“On that note, the Supreme Court should rule on the legality of installing the same system in all of our airports and overseas terminals in the next month or so. The ACLU has put together quite a team of legal eagles with some convoluted thinking in presenting their argument. The liberals appointed to the Supreme Court by your predecessor tilted the Court towards their perspective, so that does not bode well for its favorable ruling.”

“I’m curious, Fred. In that same vein, do you have any idea how the Second Amendment case will turn out? Do you really think that the Supreme Court will rule that individual citizens in good standing do not have the right to own firearms? Will it become a privilege instead of a right in the eyes of the Court? If so, that might spark a civil war right here in River City.”

“Mr. President, I can’t say. One thing is for sure, with the news every night showing how the Chinese slaughtered millions of people who couldn’t defend themselves, that just might hammer some common sense into the Court, but no guarantees. Some of them think the United States will never change, or that we couldn’t be invaded because we have an ocean on each side of us. They refuse to recognize the invasion from the south, from Mexico especially, but tens of thousands from Central and South America as well, both legal and extra legal immigrants. It is a mess. Some of the eastern states have begun to falsify their criminal data the way the Brits have been doing for years, ever since they outlawed personal ownership of firearms of all types. They count ten burglaries on one block as one burglary. Ever since the raids from Mexico, everybody in the southwest is openly armed. I wouldn’t want to be any law officer or officer of the court that ordered those people to surrender their arms. That law would be unenforceable. That might even lead to some states attempting to secede. Wyoming’s Attorney General tells me that is being openly discussed in coffee shops across the state. Ditto for Montana and Idaho and both Dakotas.”

“All right, then; Marge, tell our African embassies personnel to be ready to depart at a moment’s notice. If the Chinese ships pass the 60th Meridian, they are going for Africa. We want our people out of there. Make sure there are no leaks to the press for the moment. General Shelton, plan for a military airlift for all our folks in Africa. On second thought, let’s evacuate all non-essential personnel now. Give the order, Marge.”

“The locals can get there a lot faster than we can. Call them. Have them get there as soon as possible, but not take any action other than guard whoever happens to be there. Have them dispatch an ambulance at the same time, just in case the guy is bleeding out or something. I’m on my way now.” Ed Wrangell hung up the phone. The operator had immediately relayed the tape recording to him. He grabbed his sport coat and headed for the garage. He turned on his lights and siren in his sedan and headed for Margarita Street in East L.A.

The ambulance crew was loading Chan into the ambulance when he arrived.

“How is he?” he asked of the EMT crew chief. “Oh, he’ll live all right, but they were pretty rough on him. He’s dehydrated as hell, and in a lot of pain, but he will recover. He’s got to be hurting real bad. We’re taking him to L.A. General unless you specify otherwise. They’re real good with these cases.”

“L.A. General is fine.” He turned to the uniformed sergeant standing adjacent to him. “Sergeant, the FBI has a very keen interest in this. Can you have a couple of your folks escort him there and keep him under wraps until we get squared away?”

The Sergeant, a twenty year street veteran, grinned, “Sure. We’ll babysit him for you until you feds get there. If you like, I’ll hold his hand all the way.”

“That won’t be necessary, Sergeant, but thanks.” Wrangell put in a call to have an FBI photographer and fingerprinting authority meet the ambulance at the hospital. Upon Chan’s arrival, the Emergency Department started an I.V. line, and after initial examination, the physician ordered a dose of intravenous Demerol for pain. They cleaned his face and propped him up so the FBI photographer and fingerprint expert could do their jobs. Wrangell then dug the business card of Jacobi out of his wallet, called him, and told him what transpired. He suggested Jacobi meet him in his office. Jacobi agreed to meet with pictures of Miguel Monzani and several of his lieutenants from their files. In Wrangell’s office, they exchanged photographs. Wrangell called the photographic section to have them duplicate the photos provided by Jacobi and provided Jacobi with photos of Chan and Gonzalez.

Chan was identified from the photos by Gonzalez and several of the prisoners being held by the FBI in a special containment facility in the basement of what was supposed to be a warehouse. None of them recognized the photographs of Miguel Monzani or his lieutenants. Ed Wrangell called Fred Gateway to let him know they had a Chinese agent who was involved in the cross border raids.

