"Why is this necessary?" Chen asked desperately. "We could become completely legitimate and not have to do business in the white powder. Why must we teach lessons and take unnecessary risks?"
Dorba rose, still watching his koi with a loving smile. "It is time for these Americans to pay." He turned to look into his son's eyes. "They and the British brought the opium to our mother country almost two hundred years ago. They made huge sums of money by enslaving our ancestors with addiction in dens that they established. Their pockets were lined with gold while our ancestors and our country slowly died. Only the strongest of our families survived and became their servants-but also their students. We could not defeat them then, but now it is our turn to teach the lessons."
The old man's eyes had become full of fire, but he smiled.
"Our business is nothing more than what these people did to us. Yes, some will die, but only a fraction compared to the countless numbers of our people who suffered. You are asking yourself, don't I, your father, have feelings? I say yes, I grieve for my ancestors who were turned into opium eaters years ago. These Americans will pay, my son. They will learn what our ancestors learned-it is only business."
Chen felt a wave of nausea, but he lowered his chin as if in agreement. He strolled in silence with his father along the path lined with fiddlehead ferns, umbrella palms, and wildflowers until they came to the polished round stone porch where a servant waited.
Dorba motioned Chen to a patio chair and sat down beside him as the white jacketed young Cantonese servant poured green tea into black-lacquered wooden cups.
Dorba reached out and patted his son's hand. "As you know, I selected no San for this city, for I wanted to run the business here myself. I have revisited my decision and think it unwise. I have decided you should be the San here. It is time for you to take your place in the Circle."
Chen kept his stoic expression, not letting his inner emotions show. Picking up a cup of tea in both hands, he offered it to his father and bowed his head, hating himself for what he would soon become. "It will be an honor," he said.
Seattle, Washington A dark blue Lincoln turned off the highway onto a blacktop road and traveled three hundred yards before coming to a smooth stop behind a semitrailer truck loaded with plywood. The big diesel truck had stopped beside a security guard shack in front of a chain link gate. A large, white-and red-bordered sign attached to the adjoining fence read:
RED DRAGON
SPECIALIZED WOOD WALL PANELING CO. a subsidiary of Dragon Inc. USA-Korea A lone uniformed guard opened the gate, waved the truck through, and motioned for the Lincoln to come forward. The Burmese guard looked at Sergeant Shin, then at Stephen in the backseat. Recognizing them both, he motioned for Shin to proceed. The car rolled forward along a two-lane road to a large brick building attached to a huge metal one that extended back for almost a hundred yards. The truck had taken a side road toward the long building's loading docks, where a forklift and crew were waiting.
Shin parked in the lot between two Mercedes, got out of the car, and opened the door for Stephen. "U Kang, I will be helping to unload the shipment. When you are ready to leave let me know."
Stephen nodded in silence and strode toward the office building, where another guard opened the glass door for him.
Inside he passed by the offices that had been turned into dormitory rooms for the DDSI men who had flown in over the past three weeks to do the processing. Po had made sure they stayed in the old cabinetmaking plant for security reasons and had provided for their every need. Televisions, VCRs, and small refrigerators were in every room, and the largest room had been made into a kitchen complete with tables and chairs for all thirty workmen and guards. Stephen strode through the kitchen toward double doors leading to the work bay, stopping only to grab one of the rain jackets hanging from pegs on the wall. Putting on the jacket and tossing up the hood, he pushed through the doom into a torrential man-made rain shower. Far above him a fire sprinkler system was raining down sheets of water onto pallets of plywood that had already been unloaded. He walked down a narrow corridor formed by the pallets of wood until he came to the center of the bay, where a large foreman's office bisected the huge work area. Through the glass windows he saw that the four representatives sent by the Triad were taking off their rain gear. He stepped in and quickly took off his jacket.
Po motioned Stephen forward and introduced him to a tall, well-dressed black man who called himself Mr. Lassen.
Stephen waited to be introduced to the other three men, but Lassen only smiled and made light conversation. Then Po pointed toward the work area and said, "One sheet of plywood is being brought into the processing area to show you how the processing will work. As I'm sure you saw, the trucks are still arriving and we are placing the remaining pallets on the dock. We plan to work until we've finished this shipment, which we estimate will take two days. Ah, here comes the first sheet."
DDSI workmen brought one of the soaked plywood sheets from a stack in the "raining" bay and placed it on one of the large tables in the dry work area. Other workmen used chisels to loosen the top veneer of teak, then pulled off the thin, flexible sheet to expose eighteen rectangular white bags between the wood support strips.
Lassen nodded in admiration. "They said you were good, but this is a real piece of work. Let me guess, the veneer was bonded with water-based glue and the soaking causes the bond to disintegrate, right?"
"Correct," Po said with obvious pride. "We went to considerable expense in perfecting the method of shipping."
"Yeah, well, now I see why you were so confident the shipment would arrive undetected. How much in each bag?"
