Sic Semper Tyrannis (53 page)

The sergeant next to him grinned.  "Sir, he says that he’s extremely happy to have made your acquaintance and has some caviar in his command vehicle.  He would be happy to share."

"Fish eggs.  Fucking disgusting." Stapleton growled.  He smiled and nodded at the Russian.  "Tell him I would be delighted."

The sergeant tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh before he delivered the message.

"Sir!  We've established contact with our ships out there in the bay!" a voice called out behind him.  Stapleton reached out a hand and a pair of large field glasses were dropped into his grasp almost instantly.  He brought them to his eyes and called out, "Somebody get me a radio!"

He could see that the battle on the water was nearly over.  The fleet that he had witnessed sailing into the bay with such pride a few days before had been reduced to the smoking hulls of only a few ships.  The rest had already slipped below the waves.  Fighter planes roared overhead, every one of them American.

The unmistakable bulk of an American aircraft carrier on the horizon brought a smile to his lips.  He looked again and the smile vanished.  She was tilted over.  A lot.  That wasn’t good.  No wonder the planes overhead were buzzed around like angry hornets—there was no way they could land on that carrier.

"Inform our good friends in the Navy that we've taken control of Manhattan and would greatly appreciate their assistance in helping us take back LaGuardia.  They might find it of some use, I think."

A soldier from his command Stryker looked up from his terminal.  "Sir, I have Admiral Nella on the line, in command of the
Roosevelt
Strike Group.  He's asking to speak to you, sir.  He says he would like to meet for a council of war."

Stapleton arched an eyebrow as he watched a flight of jets form up over the southern tip of Manhattan in perfect formation.  The Navy certainly put on a fine display.  In the distance, an explosion racked one of the few Russian ships afloat.

"Tell the good Admiral that I would be delighted.  At his convenience.  Although, he'll have to provide his own transportation…"

"Yes, sir.  The Admiral sends his regards and says that he wishes to discuss…"

Stapleton turned away from the binoculars and looked over his shoulder.  "Discuss what, son?"

“Politics
, sir."  The young man blinked and looked up at his commanding officer.  "He said he wants to talk politics.  That doesn't make any sense…and he won’t say anything else."  He shook his head.

Stapleton turned back to look out over the glassy water of the Upper Bay.  Why would the Admiral in charge of a carrier strike group want to talk to the general in charge of the largest army on American soil… About
politics
… A unique sensation settled in the pit of his stomach.  Fear, excitement, and curiosity mixed together to form a concoction that was rarely felt by a man of Stapleton's loyalty.

"Inform the Admiral I will be most happy to oblige."  He took another look at the captured Russians and rebels.  "For God’s sake, somebody get these poor bastards some food.  They look like they're about ready to eat us."

CHAPTER 36

Yankee Devils

MINISTER PO SIN SETTLED into his comfortable chair with an expressive smile on his face.  Despite some minor setbacks caused by the American terrorist group, his plan was back on schedule.  He had earned praise from the Great Leader himself, and the ire of his former friend, Party Undersecretary Shin Ho.

He had planned a lavish personal party later that night with some choice girls from Taiwan delivered by his personal valet.  Po Sin checked his watch.  Only a few hours until he could kick off the celebration.  He had snatched victory from the hands of Shin Ho.  Oh, the look on his old friend’s face had been positively
divine
.  He only wished he could have had a picture…

He was going to check in one last time for the day with the task force and his new colonel.  The young man had behaved himself well—Po Sin figured that the boy might well earn a further promotion out of this if he continued to maintain his course and victory was achieved as planned.

The door to his office opened after a quick double knock and Fai stepped in, eyes down at the floor.  "Undersecretary Shin Ho has arrived—"

"Fai!  Very good!"  Po Sin staggered to his feet, reminding himself that he needed to cut back on the sweets.  "Send him in, send him in."

"At once, Minister."  Fai’s face brightened a little at his boss’s good mood.

The familiar form of his old friend stepped into the room and despite their differences over the course of the expedition, a smile spread across his face.  "Well, it looks like you've nearly done it."

Po Sin shook his head, and spread his hands.  "I had nothing to do with it, it was our brave men in uniform who—"

The Undersecretary waved off Po Sin's feigned humility.  He sat down heavily in the plush seat across from the Minister's desk.  "Oh come now, aren't we beyond all the bullshit?”  The smile vanished.  “At least have the graciousness to accept my surrender.  You were right.  I was wrong and you have succeeded.  Your plan will succeed now.  Our Great Leader is mightily impressed."

"Well, I…" Po Sin was taken off guard by Shin Ho's honesty.  He smoothed his coat and tie and settled as gracefully as he could into his chair.

