Invasion: Colorado ia-3

by Vaughn Heppner

  The wrinkled old man showed his teeth in a grin. “You need a younger, stronger man for my post, Leader. If I remain here too long at this meeting, I’m afraid I shall nod off. I have sipped your excellent coffee, a most powerful brew. While the caffeine boils in my blood is the best time for us to discuss the coming strategy for winter.”

  Chairman Hong stared at Marshal Wu.

  The entire chamber seemed to hold its breath. Shun Li wondered if she was about to witness one of the legendry executions. Rumors abounded concerning Hong’s increasingly bad temper. He feared assassination, and he’d had individuals shot in his presence. One operative had whispered to her a month ago that Hong believed he could literally sniff out traitors.

  Holding herself motionless against the wall, Shun Li watched, although she was careful not to gaze directly at Chairman Hong. She used her peripheral vision to study him, waiting to see him sniff like a hound.

  It did not occur. Instead, Chairman Hong nodded. “I appreciate your wisdom, Marshal Wu. As befits a military man, you have courage. I have come to realize how rare that is among my ministers. It is perhaps a gift of age. Knowing you are about to pass on to the next life, your fear of death has dwindled.”

  “An excellent point, Leader,” Wu said.

  “I take it you have certain refinements to make regarding the overarching plan we decided upon this summer?”

  “That is an excellent way of saying it, Leader,” Wu said. “As a preamble to the Army’s…refinements, I would like to make a comment.”

  “This is a strategy session,” Hong said. He smiled and glanced around at the other ministers.

  Each of them chuckled politely, although Shun Li noticed that none of the aides standing against the wall uttered a sound.

  Marshal Wu sipped from the coffee cup at his elbow. “We did not anticipate the intensity of the rains, Leader. It has allowed the Americans time to strengthen their lines and it has slowed our relentless advance. Before his premature death in California this summer, Marshal Nung taught us much about around-the-clock offenses. Because of your wisdom, Leader, in pointing this out to Army High Command, we have instituted a similar approach. Such an offensive takes a prodigious amount of supplies, particularly artillery munitions. The rains have bogged down our supply rate. Lately, a greater American submarine presence has also begun to have an adverse effect.”

  “Why is this happening now?” Hong asked the Navy Minister.

  “New tactics, Leader,” the Navy Minister said.

  “New?” Hong asked. “What new tactics can the beleaguered Americans—”

  Marshal Wu cleared his throat once more, causing Chairman Hong to stop speaking and stare at the old soldier.

  “Are you daring to interrupt me again?” Hong asked in a low and dangerous tone.

  “Please, Leader, I ask you to forgive an old man. It was my scratchy throat. I do not have the strength of you young men or the same forbearance against discomfort.”

  “Ah,” Hong said.

  “I would never dream of interrupting you, Leader.”

  Hong nodded.

  “Since we’re on the topic of interrupted supplies,” Wu said, “I would like to point out an increase in partisan attacks. These attacks are particularly fierce in Texas and Oklahoma.”

  Chairman Hong blinked at Wu. “We were discussing the naval situation.”

  “Ah, forgive me, Leader. I thought the topic was the interrupted supply situation. I do not have your ability to switch from idea to idea with such lightning speed.”

  Hong gestured irritably, waving his hand as if he were an orchestra conductor. “Yes, I do possess swiftness of thought that is painfully lacking in others. It is a burden, I assure you. Very well, I will stoop down to your level, Marshal. Continue with your comment. We will discuss the naval situation afterward when you take your nap.”

  Marshal Wu smiled, showing his teeth. They were bright white, no doubt dentures.

  Shun Li saw the Marshal’s smile for what it was. In her practiced opinion, the old man hated Hong. The Marshal disguised the hatred well, however. He superbly acted a part.

  Yes, he plays the old man in order to lull the Chairman.

