The Project 01 - White Jade

Selena, pointed to an earpiece lying by a pen and pad on the end of his desk and indicated she should pick it up. He flipped a switch on his desk. China could not hear him .
    " Selena, you speak the language. Listen and tell me if the translation is correct. Listen for anything that might help me understand this man. "
    She picked up the earpiece. Rice activated the phone.
    " President Zhang. What can I do for you? "
    " Mister President, there have been some events here. We do not wish to have these events, ah, misunderstood. I am calling to let you know our situation. "
    " Our satellites show unusual military movements . S ome of my advisors are quite disturbed. Tell me, Mister President, should I feel disturbed? "
    " No, no, not at all. We are merely conducting exercises. There is no cause for you to be alarmed. We have had a problem with one of our senior commanders, but it has been resolved. "
    Selena was scribbling on a piece of paper. Nick took it and handed it to the President.
    Stressed , she had written. Us ed idiom associated with desire to placate without admitting wrong-doing.
    " What was the nature of the problem? "
    " It is unimportant, now. "
    " Mister President, there has been an attack on our country. W e believe one of your ranking officers is responsible . If this proves to be true, there will be serious consequences for our nations. "
    " This cannot be true! Who is suspected? "
    " Your General Yang. "
    There was a pause. Everyone watched Rice.
    " Mister President. " The voice on the speaker phone was flat, metallic. " Coincidentally, General Yang is the senior officer I mentioned earlier. He has been removed from command for promoting reactionary policies. If he has initiated attacks against your country it was without our knowledge or compliance. "
    " All that is well and good, Mister President, but it will not be enough. " Rice allowed a nger to creep into his voice. " Perhaps you can persuade General Yang to reveal how he accomplished his vicious and unprovoked actions. Our people are upset and angry. I assure you, President Zhang, if your government had anything to do with these events, consequences will be severe. Do I make myself clear? "
    There was a rapid burst of Chinese in the background, several people talking at once. Selena scribbled.
    Great concern. Someone arguing for a full war alert. Zhang is nervous. Someone saying he should tell you the truth.
    After a moment the President of China came back on the line.
    " President Rice. I will be candid. General Yang has been arrested for attempting to install himself as the new leader of our country. He admitted initiating attacks against you. We were unaware of these plans. We deeply regret that harm has come to your people. We have not yet had time to question him to determine more. "
    Scribble, scribble. Sounds like t elling the truth.
    " A coup? "
    " Yes. We uncovered his plot to take power and were prepared for it. Yang did not succeed in taking control of our military installations. "
    Wilson gasp ed, a sound like she was choking on her own bile.
    Rice tapped his fingers on his leg. " What about Luoyang ? "
    " Ah, Luoyang is being resolved as we speak. Should preparations for a launch be detected, we will prevent it. Mister President, we will not allow missiles to be launched under any circumstances. Please believe me. The missiles are equipped with a self-destruct system. We are prepared to destroy them if necessary. "
    General Holden reached for his pager. With an apologetic nod toward Rice, he stood and walked to the side of the room and took out his phone. Nick watched him go rigid.
    " That is satisfactory, Mister President. W e will monitor Luoyang quite closely. If we detect preparations to launch we will be forced to take appropriate counter measures. I sincerely hope it does not come to that. "
    " Mister President, any aggressive action toward our country would be very badly received here and met with strong response. I assure you, we have no hostile intentions. "
    "President Zhang, I appreciate your..."
    General Holden interrupted. He still held his phone.
    "Sir, the silos at Luoyang have been activated and the mobile platforms are emerging from the tunnels . They're getting ready to launch. "
    Rice looked at him. "You are certain."
    "Yes, sir. Their launch sequence has begun."
    "General, go to DEFCON 1, but hold at Fail Safe ."
    Holden spoke again into his phone. Rice paused. He said, "President Zhang. I have just been