War of Eagles

THIRTY-THREE

Le Kwan Po found it strange that so many Americans knew about his investigation. There was a cultural difference between the nations, one encapsulated in the saying, “Tell one American and you have told them all.” Chinese were not talkers. To the contrary, they were hoarders. They kept information as though it were fresh water on the high seas. They would share it only if it would bring an exponentially high return or was necessary to save face.

But Americans talked to a stranger as if he were their best friend. Diplomats were a little better, depending upon their experience. Most of the men sent to China, including Mr. Hasen, had a good deal of experience in government. But Le had met ambassadors who had been newspaper publishers, actors, and even a professional bullfighter before being sent to represent their nations. These men loved to talk. Only occasionally did they listen.

Paul Hood seemed different. The three men settled into the century-old easy chairs in the antechamber. Anita sat between her father and Hood. The American’s beverage arrived, and he accepted it graciously. By his expression, his easy carriage, the few words he had spoken, even the way he paid attention to Anita, Le could see that Hood was neither obsequious nor pretentious.

If there were such a thing as the typical movie-hero American, General Rodgers embodied those aggressive, masculine characteristics. If there were such a thing as an average American, Paul Hood seemed to possess those more modest traits. There was something fair but resolute in his eyes. Hood certainly seemed far more open and approachable than General Rodgers had been.

“Paul, why don’t you tell the prime minister why you’re here?” Ambassador Hasen urged.

Anita translated for her father. Hood leaned forward in his chair, his hands folded in front of his chin. It looked as though he were praying.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I am here at the request of the president,” Hood said. “He has asked me to offer whatever help we can to assure a successful launch of your new communications satellite.”

“Does he have reason to believe the launch is in jeopardy?” Le asked.

“There is intelligence to suggest you think there is a danger, Mr. Prime Minister.”

“General Rodgers expressed that concern, but he had no information,” Le said. “What can you tell me?”

“We believe the explosions in the United States, South Africa, and Taiwan may be related,” Hood said. “With respect, sir, we believe that the perpetrators may be elements within China.”

“Is your information vague, or are you simply being reticent?” the prime minister asked.

“I am a guest in your country, sir. I did not come to make charges against individuals, merely to offer help.”

“What form would that help take?” the prime minister asked.

“I would like to come to the launch,” Hood said. “Represent the president at a historic moment for China.”

Le laughed. “We have launched many communications satellites before this.”

“Not one built with the help of American industry,” Hood said.

The American ambassador leaned forward. He looked very sincere. “As I have said before, Mr. Prime Minister, President Debenport wishes for a closer détente with Beijing.”

“You have said that before, Mr. Ambassador. Yet only recently your government has made arms sales to the rebels across the strait.”

“The Taiwan Relations Act is for purely defensive use—” Hasen said.

“Gentlemen, I doubt we will solve the issues of this region right now,” Hood interrupted. “But I hope we can establish some degree of trust regarding this launch. Mr. Prime Minister, you know my background. I would like the honor of standing at your side.”

The prime minister sat silently while he considered Hood’s offer. He was studying the American.

“General Rodgers made the same offer,” Le said after a moment. “He said he wanted to ‘watch my back.’ ”

“It’s a popular expression.”

“I understand,” Le assured him. “It would also suggest personal weakness and mistrust of our own security forces if I had a small force of Americans looking out for me and for the launch. I told General Rodgers I would consider his offer. In the name of this new détente, I will allow one of you to attend. You understand the situation. Please work it out between you who that will be.”

“Mr. Prime Minister, it would not be unprecedented to have a representative of the manufacturer and a foreign government present for a launch,” the ambassador pointed out. “And it would show the world that we are approaching a new age in the Sino-American relationship.”

“Many members of my government would find that an unacceptably generous leap,” Le said, “especially when both representatives spent years working together at an American intelligence agency.” The prime minister rose and regarded Hood. “I must return to my guests. I will expect your answer in the morning.”

Hood stood. “You will have it. Thank you, sir.”

Le left the antechamber, followed by his daughter and the two Americans. They walked slowly toward the ballroom. “What is your impression of this man?” he asked Anita.