That evening, Bernardo was elected by the Caballeros as the new leader. Gomez was appointed a lieutenant. The following day, Bernardo notified the gang leaders of the adjacent territories that he had been elected and would like to meet with them. At that meeting, Bernardo made it quite clear that the only thing that changed was the individual occupying the leadership position. Encroachment upon their territory, operations, or other endeavors would result in violent reprisals. Peace had existed for several years to everyone’s satisfaction, and that should continue. The Council agreed.

Bernardo then called the local office of the Congressman for his district and requested an appointment when the Congressman was next in town. The nature of the meeting was to be discussion of support for the Congressman and La Reconquesta. When politicians and gangs unite, the gang becomes a private armed force for the politician, who in turn offers them political legitimacy. The gang metamorphoses into a quasi-political organization that begins to offer social services at the grass roots level. They constitute an ominous development for legitimate governments when they grow large and powerful.

Robert Wha Lee’s mail included a flyer for ‘luncheon specials’ from a Chinese restaurant. Lee carefully trimmed the coupon for one out and wrote ‘make it quick’ on it. The next day, he visited the restaurant for a late supper, and gave the coupon to the waiter, instructing him to be sure that Mao took care of him.

When his meal was served, a note was written in Mandarin on the paper liner of his tray. Lee pretended to casually read it as he ate. It was a simple set of instructions that he should call the restaurant pretending not to understand or be inebriated and to order an “Antonio’s Special Pizza” only in times of emergency. He would be met one hour later at the park bench in his neighborhood park. Lee finished his meal and left a generous tip. As soon as he stepped away from the table, his tray was whisked back to the kitchen. The note was fed into the stove.

Thirteen U.S. Treasury agents, one of which was Robert Wha Lee, and two FBI agents were hurriedly summoned to an emergency meeting. The two FBI agents were fully informed of the situation, but the Treasury agents were not. Nat Nash, head of Treasury’s Counterfeiting Division, began the briefing.

“We just received word that a shipment of counterfeit U.S. Federal Reserve Notes in twenty- and fifty-dollar denominations entered the port of Baltimore yesterday. As we speak, it is going through customs for shipment to here in Washington, D.C. for distribution. We have an agent following the shipping container which is allegedly full of electrical supplies from Taiwan. We will intercept the shipment at the electrical supply distribution company receiving the container. It is due here late tomorrow afternoon. We have about twenty-four hours. Lights down please, camera.” Nash pointed to the building projected on the screen as he assigned agents to cover the various entrances, where and how roads would be blocked, two ambulances that would be in the immediate vicinity for any casualties, and explained that it would be videotaped from an adjacent building which offered an excellent view of most of the operation. One Treasury Agent would be disguised as a taxi driver, another as a skid row bum. A van parked a block away would house a sound and film unit as well as three agents. At the appropriate moment, a helicopter from the FBI would be called on for possible support. A sniper was going to occupy the passenger’s seat. Nash introduced the two FBI agents, elaborating that an FBI Hostage Rescue Team would be standing by as backup should any innocent individuals be seized as hostages.

“Since a foreign government is likely involved, the presence of the FBI is indicated. Our fellow officers of the Bureau think the FBI Hostage Rescue Team might be necessary, and I agree that it is better to have them and hopefully not need them. This way, the operation is kept entirely in federal hands. The local law enforcement agencies will be informed of the operation only at the last minute, when the shipping container arrives at the warehouse. We will meet here at 10:00 hours to draw equipment and review plans and make any necessary changes. We will have flash and bang grenades and smoke grenades and masks for those of us in uniform. I don’t anticipate their use, but if necessary, we will deploy them. For those of you who will be very close to the building when it goes down, dress in the appropriate disguises according to your assignment. Everyone will be wearing communications equipment and a body vest regardless of assignment. The rest of us will be in highly visible lettered jackets. I know the vests and jackets are hot, but better to be sweaty than full of lead. Besides, no one will be close enough to see the earphones and mics until it is too late. Since I planned this, I’ll personally lead it. Don Livingstone will be Number 2 if I should catch a round early on. Don, you will lead the front door team while I take down the loading dock at the receiving area. It’s not all that big a building, with about twenty people usually inside. It shouldn’t be anything big at all. We want to question all suspects, so watch the firepower. Don’t hose down the place unless you have to. Many of the people inside are just ordinary employees, at least we think so. If there are no questions, let’s call it a day.”