"I am impressed as well.  It is been a master stroke of tactical prowess.  Splitting the forces like that in order to take care of the terrorist threat was genius."  Shin Ho shook his head.  “I wouldn’t have done that.”

"Oh, you flatter me…"

Shin Ho shook his head again.  A sad smile spread across his face.  "I assure you, flatteries is not my intention.  I merely give you honest praise and convey to you the words of the Great Leader himself."

Po Sin's eyes flew open.  He struggled to maintain a stoic, measured expression on his face.  He cleared his throat politely and reached for the remote on his desk.  "Well, this is
most
welcome news.  Thank you.  I was about to communicate with the newly-promoted commander of the smaller force.  He should be connecting with the main expedition tomorrow.  I just wanted to touch base with him one last time before I headed home."  He aimed the remote at the monitor on the far wall and clicked a button and a large screen came to life.  He arched an eyebrow and looked at his old friend.  "Which reminds me, I'm having a little… get together… Tonight," he said, hint of a smile curling his lips.

"A little get together?" said Shin Ho smile splitting his own face.  He arched an eyebrow.  "Will this perchance be one of your infamous soirees?"

Po Sin grinned.  "Just like old times.  I have arranged for some choice delicacies to be flown in from Taiwan."

Shin Ho grinned like a cat.  "Well then, I will inform my wife that I will be delayed tonight."

Po Sin laughed.  "You are so quaint!  So Western in your considerations for your wife."  He laughed again.  He failed to see the dangerous look the crossed his friend's face.  "I tell my wife nothing, except when to turn around and bend over!"  He roared at his own wit.

Before Shin Ho could respond, the screen flickered and the blurry face of a Chinese soldier appeared.  When the uplink had been completely established, the young man's face resolved into a mask of surprise and shock.  His eyebrows disappeared underneath his helmet.  And for a moment his eyes went so wide, he looked like one of the half-breeds that lived in America.  "
Honorable Minister!"

"Yes," Po Sin said with a dramatic wave of one hand.  "It is I, Honorable Minister himself!"  He laughed at the pained expression on the soldier’s face.  "Run along and get your Colonel, if you please.  I would speak with him."

“
At once, sir!
"   The soldier saluted so sharply, Po Sin was afraid that he would snap his own neck.

In less time than Po Sin had expected, the young Colonel appeared on screen.  He must have been waiting for the call.  Po Sin smiled.  He liked that kind of dedication.  Especially when it was aimed at himself.

The young man cleared his throat.  "
Honorable Minister, you do me great honor
—"

Po Sin waved away the pleasantries.  "I'm here for your status update, Colonel not flattery."  His voice was stern, but the smile on his face indicated that the flattery was not only accepted, but would be expected in the future.  He shot a quick wink at Shin Ho, who flashed a weak smile in return.

"
Of course, Honorable Minister.  Our mission proceeds as planned
," the young Colonel said.  "
We've routed the American terrorists.  They are no longer a threat to us.  I've pushed my men hard and we have come within shouting distance of the main Battalion.  I expect we will link up with them at first light
."

"Excellent," said Po Sin.  "Now, I wanted to discuss with you—"

A muffled noise got the Colonel's attention and he quickly turned away from the camera.  Anger flashed inside Po Sin. 
How dare you look away while I’m talking
—

"
What was that?
"  The Colonel asked someone off-screen.

The camera shook and the image of the Colonel destabilized as indistinct shouting erupted in the background.  Po Sin couldn't be sure, but it sounded like the staccato fire of automatic rifles in the background. 
What the hell is going on over there?

"Colonel?  What is the meaning of this?"

"
Honorable Minister!  We are under attack!  I—
"

There was a horrible electronic screech and the image destabilized for a moment.  Po Sin mashed buttons on his remote.  He had to get the link reestablished.  After a few tense moments, the screen flickered back to life, but there was something wrong with the image.  Everything seemed distorted.

"The camera is on the ground," observed Shin Ho.

"Colonel!"  Po Sin shouted.  "Colonel Jan!"

No matter how loud Po Sin shouted, there was no response.  There was no face on the screen, but they did see what looked like a boot appear for a moment.  They could hear distinct sounds of fighting, shouting, and bursts of gunfire.  Whatever had happened, it had reached the command tent.  In less than a minute, it was over.  Silence was the only thing they heard over the speakers.  Po Sin was about to comment that the camera must have been destroyed when a piece of paper fluttered across the screen. 

“What was—” began Shin Ho.

“Sssh!” hissed Po Sin, one hand up.  He heard something.  He cocked his head and cranked up the volume on the monitor.  It sounded like…
Boots scuffling in dirt?  Or maybe someone dragging something heavy?

“I hear voices!” whispered Shin Ho.  “They sound like orders.”