Po replied, "Each bag is a half-inch thick and ten inches square. It holds one point zero one American pounds, or half a kilo. Nine kilos per sheet of plywood, and there are twenty-four sheets per pallet. We calculated 216 kilos per pallet. This shipment contains just over fifty tons of the product."
Lassen puckered his lips and let out a low whistle. "Hot damn. Now that's what I call a load of smack. Your boss is a genius ... or has one helluva set of balls to bring this much stuff in. No one has ever tried anything like this before.
Damn, we're all going to be busy getting the product weighed and logged. I'm supposed to run periodic checks for purity and reweigh every bag. Business, you understand?'
Po smiled. "But of course. Stephen will be our ledger keeper and will work with your assistants in the handoff."
Lassen shifted his eyes to Stephen. "My people are ready to get started as soon as you are. Like you, we wanna get this done as soon as possible."
"What about transport?" asked Stephen.
Lassen held out his hand. One of his men put a cellular phone in his palm. He dialed a number and spoke into the receiver. "It's show time. Send one over now." He tossed the phone back and nodded toward a stocky, dark-skinned man with a gold tooth. "Stephen, this is Chigger, our scales man and bookkeeper. He doesn't know where your country is but he knows numbers."
Chigger stepped forward and put out his hand with a smile. "Nice to meetcha, Steve. Let's do the thing."
Directorate of the Defense Services Intelligence, Rangoon Brigadier General Tan entered the office of his director and came to attention.
General Swei glanced up from his paperwork. "Yes?"
"Colonel Po called and gave the code word," Tan said with a contained smile. "The first shipment arrived with no problems."
Swei leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Then it has begun." His eyes slowly turned to Tan. "Is phase seven ready for execution?"
"Yes, my general. I have placed our Strike units on standby, and the engineers will begin moving north tomorrow to their pre-positions. We have located all those on the list except for Sawbaw Xu Kang. We are only waiting for the order to move."
"We'll have time for Xu Kang later," Swei said with a quick wave of his hand. "Once the second shipment safely arrives we will execute the fast part of phase seven. And you, my friend, will be the one who
will unleash White Storm's power."
Tan bowed his massive head, no longer bothering to contain his smile. "It will be an honor."
Chapter 13.
15 June, Camp Pickett, Virginia.
"I'm doin' just fine. Yeah, I know, Stef, I said I'd call last night, but we were in meetings till late. Look, I'm callin' to tell ya we're flying down to Panama for a conference with some Central American government officials and ... I didn't know I was going to have to go either. Just listen a minute.
I won't be in touch for a week or so, but I'll call as soon as I get back...."
Josh held the phone away from his ear and whispered to Crow, "She's not Lakin' this too good."
He put his ear back to the phone and nodded and nodded some more. "You finished bitching?" he said finally. "Hey, I love you, Stef. Keep things straight and make sure Bob ain't screwed over by Ky. I'll call when I get back. I gotta go ...
Yeah, I'll be careful. Love ya-good-bye, hon."
Josh hung up and took a deep breath, then let it out in a single rush of air. "That was a tough one."
Crow smiled. "She's a pistol. Ya done good with her, Hawk."
Josh shifted his eyes to the small Special Forces sergeant standing beside the sergeant major. "How old is your daughter, Sergeant Vee?"
"She's four."
Josh nodded and put his arm over the young soldier's shoulder. "Start workin' on a son as soon as we get back.
Daughters grow up and try to change your life."
Nguyen Vee grinned. "My wife does that enough already."
Crow picked up the bag of equipment at his feet and tossed his head toward the distant helicopter landing pad.
"It's time. They're loadin'."
Josh and Vee hefted their bags to their shoulders. Vee looked at Josh with a searching stare. "Do you really think we're ready for the mission?"
Josh exchanged glances with Crow before forcing a smile.
"You bet."
Three CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Fort Pickett landed at Andrews Air Force Base's ready ramp and were immediately surrounded by armed Air Force security police. The passengers from the helicopters walked down the rear ramp holding bags of equipment and followed Air Force escort officers who led them to a waiting C-141B Starlifter. The large, four-jet-engine monster was sitting on the runway with its turbines whirling. The passengers leaned into the blast of hot air and walked up the rear ramp into the fuselage. Minutes later the engines screamed as the white bird broke its bonds with earth and soared skyward.
Josh unfastened his seat belt and reached down into his flight bag for the folder of satellite photos. Opening the folder, he thumbed through the glossy eight-by-tens until he came to the one he was looking for-his team's assigned recon area. He studied the picture for several minutes, looking for the best way to approach the hidden building, but it was not easy. He had constantly to fight off images of his past.
Finally he tossed the photograph down. It was no use trying.
He knew the ground all too well. The suspected drug production plant was on the plateau where he and Stephen had taken the Horseman test. It was the ground where his mother had watched him pass the test and cried. It was his home.
Northern Burma Xu Kang reined his pony closer to Colonel Banta, who was getting out of his pickup. "Greetings and blessings, Colonel. Who is this bleeding all over the back of your truck?"
