I said, “Okay, saddle up. They’ve got about a forty-five-minute head start. Let’s go find him.”
We loaded in the same vehicle teams we’d had before and began heading south on the main highway. It was about a four-hour trip, and the car, just like Paul had predicted, continued south, staying on the freeway.
Ryan’s vehicle was driving just under the speed limit, not wanting to attract any attention. We, on the other hand, put the pedal to the metal, cutting their lead to about ten minutes by the time they entered Tainan. From there, the traffic and stoplights themselves let us catch up.
Paul and I trailed behind, not wanting to get compromised by Chen Ju-Long, and the target passed through the town until they were near the Tainan Airport—which was co-located with an ROC airbase. The vehicle ignored the entrance to the civilian side, continuing on until it was traveling toward the military base, and then was forced to slow because of the crowds.
Outside was chaos, with a large mob of people holding signs and throwing things at the front gate, all of them chanting slogans in Chinese.
I said, “What in the hell?”
Paul said, “They’re working it down here too. It’s getting worse. This is China’s and the Triad’s doing.”
“Yeah, but why protest the airbase? What did they ever do? It’s not like they make decisions for the parliament.”
“I guess it’s a symbol of the government. The only one down here, so they’re protesting outside of it.”
“Great.”
I called Knuckles, saying, “You got eyes on the target? We aren’t going to try to push through this.”
“Yeah. He just went through the gate. The protestors banged on the hood a little bit, but let him go.”
I turned to Paul and said, “What’s the grid now?”
Paul said, “They made it inside. The vehicle is parked next to the 501st Missile Command.”
I said, “What’s that? What do they do?”
“They control the land attack cruise missiles on our forward-deployed islands, like Penghu and Kinmen.”
Shit. So now I could develop or strike. Although I had no idea how I could possibly strike inside an ROC airbase surrounded by frothing lunatics.
Chapter 87
Colonel Ryan led the way to the front entrance of the 501st Missile Battalion, seeing a sign that proclaimed the 501st as the vanguard of the Strategic Strike Counter Missile Group. He entered the hallway, stopping at a small security cubicle to show his credentials. He turned and pointed to Chen and Zhi, saying, “They are scientists from NCIST, working Project PRAYING MANTIS.”
The guard let them pass.
Ryan led them down a hallway, past offices and restrooms, to a large room that resembled the bridge on the Star Trek Enterprise, complete with a ring of men and women in headsets staring at screens and a command chair in the center holding a lieutenant colonel.
Ryan approached and the man rose. Ryan said, “Good to see you again, Colonel Wang.”
They shook hands, and Colonel Wang said, “To what do I owe the pleasure of the visit?”
“We just came from the NCIST. These scientists have upgraded the algorithm of the MANTIS system, and we wanted to make sure it took.”
Wang smiled and said, “So it’s to be another ‘unannounced exercise’? Test my ability to react?”
Ryan laughed and said, “No, no. We just want to make sure the patch took, and it’s watching the PLA exercises. That’s all.”
“Good, because with the social unrest going on and those same massive exercises, now is not the time to conduct a drill. It could confuse things.”
Chen said, “We at the NCIST completely agree. We just want to continue the experiments. See what the algorithm can pick up with the ongoing exercises. That’s all.”
Colonel Wang nodded and shouted across the room, “Fei, what is MANTIS showing us?”
A young man of about twenty-five, small, with a uniform that looked too large for his slight frame, turned from his screen and said, “Same as always. Exercises being conducted. MANTIS seems to know the difference.”
Chen said, “Well, at least it’s learning the difference. So the upgrade took? No interruption?”
Fei said nothing, staring at his screen. Chen looked at Colonel Wang and said, “Did he hear me?”
Colonel Wang said, “Fei, did you hear the scientist’s question?”
Fei ignored him too, typing on his computer. Colonel Wang said, “Fei, what are you doing?”
Fei turned from the computer screen, his face white, a bead of sweat on his head. “MANTIS is projecting an attack,” he said. “Right now. It’s coming right now.”
Colonel Wang said, “What?”
Fei returned to the screen, punched in a stream of commands, and turned back around. “MANTIS is saying they’re coming. Less than two hours. It’s an invasion.”
Colonel Wang turned to Ryan and said, “I thought an exercise was stupid right now.”
Ryan said, “It’s not an exercise. That’s not from us. That’s PRAYING MANTIS giving its results.”
They ran over to the computer screen and saw every single indicator of a massive assault—airborne aircraft, naval vessels, sonar buoys registering submarines, the works.
Colonel Wang said, “This has to be a mistake.”
Ryan said, “PRAYING MANTIS doesn’t make mistakes. It just reads what is out there. This is real. We need to launch the missiles. Short-circuit the attack. It’s what MANTIS was made to do.”
Now beginning to sweat himself, Colonel Wang said, “I need to call my command. See what they’re seeing.”
Ryan said, “They don’t have MANTIS. Only you do. They’re going to see a single indicator and decide it’s not a threat. We have very little time here. You must launch.”
Fei watched the argument, but remained silent. Colonel Wang said, “I’m calling my commander. I need more information.”
Incensed, Ryan grabbed his arm and said, “This is exactly why MANTIS was created—to prevent the stovepiping and second-guessing. Look at that damn screen! We have no time for this. If we wait, we lose. We have to stop them from breaching our perimeter.”
Colonel Wang jerked his arm away and said, “I’m not attacking the People’s Republic of China because some computer said so.”
He ran off to an office in the back, storming forward as if he was on fire. Ryan looked at Chen, and Chen flicked his head to Zhi.
She followed him.
To Fei, Ryan said, “What’s MANTIS saying now?”
Looking sick, Fei said, “Same thing. They’re building up for an assault. The Kinmen Islands are already being attacked.” He turned from the computer screen and said, “Surely we can confirm that, right? If the Kinmen garrison is under assault, we’d know, right?”
“Not if they took them out quickly. There’d be nobody to talk on the radio.”
The Kinmen island chain was the closest piece of ROC terrain to the coast of China. Consisting of fishing villages surrounded by tunnels, artillery batteries, and bunkers, it was the first line of defense against a Chinese invasion, and a necessary springboard for Chinese success.
Fei said, “Can’t we call them?”