miles west of Matsu Island-over the Chinese coast," Free-
man went on, shaking his head in disbelief. "China claims
that Taiwan was attempting either to drop a bomb on the base
or insert spies or commandos into the area. The transport plane
was shot down. Mainland China retaliated by launching rocket
attacks on the Matsu Islands, the Taiwanese island chain lo-
cated just off the Chinese mainland northwest of Taipei."
"What in hell is Taiwan u to the President asked.
"Have they gone crazy? This is a damned nightmare! I want
Holy shit, look at that!"
They look ' ed-and they were stunned beyond belief. There
on CNN was a fuzzy, grainy black-and-white photograph-of
the EB-52 Megafortress! The announcer said that the photo-
graph had just been received by the Chinese News Agency,
who had gotten it from the People's Liberation Army Air
Force. It was a head-on shot, so it was difficult to make out
details or get any solid identification-but for the men in the
room, the identification was painfully easy. The B-52 fuselage,
the unusual tail surfaces, the pointed nose, the weapons pod-
it was the EB-52 Megafortress, all right.
"Very nice gun camera picture-of a top-secret stealth at-
tack plane!" Balboa said sarcastically. "I guess the cat's out
of the bag now, isn't it?"
"Save it, Admiral," the President said irritably. He noticed
Jerrod Hale answering the phone on his desk-shit, he
thought, it's starting already! Thirty seconds after the pictures
were shown on CNN, the phone calls were coming in hot and
heavy. "The official response about those photos is going to
be 'no comment.' Is that clear?" Hale caught the President's
attention. "What?"
"State Department is getting flooded with calls from the
foreign ministries of Japan, Russia, North Korea, Iran, about
a dozen others-they all want to know if we're at war with
China and if we have a fleet of those Megafortresses deployed
around the world ready to strike," Hale said. "They all want
an explanation."
"We can expect calls to start coming in from Congress,
too," the President said wearily. "All right, Jerrod, I'll start
making calls-the Japanese prime minster first, then the Lead-
ership, then Russia, then any other Asian allies that want a
call. North Korea can go screw itself in the comer. What about
Taiwan? What's Lee's explanation, dammit?"
"As best as we can figure without talking to President Lee,"
Freeman said, "Taiwan wanted to knock that carrier out of
commission, then cripple Lang-Ch'i Army Base, which is the
main staging point for China's invasion force for the Matsu
Island chain."
"One plane? One bomb dropped by a transport plane? What
kind of damage can one transport plane do?" the President
asked.
"The transport was a C-130 Hercules," Freeman replied,
and Taiwan has the BLU-82 bomb in its inventory-that's a
15,000-pound fuel-air explosive bomb. It's enough to level
anything aboveground for a radius of two miles. We don't
have any verification that Taiwan employed a Big Blue, but it
would be a logical weapon to use against Lang-Ch'i Army
Base."
"Hold it, hold it-we're getting ahead of ourselves," the
President said irritably, getting more and more confused.
"Why hit this Lang-Ch'i base? Were the Chinese getting ready
to invade Matsu? Was it supposed to be a preemptive strike
to avert an invasion?"
"The PRC attacks on Matsu and Quemoy have been ex-
pected for many months, ever since the Chinese war games in
1996," Freeman replied. He searched his notes, then added,
"China had deployed the 117th and 134th Marine Divisions,
both reserve units, to Lang-Ch'i last year; they deployed the
54th Group Army, including the 165th Airborne Regiment, as
well-nearly two hundred thousand troops in that area alone."
260 DALE BROWN
"Under the circumstances, I wouldn't blame Taiwan for
lashing out in these two areas, if in fact they did," the Presi-
dent said. "So did China take Matsu?"
"Latest word is that no PRC troops have been landed on
Matsu," Freeman replied, "but China has a very limited am-
phibious landing ship fleet, so a massive marine invasion was
not anticipated right away. Matsu Air Base was bombarded
and heavily damaged. But overall it appears that China is
showing a bit of restraint."
That was a bit of welcome relief, however little. "What in
hell is going on around here?" the President repeated. ' , Is
Taiwan trying to goad China into attacking? If so, it's a sui-
cidal plan."
"Mr. President, the first thing I'm noticing here is the co-
incidental placement of these video cameras on both the carrier
and the ferry," Plank said. "They're obviously not civilian
models-they look almost broadcast quality. Both cameras re-
corded the weapons impacts as if they knew exactly where
they'd hit-they weren't photographing persons or events on
deck, but pointed out over the side. China also got those tapes
to the CNN bureau in Beijing in an awful damned hurry-
they didn't even bother to review the tapes themselves, as if
they knew what would be on them. And the observation that
General Freeman made earlier-that those Chinese attack
planes showed up within a half hour of the strike on the
ferry-well, it looks suspicious."