“Unexceptional,” she replied.

“Yes. The best spies are, you know,” Le told her. “They should never stand out.”

“Do you think he is spying on us?”

“Almost certainly,” the prime minister answered. “The American president already has an ambassador. Why send another? Besides, a man with his credentials is always watching for new faces, new dynamics, new technology. Yet he may be sincere in his desire to want to help protect the launch.”

“Why?”

“If something happens, it may have repercussions throughout the region,” the prime minister said. “His government might not wish to be forced to participate. Hopefully, we will know more in a minute.”

“How?”

“You will ask him a question.” Le smiled.

“I will?” she said.

The prime minister nodded once. “Mr. Hood virtually ignored his own ambassador during our chat,” Le told her. “Yet Mr. Hood was watching your reaction very closely.”

“I was translating—”

“Interpreters are usually invisible, you know that,” Le said.

“He was simply being polite.”

“The ambassador was watching me, and he was watching Mr. Hood,” Le told her. “You must have impressed him. I would like you to find out why this launch is so important to him. He may confide in you.”

“Father, I am not a diplomat,” she protested.

“Neither is your mother. But I trust you both, and you are intuitive in ways that I am not.”

The prime minister squeezed his daughter’s hand to signify that the conversation had ended. They had entered the ballroom. A number of people were now within earshot, and they spoke Mandarin. He did not want his thoughts or concerns to become part of a public debate.

Anita seemed a little confused by his observation. That was all right. It was good for her to step from the armor of academic absolutes now and again. He was not sure whether he trusted Paul Hood entirely. He seemed likable and sincere, but the interests of the United States in this matter were curious. Le had listened, but he had not learned much. The White House should not be so concerned about a multinational corporation like Unexus. Not to the extent that they would send a high-level troubleshooter to check on its interests. And this was not a diplomatic issue. Otherwise, the ambassador could have handled it.

Unless it is not the satellite that really concerns them, Le reflected. Paul Hood had come directly to see him. Le wondered what they might know or suspect beyond what he already feared. At the moment, the only casualty on Chinese soil had been his own credibility. If he could not make peace between Director Chou and General Tam Li, the president and influential members of the National People’s Congress would lose faith in him. That was not something that would matter to the United States. And the destruction of the rocket would not impact them directly unless it affected one of their allies in the region.

Hopefully, there would be a way to find out.

Le was approached by Australian ambassador Catherine Barnes and her husband. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, the prime minister saw Hood making his way toward the door. Excusing himself from Ms. Barnes, the prime minister turned to his daughter.

“Anita, go to Mr. Hood before he leaves,” the prime minister whispered.

“Will you be all right on your own?”

“Ambassador Barnes speaks passable Mandarin, and it is almost time for the toasts. Go.”

Le released Anita’s hand, and she made her way through the crowd. She followed Hood as he left the ballroom. Hood had his cell phone in his hand, possibly preparing to call General Rodgers.

There was something a little dirty about it, Le realized. Part of what may have appealed to Paul Hood was the fact that his daughter was an attractive woman. If so, he was using her in an unseemly manner. But while that could be part of it, that was not all of it. Le’s sense of the brief meeting was that Paul Hood might be a new kind of spy. He was somewhere between General Rodgers and Ambassador Hasen: a covert bureaucrat, an ambassador without borders.

Testing a new kind of spy required a new kind of counterspy. Anita, an educator-interrogator. In a world where there were rumors of an American physician-assassin, the rules were definitely changing. Perhaps for the best. Le believed that Hood may have come for the reasons stated: to collect intelligence without prejudice and to begin forming a strategic international alliance. Whether that union lasted for as long as it took to protect the launch, or whether it was the start of a new détente remained to be seen. Even if that was not why Hood was here, the prime minister might be able to use him in that way. That would make this like any relationship in politics or in life. If it was successful, it did not matter who had contributed what and why.

It would be ironic, though, Le thought as he chatted superficially with Ambassador Barnes. A fight between two Chinese officials spills into the global arena. The one who stops it is a member of the audience. What was it Li-Li had said just two days ago?

“This situation is about the future.”

His wife may have been wiser and more prophetic than she knew.