The Project 01 - White Jade

unlocked a steel drawer in his desk and took out a black metal case about the size of a briefcase. He set it on the desk, opened it and turned on the power. A screen lit up.
    Ready.
    To the right of the screen was an alpha-numeric key pad. Lu entered a series of numbers and letters . A message appeared on the screen.
    Confirm.
    The sequence required the palm print scans of the authorized commanders.
    "Your hand, Colonel."
    Hing stood where he was.
    "I will not do this. The Americans will destroy us."
    Lu walked over to the door and locked it. He took out his pistol. "You will do it," he said. He shot Hing in the chest, then again. The bullets drove him back against the desk and he fell to the floor.
    Lu grabbed Hing's arm and pulled the body over to the launching device. He pressed Hing's d ying hand onto the screen. The machine beeped. Lu watched a red light scan back and forth. The machine beeped again. A new message appeared.
    Secondary Confirmation.
    Someone was pounding on the door. Lu placed his hand on the screen. A beep, the red light, another beep.
    Enter Launch Sequence Code.
    Lu entered the sequence of numbers and letters that would tell the missile crews to launch .
    Ready.
    Lu looked up as the door burst open. Two of his men stood there, trying to make sense of what they saw. Lu flipped back a safety switch and pressed a red button.
    Launch Initiated.
    Klaxons all over the base began blaring at three second intervals. Now no one except himself could call the missiles back.
    "Sir! What has happened here?"
    Lu smiled. He placed the muzzle of his pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Chapter Fifty-T hree

    On the way to the White House, t he team watched the President's address in the back of a black Lincoln stretch limousine. Rice appeared grave, angry and reassuring. He confirmed there had been a terrorist attack. He cautioned the nation against jumping to conclusions about who was to blame. He promised swift retaliation once the identity of the bombers became known.
    He talked of nine eleven and Pearl Harbor. He expressed certainty America would rise to the challenge again and closed with a prayer for the victims and their families and for the nation as a whole. It was a masterful performance.
    People were angry. There had been a leak. The news media were already speculating on Chinese involvement.
    The team entered the White House through a back entrance. They were ushered to a room next to the Oval Office, where Rice was meeting with the Secretary of State and General Holden. Director Harker, General Hood and Rice's Chief of Staff were waiting there. Hogan was clearly on edge.
    "When the President is ready he'll call us in. He'll set the conversation. Be ready to tell him about your mission. Keep it brief."
    Carter decided he didn't like Hogan. He also decided to keep his mouth shut before it got him into trouble. He was tired . W hen he was tired he had no patience for things that annoyed him .
    Harker said, "You put on quite a show over there."
    "We almost made it out without trouble. Wu showed up at just the wrong time. What's happening in China ?"
    The three stars on Hood's shoulders glinted under the ceiling lights.
    "Nobody's quite sure. It looks like Yang made his move and it didn't come off. There's been a lot of military movement, all internal. Heavy air and sea cover earlier at Sanya, but that seems to have lightened up. Now we're watching the missile base at Luoyang . Troops have surrounded the base. That's one of the reasons we think Yang failed. But those missiles aren't under government control. If Lu activate s the silos we'll know it and things could get real hot. Holden convinced Rice to go to DEFCON 2."
    That was bad. Nick shifted to ease the pain in his back.
    "Any communication from the PRC?"
    "Not yet. I don't know what the President is thinking, but if I were him I'd play a little cat and mouse. See if I could get them to call first. Meanwhile, Langley and everyone else is running around trying to figure out who set off those bombs."
    "We know who set them off," Selena said. "The Triads ."
    Harker broke in. "We can't start arresting everyone in the Triads . We need proof, hard evidence. Some people aren't convinced a coup is behind the bombings. Some aren't convinced there's a coup attempt at all. They think China is initiating some large scale military adventure and they're worried. There are enough nukes at Luoyang to wipe out millions of our people and several of our