In the park adjacent to his home, all but three of the park benches were being painted. Signs of fresh paint, do not use, were place on all four sides of each bench. Of the three not painted, a small microphone was taped to the underside of each. Each microphone had a different frequency and was voice activated.

That night, from a pay phone, Lee dialed the Chinese restaurant, and with a stutter, demanded Antonio’s Special Pizza. “I need that pizza now, not tomorrow night, I want my pizza,” he decried. “I’ll come now to collect it.” With that, he hung up and walked to the park with a newspaper under his arm. He sat on the appropriate bench and began to read. One block away, he was filmed by the FBI. The phone was tapped, and his pizza order and the number he dialed were recorded. One hour later, an elderly Chinese lady sat down on the bench next to him. Holding the newspaper over his face, he said, “There is to be a raid on the electrical supply house receiving the money tomorrow.”

“We know nothing of that. What are you talking about?”

“A team was assembled today to raid the electrical supply company tomorrow afternoon when a shipment of ten million counterfeit dollars arrives.”

“We know nothing of that. We are not involved in any counterfeiting operations. Our targets are political. I will, however, inform my superiors. They will know of such an arrangement and take the necessary precautions.” With that, the old lady left. The entire conversation was recorded. She proceeded to a phone booth from which she called a minor clerk in the Chinese embassy. She invited her friend to meet her for drinks in an hour at a small bar in Silver Springs, Maryland at 21:00 hours. When she left, the FBI collected the coins from the phone and lifted fingerprints from all of them. A dozen FBI technicians proceeded to the bar over the next three hours and planted microphones in various locations around the bar, in places they thought the two women would talk, such as in the booths. Between 20:00 and 21:00 hours, half a dozen agents of both sexes and several ethnic nationalities drifted into the bar.

Over Rob Roy drinks, the elderly lady informed the younger woman of her conversation with Robert Wha Lee earlier that day.

“There is no such shipment arriving tomorrow. We have no such warehouse or contacts at any such business. We do not receive any shipments of anything at that place. There is something seriously wrong here. It smells of a trap to me. I suggest you immediately get ahold of your contact and let him know that he might be in serious trouble. As soon as you finish your drink, leave. I will leave a little later.” One of the FBI agents was photographing the two women as they spoke with a tiny camera hidden in his attaché case.

Realizing that his apartment phone was probably tapped, the elderly lady ruled out a discussion of a possible trap over the phone lines. The only other way she could provide a timely warning was to stop by his apartment. That, too, she decided would be very risky, as it was undoubtedly under surveillance. Finally, she decided that the best way would be a simple phone call with the message, “Go see your Uncle Mao.” He should be smart enough to figure out that she meant immediately proceed to the Chinese embassy because you are in immediate danger. She stopped at another bar and made the phone call. Lee was home reading when the call came in. As soon as he said “Hello,” she said “Go see your Uncle Mao” twice, then hung up. Lee thought about it for a few minutes, then decided he should go for a walk. Perhaps he would be contacted as he walked.

As he walked, it dawned upon him that he should proceed to the Chinese embassy. He returned to his apartment and did a cursory search. He found a microphone behind a picture in the living room. He grabbed his coat and headed for his car in the parking lot. The FBI agent parked half a block away observed his movement, and radioed it to the command post. He followed Lee at a safe distance. Lee continually checked his mirror to see if he was being followed. The agent turned off after a mile, depending upon the transmitter in Lee’s car to keep him informed. Lee’s mind eased for a few minutes as he headed for the Chinese embassy. Then he considered that his car probably had a transmitter in it as well. The Officer-in-Charge at the command post following his route on the computer screen determined Lee was headed for the Chinese Embassy. The OIC scrambled two cars with agents, radioing to them their instructions to intercept Lee immediately in front of the entrance to the Embassy so that Lee would not be able to find asylum.

