Man of Honor

by Chris Malburg

  “On the line too long already,” Li Yong said. “My family and I may lose our lives—”

  Jack wanted to find out just how fragile Li Yong was. He leaned into the speakerphone. “Your own country is just one of your problems, pal. Especially if they suspect you of treason. Your biggest problem—and this is no bullshit—comes from the US. You created a weapon of mass destruction and unleashed it on America. We don’t take kindly to that sort of thing.” Jack let the line hang in silence.

  Finally, Li Yong spoke, his voice low with contrition. He explained how he was brought up by the State. From the first day of school, he followed the party line with unquestioned obedience. He told them how dissidence was punishable by a long prison term and often death. The State provides everything—food, shelter, education. Their education. Then the Chairman of the Central Military Commission had summoned him for the biggest military project guaranteed to ensure China’s survival in a hostile world for generations to come. He jumped at the chance to serve. It was a matter of honor to repay those who made his life possible.

  “Four years it took me and my team at Unit 61398 to create the weaponized software and worm its way into America’s critical systems. All the while, the maniac Chairman demanded a higher and higher body count for each attack. Then I realized what we created.” Li Yong’s voice was soft now. He had lost track of the time. “This was no economic war—the Renminbi vs. the US dollar. It was a war of annihilation. So I took steps to remove the worst parts of each attack. To the Chairman, the low body count appears to be just bad luck—ours. But know it was I who caused each near miss.

  “I can do no more. People will die. When I read of Helen’s military and government connections, I think maybe my prayers were answered. So I made the call. I just want to ensure my parents get out—”

  “My responsibility is to ensure your safety,” Helen interrupted. “All of you.”

  “Then get us the hell out,” Li Yong’s voice pleaded. “I can dismantle the attacks staged for launch. Just get us out. Please.”

  Jack got up from his seat and stood looming over Helen. He leaned over the speakerphone, “I work for the man in charge. I presume you know who that is.”

  “I do not care which devil you work for,” Li Yong’s voice recovered its cutting edge. “Only I can dismantle all the remaining attacks. It is my insurance policy. Can you get me and my family out or not?”

  “Yes, I can,” Jack said. “It is what we do here. I am the one you want on this op. It will be off the books—”

  “Why off the books?” Li Yong demanded. “Don’t you need the complete resources of your agency?”

  Jack hovered over the speakerphone. “Two reasons. Normal channels are too slow. Bureaucratic red tape would delay this op. Second is your safety. When—not if—one of our agencies discovers that you’re the one who did this, they will hunt you down. Their mission will be to capture you and bring you here to stand trial. If they can’t, they’ll execute you right there. Remember bin Laden?”

  A string of Chinese expletives came over the speaker. “Then just get my parents out,” Li Yong said. “They are elderly and cannot withstand such punishment the State or your agencies would bring down on them.”

  “Easy there,” Jack said. “Helen and I will get all of you out. But you have to work with us. How much time is left?”

  Li Yong’s quick, deep breaths sounded over the thousands of miles between them. “Test phase is over. We are now live with the clock ticking. I designed a layover of seven days for our two governments to resolve their differences. After that time, Chairman of Central Military Commission has to press just a single button on a computer keyboard at his headquarters. Then attacks on the US banking system and energy distribution systems—all of them—launch. He demanded it be done this way. It will create a shooting war between our countries. Mass casualties on both sides. China gets the worst of it. China always gets the worst.”

  “What can you do during the next seven days to stop these attacks?” Jack asked.

  “I cannot dismantle the programs while at Unit 61398. Someone would notice. I am the only one familiar enough with each system to stop them. I would be executed before I defused even one attack. Neither of us wants that.”

  “There is only one place with the computer infrastructure and systems,” interrupted Crypto.

  “NYPD’s Intelligence Division & Counter-Terrorism Bureau in New York City,” Li Yong exclaimed. “Not a hard hack. I know its systems and capabilities. We have been inside its software systems many times. But I must physically be there. Get me inside and I will stop the next launches.”

