by Tom Clancy
“That is both a reasonable and prudent guide for your personnel. But in the heat of battle—or if not battle, a somewhat tense situation, mistakes do happen. We have the problem ourselves. I find aviators to be impulsive, especially the young, proud ones.”
“Is not the same true of the other side as well?” the Foreign Minister asked.
“Certainly,” Adler admitted. “That is the problem, isn’t it? Which is why,” he went on, “it is the business of people like ourselves to ensure that such situations do not arise.”
“But they always provoke us. They hope to garner your favor, and we find it troubling that this may have succeeded.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your President Ryan spoke of two Chinas. There is only one China, Secretary Adler. I’d thought that issue settled a long time ago.”
“That was a semantic error on the President’s part, a linguistic nuance,” Adler replied, dismissing the observation. “The President has many qualities, but he has yet to learn the niceties of diplomatic exchange, and then a foolish reporter seized on the issue. Nothing more than that. There have been no changes in our policies toward this region.” But Adler had deliberately not said “our policies,” and “have been” instead of “are.” There were times when he thought that he might have made a fortune for himself by drafting insurance policies.
“Such linguistic errors can be seen as things other than errors,” the Foreign Minister replied.
“Have I not made our position clear on this issue? You will recall that he was responding to a most unfortunate incident in which American lives were lost, and in searching for words to use, he selected words which have one meaning in our language, and another in yours.” This was going a lot easier than he’d expected.
“Chinese lives were lost as well.”
Zhang, Adler saw, was doing a lot of listening but wasn’t uttering a single word. In the Western context, that made him an aide, a technical assistant, there to assist his minister on an issue of law or interpretation. He wasn’t so sure that rule applied in this case. More likely, the reverse applied. If Zhang were what the American thought him to be, and if Zhang were smart enough to suspect that the American would be thinking along those lines—then why the hell was he here?
“Yes, and various others, to little purpose and great sorrow. I hope you will understand that our President takes such things seriously.”
“Indeed, and I am remiss in not saying sooner that we view with horror the attack on his daughter. I trust you will convey to President Ryan our heartfelt sympathy at this inhuman act, and our pleasure that no harm has come to his child.”
“I thank you on his behalf, and I will pass your good wishes along.” Twice in a row now the Foreign Minister had temporized. He had an opening. He reminded himself that his interlocutors thought themselves smarter and shrewder than everybody else. “My President is a sentimental man,” the Secretary admitted. “It is an American trait. Moreover, he feels strongly about his duty to protect all of our citizens.”
“Then you need to speak to the rebels on Taiwan. We believe that it is they who destroyed the airliner.”
“But why do such a thing?” Adler asked, ignoring the really surprising part. Was it a slip? Talk to Taiwan. The PRC was asking him to do that?
“To foment this incident, obviously. To play upon your President’s personal feelings. To cloud the real issues between the People’s Republic and our wayward province.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes, we do,” the Foreign Minister assured him. “We do not wish to have hostilities. Such things are so wasteful of people and resources, and we have greater concerns for our country. The Taiwan issue will be decided in due course. So long as America does not interfere,” he added.
“As I have already told you, Minister, we have made no policy changes. All we wish is the restoration of peace and stability,” Adler said, the obvious import being the indeterminate maintenance of the status quo, which was decidedly not part of the People’s Republic game plan.
“Then we are agreed.”
“You will not object to our naval deployments?”
The Foreign Minister sighed. “The sea is free for the innocent passage of all. It is not our place to give orders to the United States of America, as it is not your place to give orders to the People’s Republic. The movement of your forces gives the impression that you will influence local events, and we will make pro forma comments on this. But in the interests of peace,” he went on in a voice that was both patient and weary, “we will not object too strongly, especially if it encourages the rebels to cease their foolish provocations.”
“It would be useful to know if your naval exercises will end soon. That would be a very favorable gesture.”
“The spring maneuvers will continue. They do not threaten anyone, as your increased naval presence will determine quite clearly. We do not ask you to take our word. Let our deeds speak for us. It would be well also if our rebellious cousins reduce their own activities. Perhaps you might speak to them on this?” Twice now? He hadn’t misspoken before, then.
“If you request it, yes, I would be pleased to add my voice and that of my country to the quest for peace.”
“We value the good offices of the United States, and we trust you to be an honest broker for this occasion, in view of the fact that, regrettably, American lives were lost in this tragic incident.”
Secretary Adler yawned. “Oh, excuse me.”
“Travel is a curse, is it not?” These words came from Zhang, speaking for the first time.
“It truly can be,” Adler agreed. “Please allow me to consult my government. I think our response to your request will be favorable.”
“Excellent,” the Foreign Minister observed. “We seek to make no precedent here. I hope you understand this, but in view of the singular circumstances here, we welcome your assistance.”
“I shall have a reply for you in the morning,” Adler promised, rising. “Forgive me for extending your day.”
“Such is duty, for all of us.”
