Invasion: China (Invasion America) (Volume 5) by Vaughn Heppner Page B
Authors: Vaughn Heppner
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will call upon you,” Hong said. “You will act—”
“ If I shoot Marshal Chao Pin,” she said, “the Army will demand my death.”
“ Not so—for you will unleash East Lightning upon the traitors, killing everyone backing Chao Pin. Starting today, you will begin to choose special squads, your most trusted killers. I will provide you with a target list. You will use your best operatives to study their habits, deciding on the best locations to liquidate each. After you slay Chao Pin, you will help me purge the Army. Once my grip has become firm again over the military…then we will prosecute the war in such a way as to win.”
“Yes, Leader,” Shun Li said , forcing wondering admiration into her voice. This could turn into a disaster .
“Yes indeed,” Hong said. “But to achieve this masterpiece, we must work extraordinarily hard and with supreme cunning.”
Shun Li gazed at Hong, barely managing to suppress a shudder. It was possible he was quite mad. Yet she also realized that he had a rare gift at intrigue and at striking from out of the blue. In this regard, his madness was strength. One thing bothered her, though. How could he be so sure that Chinese arms would shatter before the American onslaught? Did he plan some secret treachery to ensure such a thing?
Yes, of course he does . She did shudder then. Hong would do anything for power. In that regard, the man lacked a soul. I dearly hope his plan does not bring about the end of the world .
Then she sat forward, listening as the Chairman went into de tail concerning his grand idea.
COMMANDO TRAINING BASE, KANSAS
Master Sergeant Paul Kavanagh wondered what he’d gotten himself into this time.
He wore the latest American commando gear with a high-tech Chinese jetpack strapped to his back. It was a marriage of convenience, one his team had been practicing with for several months already.
Paul stood in the open bay door of an ancient Chinook helicopter. The monster hovered in the stratosphere —at least he sure felt like it did. By craning his neck, Paul peered outside. The ground was far away in the hazy distance.
He’d never been crazy about jumping out of anything. Heights made him woozy. He had to concentrate to focus his eyes.
Take it easy. This isn’t any big deal .
Within his enclosed helmet, Paul grinned tightly. Whenever he said something wasn’t a big deal that meant it was huge. Several weeks ago, he’d told the slick loan officer and part-time Militia member the same thing. The man must have lifted plenty of weights and likely injected himself with steroids. Mr. Templeton had muscles, ones he enjoyed flexing, his biceps and pectorals particularly. The more Paul explained the facts of life to the guy, the twitchier he’d become. Maybe the loan officer had thought of himself as Mr. America and wanted to oil up. In the end, the no-big-deal talk had turned into a fight, as Paul had known it would.
I wonder if he’s out of the hospital yet. At least he c an’t bother Cheri anymore.
Paul looked out of the Chinook again, forcing himself to focus on the distant target. This was crazy. Why had he volunteered for this again?
Even though he was a Recon Marine, he belonged to SOCOM, the special operations arm of the US military. Most of the war, he’d been behind enemy lines in a Long Range Surveillance Unit or LRSU. He was still going to go behind enemy lines, but this time as a shock commando to take out enemy headquarters.
He knew himself well enough to know that he didn’t belong in a line company. He had a special ops mentality, liking to do things his way. Unfortunately, at his age, the long-distance conditioning had finally begun to wear him down. LRSU teams did a lot of fast trekking from one place to the other. These days, he was ready to ride into battle. Besides, by joining an experimental unit, he figured to save himself from fighting all the time. He was tired of killing, of seeing blood and guts and listening to
“ If I shoot Marshal Chao Pin,” she said, “the Army will demand my death.”
“ Not so—for you will unleash East Lightning upon the traitors, killing everyone backing Chao Pin. Starting today, you will begin to choose special squads, your most trusted killers. I will provide you with a target list. You will use your best operatives to study their habits, deciding on the best locations to liquidate each. After you slay Chao Pin, you will help me purge the Army. Once my grip has become firm again over the military…then we will prosecute the war in such a way as to win.”
“Yes, Leader,” Shun Li said , forcing wondering admiration into her voice. This could turn into a disaster .
“Yes indeed,” Hong said. “But to achieve this masterpiece, we must work extraordinarily hard and with supreme cunning.”
Shun Li gazed at Hong, barely managing to suppress a shudder. It was possible he was quite mad. Yet she also realized that he had a rare gift at intrigue and at striking from out of the blue. In this regard, his madness was strength. One thing bothered her, though. How could he be so sure that Chinese arms would shatter before the American onslaught? Did he plan some secret treachery to ensure such a thing?
Yes, of course he does . She did shudder then. Hong would do anything for power. In that regard, the man lacked a soul. I dearly hope his plan does not bring about the end of the world .
Then she sat forward, listening as the Chairman went into de tail concerning his grand idea.
COMMANDO TRAINING BASE, KANSAS
Master Sergeant Paul Kavanagh wondered what he’d gotten himself into this time.
He wore the latest American commando gear with a high-tech Chinese jetpack strapped to his back. It was a marriage of convenience, one his team had been practicing with for several months already.
Paul stood in the open bay door of an ancient Chinook helicopter. The monster hovered in the stratosphere —at least he sure felt like it did. By craning his neck, Paul peered outside. The ground was far away in the hazy distance.
He’d never been crazy about jumping out of anything. Heights made him woozy. He had to concentrate to focus his eyes.
Take it easy. This isn’t any big deal .
Within his enclosed helmet, Paul grinned tightly. Whenever he said something wasn’t a big deal that meant it was huge. Several weeks ago, he’d told the slick loan officer and part-time Militia member the same thing. The man must have lifted plenty of weights and likely injected himself with steroids. Mr. Templeton had muscles, ones he enjoyed flexing, his biceps and pectorals particularly. The more Paul explained the facts of life to the guy, the twitchier he’d become. Maybe the loan officer had thought of himself as Mr. America and wanted to oil up. In the end, the no-big-deal talk had turned into a fight, as Paul had known it would.
I wonder if he’s out of the hospital yet. At least he c an’t bother Cheri anymore.
Paul looked out of the Chinook again, forcing himself to focus on the distant target. This was crazy. Why had he volunteered for this again?
Even though he was a Recon Marine, he belonged to SOCOM, the special operations arm of the US military. Most of the war, he’d been behind enemy lines in a Long Range Surveillance Unit or LRSU. He was still going to go behind enemy lines, but this time as a shock commando to take out enemy headquarters.
He knew himself well enough to know that he didn’t belong in a line company. He had a special ops mentality, liking to do things his way. Unfortunately, at his age, the long-distance conditioning had finally begun to wear him down. LRSU teams did a lot of fast trekking from one place to the other. These days, he was ready to ride into battle. Besides, by joining an experimental unit, he figured to save himself from fighting all the time. He was tired of killing, of seeing blood and guts and listening to
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