  “Done,” said Jack. “We’ll call you back in two days, same time. By then, I will have instructions for you to start the exfiltration of you and your family out of China. Now get off this line.”

  Smitty and Crypto immediately began arguing about getting Li Yong into the most secure counter-terrorism facility in the US or anywhere else. “Wait, guys,” Jack said. “Just wait, will ya’?” Jack wiped a hand over his shiny, bald head. “I know I don’t have the authority to bring a foreign cyber terrorist into the New York facility —”

  “Damn right you don’t,” said Smitty. “He’s responsible for the deaths of 666 passengers in the Hawaii crash alone. What were you thinking?”

  “You’re right,” Helen said, “he is responsible. But by bringing him over to our side and letting him do the only honorable thing that’s left for him, he may end up saving several hundred thousand lives.”

  “He’s a credible guy,” Jack added. “Li Yong created these attacks. Means that he’s also the guy who can stop the rest of them.”

  “So?” Smitty said. “We should just trust him? What if he’s blowing smoke up our asses and just wants a free ticket out? What if this Colonel Li Yong is actually working another angle against us for the Chinese government?”

  “What choice do we have?” Helen asked. “Jack, Gallagher, and I have seen first-hand what the Chinese can do to our aircraft guidance and our air traffic control systems. Now our subway and train control systems. So far, the loss of life has been minimal compared to what it could have been if this madman Chairman of the Central Military Commission had his way. Only by the grace of God is Li Yong having an attack of conscience.”

  Smitty tossed his pen on the table. “I hear ya, Helen. Christ. I don’t have the authority to get him into the NYPD’s facility. And even if I did, how do we keep watch over him so he doesn’t make things even worse? Crypto? I’d appreciate a silver bullet about now.”

  “No way is the director of Homeland Security letting this guy into the NYPD’s Intelligence Division & Counter-Terrorism Bureau—”

  “That’s exactly why we cannot involve the big bureaucratic agencies,” Jack said. “They have their two-foot thick operations manuals. But you can toss them out the window when it comes to something like this. FBI, CIA, Homeland, NSA, you name it, are wasting precious time arguing over jurisdiction and intel sharing protocols. We don’t have that kind of time. Our systems would be a jumble of bits and bytes by the time they figure out who’s on first base. That’ll cost lives. It’s why we’re using a network of friends in each of these agencies who can work under the radar. They can get us exactly the help we need without all the time-consuming red tape and oversight.”

  * * *

  Chapter 26

  “Hey,” said the harried President on his secure line.

  Jack had known that unmistakable voice since he was a kid. This man had been his pop’s closest friend. “Hey yourself, Mr. President. Is that the way you answer your phone?”

  “I’m the boss. I can answer my phone any damn way I want to. Especially if I know it’s my godson calling. How’s my favorite goddaughter?”

  “Helen is fine, sir. Sends her regards—”

  “And her carbonara? How’s that coming along?”

  “Better, sir. Added a new wrinkle. She’s using that thick, hollow pasta noodle—”

  �
��Bucatini. Huh. Shows imagination. Got my hands full conducting the people’s business, Jack.”

  “Yes, sir. Must be bucatini. Though she’s still overcooking it a bit.”

  “Tell her to use a wooden spoon to test the pasta. Soon as she feels it give way, it’s done. Then get it the hell out of the water. Tell her that, Jack. Now what’s this—”

  “Her sauce is making progress too. She combines the sauce, pancetta, and herbs then slow cooks it. She’s patient, sir—doesn’t rush it. That’s how Helen puts out an acceptable carbonara.”

  “You got me, Jack. You’re politely telling me to be patient.”

  “It is a virtue, sir.”

  “I love that child like she was my own daughter. She’s too good for you, Jack. We both know that.”

  “Yes, sir. I know.”

  “CIA, NSA, and FBI are snapping at my chief of staff’s heels. Everyone wants to take the lead on finding who caused these crashes. So far, they’re arguing over who gets to—”

  “It’s the Chinese, Mr. President.”