Scott Adler took his leave, wondering what exactly this bombshell was that had landed on him. He wasn’t sure who’d won the card game, and realized that he wasn’t even sure what game it had been. It certainly hadn’t gone as expected. It seemed like he’d won, and won easily. The other side had been more accommodating than he would have been in their place.
SOME CALLED IT checkbook journalism, but it wasn’t new, and it wasn’t expensive at the working level. Any experienced reporter had people he could call, people who, for a modest fee, would check things. It wasn’t in any way illegal, to ask a favor of a friend, at least not grossly so. The information was rarely sensitive—and in this case was public record. It was just that the offices weren’t always open on Sunday.
A mid-level bureaucrat in the office of Maryland’s Secretary of State drove into his office in Baltimore, used his card-pass to get to his parking place, then walked in and unlocked the right number of doors until he got to a musty file room. Finding the right cabinet, he pulled open a drawer and found a file. He left a marker in the drawer and carried the file to the nearest copying machine. Copies of all the documents were made in less than a minute, and then he replaced everything. With that task done, he walked back to his car and drove home. He did this often enough that he had a personal fax machine at home, and within ten minutes, the documents had been sent off, then taken to the kitchen and dumped in the trash. For this he would receive five hundred dollars. He got extra for working weekends.
JOHN PLUMBER WAS reading the documents even before the transmission was complete. Sure enough, a Ryan, John P., had established a sub-S corporation at the time Holtzman had told him. Control of that corporation had conveyed to Zimmer, Carol (none), four days later (a weekend had stood in the way), and that corporation now owned a 7-Eleven in southern Maryland. The corporate officers included Zimmer, Laurence; Zimmer, Alisha; and one other child, and the stock
holders all shared the same surname. He recognized Ryan’s signature on the transfer documents. The legal work had been done by a firm in Washington—a big one, he knew that name, too. There had been some tricky, but entirely legal, maneuvering to make the transaction tax-free for the Zimmer family. There was no further paperwork on that subject. Nothing else was needed, really.
He had other documents as well. Plumber knew the registrar at MIT, and had learned the previous evening, also via fax, that the tuition and housing expenses for Peter Zimmer were paid by a private foundation, the checks issued and signed by a partner in the same law firm that had set up the sub-S corp for the Zimmer family. He even had a transcript for the graduating senior. Sure enough, he was in computer science, and would be staying in Cambridge for his graduate work in the MIT Media Lab. Aside from mediocre marks in his freshman literature courses—even MIT wanted people to be literate, but evidently Peter Zimmer didn’t care for poetry—the kid was straight A.
“So, it’s true.” Plumber settled back in his swivel chair and examined his conscience. “ ‘Why should I trust you? You’re reporters,’ ” he repeated to himself.
The problem with his profession was one that its members almost never talked about, just as a wealthy man will not often bemoan low taxes. Back in the 1960s, a man named Sullivan had sued the New York Times over defamation of character, and had demonstrated that the newspaper had not been entirely correct in its commentary. But the paper had argued, and the court had agreed, that in the absence of true malice, the mistake was not really culpable, and that the public’s interest in learning the goings-on in their nation superseded protection of an individual. It left the door open for suits, technically, and people did still bring action against the media, and sometimes they even won. About as often as Slippery Rock University knocked off Penn State.
That court ruling was necessary, Plumber thought. The First Amendment guaranteed freedom of the press, and the reason for it was that the press was America’s first and, in many ways, only guardian of freedom. People lied all the time. Especially people in government, but others, too, and it was the job of the media to get the facts—the truth—out to the people, so that they could make their own choices.
But there was a trap built into the hunting license the Supreme Court had issued. The media could destroy people. There was recourse against almost any improper action in American society, but reporters had such protections as those once enjoyed by kings, and, as a practical matter, his profession was above the law. As a practical matter, also, it worked hard to stay that way. To admit error was not only a legal faux pas, for which money might have to be paid. It would also weaken the faith of the public in their profession. And so they never admitted error when they didn’t have to, and when they did, the retractions were almost never given the prominence of the initial, incorrect, assertions—the minimum necessary effort defined by lawyers who knew exactly the height of the castle walls they defended. There were occasional exceptions, but everyone knew that exceptions they were.
Plumber had seen his profession change. There was too much arrogance, and too little realization of the fact that the public they served no longer trusted them—and that wounded Plumber. He deemed himself worthy of that trust. He deemed himself a professional descendant of Ed Murrow, whose voice every American had learned to trust. And that was how it was supposed to be. But it wasn’t, because the profession could not be policed from without, and it would never be trusted again until it was policed from within. Reporters called down every other profession—medicine, law, politics—for failing to meet a level of professional responsibility which they would allow no one to enforce on themselves, and which they themselves would too rarely enforce on their own. Do as I say, not as I do was something you couldn’t say to a six-year-old, but it had become a ready cant for grown-ups. And if it got any worse, then what?
Plumber considered his situation. He could retire whenever he wanted. Columbia University had more than once invited him in to be an adjunct professor of journalism ... and ethics, because his was a trusted voice, a reasoned voice, an honest voice. An old voice, he added to himself. Maybe the last voice?
