Asian Identity Thriller: Midnight in Karakorum – Pt. 14

A dinner in Vladivostok reveals the motive behind the First Lady's kidnapping and adds a powerful military backbone to Jack Tang's plans to shake up the global power alignment. Chapter Thirteen - 2nd Half If the plan were successful, Tang would be in a position to do far more than punish the men who had turned the final years of his mother’s life into a living hell for them both. He would be in a position to correct a distortion in the global political structure that denied tens of millions the most basic necessities of life while in other parts of the world millions of tons of food rotted in storage and tens of billions of dollars of production capacity idled. By eliminating the inefficiencies resulting from inconvenient borders, the East Asian Federation would trigger an economic boom of epochal proportions, elevating the lives of tens of millions. In short, he would reshape the world to his vision. It was high time the position of humanity’s supreme ruler devolved to someone of intelligence and compassion, thought Tang with growing impatience. That larger objective had helped him keep his sanity by diverting his thoughts away from energy-sapping hatred, anger and worry, and toward more productive emotions. Tired of waiting for Kanov, Tang called room service and ordered dinner. He was inspecting an overpriced and apparently overdone filet mignon when the phone rang. It was Kanov’s female aide calling from the lobby to announce the General’s arrival. “Have him come right up,” said Tang, replacing the cover over the filet mignon and deciding he wasn’t hungry after all. A moment later he found himself facing a uniformed bear nearly his height but at least a hundred pounds heavier. The bearded face wasn’t what Tang had expected. It had the ruddiness of the Eskimos he had seen during a trip to Alaska. Kanov’s eyes were narrower, shrewder, more playful than imagined. Behind the general stood a fresh-faced blond wearing the uniform of a Russian army first lieutenant and two soldiers holding AK-47s hanging by leather straps slung over their shoulder boards. At a signal from Kanov, the soldiers positioned themselves on either side of the door while the blond followed the general in. “Mr X, is it now?” Kanov said, giving him a quick, hard embrace to go with an overpowering handshake. His English was heavily accented but better than most Americans would expect of a Russian general. “I am honored to meet you, General,” said Tang. He gestured toward the dining table. “I’ve ordered up a little food and wine. You must be hungry after the long flight.” “Thank you,” said Kanov, seating himself before the meal. He lifted the cover and smiled approvingly. “I ate on the plane but this I will eat too.” The aide quickly stepped forward and poured a glass of wine for Kanov and, using a spare water glass, for Tang. The two men toasted and Tang sipped from the glass while Kanov carved up a large piece of the filet mignon. Before it disappeared into his bearded cave, Tang saw that, indeed, it was far too overdone. Next time he ordered a steak in Russia, he would ask for rare, maybe extra rare. Kanov didn’t seem to mind, however. Several more pieces followed in rapid succession, to be quickly mauled by his large, surprisingly white teeth. “I assume you’ve given thought to my proposal,” Tang began. Kanov nodded and shoveled in another piece of shoe leather. Verbal responses from Kanov were unlikely, Tang decided, until the whole shoe had found its way into his imposing belly. Kanov washed down another mouthful by draining the cabernet from his wineglass. The aide quickly refilled it while Kanov resumed his assault on the rapidly diminishing steak. “We have commitments from the key parties,” said Tang. The whites of Kanov’s eyes flashed at Tang while another large wedge of meat disappeared into his mouth. Kanov glanced at his aide and made a little gesture with his left hand. She promptly picked up the phone and ordered up what sounded to Tang like a bottle of vodka. “Your participation would certainly magnify the potential reward for everyone involved,” said Tang, feeling himself giving in to his impatience. Impatience in negotiations, he well knew, was dangerous and counterproductive. But he was nearly out of time now. Kanov’s participation wasn’t essential, in his view. They could succeed without the advantages the Russian would bring. Kanov’s nuclear-armed Siberia would add military credibility and its vast resources would multiply the ultimate economic potential. Those benefits were somewhat offset, however, by the risks of an unpredictable response by a provoked Kremlin. Even with