  “Dammit, Jack. I told you to stand down.” Both were quiet, standing their ground. “How many laws did you break and international treaties did you breach in finding that out? Why would the Chinese do such a thing?”

  “I don’t much care about why, sir. I’ll leave that to you and State. Stopping the next attacks already teed up and ready for launch is the hard part.”

  “Do I need to drag every syllable out of you? I have people who can do that for me, you know.”

  “Remember the secret to Helen’s carbonara, sir.”

  “Patience. Jack, I am the most goddamn patient person on this entire planet. You read me, son?”

  “Good to know, sir. Just got off the phone with a man in China that we turned. I’m going to get him and his family out. Smitty’s working with me. He’s now at the FBI’s SAC, Washington field office. I also recruited one of Homeland’s computer geniuses. They call him Crypto. He’s pretty good, sir. A couple of friends from CIA are in this op too. I’ll bring in more people as needed. Just a small, nimble team on this extraction, sir. The big agencies can’t move as quickly as I need.”

  “The SEAL’s methodology.”

  “Small unit operations, sir. Quick entry, do the deed, exfiltrate. I’ll need to execute autonomously without White House command oversight.”

  “Bullshit, Jack. You want us out of the loop? Not going to happen, son. The agencies will have a fit. The Pentagon too. The National Security Advisor will throw a tantrum. She’s a control freak anyway. You want America’s entire command and control infrastructure to just step aside for you?”

  “It’s the only way, sir. We’re in the middle of planning how to exfil the one man in China who can stop these pre-staged attacks. But we’ll need some resources and help on your end.”

  The President blew air into the phone. “Dammit, Jack. You trying to get me impeached?”

  “At least, you’ll have stopped any more attacks, sir. Saved thousands of lives. A good trade-off.”

  “That’s what State, CIA, FBI, and Homeland are for. They’re working on this right now.”

  “The op needs resources from State’s Special Operations Division.”

  “They don’t call it that anymore,” the President said.

  “But they still do clandestine cross-border ops with high military threats. Stuff the US government needs done but can’t be associated with. I’ll need you to call the Secretary and ask her to comply with our requests quickly without bitching about it. And to keep her mouth shut.”

  “Forget it, Jack,” said the President. “I appointed her. Then she began doing whatever the hell she thinks is going to get her my job come next election.”

  “Once we get the guy—by the way, his name is Colonel Li Yong and he runs their Unit 61398—”

  “Christ.”

  “You’ve heard of it—”

  “Who the hell hasn’t heard of Unit 61398?”

  Jack spent a few carefully worded minutes explaining why he needed to get Li Yong into NYPD’s Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Bureau. The President bitched and moaned, but he continued listening. “If everything works out, sir, this will all be over in seven days. Then Homeland, CIA, and FBI can get back to their regular bureaucratic work.”

  “I cannot authorize the entry of a known terrorist into the most secure antiterrorism facility on the East Coast. They’d think I’m crazy. And they’d be right. Soon as this guy is spotted by any of our enforcement agencies, he’ll either get a court date or a bullet in the head.”

  “Just wanted to see where you stood, sir.” The two men talked for several more minutes. The President was a demon on the details of Jack’s extraction plan for Li Yong. He insisted on knowing every step—the risks, the dangers, and the probabilities for success. Finally, he stopped asking questions.

  “I’ll do what I can for you but don’t count on it being much. I want to hear of your progress every goddamn day. And give Helen my love. Bucatini? Now that’s one innovative lady.”

  “Will do. Thank you, sir.” The line was already dead. Jack took it as a sign of trust.

  * * *

  Chapter 27

  Jack sat with Gallagher and the others watching the video screen as Helen directed Li Yong through Beijing’s Seasons Place mall. It was immense—an entertainment destination more than just a shopping mall. Five stories high with two more below ground level. It had its own subway stop. The world’s most precious brands packed the mall—Valentino, Versace, Guess, Dior, Marc Jacobs, and more beckoned shoppers. The Marriott Hotel rose from ground level up to the top floor. Children and adults screamed as the Avatar Airbender ride zipped overhead. Across the garden atrium, the ice rink was already crowded with skaters even this early in the morning.

