Invasion: Alaska (68 page)
The old man in the wheelchair fell silent, watching his ministers.
Jian’s throat was dry. He needed war to advance his political power, of that he was certain. But this was not the moment to push for more war. This was the moment to back the Chairman with enthusiasm. “That is a marvelous idea, sir. I totally agree.”
Deng Fong stared at him.
“Yes,” Xiaodan said a moment later. “I agree, sir. You are correct.”
The marshal of the Army nodded.
“Admiral Qingshan?” the Chairman asked.
“We are so near victory,” Qingshan said. “It would be a pity to halt the attack now.”
The Chairman scowled. “Our troops are stalled as the Americans pour reinforcements through the Yukon. We used your naval brigades, but they were unable to move quickly enough to achieve the goal. Therefore, now is the time to rearm nationally, using our experiences to build a bigger and better military.”
“I have grave doubts about leaving our troops exposed near Anchorage, sir,” said Qingshan.
“Then you had better reconsider quickly,” the Chairman said.
After a moment, Qingshan nodded. “I think Admiral Ling can recover most of the troops immediately, sir. The critical idea, as you say, is to rearm until we have an invincible Navy. Destroying the American supercarriers and crippling their economy—that was a worthy objective to have achieved with our military effort.”
The Chairman brooded before he said, “The war for Alaska is over. Now we shall make sure that Chinese arms will never again be caught short of supplies. That is an important lesson learned by our little naval exercise these past few weeks. It is one we shall never forget.”
He is trying to minimize the loss
, Jian thought to himself.
He is deceiving himself
.
The Chairman shifted uncomfortably in his wheelchair as pain creased his features. “Now, on to other matters….”
PIKE WEATHER STATION, ALASKA
Paul Kavanagh was on the phone in a small hut atop a mountain. The long-distance line to California was finally coming through. Red Cloud was outside, waiting near the Marine helicopter.
Someone on the other end of the line picked up the phone. “Hello?” a woman asked.
“Cheri?” Paul said, his heart racing and his face flushed.
“Paul?”
“Yeah, baby, it’s me.”
“Paul, you’re alive. I-I thought….”
“I’m coming home, baby.” By all that was holy, he loved her voice. It was beautiful. It was life.
“What do you mean ‘coming home’?”
“I mean that I’m sorry for all the ways I treated you badly. It means I want to start over. I love you, baby. I want to be with you more than anything in this world. What do you say, Cheri? Do you think there’s a chance?”
A sob came over the crackling line.
“Cheri?” Paul said, worried he’d lost the connection as he had before outside Platform P-53.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Cheri whispered. “When I thought you were dead…. Please, Paul, hurry home. I love you so much. I know that now.”
Paul grinned so hard it hurt his cheeks. “I love you too, baby. I’ll be home in a few weeks.”
“Oh, Paul, it’s so good to hear your voice. I’m so terribly glad you’re alive. This is wonderful.”
“Yeah, I’m done fighting. It’s out of my system. All I want is to love you and raise my boy right. I can hardly wait to hold you in my arms again.”
This
was
great! This was why he was alive. He’d paid his vow to Murphy. Now it was time to live again.
The End
To the Reader
: I hope you’ve enjoyed
Invasion: Alaska
. If you would like to read more about the Great War between China and the United States, I encourage you to write a review. Let me know how you feel and let others know what to expect.
Novels by Vaughn Heppner
The Ark Chronicles:
People of the
Ark
People of the Flood
People of
Babel
People of the Tower
Lost Civilizations:
Giants
Leviathan
The Tree of Life
Gog
Behemoth
The Lod Saga
The Doom Star Series:
Star Soldier
Bio-Weapon
Battle
Pod
Cyborg Assault
Planet Wrecker
Other Novels:
The Great Pagan Army
The Sword of
Carthage
The Knight of Pellinore
Invasion:
Alaska
Death Knight
The Darkling
The Dragon Horn
Strontium-90