I’ll let you know the results. If it’s successful we have the means to mass produce the vaccine very rapidly and make it available to our embassies around the globe, but I think we should ensure that our Olympic team and officials are vaccinated well before they leave. I’m still going to need to get the Ebolapox vials into Beijing and the only foolproof way will be through the black bag.’

‘That won’t be a problem,’ Bolton replied. ‘When do you think you’ll be ready?’

‘No later than three months before the Games. I met with my planner in Beijing the last time I was there and he’s assured me that any substance can be distributed throughout the city, for a price,’ Halliwell added meaningfully. The well-connected leader of the Sanhehui, the Triad Society, had not come cheaply but getting the vials to the right targets would be crucial.