Cynthia added, “Of course you are welcome, and an invitation will come, but I think a little advance notice would be in order. Besides, I suspect the gossip columnists would have a field day if you were spotted leaving here at dawn, especially if your stay was not on the official schedule.”
The President took his wife’s cue and decided to call it an evening. “Very well then. We will all be seeing each other in a bit over ten hours in the Oval. It is going to be an interesting week.”
PART THREE
THE ENDGAME
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LI XUE OPENED THE PACKAGE and briefly glanced at the contents. There were two folders, labeled in Mandarin. One said, ‘Governor Li,’ the other, ‘General Deng.’
There was also a cover note from Ben Coleman saying, In furtherance of our conversation in London, please consider the idea of us meeting again soon, pending the approval of the Politburo for you to make another trip.
It had been less than two minutes since the attaché from the Fed had left his office. And it hadn’t been easy for him to receive the foreign visitor. There had been a negotiation between Li and Deng just to hold the meeting. The agreement was that Deng would wait in an adjacent office and once the package was delivered, Li would show it to Deng.
Li knew he didn’t have much time. Deng would know when the attaché left and would show up if he didn’t call him in soon. Nonetheless, he opened the file with his name on it. He hesitated at first when he saw the contents, then quickly leafed through them, his head spinning.
Overwhelmed by what he had seen, he took a deep breath. Then he picked up his phone and told his assistant, “Please tell General Deng that the attaché has left and he is most welcome to examine the proposal Chairman Coleman sent.”
Deng appeared in his office in a matter of seconds, plopping himself on the chair opposite Li. “So?”
“Chairman Coleman concluded that you might want to see his proposal and sent a second copy just for you.” Li put on his most pleasant smile.
Deng was shocked to see his name in Mandarin on the outside of the manila envelope. But not as shocked as when he opened it to see photos of his belt, the fingerprints, and his handiwork on the backs of the two Americans, each one with a date and time stamp and geolocation codes embedded across the bottom.
“Treason!” he shouted. “This is proof that you have been consorting with our enemy! I will have you arrested immediately!” Deng grabbed his cell.
Li’s expression did not change. “Comrade General, you might pause a moment to reconsider. It is not I who exposed myself to the enemy in a clear violation of state security. I am fairly certain that these are not the only two copies of these photos. In fact, I think the originals, including the belt with the fingerprints on it, are in possession of the CIA.
“I have not seen these until a moment ago. There is no way I could have known about these documents before the Federal Reserve’s attaché at the American Embassy hand-delivered them. You have all of my phone conversations at your disposal as well as my email. I am sure there is no indication that I had any foreknowledge. I was as shocked as you are now when I first opened the package. I was not even aware that you had been out of town.”
Deng scowled. “Your words will do you no good. They will fall on deaf ears. No. In truth, they will fall on no ears at all.”
“As you wish, Comrade General. But imagine the surprise of the Chairman and your colleagues on the Politburo when they each receive a copy of these documents. I imagine that if Chairman Coleman does not hear from me in a reasonable amount of time, the Americans will arrange such a delivery.”
Deng rose and began pacing. It took him a good minute to regain enough composure to speak. “Li, if you take me down you will be signing your own death warrant. Plus one for your wife and daughter.”
Li drew breath, working to maintain his composure. “Comrade General, who said anything about me bringing you down? Your capabilities as a general are renowned and your sense of duty is unquestioned. I thought this might be an opportunity for us to cooperate. I believe the phrase in English is ‘turn over a new leaf.’ ”
“The West has even contaminated your speech. You are far too close to the enemy, Comrade Li.”
Li noted the use of the word comrade. It was a clear sign that Deng was willing to cooperate. “Comrade General, we both love China deeply and with our eyes wide open we can see that things are not good. No point in blinding ourselves with ideology when our nation is in crisis.”
“Spoken like a true capitalistic banker,” said Deng. But every nonverbal cue suggested that he was all ears.
“America has its troubles too,” Li said. “If we persist on our current path America will doubtless slip into a recession and take most of the world with it. Meanwhile, we will have full-blown economic chaos. The people will demand change just as they have before. If we force the world over a cliff, we will be the first into the abyss.
“I believe Chairman Coleman understands this as well, but more importantly, he is preoccupied with avoiding an American recession and a collapse of the world economy. It may not make sense to you, but he is willing to let the Chinese economy return to prosperity if it means saving the world from an economic crash.”
“That is proof that he is weak,” said Deng.
“You may be right, Comrade General. And if you are, we will have another opportunity to prevail. Only to do so we must live to fight another day. Remember, Americans plan for tomorrow. We plan for 2049.”
Deng found Li’s logic inescapable but still hesitated. “And who will lead China to this victory in the future? You?”
“Not at all, Comrade General. I am not skilled like you in the art of battle. I am sure you will be leading the charge. I have no such desire, though I will be cheering your victory just the same.”
“So what is your plan, Comrade Governor?” Deng said.
Li noticed that comrade was now joined to his title. We are getting somewhere, he thought, now he realizes that I must retain my position for him to retain his.
