“Beats me.”
“Right. Maybe you got something there. Show me just border areas,” Sue Ann requested, leaning towards the screen.
“How’s this look?” asked Thomas as he popped up an image showing the Gobi Desert.
“Holy shit. Get me close ups of the following cities and rivers at the border areas-” She started to list names and places.
“I’m one step ahead ’a ya girl. Look. Here’s ground action in Yining near Kazakhstan, Xilinhot just under the Gobi and not that far from Beijing, Hulun Buir next to the Russian Federation and check this out: Lake Khanka near the Northern tip of North Korea, bordering on the Russian Federation and not far from the Sea of Japan.” Thomas paused for breath while Sue Ann caught up.
“How big is that lake?”
“Big. Just a minute. Look at this while I pull up the size of the lake map.”
Sue Ann gasped. Her mind clicked over time zones as she looked at the Google street view that Thomas had dropped on her screen. Thousands upon thousands of figures of Chinese men met her eyes.
“The lake’s 3030 square miles of fresh water, seventy-two percent in Russia and twenty-eight percent in China,” added Thomas.
“Blow my mind. They’re not carrying weapons and they’re crossing into the Russian Federation on the water,” said Sue Ann.
“I sent this image to your editor. He okayed the funds for flights and a helicopter charter over the Sea of Japan.” Thomas smiled. Sue Ann looked at him with incredulity.
“How’d you get that impressive look-down image on the ground, Thomas?”
“Tricks of the trade, Sweetheart.”
“Some tricks. This is big, Thomas,” Sue Ann replied, tilting her head to get a better look at the images. She reached for her phone to text her editor. She read the confirmation and then put her Blackberry to her ear before reaching under her desk for a travel kit she kept there for emergencies. When she looked up, Thomas was holding his own kit up between them. She laughed at him.
“Somehow I know you’ve already ordered the taxi and it’s waiting downstairs.”
Thomas grinned back and headed towards the door of the newsroom. All those years of hard work since winning his first photography competition seemed about to culminate in this rewarding moment. He was so charged up that he forgot to notice how well he and Sue Ann were getting along. Professional necessity had staunched the loner in him.
Near Sapporo, Japan
Thomas and Sue Ann perched beside one another at a stainless steel shelf, facing a window looking out on a runway at the New Chitose Airport terminal, Japan. The scent of Sue Ann’s favorite thick, spicy miso served with butter-sautéed scallops and fresh vegetables wafted up and steamed the window. Her mother had always served this miso soup whenever Sue Ann faced a challenge and the smell and taste centered her. She savored each mouthful, feeling its warmth charging the blood which coursed through her veins. Thomas was making appreciative noises as he ate his soup. Sue Ann pointed her chopsticks at Thomas and took a deep breath.
“Chinese nonviolent conquest. How’s that for a hook, Thomas?”
“Maybe we should wait ’til we see these guys up close before we talk about violence,” Thomas said, as he considered the angles.
“You could be right. It’s just that screen shot you showed me. They were all smiling. Eerie, isn’t it?” said Sue Ann. She wore a faint trace of a smile herself.
“Look over there,” said Thomas, pointing towards a screen providing news programs.
“Shit, someone beat us in.”
“Nah, those are satellite feeds, just like the one I showed you. Maybe from your editor.” He looked for a moment longer. “Yah. That’s it. Look, our logo’s in the corner. Finish up, we’d better get moving. It’s a long walk to the helicopter charter gate.” Thomas drained his bowl noisily and stood up.
A young woman, dressed in a dark blue uniform complete with gold braids and white epaulets approached Thomas and Sue Ann at the Hokkaido Helicopter desk. She offered an outstretched hand instead of the expected bow. A lock of windblown, jet-black hair straggled out of her Captain’s hat. Thomas did a double take before recovering his composure sufficiently to shake her hand.
“This is Sue Ann Lee, the lead reporter,” he said, deferring to his new partner. He gave a modest smile. “I'm Thomas, the cameraman.”
