The Project 01 - White Jade

side of the angels. I just hope they move fast enough to stop Yang before he does something stupid. "
    " Like launch a missile? " Selena brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
    " Like that. "
    " God, I ' m tired, " she said. " I can ' t think about this anymore. "
    Stephanie stood up. " Come on, Ronnie, I ' ve got a place for you down the hall. Get some sleep before you see the President. "
    The door closed behind them . Carter lay down and the next thing he knew, Stephanie was knocking on the door and saying coffee was up and they had an hour before heading for the White House.

Chapter Fifty -One

    The nine men who ruled China were meeting at Party Chairman and President Zhang Jei ' s official residence in Beijing . No one ruled in China without the backing of the People ' s Liberation Army. The committee made decisions, but it was the PLA that enforced them. Several ranking PLA officers had been invited to the meeting.
    General Zhou was Chairman of the Military Commission and Commander of the Beijing Military Region . He sat between Minister Deng from State Security and the Commander of the Guangzhou Military region in Southern China , General Liu. General Yang Siyu was at one end of the long oval table, next to Zhang.
    Across from him sat General Hong, Commander of the Second Artillery Battalion, China ' s nuclear and ballistic missile force. Two chairs down Chen Tian, Minister of Railways, toyed with a notepad and pencil on the table before him. The rest of the Politburo Standing Committee filled out the seats at the table.
    P roblems of ethnic unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region and China ' s western Xinjiang region were first on the agenda. The men were discussing strategies for suppressing the native protests when a messenger entered the room and went directly to the President. Zhang listened carefully, then turned to his colleagues.
    " There have been several explosions on the West Coast of America, causing extensive damage. Their military has raised the national defense alert level and t here are civilian casualties in large numbers. It is being treated as a major terrorist attack by the American government. We must decide on an appropriate response. "
    " We should raise our defense posture also. " It was General Hong. " Russia , Pakistan and India are bound to do the same, and that will bring in Europe and NATO. "
    " NATO is a toothless tiger. "
    " Yes, but when the Americans act as if war is threatening, the ripples are always worldwide. "
    " What is the alert level of their forces? " asked General Zhou.
    Zhang said, " They have moved to their Defense Condition Three. That is considered a high level of readiness, but short of anticipation of imminent attack. Their planes will be ready, some bombers sent aloft and all forces alerted, but no active missions will be launched. They have one of their nuclear carrier groups north east of Korea in easy striking distance . There may be submarines we don ' t know about. "
    Zhang instructed an aide to bring in a monitor. In moments they were watching the events taking place on the West Coast of America.
    President Zhang turned to Yang. " General, have you any information regarding these attacks on the Golden Mountain ? "
    He used the old Chinese term for California and the United States .
    Yang felt a heady rush of anticipation. The explosions in the US were timed to coordinate with his presence in this room. Once these men were removed, nothing would block his rise to power.
    Admiral Zhang Lian had control of the missile submarines at Sanya. Lu Cheng had locked down the base and secured the missiles at Luoyang . Armored d ivision s loyal to Yang were at this moment rolling through the streets of Beijing and other major cities. Rail traffic moved only to transport his troops. The air force was on the ground, where it would stay unless he released it. Outside, a cadre of Special Forces troops waited for his signal, which he now triggered from a transmitter in his pocket.
    " Well, General? You seem preoccupied. "
    " I launched these attacks, Zhang. " He used the rude form of address.
    The President of China looked mildly surprised. " Ah. And why would you do such a thing? "
    Yang was taken aback. This was not the response he had anticipated. The others in the room were still, watching the two men. For an instant he wondered if he had misread Zhang . No. He dismissed the thought.
    " We have played whore to the West long enough! " Yang slammed his hand down on