The Devil's Playground

by Michael Reagan

thought Rob.

  "I never saw that coming!" he said, looking at the picture of Thomas and Yorijo Katamaya while he sat in his hotel room in Seoul listening to the air raid sirens going off, something since the bombing and destruction of the Korean Air Force on the ground was a regular occurrence.

  Then an idea caught hold in Rob's mind.

  He picked up his CODEX phone and dialed Ali Mansoor. "Ali, guess who just walked out of bar in Osaka with our friendly local Yazuka?" Rob said not bothering with hellos once he answered.

  "Rob, I am not in the mood for your humor today," Ali responded gruffly.

  Rob knew the Director was under pressure; the arrest of Young must had placed him in a very difficult corner politically within the Agency because everybody believed Ali and Young were joined at hip. Not to mention the added the pressure from the White House for the demand of actionable intelligence with regard to Beijing's next moves.

  The phrase the "Barbarians at the gate" entered Rob mind.

  He took the hint and said, "Tommy Litchfield."

  "Litchfield and Katamaya!" responded the shocked voice of Ali. "What the fuck is he up to?" he asked taking the bait.

  "With your permission, I would like to ask him," responded Rob.

  "What's happening with NIGHTSHADE?" asked Ali, ignoring his request.

  Rob sighed. "Unfortunately with the action of the Japanese, he has no choice but to support DYNASTY," he said, using the codename for the President of Korea. "He tells me a peaceful solution is becoming more and more remote. Therefore I am afraid it has to be said that old NIGHTSHADE is running out of fingers to put in the dam," he finished, using the Dutch metaphor.

  It was Ali's turn to huff.

  "I can see that," he said ignoring Rob's attempt at humor again. "WILDCAT wants us to direct our efforts on China," said Ali referring to POTUS's Secret Service codename, confirming what Rob had just guessed. "Can NIGHTSHADE help us with that regard?"

  "To be honest, Ali, I don't think he will help us, as Korea needs China to protect them from Japan if things escalate. So the interests of the United States of America with regard to her disagreement with China are secondary," confirmed Rob.

  There was silence for a few seconds.

  "What about Litchfield?"

  "Finally," Rob thought. It appeared Ali was coming around to his way of thinking.

  "The Russians are pretty close with China and they are acting as a buffer to protect both sides for the moment," Rob replied, setting up his play.

  "Could it be worth putting out feelers through NOBLE?" Ali asked, referring to Thomas's codename.

  "That all depends on who owns the shilling he's taking," Rob replied with yet another play on words, this time from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, and getting to the primary reason why he had rung Ali requesting permission to go to Japan.

  "How so?"

  "Katamaya is as connected as it gets in Japan and despite Litchfield and him being enemies on the outside, at the end of the day the Yazuka is a businessman. With his partner in Turkmenistan sidelined and his friends in America exposed it is in Katamaya's best interest to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Asia. It is also in Russia's interest for that matter!" he continued.

  "How so?" Geo-politics was never Ali's strong point as he had been brought up in the Agency on understanding what drove terrorism.

  "In Russia's case, it's because China and Japan are two of their biggest customers. As Japan still needs gas and a partner to bring back online the LNG facilities the Koreans have destroyed, the profits Katamaya will earn from controlling that access will far exceed any deal he has cut with Dowling," explained Rob, laying out his case. "Simply put, they are exponential!" he added for extra effect referring to the profits.

  "Tommy does owe me for tipping him the wink in Moscow," Rob continued, putting his own feelers out there for Ali to bite at.

  "Okay, Rob, you heard WILDCAT."

  "By any means!" answered Rob.

  "By any means!" repeated Ali, appearing to agree with him.

  "Permission granted, approach NOBLE," Ali ordered.

