“Major Gushan of the People’s Liberation Army Navy,” Kurt said. “I suppose I should invite you in. Although I have a feeling you know your way around.”
“Technically, this is my home,” the major admitted. “But as you and Joe are the ones staying here, why not?”
The major came inside; he carried a small shopping bag and little else. The three of them convened on the apartment’s tiny balcony, sitting around a small table and admiring the view. If they leaned out far enough they could just see a portion of the Five Bridges area.
Gushan sighed as he looked at the two men. He seemed weary. He was at a loss for where to begin. “So…” he said finally. “Ahab.”
“Yeah,” Kurt said. “Ahab. He almost got us. He almost got us all.”
Gushan looked away. His tiny part of China was beautiful. He suspected Kurt’s little part of Washington was just as nice. As were most of the neighborhoods all across the globe. He could hardly stand to imagine them all being destroyed.
“You almost got me arrested by having Rand contact me,” Gushan said. “I was already on thin ice after what happened in Norway.”
“Sorry about that,” Kurt said. “Rand and his sister took us to Ahab’s base on Siabat Island. We couldn’t have stopped the attack without their help. Rand has promised to go straight, and I intend tohelp clear his name. A word from your government would go a long way.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Gushan said with a nod. “You saved my life once and I suppose he saved many more.”
“I thought we were even,” Kurt said, recalling the unspoken subtext of their conversation in Norway.
Gushan wrinkled his face. “Eh,” he said. “Not quite. But we are now.”
“Fair enough,” Kurt said.
Gushan shifted in his seat.
“How’d you convince your superiors?” Kurt asked.
Gushan gave him the short version of things, wincing as he thought of his sore ribs, two of which had hairline fractures from the MP’s nightstick. “I told them the truth. It wouldn’t have mattered if your planes hadn’t turned around. That gave the generals enough breathing room to hold off on an immediate counterstrike. They kept our planes on the ground. At that point, with only you and Ahab left in the sky, they decided to let it play out.”
“We noticed the missiles stopped coming,” Joe said.
“We didn’t want to shoot you down by accident,” Gushan insisted.
Kurt could believe that. He figured there were other reasons as well. “I’m guessing the high command wouldn’t have been too sad if Ahab had ended up landing or crashing softly somewhere. In which case, they might have gotten their hands on the laser after all.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Gushan admitted. “Nor could I blame them. Whatever the reason was, it didn’t get passed along to me.”
“Admirals and generals are like that,” Joe said. “Even in our country.”
“The laser is gone,” Kurt said. That was one thing he was sure of at this point.
“Your country has others in production,” Gushan noted.
“And I’m sure China has something similar on the drawing board,” Kurt replied. “Who knows, maybe one day we’ll all have them. Hundreds of these planes flying around making it impossible for anyone to attack anyone. Might be nice.”
“High walls,” Gushan said. “In this city we prefer to build bridges.”
“I noticed that,” Joe said.
“I’m sure you did,” Gushan replied, laughing. “You don’t know this, but you’ve become quite a celebrity here. The Mad Bomber, they call you.More than a few of my countrymen would like to commend you on your flying ability, including a number of those admirals and generals.”
Joe offered an appreciative nod. “I’ll give them a demonstration, if it helps us get out of here.”
Gushan smiled. “I’ll see if there are any takers.”
“So, what now?” Kurt said, getting back to business. “I mean this place is nice, but it’s going to get crowded with the three of us living here.”
“It’s all been arranged,” Gushan told him. “Your government. My government. They’ve been talking. Arguing mostly, and accusing each other of things, but at least they’re talking.”
