“As radio messages demanding answers fly back and forth, Saber One will turn north toward Shanghai, where the Chinese version of Air Force One should be found approaching the city. Saber One will lock onto it and knock it out of the sky at maximum range, killing the Chinese premier and a significant number of his staff.”
“Won’t the premier’s aircraft turn back for Beijing as soon as the attack commences?” one of the men asked.
“Impossible to say,” the flight leader admitted. “They’ll be more than two hundred and fifty miles from the combat zone as they approach—more than three times the distance any American missile can cover. With good reason to believe they’re outside lethal range, they may proceed to the nearest military base. Or they might wisely turn back toward Beijing. In which case they will most likely go at high altitude and maximum speed, preferring to get as far away from the danger as quickly as possible. In either case they will make a good target. At thirty-five thousand feet, Saber One can hit them at a range of three hundred miles. They will strike the premier’s aircraft down before anyone knows what has happened.”
The men in the group nodded approvingly. They believed the Chinese premier was planning to declare war against their country. An invasion would follow weeks of bombing and drone attacks in which thousands of their fellow citizens, family members, and friends would be killed. The idea of taking out the Chinese leadership before it could strike first filled them with a sense of justice.
But that was Saber One’s job. The men in this group had another task. The flight leader explained this: “While Saber One tracks toward Shanghai, we will be in the C-141 Starlifter, denoted as Saber Two. Saber One will clear a path for us until we reach this point.” He tapped the chart a second time, indicating another waypoint that was no more than ten miles off the Chinese coast, well within their territorial airspace.
“Our target is the new military control hub on Langqi Island in Fujian. Much of the PLA’s high command will be gathered there to watch the American war games from afar. As soon as we’re in range, the payload crew will open the aft door and begin deploying the missiles. They’re programmed to open their wings upon attaining freefall. They will then glide down to an altitude of three hundred feet and ignite their boosters. Once active, they will self-guide to the targets, obliterating the command center with most of the Communist Party’s generals and admirals inside.”
“What’s our final weapons count?” one of the crewmen asked.
“You’ll be loading twenty-one missiles,” the flight leader said. “Unfortunately, three of the weapons have failed prelaunch testing.”
“Twenty-one cruise missiles hitting one target ought to get their attention,” another crewman suggested.
The flight leader ignored the commentary and kept going. “All of this is a means to an end. It is secondary to the main objective. We must convince the Chinese that the Americans have made this preemptive attack. You will use only American-style English during your radio communications. You have been issued falsified American military documents and identifications. You will keep them on your person and discard your own. We hope, of course, to survive and return in order to continue the fight, but if we’re shot down or captured, the ruse must be maintained until the end.”
“What’s our escape route?” one of the pilots asked. Even those on a suicide mission needed some hope of survival.
The flight leader acknowledged the question. “Once the missiles have been launched, we will turn directly toward Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. This will confirm for the Chinese that the Americans are behind the attack.”
“The Chinese will come after us?” the pilot asked.
“They will,” the flight leader told him. “Saber One will attempt to cover your retreat, but will itself be moving toward a position of safety. When you reach international waters, set the autopilot, arm the self-destruct switch, and bail out through the aft door. Rescue will be attempted, though it cannot be guaranteed.”
The group turned sober and quiet, contemplating the likely end of this mission.
When they’d been quiet long enough, the flight leader snapped them back to attention. “Yellow Tigers!” he shouted. “This is your moment. Freedom for Taiwan! Freedom forever!”
“Yellow Tigers!” the men shouted in unison. “Freedom forever!”
Several rounds of call-and-response followed before the quiet finally returned.
The flight leader looked at his watch. “Go make peace with whatever god you believe in,” he suggested. “Do it quickly. Saber One is nearly ready for takeoff. We’ll be following as soon as the missiles are loaded.”
Chapter 56
Kurt, Joe, and Pru sat in stunned silence as the airmen dispersed. When the area had emptied, Kurt risked a peek over the stack of equipment that stood between them and the rest of the building.
In the center of the hangar, he saw a C-141 cargo plane, painted in authentic U.S. Air Force colors. The large, four-engine jet, called a Starlifter in official Air Force lingo, was not as big and burly as the C-17, but it was still plenty capable. It could fly at nearly six hundred knots and had been designed to have outstanding maneuverability at low altitude, so it could dive, climb, and turn with the great agility required to get in and out of short runways near active war zones.
Off to one side of the plane, Kurt saw a baggage train made up of wheeled carts. Sleek-looking cruise missiles of a type he’d never seen before were being loaded onto them. The Starlifter, as the flight leader had said, was Saber Two. The laser-armed Saber One was nowhere to be seen. Kurt guessed it was in the other hangar on the far side of the ramp.
He dropped back down and whispered to Joe. “These men aren’tjust looking for a way to defend Taiwan. They’re going to attack China, pretending to be part of our military.”
“And kick off World War Three,” Joe said. “I heard them.”
No doubt the Yellow Tigers hoped it would be something less than Armageddon, but perhaps they didn’t care. “At the very least they want to throw the first punch and ensure we’re on their side as the brawl breaks out. It sounds insane, but there’s a certain logic to it.”
“Especially if they think war is inevitable,” Joe said. “But what does this have to do with Ahab? What does he get out of it?”
“Revenge,” Kurt said coldly. “On the recording in the C-17, he said he wanted to punish us for putting him out of business. Gushan as well. But that was only the first act, he also wanted revenge on our countries. What better way to do that than tricking them into fighting each other?”
“So the Yellow Tigers are just pawns,” Joe suggested.
Kurt nodded. “Ahab needs men who are willing to fly a suicide mission into the heart of Chinese power. Where else is he going to get them?”