  “Together—the naval losses and partisan assaults—have slowed the rate of our supplies reaching the front. The very length to the front also adds wastage,” Marshal Wu said. “The rains make everything worse because they slow the swiftness of the campaign and bog down the resupply efforts. We need a total concentration attack for winter. A brutal, intense and an around-the-clock assault to the Canadian border will do several things at once. It will smash the Americans where they stand. That will allow the pursuit divisions to reach the border in record time. That will spit the United States in two, forever dividing the East from West. That will also give us their most important oil fields, tremendously weakening their Army. Such a swift campaign will save our military from prolonged exposure and wear, leaving it in that much better condition for the next grand assault.”

  “We have spoken about these things before,” Hong said. “You’ve added nothing new.”

  “The rains have slowed the assault,” Wu said. “That slowing has given the Americans time, which they’ve used to thicken their defenses. Even worse, newly manufactured drones and fighters have reached the front, replenishing their losses. I would like permission to move the MC ABMs deeper into the Midwest.”

  Chairman Hong blinked several times at the Marshal.

  “The Mobile Canopy Anti-Ballistic Missile vehicles,” Marshal Wu said. “They are massive, over six hundred tons in weight. As we spread out across the American Plains, we need greater air protection against American drones and missile assaults. Our tac-lasers wear out or go up in flames from successful American strikes. The remaining tac-lasers are stretched everywhere. Our anti-air umbrella has become porous.”

  “I’ve been repeatedly told that our Air Force is superior to the American fighters and drones,” Hong said.

  “Our Air Force is better than theirs, Leader,” Wu said. “Unfortunately, the Great Plains is a vast region. At times, the Americans gain local air superiority and inflict unprecedented damage to our soldiers. Our tac-lasers and mobile SAMs are priority targets for the enemy. We have fewer than needed. With the northern movement of our MC ABMs we could create tighter air-defense umbrellas.”

  “Why haven’t you already moved them then?” Hong asked querulously.

  Marshal Wu appeared surprised, but recovered quickly, bowing his head. “The Army has followed your directive, Leader: Number 17. We have heavily defended our rear areas where the excess munitions and fuel await shipment to the front. I believe the time may have arrived to move our air-defense net closer to the front. Because of the directive, I need your personal permission to move them.”

  Chairman Hong snapped his fingers. “These… ABMs protect the supply bases from nuclear assault?”

  “That is correct, Leader,” Wu said.

  “I know it is correct. I just said so. Do not presume on your advanced age, Marshal.”

  Once again, Wu bowed his head.

  “Hmm,” Hong said, staring at the Marshal, “we should move a portion of the air-shield north. Very well, you may move twenty percent of the mobile ABMs north.”

  Marshal Wu hesitated.

  “You are beginning to annoy me, Army Minister. Do you think that an insufficient number?”

  “By no means, Leader,” Wu said. “Twenty percent is an ideal amount. My surprise shows my ignorance. I wondered how you had arrived at the perfect percentage without examining any notes. I’d forgotten for a moment who I dealt with. You are, after all, Leader, the man who taught Marshal Nung his trade during the Arctic campaign. When it comes to military strategy, you have no peer.”

  “My predecessor was also a military genius,” Hong said, sounding mollified. “I’ve begun to think it is a prerequisite for the exalted post.”

  “Twenty percent of the MC ABMs,” Marshal Wu muttered. He wrote on a notepad.


  “Leader,” Xiao Yang said. “One of my Guardian Inspectors has uncovered what may be the Americans’ most devious military surprise to date.”

  “Indeed,” Hong said. “This sounds interesting. Tell us.”

  “I wonder if perhaps you would prefer to hear it from the inspector herself.”

  Hong look up at Shun Li. “Do you mean your twitcher?”

  “What she lacks in decorum she makes up for in her agile mind,” Xiao Yang said.

  Hong frowned at Shun Li. “I find this difficult to believe. She has a broad face like a peasant and lacks manners. Still…Sometimes a peasant proves to be cunning. Very well, old friend, let your twitching Guardian Inspector make her report.”

  The Police Minister beckoned Shun Li to approach the golden conference table.