Siberia gone, Russia would control 3,000 nuclear warheads, many deployed from submarines, not to mention five hundred MiG-29s, five thousand T-75 tanks and an army of seven hundred thousand. The other danger of Kanov’s participation was the general’s own loose-cannon tendencies. No telling what ego-fueled demands he might make after they had crossed the Rubicon by declaring the birth of the East Asian Federation to an incredulous world. Kanov raised a thick finger to call for time out while he drained the wineglass. Then he picked up the napkin and scrupulously wiped his mouth and beard while eyeing Jack Tang with amused condescension. “Forgive me for saying, but without me,” Kanov said, “you are a few small pieces of land with one hundred Chinese nuclear missiles, maybe not so many. If I may say, without me you are a joke. Not a big joke, a small joke.” Kanov emitted a violent braying laugh that filled the air with shockwaves. Even after the braying subsided, Kanov’s eyes twinkled with amusement. Taking a softer, somewhat pedagogical tone, he said, “With me, you have more natural resources than any other nation on earth. You are a nuclear superpower. The US, Russia, China—they will be scared to touch you. They will send white-haired ambassadors to kiss your feet.” “What do you want?” Tang said bluntly. Coarse as he was, the general was immensely persuasive in his own way. His immense physical presence and energy lent power and credibility to what would have sounded foolish coming out of other lips. “Japan.” Tang wasn’t sure he had heard correctly but checked himself from showing his surprise. In truth, he had considered that the East Asian Federation would be in position to annex its wealthiest neighbor. But he had avoided mentioning that possibility to Kanov. But the man was a general, after all, used to considering the prospective profits from the exercise of military power. Jack Tang was forced to revise his grudging estimation of the big rude bear. “If your brilliant plan succeeds,” Kanov said, “United States will sit and pull her hair like old woman while we disarm Japan and declare it colony of East Asian Federation. With your permission, I will be governor general of Japan. I will enjoy that very much. Especially after what Japan has done to Russia, China and Korea. All our partners will enjoy that very much, eh? Our Mongol forefathers tried twice to conquer Japan—and failed both times. We will succeed. Those small clean Japanese women will make beautiful comfort women for our soldiers, eh?” Kanov’s prolonged braying was even louder than the last time, the shock waves sending little wavelets across the wine glasses. “Is Japan all you want?” said Tang coolly. “Yes, all I want is the world’s second biggest economy!” Kanov managed to strangle his hilarity to say. “With one hundred twenty-five million slaves with more money than Americans. I am a modest man with modest needs!” His braying was becoming hard on Tang’s ears. The general’s ruddiness, he now suspected, was the cumulative effect of a thousand tiny blood vessels bursting every time he laughed. In time Kanov’s laughter subsided into small happy moans and he used his napkin to wipe the tears that had formed at the outer corners of his eyes. The knock at the door was room service delivering a liter bottle of Stolichnaya. The blond aide poured a cup for her general and another for Tang. “To you, Jack Tang—if I may call you that now—a very amusing man,” Kanov said, raising his glass in a toast. He drained his glass and slammed it down for a refill. Tang had never been a fan of straight vodka but felt honor-bound to follow suit. While the glasses were being refilled, Kanov turned to Mr X with a serious face. “How sure are you of your technology?” “It’s foolproof,” Tang said calmly. “In three days the whole world will see the first practical demonstration. After that, we won’t need to see another one—unless some doubting Thomas forces us to offer more proof. It will be there in case we need it.” “For how long?” Kanov’s eyes had taken on a keen, skeptical edge that was almost frightening in its intensity. “How long before they can discover it and learn how to defeat it?” “It’s hard to say. In the worst-case scenario, it would take them at least three weeks. Knowing the level of personnel who will be asked to provide the solution, it would probably take them that long just to figure out what happened. Then, who know? Maybe even six months to implement a solution.” “Three weeks, eh?” Kanov said, his eyes softening perceptibly. “Three weeks is enough time, even to secure Japan.” “If all goes well,” Tang declared, “the East Asian Federation will be recognized as a