Invasion: China (Invasion America) (Volume 5) (40 page)

As fires raged
down there, and Chinese trunks and jeeps burned, Stan finally gave the command. The East Lighting officers were dead, with jin-jin soaked in their tunics. One after another, the Lees clanked down the road, with American IFVs following.

We’re doing it. We
’re surprising them and hopefully, creating havoc and panic to the Chinese soldiers and commanders ahead of us
.

HARBIN, HEILONGJIANG PROVINCE

Shun Li ran down a corridor in the main Police Ministry Building of the city, following an
adjutant. The woman ahead of Shun Li turned into a chamber. Out of breath, Shun Li followed, coming to a halt before a wall screen. It showed an angry Chairman Hong staring at her from his secure headquarters in Beijing.

Shun Li checked an impulse to throw herself cringing on the tiles. She had rarely seen him
so visibly angry. His dark eyes shined wetly, and his lips pressed firmly against each other.

As her bosom heaved, she bowed before his image
on the wall. She tried to inject serenity into her motion. It was impossible.

“The Americans have brushed aside the Taken Defenses,” Hong said in a dangerous voice. “This morning, I aw
oke to grim news. The enemy has flown like a bald eagle, going wherever they desire. I imagine they’re less than a half hour from Harbin.”

“Leader?”
Shun Li asked, amazed at this news.

“Do you mean to tell me that you have wallowed in luxurious sleep while the Americans battle around the clock?”

“No, Leader. I mean, yes, I was asleep, but only after a night of hard work, preparing the city defenses.”

“And who mans those defenses?” Hong asked. “
Dirty peasants?”

Shun Li stare
d at him in shock. She didn’t know what he wanted to hear.

“Blow
up the city,” Hong said. “Do so immediately. The Americans must not be allowed to take Harbin intact.”

Shun Li began to tremble. How could she say this
without losing her life?

The Chairman glanced down at something
out of sight in his headquarters. “What is this?” he asked. “You are highly agitated.”

“Leader?” she whispered.

“You would be surprised at my instrumentation here. It monitors your heart rate, among other things.”

Shun Li
moistened her lips. He realized she feared. Did he already know? It was more than possible. She must project utter honesty.

“Leader,
” she said, “I have not yet installed the nuclear devices.”

On the wall-screen,
Hong froze, and she could see her death in his eyes. “Tell me truthfully. Why have you failed to implement China’s will?”

“Leader, I have not yet received the nuclear devices.”

“You lie!” he shouted.

“No, dear Leader, I speak the
unvarnished truth. There has been a delay in the delivery of the devices.”

Hong breathed heavily. He no longer stared at her. He didn’t seem to look at anything, but had glazed eyes.

“You are now given a holy task,” he finally said. “You must race south and find the devices. They must have stopped somewhere along the route. Then you must rush back with them to Harbin and plant the bombs. I demand that you mine the city. We will
bury
the Americans under tons of irradiated brick. We will destroy their invasion army.”

“Yes, Leader,” she said. “Ah…”

“What now?” he snapped.

“I have noticed a phenomenon lately.”

“What could you perceive that I have not?”

“May I speak truthfully?” she asked. The giant image made Hong seem like a god.

“I demand you tell me the truth,” he said.

“Leader…people fear your displeasure.”

“That is absurd. I am a reasonable man.”

“The most reasonable on Earth,” she said. “Yet they fear to displease you. I suspect
because of that they hide truths from you.”

“Do you think anyone is capable of
hiding anything from me?”

“Not in the long run,” Shun Li said. “But in the short run, yes.”

He studied her, until finally he barked harsh laughter. “You have rare courage, Shun Li. I appreciate that. Yes, in the short run, liars can succeed. Tell me this truth you’ve discovered?”

“Sometimes, the first reports are exaggerated. Maybe the Americans aren’t as close to Harbin as we believe.”

“No,” Hong said. “I cannot accept that. An hour ago, two hundred American Jeffersons demolished a supply depot at Fun-Won Junction. That is forty-five kilometers from Harbin. Nothing stands between these Jeffersons and the city. I imagine the entire US army group pours after them.”

“Leader, while I search for the nuclear devices, I ask for permission to send a
reconnaissance team to Fun-Won Junction.”

“The Americans will slaughter them. But yes, do it. Let us see if your truth holds. Now go. On no account can I allow Harbin to fall into American hands.”

BEHIND ENEMY LINES, HEILONGJIANG PROVINCE

Stan overran two more supply depots and annihilated three convoys, leaving burnt hulks and dead personnel everywhere. One corpse had lain there completely naked and in perfect condition, with the dead man’s hands peacefully folded on his hairless chest. The enemy jammed his communications now. All he heard was growling in the radio. By lofting a drone high enough, he finally talked with General Taylor for three minutes.

It made all the difference.

As they clanked for Taw-Do Junction, the Intelligence captain informed Stan that thirty-two Chinese Marauder light tanks headed fast for them.

At Lao Pin Central Farm, Stan set up an ambush. He positioned the Lees behind three hills overlooking
G1011 and the farm. Below on the road, he inflated twelve dummy Lees. Three IFVs had carried the inflatables for just such an occasion.

Infantrymen attached heaters, which gave off infrared signatures on the dummy tanks. They barely sprinted into nearby milk sheds as the first Marauders appeared up the road.

Stan lay on the reverse slope of the middle hill. He’d taken a mobile laser rangefinder from the Lee. The tank was also behind the hill, with its Hellfire II launcher ready.

The Chinese light tanks slowed. They must have spotted the dummies on the road. The
Chinese Marauders were small, turretless tanks, each with a big 153mm gun.