"Greetings and blessings, Chindit." Banta casually waved toward the wounded soldier wearing camouflage fatigues. "A pye dog who we caught doing a reconnaissance of the Shaduzup lai house. There were three others, but they are with their ancestors. They made sketches and had cameras.
This one is gutshot and will die soon, but he was able to tell an interesting story I thought you should hear."
Kang climbed down from the horse and opened the tailgate to look more closely at the feverish young soldier. He patted the boy's shoulder. "I am Sawbaw Xu Kang. You've heard of me, eh? If you don't speak the truth your entrails will be fed to the pigs while you still live to watch them feast."
The young man's eyes widened. "I will speak the truth, Sawbaw. I beg you in the name of Buddha, don't-"
"By the gods! I'm not Wa! I don't kill wounded men who speak the truth. Have pride and accept the gods' will." Kang spun around, motioning to two of his nearby Horsemen.
"Take him to the shade in front of my headquarters." He looked again at the colonel. "Is the cobra about to strike?"
Banta nodded with a frown. "His story proves you right, Sawbaw. Our spies in Rangoon have also reported the DDSI's Strike Battalion is on standby alert. One of our young women is sleeping with a sergeant in the unit and reported he has been gone for two days."
Xu Kang hastened his steps. "I must hear your prisoner's story."
Minutes later the old soldier's wrinkled face became a stone mask as he spoke to the young man who was laid on the ground before him. "Now tell me and my Horsemen what you told my colonel. Keep in mind my pigs are hungry. If you are truthful I will see to it that a doctor attends to your wound."
Kang listened for ten minutes as the soldier's voice got progressively weaker. Finally he could barely move his lips.
The old man bent over the soldier and brushed his wet hair from his forehead. "I will see that you rest now." He nodded to the two Horsemen, who gently picked up the limp man and walked him carefully toward the dispensary.
Kang shook his head as he sat back in his campaign chair.
"He will die within the hour ... but now we know an attack is planned. By the gods, I warned the Sawbaws about this!
They were all fools to believe the government. Now it's too late for them."
Banta's eyes widened. "But they must be warned! You must try, or they will all die."
Xu Kang slowly shook his head and said sadly, "They won't listen to me. To them I am nothing but an old man crying wolf. Greed has blinded them and made them deaf." His eyes suddenly focused and locked on the colonel. "We must save the others. Get my son and his family and all the Shan leaders out of Rangoon. Give them no choice. It will be happening soon."
"Chindit, it will take several days to contact our people in Rangoon," said Banta worriedly. "The army is using jammers to make radio transmission very difficult."
Kang closed his eyes and prayed to the gods that he had not received the information too late. Nodding in resignation, he stood. "Send some of your men as backup immediately-we don't have much time."
"It will be a bloodbath when it begins. So many fools ... so many," Banta whispered.
Xu Kang raised his head and looked back at the valley, knowing that after all the years and all the battles he had fought, nothing had changed.
Chapter 14.
1 A. M., 18 June, Rangoon.
The night operations officer gently shook Brigadier Tan's shoulder. "General, the call you've been expecting from Seattle is on the secure line."
Tan, fully dressed, stood up from his office couch and hurried down the steps to the basement operations center. He paused only long enough to glance at the wall clock with Seattle's time and noted that Colonel Po was calling at 11 A. M. in the States. Praying to Buddha that the call would be good news, he picked up the phone and placed the receiver to his ear.
"This is Tan.... Excellent! ... Yes, we will move forward with phase seven immediately. When the last shipment is in and the handoff is complete, finish the business of the loose ends.... Yes, I will be expecting your call in four days.
Thank you for making this morning one to remember. I will pass the good news on to the director." Tan hung up the receiver and turned to his operations officer. "The second ship arrived in Seattle and cleared Customs. Contact our Strike units and have them execute their orders immediately."
The officer motioned to the wall where a chalkboard and map were hung. "Those on the list will be no problem, since our teams have each target pinpointed except for Sawbaw Xu Kang. We can begin strikes on facilities one through four, but our reconnaissance uni
ts report clouds over facility five."
Tan waved his hand impatiently and spoke quickly. "Notify the commander of five to have his recon units cut the phone lines and block all road entrances to the factory so that they won't know about the other attacks. Tell him to go in as soon as the clouds clear. Forget about Xu Kang for now we'll find him later."
The major acknowledged his instructions with a quick dip of his chin and strode toward the waiting radio operators. Tan looked at the map and rocked back on his heels, knowing that all the evidence of the government's involvement in producing the white powder would be gone within a few short hours. He smiled inwardly and shifted his gaze to the list of names on the chalkboard. The names were those of the Shan Sawbaws and administrators whom he'd paid handsomely to keep the heroin factories full of workers and to ensure the harvested raw opium was transported to the production facilities. They would all be eliminated, for they knew the junta had sanctioned the labs.
Forged in Honor (1995) Page 21