  Fear curdled in her stomach. The Chairman was already predisposed against her. Worse, she’d heavily altered the report. She could only imagine what would happen if Chairman Hong learned the truth. She would die, likely in a hideous manner. If she could have repented of the report, she would have. Yet she could also imagine that admitting to forgery would end in heinous death. She had no alternative but to stick to her story and hope for the best.

  “We don’t have all day,” Hong said. “If you take too long, Marshal Wu will fall asleep.”

  There were polite chuckles from the ministers, including the old Marshal.

  Shun Li wished she’d seen other aides give reports. She had no idea how to stand, speak—anything.

  She reached the edge of the table, bowed her head to Chairman Hong and then stood at the same ramrod attention as she’d practiced in the Police Minister’s chamber.

  “Illustrious Chairman Hong,” she began, staring into an unseen point in space, “I have read various reports indicating the Americans hid a secret in Denver, Colorado.”

  “The mountain city?” Hong asked.

  “Yes, Chairman Hong,” Shun Li said. “The Americans refer to it as the Mile High City. I read reports that made me suspicious, and I began to hunt down this secret, working from the slenderest of threads.”

  “Do not puff yourself up in my presence,” Hong said.

  Shun Li’s knees almost gave way so the fabric of her pants moved, but she didn’t sway. She found it difficult to speak.

  “Continue,” Hong said. “Quit wasting our time.”

  “Yes, Chairman Hong. I’m sorry.”

  “Enough!” Hong complained to Xiao Yang. “Why doesn’t she get to the point?”

  “Guardian Inspector,” Xiao Yang said in a stern voice. “You are embarrassing East Lightning by this crude performance and you waste the Leader’s valuable time. That is not permitted.”

  Shun Li held herself rigid. It felt as if she was floating, a specimen before these dangerous old men. She needed to speak so she could leave this awful room and the hateful Ruling Committee.

  “The Americans have built a massive Behemoth tank construction site in Denver, Colorado,” she said briskly. “With it, they churn out ten or more Behemoths a month. The American command is building several regiments to unleash upon us in mass and during the depth of winter.”

  Shun Li could hardly breathe after blurting out the news, and she wished she could close her eyes. Slowly, it dawned on her that the chamber was silent. Without turning her head, she realized those in her line of sight stared at her in…shock.

  “This is true?” Hong whispered.

  Shun Li almost didn’t answer. She almost nodded. Instead, in a firm voice and while staring at the unseen point, she said, “It is true, Chairman Hong. I have the verification information.”

  “Produce it at once,” Hong said.

  Shun Li reached into a pocket and removed the memory-stick with the information.

  “Well, begin,” Chairman Hong said in irritation.

  Covertly, Xiao Yang tapped a slot at his spot on the table.

  Shun Li slid the stick into the slot and wondered what to do next.

  Xiao Yang indicated his screen.

  While standing, Shun Li tapped the screen and began to show her forged information. Everyone in the chamber watched in silence. The data appeared on the large wall screens. Finally, she quit talking and once again stood at attention.

  Slowly, Hong shook his head as if shaking off sleep. “Give me the data chip,” he said.

  The Police Minister popped out the memory-stick and slid across the table.

  Hong picked it up, staring at the stick as if it was a plague item. He pocketed it and glared at Shun Li, as if she was personally responsible for building the hated super tanks.

  She felt worse than ever. Can’t I win in this chamber? Was she fated to leave it feet-first?

  “You have performed well, Guardian Inspector,” Hong said.

  The words amazed her. She felt giddy with relief. Maybe she would survive this nightmare.

  “Even more,” Hong said, “you willingly brought this to my attention. You cannot conceive how much I hate these grotesque tanks. I wonder if we should use nuclear weapons and wipe this city from the face of the Earth.

  “What do you say, Marshal Wu?” Hong asked.

  “I think it is too dangerous to use nuclear weapons on inland American cities, Leader. Let us send in bombers and obliterate it the conventional way.”

  “No,” Hong said. “This is too important. The Behemoth tanks are a critical American weapon system. I want this giant factory destroyed. No! Wait. Doesn’t Liang’s Third Front press against Denver?”