“And I am Captain Yukimura, at your service,” said the pilot with a click of the heels, and a deep bow as she removed her hat.
Before Thomas or Sue Ann could say anything, she had executed a perfect about-face, returned the uniform cap to her head and was making her way towards a door exiting onto the tarmac.
“This looks sort of like an attack helicopter, doesn’t it, Thomas?” asked Sue Ann, as they stooped under the motionless blades and climbed in.
An eavesdropping Captain Yukimura answered for Thomas.
“Sort of. There are many similarities. Your travel protocol demands 2500 kilometers. It wasn’t easy to charter a ’copter able to cover those distances. This one has specially designed extra fuel tanks. It’s the executive model, complete with soundproof walls.”
“Military connections?” asked Sue Ann.
“You got it. Though I retired early from the military, you are flying with the first woman graduate from the Hamamatsu Airbase, Air Officer Training program, First Class. But you can call me Yuki. All my friends do and I want you to feel comfortable.”
“Thanks, Yuki. That’s really nice of you,” said both Sue Ann and Thomas at once.
“Shotgun,” shouted Sue Ann before Thomas could get his word in. She settled into the vacant co pilot's seat.
After seating herself behind the controls, the pilot passed both of them helmets instead of the expected headsets. They slipped them on and noted that the visors appeared to be seriously hi-tech. The pilot’s next communication came through the comfortable ear muffs built into their helmets.
“Cool visors, aren't they? Connected to the nose cameras and what about that ‘Terminator’ view of reality,” said the pilot.
“You lost me there, girl. What’s a terminator?” Sue Ann sounded puzzled.
“Dating yourself, Sue Ann,” Thomas piped into the conversation.
“Sorry about that, but all pilots watch the “Terminator” series with Arnold Schwarzenegger. And “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise too,” Yuki grinned.
“Like my sister's kids say: 'way cool'." Sue Ann wore a huge smile as she looked through the visor to read computer generated analysis about everything she was seeing.
“I thought you’d get a kick out of that,” said Yuki.
“This can help me when we get on site too,” piped in Thomas.
“Where’d you pick up your amazing English, girl?” Sue Ann asked.
“I spent a few years in the states as a kid. My father worked in Silicon Valley.”
The pilot checked her gauges and after a brief radio exchange she lifted the machine off the tarmac. She tilted the nose down slightly and started the helicopter on a slow taxi towards a more open space on the tarmac. She exchanged more radio messages with the control tower. Sue Ann addressed her when she’d finished speaking with Terminal Operations.
“If it wasn’t for Thomas, we wouldn’t be first on scene like this. He spotted the heat source from a random research program he set up,” Sue Ann said, looking at Thomas as she spoke. He deflected the compliment.
“You took a risk. Not everybody would’ve acted on it, Sue Ann.”
“Old Chinese proverb say: nothing ventured, nothing-”
“Chinese?” Thomas interrupted.
“Thomas,” said Sue Ann, air leaving through fluttering lips as her eyes rolled up.
“Ya, ya. I get it lighten up, eh. Do you know you look like one of those ‘Manga’ characters when you make those faces.”
“You better not be calling me a ‘ditz’, Thomas.”
“How could you think that?” Thomas rejoined, chuckling under his breath.
The
helicopter gathered speed parallel with the runway before Yuki allowed the nose to lift. She pulled out into a wide arc heading towards their destination. The ride passed quickly, partly since the sound protection made the passage of time seem warped and partly because Yuki provided a running commentary about everything from cloud formations to the flora and fauna of the field of view below them. Her descriptions increased in detail once they crossed over land into Russia. Clearance into Russia had occurred without a hitch thanks to the pilot’s frequent trips into their airspace. In addition, the leaders of the Russian Federation had decided to allow the world media to consume the peaceful people movement out of China in the hopes that free information would defuse these potentially destabilizing events.
