benefit, Leader.”
“How do you mean?” he asked.
“I realize you do not fear. Your calm has given me strength on more than one occasion. Yet one as exalted as you must become annoyed at other people’s lack of understanding of your genius. You think and talk at a much higher level than the rest of us. I would imagine you use…hmm…‘common phrases’ so that simpler minds can understand you. Thus, you said ‘I fear’ not as to mean fright but to help me understand a higher concept that your mind easily comprehends.”
Lines appeared in his forehead, and he leaned toward her.
Was my logic too torturous for him to follow?
Then a smile stretched his lips. “Yes. I take your meaning. That was well said and thought out. Hmm, in any case, I have stooped to deceit once more in order to bring about a proper order of affairs. I refer to my regaining rule of all military matters, particularly in North America.”
“ This is wonderful news. You are taking over the invasion army again, Leader?”
“Not quite yet,” Hong said in a soft voice. “Marshal Chao Pin must play out his part first. He will suffer defeat in Oklahoma. Of this, I am certain. America has deployed mass again, as they used to in the twentieth century, and their THOR missiles and other technological marvels will trump Chao Pin’s feeble dispositions. Our merchant marine simply cannot ship enough materiel to the front lines fast enough to offset American expansion.”
“This is terrible news.”
“No. This is what we need.”
“It is?” Shun Li asked.
“Chao Pin and his lap dogs have poisoned the soldiers’ minds against me. Fighting men are like children, easily swayed by the wrong people. I have decided therefore to employ a ruse of deeper cunning than Sun Tzu could have penned in his ancient treatise, The Art of War .”
“I am glad to hear this is so, Leader.”
Chairman Hong straightened and slapped the desk. “Shun Li, I have made my decision. You will be my hand in this.”
Relief flooded through her, and she said in a ringing voice, “I will do whatever you command.”
“ Attend to my words word closely, for this is critical. Despite his supposedly defensive brilliance , Chao Pin’s deployments will fail. The Americans have too many Behemoth tanks. My experts believe the Americans will create a massive hole in our lines and pour through, surrounding and devouring our armies in Oklahoma as they did in Colorado.”
“Doesn’t Chao Pin see this danger?”
“He seeks to bring more laser tanks and greater numbers of T-66s to America. But the enemy’s submarines sink too many transports. No. I will stake my reputation on this…although it will only be between you and me that I do this.”
“Yes, Leader,” she said.
“If I am wrong, you will never speak of word of this to anyone.”
If he’s wrong, he’ll kill me. “May I ask a question, Leader?”
“Please do.”
“How does a Chinese defeat in Oklahoma help us? I mean, help you, Leader?”
A shark’s smile spread across his face. “I have borrowed your cleverest people and this without your knowledge. It is how I know you are only a good policewoman and not a great one. They have smuggled short-range nuclear missiles into northern Mexico for my purposes. No one knows about these missiles but for you, me and the selected East Lightning border formations.”
“Leader?” she whispered.
“This is interesting,” Hong said. “I can smell the fear oozing onto your skin. Why do so many people wilt at the mention of nuclear weapons?”
Because of radioactive fallout and end -of-the-world scenarios , Shun Li thought.
“The Americans have used nuclear weapons before ,” he said. “I refer to the Arctic shelf ice attack against us in 2032 and the Santa Cruz bombing in 2039 and finally in the Atlantic Ocean in 2040 when they destroyed the German amphibious fleet closing in on the New Jersey shore.”
“We have used nuclear depth charges,” Shun Li
“How do you mean?” he asked.
“I realize you do not fear. Your calm has given me strength on more than one occasion. Yet one as exalted as you must become annoyed at other people’s lack of understanding of your genius. You think and talk at a much higher level than the rest of us. I would imagine you use…hmm…‘common phrases’ so that simpler minds can understand you. Thus, you said ‘I fear’ not as to mean fright but to help me understand a higher concept that your mind easily comprehends.”
Lines appeared in his forehead, and he leaned toward her.
Was my logic too torturous for him to follow?
Then a smile stretched his lips. “Yes. I take your meaning. That was well said and thought out. Hmm, in any case, I have stooped to deceit once more in order to bring about a proper order of affairs. I refer to my regaining rule of all military matters, particularly in North America.”
“ This is wonderful news. You are taking over the invasion army again, Leader?”
“Not quite yet,” Hong said in a soft voice. “Marshal Chao Pin must play out his part first. He will suffer defeat in Oklahoma. Of this, I am certain. America has deployed mass again, as they used to in the twentieth century, and their THOR missiles and other technological marvels will trump Chao Pin’s feeble dispositions. Our merchant marine simply cannot ship enough materiel to the front lines fast enough to offset American expansion.”
“This is terrible news.”
“No. This is what we need.”
“It is?” Shun Li asked.
“Chao Pin and his lap dogs have poisoned the soldiers’ minds against me. Fighting men are like children, easily swayed by the wrong people. I have decided therefore to employ a ruse of deeper cunning than Sun Tzu could have penned in his ancient treatise, The Art of War .”
“I am glad to hear this is so, Leader.”
Chairman Hong straightened and slapped the desk. “Shun Li, I have made my decision. You will be my hand in this.”
Relief flooded through her, and she said in a ringing voice, “I will do whatever you command.”
“ Attend to my words word closely, for this is critical. Despite his supposedly defensive brilliance , Chao Pin’s deployments will fail. The Americans have too many Behemoth tanks. My experts believe the Americans will create a massive hole in our lines and pour through, surrounding and devouring our armies in Oklahoma as they did in Colorado.”
“Doesn’t Chao Pin see this danger?”
“He seeks to bring more laser tanks and greater numbers of T-66s to America. But the enemy’s submarines sink too many transports. No. I will stake my reputation on this…although it will only be between you and me that I do this.”
“Yes, Leader,” she said.
“If I am wrong, you will never speak of word of this to anyone.”
If he’s wrong, he’ll kill me. “May I ask a question, Leader?”
“Please do.”
“How does a Chinese defeat in Oklahoma help us? I mean, help you, Leader?”
A shark’s smile spread across his face. “I have borrowed your cleverest people and this without your knowledge. It is how I know you are only a good policewoman and not a great one. They have smuggled short-range nuclear missiles into northern Mexico for my purposes. No one knows about these missiles but for you, me and the selected East Lightning border formations.”
“Leader?” she whispered.
“This is interesting,” Hong said. “I can smell the fear oozing onto your skin. Why do so many people wilt at the mention of nuclear weapons?”
Because of radioactive fallout and end -of-the-world scenarios , Shun Li thought.
“The Americans have used nuclear weapons before ,” he said. “I refer to the Arctic shelf ice attack against us in 2032 and the Santa Cruz bombing in 2039 and finally in the Atlantic Ocean in 2040 when they destroyed the German amphibious fleet closing in on the New Jersey shore.”
“We have used nuclear depth charges,” Shun Li
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