White Jade

Chapter Fifty-Three

On the way to the White House, the team watched the President's address in the back of a black Lincoln stretch limousine. Rice appeared grave, angry and reassuring. He confirmed there had been a terrorist attack. He cautioned the nation against jumping to conclusions about who was to blame. He promised swift retaliation once the identity of the bombers became known.

He talked of nine eleven and Pearl Harbor. He expressed certainty America would rise to the challenge again and closed with a prayer for the victims and their families and for the nation as a whole. It was a masterful performance.

People were angry. There had been a leak. The news media were already speculating on Chinese involvement.

The team entered the White House through a back entrance. They were ushered to a room next to the Oval Office, where Rice was meeting with the Secretary of State and General Holden. Director Harker, General Hood and Rice's Chief of Staff were waiting there. Hogan was clearly on edge.

"When the President is ready he'll call us in. He'll set the conversation. Be ready to tell him about your mission. Keep it brief."

Carter decided he didn't like Hogan. He also decided to keep his mouth shut before it got him into trouble. He was tired. When he was tired he had no patience for things that annoyed him.

Harker said, "You put on quite a show over there."

"We almost made it out without trouble. Wu showed up at just the wrong time. What's happening in China?"

The three stars on Hood's shoulders glinted under the ceiling lights.

"Nobody's quite sure. It looks like Yang made his move and it didn't come off. There's been a lot of military movement, all internal. Heavy air and sea cover earlier at Sanya, but that seems to have lightened up. Now we're watching the missile base at Luoyang. Troops have surrounded the base. That's one of the reasons we think Yang failed. But those missiles aren't under government control. If Lu activates the silos we'll know it and things could get real hot. Holden convinced Rice to go to DEFCON 2."

That was bad. Nick shifted to ease the pain in his back.

"Any communication from the PRC?"

"Not yet. I don't know what the President is thinking, but if I were him I'd play a little cat and mouse. See if I could get them to call first. Meanwhile, Langley and everyone else is running around trying to figure out who set off those bombs."

"We know who set them off," Selena said. "The Triads."

Harker broke in. "We can't start arresting everyone in the Triads. We need proof, hard evidence. Some people aren't convinced a coup is behind the bombings. Some aren't convinced there's a coup attempt at all. They think China is initiating some large scale military adventure and they're worried. There are enough nukes at Luoyang to wipe out millions of our people and several of our cities. Sanya houses SSBN's. If they move to deep water, we could be in trouble."

The door to the Oval Office opened and an aide beckoned them in.

Rice was sitting behind his desk, in front of the tall windows fronting the Rose Garden. A large, round rug bearing the Presidential Seal filled the center of the room. A cluster of elegant, upholstered chairs were grouped in front of the desk. Sitting there were General Holden, the Secretary of State and Cheryl Wilson, the Assistant Secretary for Asian Affairs. The President rose and took Selena's hand.

"Selena. I was surprised to learn you were part of this. It's good to see you again. I was very sorry when William was taken from us. Everyone, please sit down."

"Thank you, Mister President," she said. They sat.

"Director Harker has told me about your mission. What I wanted was to look you in the eye and hear about it directly from you."

"It was an experience, Mr. President."

Rice glanced at his notes.

"Gunnery Sergeant Peete. You were wounded."

"It's nothing, sir." Ronnie sat ramrod straight in his chair in a suit and tie, holding the cane he'd been given at a perfect 90 degree angle. It was quite a change from his usual Hawaiian riot. He might as well have been on parade.

"At ease, Gunny. Give your leg a rest, you deserve it. " Ronnie relaxed by about a millimeter.

Rice looked at Nick. "Major Carter. You led the team."

Nick's service jacket lay on the desk. Sitting a few feet away from the President, he felt the aura of power that went with the office. He had no doubt he was in the presence of the most powerful man in the world.

"Yes, sir. Sir, I am no longer in the service."

"I know that, Major. However, you never resigned your commission, so that is not quite accurate. What were your instructions?"

"To penetrate an ancient temple complex in Tibet."

"For what purpose?"

"General Yang had gone to extremes to obtain the location of this complex. We weren't sure what he wanted. We only knew it was important to him. We felt it was in the national interest to get there first and confound any plans he might have for whatever was found. We were operating on the theory that what was bad for Yang would be good for us."

"You found evidence of a high yield uranium deposit?"

"Yes, Mister President. In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region."

Rice gave him a careful look.

"I understand you have video of the underground chamber."

"Yes, sir."

"I would like all copies of this video delivered to me personally. Is that clear?"

"Very clear, sir."

"Good." Rice sat for a few seconds, said, "How did the firefight begin?"

Carter told him the story. He smiled.

"Outstanding. Well done, Major. What is your assessment of the fallout from your mission?"

"Sir?"

"Fallout. Political, military. Consequences, if you like."

The President of the United States was asking for his opinion. It was a first.

"Well, sir, I don't think there are going to be any consequences to speak of."

Wilson made a sound of disgust. "Mister Carter, you illegally entered Chinese sovereign territory and attacked and killed over thirty of their troops. How can you possibly say there won't be any consequences?"

Rice's eyes flicked toward her, but he said nothing.

Carter felt his temper rising.

"First of all, they attacked us, not the other way around. Those troops were under the command of Colonel Wu, Yang's man. If I were running the PRC, I wouldn't want to make a big deal about it. It's a deniable incident in a remote region, the result of actions taken by a madman trying to take over China."

"You insist there is a coup being planned."

Carter looked at her.

"Are you as stupid as you seem?"

Wilson's face tightened into a puckered scowl.

Carter said, "Yes, I do insist. From our satellite intel, I would say it has already happened and succeeded or not. If it did succeed, we've got a problem that has nothing to do with Tibet. If it didn't, there aren't going to be any consequences from my mission."

Wilson's face pinched itself together and she was about to say something when an aide came in, whispered in Hogan's ear, and left the room.

"Mister President, President Zhang is calling."

"About time. Put him on the speaker."