  “Elements of the Third Front are near the city, yes,” Wu said.

  “Then we must capture this plant and use the Behemoth tanks for ourselves,” Hong said. “If we can storm this city in a day or two, completed tanks might actually fall into our hands. Then, when the Americans use these vile tanks against us, we shall send our own Behemoths against them.”

  “A noble plan, Leader,” Wu said.

  Chairman Hong slapped the table. “Tell Liang he is to cease all forward movement. He must concentrate everything toward taking Denver.”

  The Marshal looked stricken. “But Leader…” Wu cleared his throat and spoke in a level voice. “May I point out a salient feature of that order?”

  Hong stared at the old man. “If you must,” he said at last.

  “Denver is too small a front,” Wu said. “Perhaps if we use rear echelon troops to take it—”

  “We must storm Denver now,” Hong said, slapping the table a second time. “I want those tanks!”

  “But the entire Front…?” Wu asked. “The key to the campaign is a swift assault all the way to the northern border with Canada. We must split the United States in two.”

  “Storming Denver should only take a day or so, maybe three or four,” Hong said. “That will not upset our northern assault.”

  “Denver is a fortress city,” Wu said. “Liang and I have spoken about it on several occasions. He desires to mask the city with troops as it’s too heavily defended to assault with any hope of quick success.”

  “Yes, now we know why the Americans have turned it into a fortress,” Hong said. “They defend this huge Behemoth plant. We must take it from them and turn it to our own advantage.”

  Old Marshal Wu rubbed his hands, and he appeared nervous.

  “What now?” Hong asked. “You seem displeased with my idea.”

  “Leader, I know you are correct about the importance of the Behemoth plant. Yet the Americans are desperate to halt our swift advance north. They have been going to great lengths to blunt us.”

  “Describe what ‘great lengths’ means,” Hong said. “Or are these just words to try to get me to change my mind?”

  Wu beckoned to his aide, a major. The major marched to the table and stood stiffly at it as Shun Li had done.

  “Chairman Hong,” the major said, “the Americans have begun a desperation assassination campaign against our best commanders. Due to their inability to face us head-to-head on the battlefield, the Americans have sent
many assassination teams behind our lines. They hunt for our most aggressive commanders.”

  “What proof do you have of this?” Hong asked.

  The major inserted a memory-stick into the Marshal’s slot. He brought up a picture of a Chinese general. “This is General Cho Deng,” the major said. “Marshal Liang considers him the best pursuit commander in his Front. While inspecting his troops, an American-Mexican assassination team murdered him. It was their best team, Leader, Colonel Valdez’s most successful hit man together with an American legend from the Alaskan and Hawaiian campaigns.”

  “We send commandos behind American lines,” Hong told Wu. “Why is this any different?”

  “Yes, Leader, but this is much more serious,” Wu said. “The Americans must have spent weeks preparing for this hit. Worse, they have infiltrated our ranks with spies, just as we have done with theirs. The successful strike against Cho Deng proves it.”

  “Bah,” Hong said.

  “Leader,” Wu said. “I believe the importance lies in the American desperation. Because they chose Cho Deng, it shows they fear the deep drives more than any other maneuver. It seems as if the Americans are actually telling us what works best against them. In this case, we must spare no effort to continue a swift, brutal and intense drive to the north.”

  “You will do just that,” Hong said, “after taking Denver.”

  “I fear the fight against Denver might be long and protracted. As much as you want those Behemoths, surely the Americans will defend them just as hard.”

  Chairman Hong looked away. He appeared thoughtful. Finally, he nodded. “There is wisdom in your words, Marshal. It likely will be a hard slog into Denver. And this sniper attack against Cho Deng…yes, there is wisdom in your words. Therefore, as of this moment, instruct Marshal Liang that he has a dual assignment. He must invest and take Denver and he must continue to drive north to the Canadian border. We will do both at once.”

  Marshal Wu licked his lips.

  To Shun Li it was an obscene performance, as the tip of his tongue appeared whitish and diseased. It seemed to her as if the old man wished to debate the Leader’s decision.