Loud booms and long tongues of flames from the barrels showed
that the Marauders fired. What did the Chinese commander think? Several rounds passed right through the inflatable dummies, beginning to deflate them. Machine guns opened up from the Chinese, and they used their inner wheels, rushing the dummy Lees at speed. Now several inflatables exploded, simply disappearing like popped balloons. What would the Chinese make of that?

From his position on the slope,
Stan aimed a laser, pinpointing one of the lead Marauders. From the other hills, more Lee commanders did likewise. With a whoosh, a Hellfire II roared to life behind Stan. It left the barrel, flew over the top of the hill and sped down toward the Marauders.

Chinese
antimissile fire from the Marauders knocked it down so the missile plowed harmlessly in dirt, but not the Hellfire II following behind the first one. The second missile slammed against a Chinese light tank, and it exploded with a boom, injecting a thin jet stream of hot metal inside the tank, killing the crew.

Before any
Marauders could stop or reverse gears, backing up, more Hellfire IIs slammed home. In the end, none of the Chinese light tanks managed to escape the trap. It was Stan’s perfect battle, leaving thirty wrecks on and near the road.

Now what?
The light tanks showed that the Chinese knew someone roved in their rear area. Surely, the enemy would send more forces to try to reopen the way. Heck, what if the Chinese commander panicked and sent everyone back here? It was possible he might do that.

Stan stood up
on the hill, and he nodded to himself. They needed to patch the dummies and inflate them again. This was an excellent kill zone. Yet if he stayed here, that might take the pressure off the Chinese. No. They had done plenty of damage. He would plug this route and wait for relief from Taylor.

It proved
to be the correct decision. Almost an hour later, ten tri-turreted monster tanks showed up. That must have been the extent of the enemy’s big tanks at the front. The Lees couldn’t face 175mm cannons and survive. Hiding behind these dirt hills was their best bet.

Using the road, t
he ten T-66 tanks clanked toward the farm, approaching Marauder wrecks. Stan had towed those he could out of the way. None of the tri-turreted monsters bothered firing at the dummies.

Why not?
Stan wondered.
How did they figure that out?
Did it matter how?

“We
have to get out of here!” a Lee commander radioed.

“Keep cool,” Stan radioed back. “We have this.”

That’s when Chinese mortars from out of sight laid down smoke. The shells exploded on the dummy tanks, and hid them in a black oily cloud.

That’s what happens when you give the enemy time to think. They use combined arms against us
.

With a roar of
their engines, the T-66s began their attack, coming straight in. Stan had a glimpse of them before the dense smoke hid the Chinese tanks from view.

“What do we do, General?”
a tank commander radioed.

“Listen
to me,” Stan said. He realized what he needed to do, and knew what must have happened. Some of the Marauder crews must have been radioing back when the missiles destroyed them. The tri-turreted crews weren’t going to fall for the same dummy trick. He should have changed things up.

Stan
gave fast orders, and he sprinted for his Lee. As he climbed up the side, the light tank began clanking off the slope.

“We have no
more time,” Stan said into his throat-microphone. “I want the IFVs to get up here on the slopes and to start firing everything you have when I give the order. We have to make the enemy think we’re sticking to our original plan. You Lee commanders, you’re going to circle out behind your hill and flank the road, flank the T-66s. Once you see the big tanks, use every Hellfire you have left on them. Then use the Hammers. The T-66s are going to have plenty of antimissile fire. We’re going to have to hope some of our munitions get through.”

“Hope, General?” a tank commander asked.

Stan realized an utterly factual speech wasn’t going to motivate anyone in these circumstances. “We’re going to pound these bastards and blow them sky high!” Stan thundered. “The Chinese tankers think they’re clever. Well, damnit, we going to show them an old Comanche trick. This is going to work like you wouldn’t believe.”

According to a scout, t
he ten heavy tanks continued to rush for the smoke. Clearly, they were trying to make this a close combat thing, trusting to their thick armor and superior guns. Stan swallowed. He had light tanks. He had to be more nimble, think nimble, like a Comanche raider of the Old West.

As the T-66s
continued to use the road, Stan’s Lees flanked cross-country, leaving the protection of the hills and swinging right and left of G1011. They attempted to swing around the billowing smoke and get a glimpse of the big tanks before the monsters disappeared into the oily substance and reached the Chinese farm.

Stan clung to the hatch, swaying,
with his eyes peeled. His Lee sped through a small grove. Once out, he saw the big tanks in all their terrifying glory. The last time he’d seen T-66s had been in Texas from inside a Behemoth. He wished he were in one now. The Lee’s armor would be as paper compared to the Behemoth’s thick hide. Just as bad, the light tanks lacked antishell and antimissile fire. It might have been better to remain behind the hills or to flee somewhere else.

“Fire!” Stan shouted.

Two seconds later, the first Hellfire II popped out of a barrel and ignited. With a whoosh, it sped at the nearest tri-turreted tank.

Enemy radar must have spotted the missile
. White puffs showed beehive flechette firing. A second later, they knocked down the missile.

“Keep firing!” Stan shouted.

More Lees appeared, and they launched too. Then huge tongues of flame belched from enemy 175mm cannons. Screaming shells struck with unerring accuracy. Explosions, shrieks of tortured metal and flipping, gyrating Lees resulted.

It was an unequal battle, and it might have been the end of Stan Higgins and his Lees. A strike force of American V-10s showed up then. Taylor had promised them during the t
hree-minute talk, and Stan had counted on them to come in on time, hitting the enemy as the Lees engaged. The small V-10s pressed the attack, skimming the ground, launching tank-killers.

One drone blew up in a fireball. The Chinese commander must have been
alert to air attack. Then a tank-killer reached a T-66, and the first tri-turreted monster crashed onto its side as smoke poured from it.