  45

  Beijing / Osaka / Washington D.C. / Los Angeles / Osaka

  Codenamed 'EMPEROR,' the response of the Americans been planned for by the Central Committee since the early 1990s. At the time the plan was devised the analysts had estimated it would cause the destruction of forty percent of the PLA Navy and a loss of forty percent of China's aircraft. The actual figures from the reports coming in now were indicating it was closer to thirty-six percent and thirty-seven percent. The death toll of over 10,000 men and women from the thirty-six air strikes that had hit the coast of China, although expected in the threshold analysis and regrettable, was also less than had been estimated due to the advances in targeting capabilities of the Americans. Nevertheless the loss of the PLA personnel was an unfortunate but necessary evil for the reasons of "face," as it would ensure popular support for the decisions for the Central Committee in whatever direction the crisis took next. Whether it was Peace or War, the Committee would stand between the two billion souls they were responsible for feeding and those who wished to threaten the mainland.

  The bonus was that of the equipment destroyed, eighty percent was considered obsolete.

  Even the loss of the symbolic Lialong, which had been due to be scrapped within the next two years, in the first waves of attacks from EMPEROR was not considered disastrous because China was more than well placed to defend her shores for any further attacks, having moved all their modern aircraft to central air spaces in China the week before.

  Jiang reflected on the Lialong for a moment. Instead of lying on a Bangladeshi beach been torn apart for scrap by antlike workers of the impoverished nation, now she would serve for all eternity as a monument to the determination of the People of China to stand up to naked aggression of those that threaten her. It was a thought that warmed him.

  Although the plan had been debated relentlessly over the last three weeks and right up to moment military action had been authorized because it was seen as ruthless and unfeeling by many on the committee, including the Premier, it had been deemed a success internally for there was no doubt politically it had weakened America's standing as a reasoned and balanced military power in the world.

  More importantly though was the message below the line. The attack on the U.S. Carrier had firmly sent a message to the American Military and China's fellow members of the Security Council that the PLA had more than enough capability to do great damage to their armed forces if they ever dared to confront them in the field again. Yet it was politically where the most capital would be gained and thus had represented the prime reason for the authorization of the plan in the first place. However, those benefits though would only been seen over the next fifteen years.

  In the short term, the battle would be led by China's State Owned Enterprises (SOE) economically driving a wedge firmly through the heart of the American's allies in Europe and by drawing Russia and Korea even nearer into China's sphere of influence. In the midterm, it would force the United States into a situation that would be similar to the isolation before the Second World War.

  The final part of the plan though was open to question. Jiang personally believed such an objective could be only reached if Parker was allowed to survive and win his second term and even his allies on the Committee disagreed with him on this. The analysts of the MPS Jiang believed Parker represented the best tool to convince the American people that doing business with China had caused this spat in line with the campaign that saw him elected. That meant from this moment on, the MPS counter intelligence efforts over the near term needed to bring capital to that political ideology to ensure China's foe was successful when he ran for a second term.

  For the moment though that was for another day; today it was a time to savior the great victory that he personally had won his country.

  Jiang felt fatigue strike at his body, but despite being mentally exhausted, he n
evertheless continued to smile wryly. For there was no doubt that his position on the Central Committee as a potential replacement to the Premier when his term end had been strengthened greatly by recent events.

  The face of the Secretary General of the United Nations on his laptop on his desk drew his attention for moment. Jiang chuckled again as he watched him, against type, appear to take the side of China over that of the Americans and lobby hard for a peace treaty and a ceasefire in order not look a traitor in the eyes of his people in Korea.

  Closing the lid of his laptop, Jiang returned to his thoughts.

  The question dominating his tired mind now was the task the Central Committee had firmly placed at his door and how best to achieve it without losing face with the Americans but more importantly give Parker a victory in the process?

  He sipped on his ever-present cup of green tea on the desk to refuel his mind then picked up the latest reports of MPS counter intelligence operations taking place across China and in Hong Kong.

  So far over two thousand people with suspected links to foreign intelligence agencies had been picked up by the MPS including over one hundred journalists', amongst them those belonging to the American's new agencies, who visas had been revoked and booted out of the country.

  Jiang pondered on the News Media 'world' for the moment. It was a battle China had never truly successfully fought in the past. The American owned corporations dominated