new nuclear superpower within six days, eight or nine at most.” “You are an optimist,” Kanov declared with a stern demeanor which quickly dissolved into a broad grin. “As am I!” With that the general jumped to attention and presented Tang with a violent rendering of a Russian salute. “I salute the President of the East Asian Federation.” Melodramatic gestures generally left Tang cold, but the occasion seemed to call for some kind of gesture. Rising from his chair, Tang returned the salute. “I salute you, General Dimitri Pavlovich Kanov, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the East Asian Federation and Governor General of Japan.” Now that the negotiations had been satisfactorily concluded, the General’s expression and voice softened, taking on the more subdued aspect of practical concern. “We have much work to do, Mr President, and not many days.” “You’re right, General.” Tang sat back down, noting that only then did Kanov take his seat. “How quickly can you secure the support of your officers?” Kanov smiled and nodded. “I will call them all here by Monday. Every Russian officer dreams of avenging our shameful defeat in 1904. They will be happy when I promise them Japanese women, Japanese TVs and Japanese cars.” “Let’s hold off on the military details. We don’t want the CIA getting wind of our plan until it’s too late for them to do anything.” Kanov leaned back and jutted out his lower lip in skeptical thought. “But we must assure them of our ability to defeat American intervention. Without assurance, they may think I have had too much vodka.” “I assume everyone in Russia knows about the abduction of the First Lady of the United States,” said Tang evenly. It was his job to dispel from the mind of Kanov—and every other Federation partner—all doubts as to their ability to defeat the technological and human resources of the United States. Only then could they secure the support of their key people. “That was you?” said Kanov. The jut of his lower lip said he was impressed. “Very nice. But how will that assure us success?” “As a general, you know that military objectives are best won in the hearts and minds before any shots are fired. What could be a stronger endorsement for the East Asian Federation than to have its birth announced by the First Lady of the United States? Then to have her declare her support for the justness of our objectives? That will ensure that our cause is given full faith by our own peoples and by our potential adversaries. That will be followed by the practical military demonstration I mentioned. That should end all thoughts of interference.” “Forgive me if I am mistaken, Mr President, but wasn’t the First Lady abducted by force?” Kanov protested apologetically. “How can she declare her support for our cause—and be believed?” Tang gave a laugh that came out much louder than he had intended. Must be the vodka. Or maybe Kanov’s influence. “Your point is well taken, General, but is based on an incorrect premise. The First Lady was abducted, but not by the East Asian Federation.” Tang’s eyes locked Kanov’s meaningfully. Smiling, Tang lowered his voice. “Instead, the East Asian Federation will be her rescuer—and the First Lady will be suitably grateful, especially considering the heinous fate her captors had in store for her before her rescue. The American people will share fully in her gratitude. Her husband, the President, would find it very awkward, if not impossible, to make hostile moves against his wife’s rescuer. Not during a reelection campaign.” Kanov’s eyes widened in speechless amazement. Then came the explosion of his deafeningly loud braying laugh, making Tang momentarily regret having shared this bit of intelligence. The laugh lasted a good ten seconds and entailed several thumps of the dining table by Kanov’s beefy hand. “You are most brilliant man, Tang!” gasped the General. “Brilliant and amusing! Most worthy President of the East Asian Federation!” Kanov grabbed the Stoli bottle and filled Tang’s glass—something his female aide had discreetly stopped doing after sensing Tang’s difficulty with the stuff—then his own. Thus began a series of toasts that ended when Jack Tang passed out. The amused General Kanov carried his new President to the bedroom and tucked him in. Then he picked up the Stoli bottle and drained what remained directly into his throat before leaving the suite. Such an amusing man, this Jack Tang! And generous too, awarding him the world’s second biggest economy without batting an eye. General Kanov’s laughter filled the lobby of the Donghae Hotel as he led Sukorsky and the guards out into the cool evening air of Vladisvostok in search of other diversion.