Lee checked his rearview mirror and recognized the car that followed him from the apartment building was again behind him. He drove right up to the entrance of the Embassy and started out, but two men dashed from two different cars towards him. Lee delivered a roundhouse kick to the head of one that immediately rendered the agent unconscious. The second blocked a wheel kick as two more agents entered the fight. Lee connected with a high punch that shattered the second agent’s jaw in three places. He went down. The third agent managed to deliver a solid body blow to Lee’s lowest rib that broke it. It caused Lee a moment’s hesitation from the pain. Lee delivered a low kick to the agent’s patella, dislocating it. He went down. One left to go, thought Wha. At that instant, a 180-grain bullet from the third agent’s Beretta in the .40 Smith & Wesson cartridge shattered Lee’s left femur. He collapsed to the pavement as the proximal end of the distal portion of the bone ripped through the muscle of his leg. He started to pull his own sidearm, but the agent who shot him placed his Beretta against Lee’s head and said, “If you pull it, you die.” Lee lay still as the agent removed Lee’s gun from the shoulder holster. The fourth agent rolled Lee onto his back and handcuffed him. The agent with the gun in hand handed his set of handcuffs to the standing agent and said, “You better cuff his ankles to keep him from crawling inside while you call for a couple of ambulances. This guy was really good. Jim is out, Dave is out, and I am in agony and can’t stand.” The fourth agent did just that, then called the command center with a request for two ambulances.

“Robert Wha Lee is in custody.”

The OIC at the Command Center immediately put in a call to Fred Gateway and informed him of what transpired.

Chapter 37

“Very good news, Mr. President; the boys at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, just informed me that, in conjunction with the Japanese, we have built two new, identical satellites and have tested them. They named them SUBDUED I and II. It stands for Submarine Detection, Underwater Electromagnetic Distortion. It is based on changes in the magnetic field a submarine creates when it is underwater. The salt water environment interacts with the steel or titanium outer hull, even if it is an anechoic design. The distortion is greatest when the sub is moving, but they can still detect it even when it is lying still. There’s enough distortion created by the chemical reaction between the salt water and the hull that it can be picked up from 125 miles up in space. We are planning to launch them, one here and one from Japan, next week. The Nipponese will use a rocket, while we will place ours in orbit from a shuttle mission. They will have two slightly different orbits, but they will both cover the southern Pacific, Indian Oceans and Arabian Sea.

“The two satellites will talk with one another, so to speak. This will allow an even greater detection and reporting capability. It is having two points of reference on the target. We have arranged a code from the two satellites that both we and the Japanese will monitor. Larry Corning and Diane Foster are the primary movers on this one. I must say, they are quite sharp people. By the way, a serious romance has budded between Dr. Foster and Fred Gateway’s head FBI agent on her protection team.”

What the DCI didn’t tell the President was that a phony code was also shared with each of the suspect members in the laboratory. A slightly different part of the code was modified in each case, so that each suspect was provided with a copy of the code containing a unique identifier. Only Dr. Fisher knew the real, complete code. With nanotechnology, the satellites would identify whichever incorrect code was beamed to them, and report it to DARPA. Not even the Japanese were aware of this imaginative trap.

“That’s very good news, Jim. I presume this technology and these satellites are aimed at detecting those air independent propulsion submarines we have all been so concerned about. Who else knows about this?”

“We’re keeping it limited on a need-to-know basis, Mr. President. There aren’t more than a dozen people in each country, outside the members at this table, and perhaps a similar table in Japan, who know about this capability. Other parts of the satellite were built independently; they are modular satellites and have to be completely assembled in order to function. These new detectors can be built in a matter of a couple of weeks. It is quite amazing. The circuits are actually built by bacteria in a complex web of connections. The satellites will be solar powered, but you can run them on a couple of D sized flashlight batteries as backup. We’ll keep you posted as launch preparations proceed, Mr. President, but right now we’re scheduling them for s shuttle and rocket launch one week from today.

“Other interesting news, Mr. President, is that the Chinese are sending one to three ships out of their harbors every twenty-four hours now. They are all steaming on the same course, or so it appears. They are headed for Malayan ports where they deliver a load of supplies, then pick up a battalion of Chinese troops. The first ships have made landfall on the East African coast, Mombassa, Kenya, to be specific. The troops are securing the ports right now. There is no opposition at all. Ed has more on this.”