****
In secret phone calls between the Russian and Chinese leadership at the highest levels, the Chinese had denied any knowledge of the reasons for why these men were on the move. Sue Ann and Thomas were fortunate; by virtue of Al Jazeera’s nonaligned reputation, the Russians bristled less than if it had been CNN making the plea to cover the story.
Behind the scenes, the staff of a rogue and unknown general in China manipulated mid-level bureaucrats to assure Sue Ann’s visa requirements met no obstacles. From a great distance Colonel Lau’s satellite monitors tapped into the conversation on Captain Yukimura’s helicopter, recording it for possible future reference. On his desktop, Colonel Lau had a picture of Sue Ann Lee from an earlier report of hers. I’ve never felt like this about a woman before. Lau laughed to himself when he thought she was part of Chou's plan to employ only Chinese journalists in his propaganda.
****
“What’s that highway there?” asked Sue Ann.
“According to the GPS, it’s M60, better known as the road to Vladivostok,” Yuki said.
“Can you take us in closer?”
“Sure.”
“Are you getting this, Thomas?” asked Sue Ann.
“You should’a let me have the co pilot's seat. It’s not very clear through the side window.”
“Touch your visor up top on the right. There’s a little canon icon there. The nose feed will pop up in the top left corner. Tap the icon to get zoom,” Yuki advised him.
“Amazing footage,” both Thomas and Sue Ann said, almost simultaneously. “Can we copy it when we get back?” Thomas asked.
“It’s on a satellite feed, so I can easily get you the link.”
“You couldn’t by any chance get it sent to my editor now, could you?” asked Sue Ann.
“Probably.” She looked at a panel to her right. “Let me patch through to my office,” the pilot replied. She punched a button on her radio and thumbed the button on the control stick.
Captain Yukimura talked over a private connection for a few minutes and then opened a channel to Sue Ann and Thomas.
“Done,” she said. “He can watch it right now if he opens his email. I took the liberty of giving my controller the email you included for your editor in your rental request,” she added.
“I’ll be sure he opens the email,” Thomas grinned.
“Thanks, Thomas,” Sue Ann returned the smile.
A dust cloud obscured the camera shot until they got closer. The mass of humanity overflowed on the road and the fields, everywhere more clear by the second in the fluttery image on their visors. It took their breath away. Foreboding chilled them. At first no one spoke. Finally, Yuki said something under her breath.
“What was that?” Sue Ann asked as she caught the words.
“Nothing,” replied Yuki.
“I heard something about mushrooms,” said Thomas.
“You won’t believe I could think about mushrooms at a time like this,” said Yuki.
“Spit it out girl,” said Sue Ann.
“Okay. I always picked mushrooms on the hillsides of Lake Khanka with my parents when I was a kid.”
“You’re right, I don’t get it,” said Sue Ann. Thomas nodded in agreement.
“After these guys pass through, there won’t be any mushrooms for years. They’ll trample all the spores,” Yuki explained.
“I dunno,” said Sue Ann, grateful for normal things to talk about in the face of the frightening image on her visor of millions of men walking across the countryside below them.
As the helicopter approached, the mass of men looked up and shaded their eyes as one. Sue Ann trembled inside. The synchronization of the movement was more than uncanny, it was unsettling in the extreme. She looked around for a place where the helicopter might land but she saw none. The mass of humanity sprawled out in every direction like African ants on the march in the savannah.
“Thomas, did you see when they all looked at us together? And I mean – together? Eerie.”
“Eerie’s not the word. I got the exact slice in the video from the time signature. We can cut it out and use it on the next story. It gives perspective to the enormity of these guys advancing across borders.”
****
Many kilometers away, Colonel Lau clicked on an icon on his desktop. Live, streaming conversation from Captain Yukimura’s helicopter filled his ears. All is going according to plan, he thought, as he stopped multitasking, flexed his fingers together in front of his face and laughed out loud as he listened to Thomas’ little speech. General Chou was right again. Sometimes less control works better than a tight fist, thought the chief of Operation Long March.
****
“Take us closer, Captain,” Sue Ann requested. Her tone was insistent but Yuki hesitated.