"Bob, are you suggesting that China staged those attacks?"
the President asked. "How is that possible? How could they
know a Taiwanese sub was approaching the . carrier? How
would they know we had a bomber near that ferry, and how
would they know when or if they'd launch missiles? It's a real
stretch." 4
"I know it is, sir-I'm making an observation based on
what I'm seeing on the news, with Chinese-supplied video,"
Plank said. "But it wouldn't be hard to set up. The attack on
the carrier would be easy-simply lay some torpedoes in the
water, shoot 'em off, and take pictures as they hit -the carrier.
The ferry attack would be harder to stage, but not impossible-
lay the torpedoes in the water, send the ferry out when our
Navy ships approach, set off the torpedoes by remote control,
and hope the frigates fire back. I don't think they anticipated
the Megafortress attacking, but they knew we had stealth air-
craft in the vicinity."
"It's crazy, Bob," the President said. "Let's concentrate on
what we know, instead of what we don't. I want-"
He was interrupted by Jerrod Hale's hand on his shoulder.
"Prime Minister Nagai of Japan, on the 'hot line' for you."
"Oh, shit," the President muttered. Kazurni Nagai was flu-
ent in English, so the President needed no translator-no rea-
son to postpone taking this call. He picked up the phone: "Mr.
Prime Minister, this is President Martindale. How are you to-
day, sir?"
"I am fine, Mr. President, and I hope I find you well,"
Nag
ai responded. His speech was clipped and sharp, yet still
respectful enough.
"You are calling concerning the news reports about the at-
tacks against Chinese property, supposedly by American and
Taiwanese forces.
"Yes, Mr. President," Nagai said sharply. "I was surprised
and dismayed by the photographs-we knew nothing of such
aircraft, and are very concerned that it was employed by you
in this monstrous attack. Is it true that the aircraft photo-
graphed by Chinese reconnaissance planes that have been
shown on CNN belongs to the United States, and was it in-
volved in the attack on the passenger ferry in the Formosa
Strait?"
"It's true, Mr. Prime Minister," Martindale replied. "I can
explain further, as long as we are guaranteed full confidenti-
ality of all the infon-nation during this call."
"I agree, Mr. President," Nagai said. "Please continue."
"It's an experimental long-range reconnaissance and attack
plane, derived from the B-52 bomber," the President ex-
plained. "The same plane was . involved in the skirmish that
resulted in the Chinese nuclear missile attack, but our plane
did not not have anything to do with the nuclear attack, except
to intercept at least one of the Chinese missiles while in
flight."
"Intercept? How?"
"That's not important right now, Mr. Prime Minister," the
President said. "Revealing all the capabilities of the plane has
nothing to do with the two incidents."
"It would be better if you allowed us to make that deter-
mination, sir," Nagai said acidly. "But please continue."
262 DALE BROWN
"In the most recent incident, the plane was on patrol when
it detected a multiple missile launch from a nearby vessel. The
aircrew incorrectly identified the vessel as a Chinese warship.
One of our surface vessels was hit by a rocket-powered tor-
pedo and was disabled. Fearing a second attack would destroy
the crippled vessel, the armed reconnaissance aircraft returned
fire."
"But if it was not a warship that initiated the attack, how
could the aircrew launch an attack on an unarmed passenger
ferry?" Nagai asked. "This is as monstrous a mistake as your
accidental downing of the Iranian Airbus over the Persian
Gulf!"
"Mr. Prime Minister, this was an accident precipitated by
China by making the ferry look like a warship on electronic
sensors, and by launching some kind of missile attack from
the direction of the ferry, perhaps by submarine," Martindale
said. "I assure you, this accident will not happen again. The
aircraft have been recalled, and an investigation has been
launched."
"Will the results of this investigation be kept secret, as the
existence and use of this aircraft has been?"
"I'll sea to it that you get a copy of the results of the in-
vestigation as soon as it is prepared," Martindale said. "I only
ask that this matter remain totally confidential. I hope I've
answered all your questions. Thank you for-"
"Mr. President, I must convey the thoughts of many in my
party concerning American military activities recently," Nagai
intedected, his voice much sterner now. "It appears that you
are very quick to initiate military actions, especially covert,
stealthy actions, versus negotiations and consultations with
your allies. Many members of my government, including
members of all political parties, have expressed outrage over
your activities. First, you attacked Iran without consultations
and without a declaration of war; now you are embroiled in a
conflict with China. In neither case were any of your friends
or allies notified or consulted."