Everybody looked at Ed McCluskey, DCI. He nodded a thank you to Jim Neville and picked up the thread of conversation. “The first two shiploads of troops took over warehouses and acted as stevedores, unloading supplies in Mombassa after they established strong defensive perimeters around them. It looks like it will be an extended operation. Initially, there was some minor combat, skirmishes really, as some of the natives attempted to pilfer the supplies. They were shot for their attempts. Trucks are part of the offloaded supplies. The troops on the next convoy of ships loaded the supplies in trucks and started for the interior. It seems there are slight deviations in the courses of the following convoys, going north and south, to Mogadishu in Somalia in the north, Tanga and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in the south. So, they are establishing four beach heads, roughly eight hundred miles apart by seacoast roads. It suggests that they plan to deliver roughly a battalion of infantry and logistical support every day to each of these three ports. They have a string of over thirty merchant ships now en route to Africa. Those catamarans are obviously built as ocean going fast freighters to deliver men and supplies for another invasion, this time, of Africa. Not a single ship has veered more than five degrees north of the equator, which supports that Mogadishu is their northern target port.

“This strongly suggests that they will drive westward from these three ports, probably with the Congo as their objective. Whether their final objective will be the Congo or the Atlantic coast, we don’t know at this point. Given their previous behavior, it wouldn’t surprise me if they drove completely across Africa, cutting off the entire southern portion of the continent.

“Another interesting development is that the Chinese are moving their regular armed forces off the coast, away from the Strait of Taiwan. We picked up on their movement twenty-four hours ago. They are headed west, but where they will stop, we don’t know. A couple of analysts suggested that they might take over the drive in the Central Asian Republics. It’s been eight months since the Chinese started moving, almost seven in the CARs. They have suffered tremendous losses but don’t seem concerned about the loss of so much manpower, several tens of millions of people. They are closing down on the tip of the Indian peninsula. We have no idea how many people they slaughtered there, or how many troops they still have. Certainly, radiation sickness, diseases, and combat casualties should have depleted their ranks to skeleton proportions.”

“Thoughts, ideas, people? What are they going to do with those troops they are moving away from the coast?”

Ms. Stearns thought for a moment, then looked around. Somewhat reluctantly, she said, “If they loaded those troops on ships from their eastern seaboard, it would be very easy for us to interpret them as an invasion fleet for Taiwan. If they shipped them elsewhere for boarding of ships, it would not raise anxiety here or in Taiwan. In fact, it should probably generate a feeling of relief. That means, it is either a massive diversion maneuver, or they are headed for conquered lands. They could replace the losses in India, the Malayan peninsula, or reinforce or relieve the forces fighting in the CARs. I don’t know how much progress they have made in the Central Asian Republics, but I suspect they have had their hands full with winter weather and guerilla warfare. India is almost conquered, so my guess would be garrison duty in India and Pakistan, or a spring offensive in the Asian Republics.”

“Why not fresh troops for the invasion of Africa, Ms. Stearns?” asked Ed McCluskey.

“That is quite possible, sir. Given the fact that they are taking battle hardened reserve troops that fought down the Malayan peninsula and using them for Africa suggests that they will do the same for troops that fought down the Indian peninsula. Fresh regular troops will be better used in garrison. They don’t seem to mind losing the reserves. From what I have been told, the reserves are only trained in small unit infantry tactics with no heavy weapons training or capability whereas the regulars are. They shouldn’t need troops trained in the use of heavy weapons to defeat the rabble of Africa. The Africans are three quarters starved to death, armed only with small arms, and absolutely riddled with AIDS. There are no trained armies there, only regional warlords ruling over essentially local tribal gangs of teenaged men and women. The Chinese have been supplying them with food and small arms for years to use against one another. They have killed each other off for the benefit of the Chinese. I’ll bet that the Chinese shut down the supply line several months ago. That would further weaken resistance. They wouldn’t waste well trained troops going into battle against such an enemy in such an environment as starving, AIDS and tropical disease ridden central and southern Africa. At least, it doesn’t make sense to me to do so.”

“We received communications from one of our people in Mombassa last night. He commented on how poorly nourished many of the Chinese soldiers looked. He said they looked like they suffered AIDS themselves.”

“My God,” said Roberta Stearns. “What if all of these Chinese reservists have AIDS? They are accomplishing massive world conquest, on two continents anyway, while they rid their nation of all their AIDS infected people, thus reducing the spread of the disease or perhaps even eliminating it, in their society. They are reducing their own population pressure, acquiring new lands for food production, destroying sources of economic competition from India and South Korea and competition for food from India and Pakistan, and acquiring new sources of raw materials, all at the same time. Do we have any data on how serious the AIDS problem is in China?”