“I am responsible for getting this craft back in one piece, so I need some confirmation that these guys aren’t armed.”
“Understood. But I need close ups and I have to try to get an interview,” said Sue Ann.
Thomas decided to try to ease the apparently growing rift between the pilot's concern and Sue Ann’s ambition.
“Let’s fly over Lake Khanka,” he said. “There’s bound to be more opportunity there for a short clip.”
“I suppose that’ll do, but we come back here if there’s nothing there. Agreed?” Sue Ann said, not surrendering.
“Agreed,” Thomas said. Yuki nodded too.
As the enormous lake came into view, brisk winds curled high waves across the surface. Descending towards the lake revealed a sea of humanity either on makeshift rafts, in commandeered fishing vessels or in the water holding onto flotsam.
“You can’t see the water for the people and boats in it,” said Sue Ann, her voice hollow with shock.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” added Yuki.
Thomas was busy jotting down footage times to help him with editing for slideshows to accompany their article. Screen shots like these would guarantee huge numbers of hits on their website. His spiral pad was a mass of small scribbles, cameraman’s shorthand.
“How big is the lake, again?” asked Sue Ann.
“A little more than 4000 km square,” answered Yuki, referring to her visor.
“Thomas. Find me a lake that size in the States so readers can get their bearings. This is impossible to imagine. How many people are we looking at here?” Sue Ann was muttering as she tried to get her head around what they were seeing.
“Ah, I’m a trivia freak,” said Thomas. “I can do that. How many kilometers have we covered since we started seeing people, Yuki?”
“Let’s just round it off at say 100 square kilometers, that is if they stop on the other side of the lake,” replied Yuki.
“That’s what I thought too. So look, if these guys are shoulder to shoulder down there, that means almost 10 million people per square kilometer. Just multiply by 100.”
“That’s almost the whole population of China. You can’t be right.”
“They’re not like sardines everywhere.”
“Still, it’s a lot of fucking people,” uttered the three of them almost in unison. Silence followed as they got their heads around the concept.
Sue Ann snapped out the reverie first. “Drop me onto one of
those bigger fishing vessels, Captain.”
Thomas interrupted.
“I’ve got a better idea,” he said. “Look at that peninsula deep in Russia. We could fly low under the radar and drop down onto it. We’d be able to land on the road and Captain Yukimura would not have to feel responsible for our safety. Her nose cone videos of us dropping in would guarantee our safe release.”
“That’s fair enough,” Yuki said as she considered the plan.
When they reached the southernmost tip of the lake, they saw that widely dispersed tourist centers dotted the region and the beaches. The nearest town, Kamen Ryblov, a long hike if they got stranded, was the only real habitation. The helicopter made for the peninsula and the protected bay behind it. The shock of seeing all of the men crossing into Russia in the lake and on the highways shut off any banter. Though Sue Ann knew she was on the cusp of the biggest story of her career, even her ambition couldn’t crush her fears. They approached the coast flying low over the water.
“It’s empty. Look!” said Sue Ann with incredulity.
“What’s the heat signature then?” Thomas was puzzled.
“You’re a quick study to get a heat signature up there on your visor,” interjected Yuki.
“Kind of my speciality,” Thomas replied. “Tech gear is my thing.”
The craft hovered over the beach and all of them noticed a slithering movement on the shore. “Looks like a huge snake the size of the whole beach moving around down there,” said Thomas.
“Jesus, they’re frogs, millions of them. On the beach – all over. I can’t take the chance of dropping you down there. You won’t be able to walk in that slimy mess. They must be twenty centimeters deep.” Despite her pilot’s composure, Yuki sounded uncomfortable at the thought of squashing the creatures.
“That’s almost a foot deep. The walkers don’t like ’em either. Look over there by the forest where their heat signature ends,” said Sue Ann.
Diamond Rain: Adventure Science Fiction Mossad Thriller (The Spy Stories and Tales of Intrigue Series Book 2) Page 6