“You will support me in the Politburo. I plan to ask for permission to travel for a second round of talks with Chairman Coleman. Like him or not, he is a very clever man. My hunch is that he has already figured out how we can all extricate ourselves from this situation. When I return, I will expect your support to help get it passed. I can assure you, I can no more countenance a surrender by China than you. You will have to trust me on that score.
“Also, my daughter will go to Yale to accept her internship and my wife will accompany her. They will depart this weekend.”
Deng thundered, “You expect me to let your family out of the country while you travel as well?”
Li had anticipated this. “Comrade General, your reach is long. You have already noted that if I betray you, I will be signing three death warrants. Do you doubt your own capabilities?”
Deng took a moment to contemplate Li’s observation. Then he smiled. “Since we are talking about family, I have a demand as well. My nephew has been imprisoned by the Americans on some trumped-up charges. If your wife and daughter can go to America, then my nephew can come home to China.”
“General, you exaggerate my sway. You can simply sign a paper and let my family depart. I am up against the entire U.S. government. Not even Chairman Coleman could arrange what you ask.
“Besides, from my understanding, your nephew actually made a heroic attempt on the lives of the First Lady and Mrs. Coleman. He is a very talented young man. Proving his innocence would be impossible. That said, I do promise to put in a good word for him with Chairman Coleman.”
“Governor Li, as you said, I must trust you. Remember, my reach is long. And if my nephew is not ultimately returned to China, I can make no assurances for the safety of your family.”
Li said, “I understand General Deng. Now we simply must convince the Politburo. Together.”
* * *
Ben’s mind was reeling. It worked. It must
have. Li was coming to the U.S. with his wife and daughter in tow. He must have Deng in the corner with the photos. There could be no other reason.
He turned to his speaker phone. “Li Xue, I would be very happy to meet you here. And congratulations to your daughter. As you may know, I taught part-time at Yale. It is a very fine school. In fact, we still own a house less than an hour from New Haven. Perhaps Bernadette and I could entertain you and your wife while you are settling your daughter in.”
“I would dearly love to meet the very famous Bernadette Coleman. Perhaps we could accept your offer at another time. Both Baozhai and Jun have a wonderful opportunity to see your country. Our embassy will be sending guides to show them all the best sites: Yellowstone Park, the giant redwoods, and, of course, Disneyworld. So while they have fun I will have to work.”
Ben knew the translation of this—Li’s wife and daughter were going to be chaperoned by Chinese agents. There was winning and there was winning. Trust only went so far. Besides, Li Xue would not be on the winning side all by himself. He obviously had allies.
“Tell me when you are free, Xue, and I will make arrangements on this end.”
“As I said, this is an opportunity, and not a certainty. I think the prospect for a candid conversation would carry a good chance for success. But my colleagues here in Beijing are worried about the management of my duties while I am away. They need some certainty that your side is going to act in good faith.”
“What do you have in mind?” Ben asked.
“You may be aware of a young man named Deng Fei. His uncle is a good friend of mine.”
“I’m sorry, the name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Apologies. I was being presumptuous. Mrs. Coleman knows him, or at least of him, and I thought that perhaps she had shared his name with you.”
“I’m sorry, she didn’t.”
“It turns out that young Mr. Deng got himself in a most unfortunate misunderstanding with Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Turner.”
Bells went off in Ben’s head. “Oh, that’s who Deng Fei is. As I recall his uncle is head of military intelligence. Yes, I heard about the incident but not the name.”
“Ben, as I said, it was all a terrible misunderstanding. Deng had no intention of doing any harm to Mrs. Coleman or the First Lady.”
“Perhaps not. But he was recording their conversation. Over here we take that very seriously as an assault on our privacy. Espionage is a serious crime. The authorities are contemplating some very serious charges.”
“So is piracy. As I understand it, the ringleader of the pirates will be receiving a prison sentence. The papers said five to seven years. The rest of the pirates plead guilty in return for each paying a $20,000 fine. You have a very lenient court system. In most of the world piracy is subject to the death penalty. What Deng did was far from commandeering a ship, yet you are letting pirates go with a fine.”
“So, Xue, perhaps you could be more precise in what you are asking. Of course, I am a mere central banker. This is a matter for the law enforcement authorities. But I can convey your thoughts.”
“My friend, I would personally be very grateful if you could secure Deng Fei’s release so that he can be reunited with his family. As I mentioned, his uncle is a close friend. I believe that his uncle and other members of the Chinese government would see this as a sign that you hold no animus toward our country or our people. It would be a sign of good faith that would then lead to some face-to-face talks between us in order to iron out the current situation. And in your system, it is not just the law enforcement authorities who are involved. Your president has the unlimited power to issue pardons.”
This time Ben caught it. Li had said, His uncle is a close friend of mine, but what he really meant was General Deng was a close friend—well, perhaps now an ally—of his. Or maybe it was all made up and carrying the water for Deng to get his nephew released was part of the price of whatever deal they had made.
