It occurred to Kai that the little blonde woman behind the big desk looked more formidable, right now, than any leader he had ever seen.
‘As I speak to you, we are launching non-nuclear missiles and bombs at every military and government target under the control of Pyongyang.’
‘Non-nuclear,’ Kai repeated. ‘Thank heaven and earth.’
‘In addition, our bomber pilots are scrambling, ready to follow the missiles and ensure that the targets are completely destroyed.’
‘Missiles and bombs, but no nukes,’ said Kai. ‘Someone get the radar feed and satellite views and put both up on our screens.’
President Green said: ‘Within the next few hours, the man who calls himself Supreme Leader will totally lose any ability to attack the United States. We will leave him utterly powerless.’
Kai took out his phone and dialled Neil Davidson’s personal number. The call went straight to voicemail, as Kai had expected: Neil would want to watch the president uninterrupted. But Kai wanted to be the first person he called after the broadcast. In the next few minutes Neil would receive a diplomatic briefing from the State Department that would enlarge on Pauline Green’s message and answer some of the questions bubbling up in Kai’s mind. He waited for the beep and said: ‘This is Kai, watching your president. Call me.’ He hung up.
‘The decision to attack is momentous,’ Pauline was saying. ‘I have always hoped I would never have to make it. I have not chosen this course emotionally, nor in a heated desire for revenge. I’ve discussed it coolly and calmly with my Cabinet, and we are unanimous in thinking this is the only viable option open to the United States as a free independent people.’
A screen on the wall came to life showing a radar picture superimposed on a map. Kai was puzzled, not sure what he was seeing. The missiles seemed to be beyond South Korea, miles away over the sea.
Yang Yong, who was quick to decipher this kind of visual information, muttered: ‘How the fuck many missiles is that?’
Kai said: ‘I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure the Americans don’t have that many missiles in South Korea, not after the last few days.’
‘No, these aren’t coming from South Korea,’ Yang said confidently. ‘In fact, I think they’re originating in Japan.’ The US had bases in mainland Japan and on the islands of Okinawa, and could launch cruise missiles from its ships and aircraft there. Yang added: ‘So many!’
Kai recalled that the US had giant submarines that could each carry more than one hundred and fifty Tomahawk missiles. He said: ‘This is what happens when you pick a fight with the richest country in the world.’
Jin Chin-hwa, the head of the Korea desk, was looking at his laptop. ‘Listen to this,’ he said. ‘A Chinese freighter discharging a cargo of rice in the North Korean port of Nampo has just sent us a message.’
Every Chinese vessel, including commercial ships, had at least one crew member whose duty it was to report anything important they saw. They sent messages to what they thought was the Maritime Intelligence Center in the port of Shenzhen but was, in fact, the Guoanbu.
Jin went on: ‘They say that an American destroyer, the USS Morgan, sailed to the mouth of the Taedong River and fired a cruise missile that hit and sank a vessel of the North Korean navy right before their eyes.’
Zhou Meiling, the young woman Internet expert, said: ‘Already!’
Kai said: ‘The president wasn’t kidding. She’s going to annihilate North Korea’s military.’
‘That’s not what she said,’ Yang Yong said pedantically. ‘Not exactly.’
Kai turned to him. Yang did not speak out as often as the younger officers, who were always trying to show how bright they were. Kai said: ‘What do you mean?’
‘She never said she was attacking North Korea, always Pyongyang, and once the Supreme Leader.’
Kai had not noticed that detail. ‘Well spotted,’ he said. ‘It may mean she’s leaving the rebel ultras alone.’
‘Or simply keeping that option open for the moment.’
‘I’ll try to find out when I talk to the CIA.’
The president’s broadcast came to an end without further revelations. A few minutes later Kai was summoned to Zhongnanhai for an emergency meeting of the Foreign Affairs Commission. He notified Monk, grabbed his coat, and left the building.
He foresaw that, as the group debated the Chinese response to the American attack, they would split into hawks and doves, as usual. Kai would be searching for a compromise that would enable China to save face without starting World War Three.