"All I can say now, Mr. Prime Minister," Martindale said,
"is that my actions were necessary and vital to protect our
national security interests. Your government was notified of
our plans to initiate military action against Iran because of its
attacks'on Persian Gulf states-I'm sorry, but I did not feel it
necessary to explain our plans in detail at the time. The im-
portant thing was that a wider conflict was avoided and peace
was restored."
"Restored? Not when oil has nearly doubled in price over
the past four months; not when oil shipments to Japan have
been cut by almost ten percent!" Nagai argued hotly.
"If Iran had been successful in closing off the Persian Gulf
and destroying the oil-producing capabilities of the Persian
Gulf coast states, what do you think you'd be paying for what-
ever oil you got from there, Mr. Nagai?"
"My government is also outraged over your decision to sup-
port the independence of Chinese Taipei," Nagai said, rapidly
switching to a different topic. "That was an ill-advised thing
to do, Mr. President. Declaring your support for a rebel Chi-
nese province, one that is in conflict with many of your Asian
allies, including Japan, was a very unwise course of action."
"Again, Mr. Prime Minister, I thought it was best to act
quickly in the best interests of our national security," Martin-
dale said. "Taiwan's declaration of independence was a total
carrier task force to threaten or destroy Taiwan or its territo-
ries."
"Your decision to take Chinese Taipei's side," Nagai said,
again using the term "Chinese Taipei" instead of "Taiwan"
or "the Republic of China--that usage spoke volumes about
the depth of Japan's resentment toward Taiwan--has in-
flamed the anger of many in my country and my government.
They feel America no longer supports Japan's vital national
interests. It would be difficult for my country to support Amer-
ica's vital interests in Asia if you no longer support ours."
"What are you saying, Mr. Prime Minister?" the President
asked. "America will always be a strong and loyal ally of
Japan."
"I am conveying a warning to you, Mr. President, that
America, could be made to feel most unwelcome at its bases
located on Japanese soil if it is ever perceived that Japan's
national interests are not being served," Nagai said in carefully
measured words.
"You're threatening American bases in Japan if we con-
tinue to support the Republic of China or defend it against
mainland China?" Martindale said, trying hard not to get an-
gry or excited. "Is that what you're telling me, Mr. Prime
Minister?"
264 DALE BROWN
"China is a valuable trading partner with Japan-we have
put aside our historical differences in favor of growth and
prosperity for the future," Nagai responded. "Any actions,
either against China or on behalf of Chinese Taipei, that might
provoke further economic or military retaliation against Japan
would be considered a hostile act against us. The people of
Japan would become infuriated if it was learned that American
warplanes or warships staging out of bases in Japan were re-
sponsible for an economic, political, diplomatic, or military
calamity befalling Japan. In such a case, for example, access
to those bases might be restricted to the supply of fuel and
provisions only, not the supply of weapons."
11 You're saying that if we continue our actions, Japan will
prohibit American military forces from on-loading weapons
for our ships and planes? That's what I'm hearing from you,
Mr. Prime Minister."
" That is all I have to say on the subject, Mr. President. I
hope that we, your true friends in Asia, are consulted before
any other situations arise. What will your response be to the
attack on your warships, Mr. President?"
"We will be sending the aircraft carrier Independence and
its escorts from Yokosuka to the Formosa Strait to assist in
recovery efforts.
' 'The aircraft carrier? Do you think that is wise, Mr. Pres-
ident?" Nagai asked, with a tone of voice that revealed his
obvious displeasure at the news. "It will be considered a
threatening act against China, a retaliatory action."
- We have a right and a duty to protect our vessels on the
hi gh seas, Mr. Prime Minister," Martindale said. "The frigates
were attacked by Chinese fighters and attack planes, including
bombers."
" Obviously reacting to the attack on their passenger ferry-
a purely defensive move," Nagai interjected. "Sending your
aircraft carrier now will only be considered a hostile act and
a serious escalation of hostilities. May I suggest sending a
support or rescue ship thai does not have a strike capability?
It will take your carrier several days to travel to the scene of
the incident-other vessels can be dispatched much quicker."
" We will send whatever vessels or equipment we feel nec-
essary to save lives and preserve our property and rights of
travel on the high seas," the President said flatly. "If it takes
a carrier, we'll send one-or two, or three if necessary. But
we will not be chased out of any international waterways."
"That, sir, sounds like the words of an angry and desperate
man," Nagai said bitterly. "Again, you flaunt your military