Ben hated the thought of asking Will Turner to pardon a man who had posed a threat to his wife and his nation. But there was more at stake here and he had to try. “I understand your position. I will raise the issue with the authorities over here and see what can be worked out. What day do your wife and daughter depart for Yale?”
“Next Tuesday. I hope that I could have your answer before Friday so I might book tickets with them. They will be in New York with me for a couple of days before traveling around the country. Perhaps that would be the time to take an hour or two for some preliminary discussions. When they depart we could sit down and discuss things in more detail. Is New York a suitable place for you to meet me?”
“Of course.” There was far more at stake than convenience for a family traveling together. Both men knew that a way had to be found to deescalate the crisis quite soon or it would get out of hand.
As he disconnected the call Ben glanced at his watch. “Peggy, please call Director Lopez and tell him that, with apologies, I am heading straight to the Oval. Tell him that Governor Li called, and our conversation was far reaching and extensive and as a result went on far longer than expected.” All true, and besides, Hector would read between the lines. As an afterthought he said, “And call Alice and suggest that Attorney General Flynn be invited to join us.”
* * *
Deng paced back and forth in front of his desk. Then he followed his usual regimen for getting control of his emotions. He dropped to the floor and did a hundred pushups. As a recruit more than three decades earlier he was one of the few in his company who actually enjoyed that part of universal military training. It cleared the mind and gave an outlet for the adrenaline and cortisol pumping through his system.
The workout had the desired effect. His head cleared and he realized that, yes, they had won the battle. But this would be a long war.
What had Li said? Comrade General, your reach is long. Indeed, it was, and would continue to be even if he was temporarily trapped into working with Li.
That reach was so long, in fact, that odds didn’t matter—specifically, the odds of getting the Lucky Queen. That plan was still very much in motion. Soon the world would learn about his long reach. And his trap would be every bit as elegant as the one those American boys had laid with his belt.
Only this time it would be the Americans left reeling. And Li would pay a price too. His credibility at the negotiation table would be sorely undermined. Perhaps the whole deal would blow up. If it did, then Li’s days were numbered. China would turn back to military might, not bourgeois tricks, for its salvation.
Yes, Li was right. Central bankers would never lead China to victory over America; they didn’t have it in them. Their bourgeois mindset stops them. They lack martial discipline. Instead, Li and his kind would be watching from the sidelines, being forced to cheer as China returned to its rightful place as the Middle Kingdom.
Yes, Li Xue, my reach is long. And it goes forward in time as well. You will soon learn that lesson.
* * *
In the Oval, the principals arrayed themselves on the couches in their usual positions, a sign of how frequently these meetings had taken place. The President suggested that Eric Flynn pull up one of the chairs from the side of the room and join the circle.
“Welcome to our little crisis management group, Mr. Attorney General. Technically I invited you here, but it really was Chairman Coleman who made the suggestion. In fact, it will be Chairman Coleman who will be leading most of the discussion from what I understand. Ben, the floor is yours.”
Ben opened by recounting the conversation with Li. He lacked a photographic memory, but the essence of the conversation was fairly and completely relayed.
“You did have a long conversation with him, Ben,” the President said. “Didn’t realize that you economists could make deals so fast.”
“No deal was struck, Mr. President. I merely said that I would check with you and my other colleagues in the government. As to speed, though, we economists do know where the equilibrium betw
een supply and demand is likely to be and like to get there without a lot of fuss.”
“Let’s see what your colleagues think, then. Hector?”
“Mr. President, this conversation is all new to me. To give a proper CIA opinion, I would have to consult with my staff.”
“But a good part of your staff is sitting right here. It is a bit strange that a superpower’s policymaking comes down to what in effect is a family conversation, but perhaps it is the best way around the time-consuming bureaucratic process when decisions have to be made quickly. Bernadette?”
“Mr. President, all I can give you is a snap judgment. I do think that a final decision should await Director Lopez checking with CIA. But, as a matter of snap judgment, I think it is fair to say that we learned a lot from the conversation about the state of play on the Chinese side.”
She waited for a slight nod from the President, then went on. “First, we know that the game is still in play even though Li has run up the score quite a bit against Deng.
“In short, if Li can’t produce a face-saving way out for China, Deng’s allies could still blow everything up. True, Deng would have some problems with the pictures, but the hardliners could decide he is expendable despite his enormous value as head of military intelligence. It is also possible that Deng could worm his way out of his bind if Li falls into disgrace.”
The President nodded. “Is the state of the Chinese economy going to affect this?”
“We probably can surmise that the economic situation in China is in a state of steady decay,” Bernadette said. “The lack of an internet connection limits our ability to get information out of China as much as it prevents information from getting in. So we don’t have any real facts about what is going on. The very fact that they took down their internet means they are scared.
“The Chinese are very sophisticated about these things. My suspicion is that a lot of people in their financial industry can figure out why the internet went down and reach the same conclusion we did. Your plan is working as expected, sowing doubts about the Chinese banking system. My bet is that bank lines are forming and the fact that ATMs are down along with the internet will only make people more desperate.”
Currency War Page 35