But it all came down, really, to one man’s conscience, to ideas inculcated by parents long dead, and teachers whose names he had forgotten. He had to be loyal to something. If he were to be loyal to his profession, then he had to be loyal to its foundation. To tell the truth and let the chips fall. He lifted his phone.
“Holtzman,” the reporter answered, because it was the business line in his Georgetown home.
“Plumber. I’ve done some checking. It appears you were right.”
“Okay, now what, John?”
“I have to do this myself. I’ll give you the exclusive on print coverage.”
“That’s generous, John. Thank you,” Bob acknowledged.
“I still don’t like Ryan very much as a President,” Plumber added, rather defensively, the other thought. That made sense. He couldn’t appear to be doing this to curry favor.
“You know that’s not what this is about. That’s why I talked to you about it. When?” Bob Holtzman asked.
“Tomorrow night, live.”
“How about we sit down and work out a few things? This will be a biggie for the Post. Want to share the byline?”
“I might just be looking for another job by tomorrow night,” Plumber observed, with a rueful chuckle. “Okay, we’ll do that.”
“SO, WHAT’S THAT mean?” Jack asked.
“They do not mind anything we’re doing. It’s almost like they want the carrier there. They have requested that I shuttle back and forth to Taipei—”
“Directly?” The President was astonished. Such direct flights would give the appearance of legitimacy to the Republic of China government. An American Secretary of State would be shuttling back and forth, and a ministerial official did so only between capitals of sovereign countries. Lesser disputes were left to “special envoys,” who might carry the same power, but nothing approaching the same status.
“Yeah, that kinda surprised me, too,” Adler replied over the encrypted channel. “Next, the dogs that didn’t bark: a cursory objection to your ‘two Chinas’ gaffe at the press conference, and trade never raised its ugly head. They’re being real docile for people who killed a hundred-plus airline passengers.”
“Their naval exercises?”
“They will continue, and they practically invited us to observe how routine they are.”
Admiral Jackson was listening on the speakerphone. “Mr. Secretary? This is Robby Jackson.”
“Yes, Admiral?”
“They staged a crisis, we move a carrier, and now they say they want us around, am I getting this right?”
“That’s correct. They do not know that we know, at least I don’t think they do—but you know, I’m not sure that matters at the moment.”
“Something’s wrong,” the J-3 said immediately. “Big-time wrong.”
“Admiral, I think you might be correct on that one, too.”
“Next move?” Ryan asked.
“I guess I go to Taipei in the morning. I can’t evade this one, can I?”
“Agreed. Keep me informed, Scott.”
“Yes, Mr. President.” The line went dead.
“Jack—no, Mr. President, I just had a big red flashing light go off.”
Ryan grimaced. “I have to go be political tomorrow, too. I fly out at, uh”—he checked his schedule—“leave the House at six-fifty, to speak in Nashville at eight-thirty. We need an assessment on this in one big hurry. Shit. Adler’s over there, I’m on the road, and Ben Goodley isn’t experienced enough for this. I want you there, Rob. If there’s operational ramifications to this, that’s your bailiwick. The Foleys. Arnie on the political side. We need a good China hand from State ...”
ADLER WAS SETTLING into his bed in the embassy VIP quarters. He went over his notes, trying to figure the angle. People made mistakes at every level. The wide belief that senior o
fficials were canny players was not nearly as true as people thought. They made mistakes. They made slips. They loved to be clever.
“Travel is a curse,” Zhang had said. His only words. Why then, and why those? It was so obvious that Adler didn’t get it then.
“BEDFORD FORREST, EH?” Diggs said, spreading relish on his hot dog.
“Best cavalry commander we’ve ever had,” Eddington said.
“You’ll pardon me, Professor, if I show diminished enthusiasm for the gentleman,” the general observed. “The son of a bitch did found the Ku Klux Klan.”
“I never said the man was politically astute, sir, and I do not defend his personal character, but if we’ve ever had a better man with a cavalry command, I have not learned his name,” Eddington replied.
“He’s got us there,” Hamm had to admit.
“Stuart was overrated, sometimes petulant, and very lucky. Nathan had the Fingerspitzengefühl, knew how to make decisions on the fly, and damned if he made many bad ones. I’m afraid we just have to overlook his other failings.”
History discussions among senior Army officers could last for hours, as this one had, and were as learned as those in any university’s seminar room. Diggs had come over for a chat with Colonel Hamm, then found himself embroiled in the millionth refighting of the Civil War. Millionth? Diggs wondered. No, a lot more than that.
“What about Grierson?” Diggs asked.
“His deep raid was a thing of beauty, but he didn’t actually conceive it, remember. Actually, I think his best work was as commander of the 10th.”
“Now you’re talking, Dr. Eddington.”
“See how the boss’s eyes just lit up. You—”
“That’s right! You had that regiment until a little while ago. Ready and Forward!” the colonel of the Carolina Guard added.
“You even know our regimental motto?” Maybe this guy was a serious historian after all, even if he did admire that racist murderer, Diggs thought.