  Every so often Helen told Li Yong to turn left or right, go past one of the brand name stores on the surveillance detection route she had him working. Jack yawned. The office here inside the FBI’s Washington DC field office was larger than he remembered. Video monitors covered the walls. Telephones of varying colors, each connected to one or another vastly important agency, rested on long tables against the wall. Beside them, cell phones sat in charging cradles, microphones on stands, with all sorts of headphones. The rest of the team—Smitty, Gallagher, Crypto, and two new additions from CIA and FBI—sat watching the monitors, occasionally yawning themselves, bored.

  “Just keep walking, Colonel Yong” Helen patiently said. “Up for a trip? We go now.”

  “Now?” Li Yong said. “Right now?” There would be no time to say goodbye to a country that nurtured, taught, and provided a lifelong home. He started complaining, but Helen cut him off. Less than a minute later he took the next step toward high treason and a certain death sentence if caught.

  “Turn left at the Apple store,” Helen’s voice lost its chatty quality; it was now all business. “Pass the Tesla store and continue down the aisle.”

  “Wait,” Jack said, standing and quickly moving toward the monitor for a closer look. “Who’s this guy trailing Li Yong about ten yards back?” Jack asked, pointing at the image on the screen. “I saw him earlier as he passed Victoria Secret.”

  “The Chinese guy in the dark suit and black Nikes,” Gallagher said. “I saw him too. And now he has two partners—just behind that posse of teenagers carrying Hello Kitty bags.”

  Helen’s calm voice carried from Washington DC to Beijing in an instant. “Change of route, Colonel. Don’t pass the Tesla store coming up in ten feet. Go into it. Now.”

  “What? Is someone following me? I am in danger?” Li Yong said, breaking Helen’s order not to speak.

  “A precaution. I have an agent inside. He’ll approach you. Just do what he says.”

  Jack saw that the man from CIA sitting next to him was on his own phone now, speaking rapidly and giving directions. Probably talking to his guy inside the Tesla store. On the screen, they all watched as the promised ersatz salesman in a red vest immediate
ly approached Li Yong. They exchanged less than two words, and then quickly walked to the back.

  The man Jack had spotted along with the two others Gallagher saw entered the store seconds later. Immediately, three pretty female sales staffers approached them. Each took a man’s arm and was immediately shaken off.

  “Politeness is a virtue in China,” Jack said. “Don’t you guys know that? You just blew your cover. Who are they, Smitty?”

  “Committee for State Security. Standard issue dark, poorly cut suits practically shout it.”

  Jack followed their every move on the screen. Won’t take but a few more seconds before they head to the back. “How could they have discovered Li Yong’s defection so soon?” Jack asked the man from CIA.

  “Unit 61398 is the most tightly monitored installation in the PLA,” the CIA man said. “And Li Yong is their most prized asset. He’s been missing for over 24 hours now. You bet they have an APB out for him.”

  Another monitor now showed Li Yong walking rapidly along an interior corridor of the toney mall behind the Tesla store. “Keep walking,” Helen told Li Yong. “Casually, please. And don’t even think of looking over your shoulder. That’s what I’m here for.”

  Jack watched the chase from the Chinese State Security surveillance cameras planted throughout the mall. CIA had hacked the system six months ago. Finally, it was proving of some use. On one wall monitor, Jack watched Li Yong now almost running to execute a convoluted series of turns at intersecting corridors, up and down flights of stairs. He’s drawing attention. Helen had amped up the complexity of her surveillance detection route. Good tradecraft. She was calm and unflappable. But she needed to translate that to her protectee. This ought to shake any other Chinese State Security operators who might be following.

  CIA said, “They’re tough boys over there. If Li Yong gets caught and he resists arrest, he’ll suffer. Then they’ll take him to their interrogation center for questioning. That’s when the real pain begins.”