The Project 01 - White Jade

into Tiananmen Square and along all main arteries. "
    He signaled the Colonel and the image changed again.
    " This is Hainan Island , off the Southern Coast. The Chinese have constructed a state of the art underground submarine base here, at Sanya. It is home to their most advanced nuclear ballistic submarine, the Type 0-94. Those subs carry twelve JL-2 missiles with two point five megaton warheads. Perhaps by coincidence, t heir top naval officer, Admiral Zhang Lian, arrived in Sanya yesterday. "
    Admiral Zhang was another member of White Jade.
    " Y ou can see a lot of activity, here, right where the pens are located , and two of their subs. It looks to me like they're readying for sea. T anks and troop transports are moving toward the base. They're cutting off access to the rest of the island. "
    " What is your interpretation, General? "
    " Sir, this appears to be an effort to isolate the missile and sub bases by troops. In Beijing , I ' d say forces are securing the city. But it ' s not possible to say who is controlling those forces. "
    T he room watched as four J-11 fighters, Chinese variants of the Russian SU-27 SK, passed over the submarine base.
    Lodge spoke up. " Mister President, if Director Harker ' s assessment is correct, we could be looking at a coup in progress. This may be an effort by the current government to stop it, or those troops may be under command of the conspirators. "
    " Sir, those bases are controlled by members of Yang's White Jade Society. " Harker wanted to make sure Rice knew. " General Lu is particularly dangerous, in my opinion. He could start a war with those missiles. "
    " Mister President, " Holden said, " It ' s possible this is the beginning of a confrontation with the Chinese. I now recommend we escalate to DEFCON2. Sir, you should remove yourself to the secure bunker. "
    " General. Under no circumstances am I leaving the White House at this time. The last thing the country needs is a President who runs for cover when something happens. " Rice raised his hand to stop further protest. " That ' s final, General. "
    " Yes, sir. "
    " What offensive naval assets do we have near China ? "
    " The Ronald Reagan and her accompanying AEGIS class escorts are two hundred and fifty miles off North Korea . There are two of our Ohio class boomers in the general area, the George Washington Carver and the Tennessee . "
    " General, order those ships to assume DEFCON2, but we will not raise the national level just yet. We have not gone to DEFCON2 since the Cuban crisis. I am not convinced we should do so now. We wi ll wait. If those silos go hot I will reconsider. In the meantime, institute DEFCON3 for the rest of our forces . "
    " Yes, sir. "
    " W e have to deal with these attacks in California . You all have something to do. Get going on it. General, monitor the situation in China and bring me your analysis in one hour. Call a meeting of the Joint Chiefs here for that time.
    " I want no mention of this supposed group claiming responsibility. Until I have considered the implications of Director Harker ' s actions and until we have better intelligence from China I don ' t want anything made public. This meeting is concluded. Everyone make sure you are immediately available if I need you. Director Harker, Kevin, remain here. "
    Rice stood and the room emptied. When all had gone, Rice sat down again.
    " Director, you may have started a fire over there, and I ' m going to have to put it out. You ' d better be right in your analysis. Now tell me the rest of it. "
    " Mister President? "
    " Director, don't bullshit an old bullshitter. Your brief was to the point, but it's clear you are leaving something out. I want to know what it is. "
    " Sir, I felt the rest of it, as you put it, was irrelevant to the events on the coast. "
    " I'll be the judge of that. "
    " Yes, sir. "
    Harker told him what had been left out.
    Rice turned to his Chief of Staff.
    " Kevin, you are to forget what Director Harker just told us. Am I clear? None of this must get out. "
    " Yes, sir. "
    " H ave the Director ' s team brought to me. I want to hear about this action in Tibet from them. "
    " Sir, Langley would be better for debriefing… "
    " No. I ' ll see them tomorrow morning. Make room on my schedule. "
    " Yes, sir. "
    " Director Harker. Where is your team now? "
    " They were due at Andrews an hour ago, sir. They were to be met and taken out of sight. "
    " Get them here in the morning. Coordinate with Kevin. "
    " Yes,