"Was that English?" asked Po Sin.

Shin Ho shook his head.  "I can't tell, it was too quiet."

The camera suddenly rose off the ground, creating a momentary sense of vertigo in Po Sin's expansive gut.  Someone set it—none to gently—back on its tripod and a green light on the wall signified that Po Sin once more had directional control of the camera.  He picked up the remote and thumbed the switch to pan the camera around.

The camera showed a scene out of a nightmare.  Bodies—
Chinese
bodies—littered the dusty ground around the command-and-control tent where the communications equipment was stored.  Blood was everywhere in dark swatches on the ground and splashed against the side of a vehicle.  In the distance he could see figures move to and fro, in and out of tents which…

“Are those tents on fire?” asked Shin Ho.  “This is
outrageous!
”

Po Sin ignored him.  He panned the camera back over the bodies towards the opposite side of the Chinese encampment.  Two vehicles were on fire.  The others, though, began to move.  A man exited one of the vehicles and slapped its side before it drove off in a cloud of dust.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Shin Ho.

Po Sin shook his head and continued to search for Colonel Jan.  “Who could have done this?” he muttered.

Suddenly a rough, barbaric face appeared in the screen—too close, so that it was out of focus.  Po Sin rocked back in his chair in surprise.  One of Shin Ho’s aide yelped.   The expression on the unshaven man’s face was clear despite being out of focus.  

Hatred consumes this man
, observed Po Sin.  The white devil was angry, his rage visible under sweat and blood.  The white skin and shaggy cheeks, an all-around unkempt look pegged the man as American.  But the eyes… The man's eyes held an expression that Po Sin had never seen before.  He looked…possessed.

The man started to speak.  Po Sin glanced at Shin Ho who shrugged.  Po Sin snapped his fingers at Fai who nodded and raced out of the room for a translator.  Even though every transmission through his office was recorded and translated, he wanted the information this barbarian was babbled on about, and he wanted it
now
.

The unshaven American, angry now that he did not get a response, shook the camera and shouted as he stepped back, pointing off-screen.  He was like one of the great apes at the zoo—they vented their frustration at human technology and slapped their chests and grunted and in the end accomplished nothing. 

Po Sin took the man’s repeated gesture to the left as a signal to move the camera.  He shot a glance at Shin Ho, who shrugged, then panned the camera.  There, on his knees surrounded by the bodies of his command staff, was Colonel Jan, his face bloodied and battered.  His hands were tied behind his back and an American stood guard, a large rifle aimed at the back of Jan's head.

"You see," whispered Po Sin, "they
are
terrorists, they look just like those fools from the Middle East…"

Shin Ho shook his head.  "No… These men are different."  He ignored the babbling American on the screen, as the men gesticulated wildly and growled something at the camera.  “They don’t hide their faces in shame like the Arabs.  These men are proud of what they do and fear us little.”

"Do you think they'll kill him?" asked Shin Ho absently.  “I was rather getting to like the boy.”

Po Sin shook his head and tried not to smile.  "Never.  These Americans are always telling us and the world of their moral standards.  They always look down upon our little friends in the Middle East—" someone off-screen appeared with a gun in his hand. 

This man walked across the camera's field of view, placed it to the temple of Colonel Jan’s head and without any further fanfare, pulled the trigger.  A wave of blood shot off the screen and Jan fell face first into the dirt.  His head deposited chunks of flesh and gore on the ground. 

“
Barbarian!
” cried Po Sin, completely shocked.  These Americans were not following their own rules!

The man who murdered Colonel Jan turned toward the camera and Po Sin recoiled at the cold expression on his face.  Despite the fact that he had just slaughtered a rising Colonel in the Chinese Army without so much thought as a man putting down the runt of a litter of pups, there was no anger or hate in the man's eyes.

This man is different
, thought Po Sin. 
This man is far more dangerous than the religious zealots we conspired with to start the campaign.  There is… nothing behind those eyes.  He is empty. 

The barbarian stepped close to the camera and his face filled the screen on Po Sin's wall.  The Minister of Defense of the People's Republic of China involuntarily leaned back in his chair as he sought distance between himself and the devil on the screen.

The American whispered something into the camera and the image went dark.

“We’ve lost the signal,” said Po Sin.  The uplink light glowed red.

"I didn't catch that, what did he say?" asked Shin Ho.

Po Sin shook his head.  “It was too quiet.”  He picked up the remote and hit the rewind button to reel back the last few seconds of the transmission.  He looked down at the remote and hit the play button, then turned the volume up.

The American’s ugly face, covered in sweat and dirt and blood and hair, filled the screen once more.  Those cold, empty eyes stared back.  Gray, like the color of an ocean before a vicious storm.  They held no emotion, no threat, no overt hatred.