Ham continued: ‘The General is worried that Beijing may have set a trap for him. He thinks all Chinese people are malicious and deceitful. But this is his big chance and he had to take it.’
‘Are you going to the capital?’
‘Yes.’
‘Stay in touch.’
‘Of course.’
They hung up.
The air-force jet did not have Wi-Fi for passengers, so Kai could not use his phone on the flight. That was something of a relief, he felt, as he sat back in his seat. He had done all he could for one day; he had achieved what he hoped for, and he was tired. He looked forward to spending the night in bed with Ting.
He closed his eyes.
CHAPTER 39
Kai was awakened by his phone as the plane came down over Beijing. He rubbed his eyes and took the call.
It was Jin Chin-hwa, who said: ‘North Korea has bombed Japan!’
For a moment Kai was completely bewildered. He even thought he might be dreaming. He said: ‘Who has? The rebels?’
‘No, the Supreme Leader.’
‘Japan? Why the fuck would he attack Japan?’
‘He hit three American bases.’
Suddenly Kai understood. This was retaliation. The missiles and bombers that had attacked North Korea today had come from American bases in Japan. As he felt his plane’s wheels hit the runway he said: ‘So the Supreme Leader did have some ballistic missiles left.’
‘He must have used the last six. Three were intercepted and three got through. There are three US air bases in Japan, and each one was hit: Kadena in Okinawa, Misawa on the mainland, and – worst of all – Yokata, which is actually in Tokyo, so there will be a lot of Japanese casualties.’
‘This is a catastrophe.’
‘President Chen is meeting with colleagues in the Situation Room. They’re expecting you.’
‘Okay. Call me with updates.’
‘Of course.’
Kai got off the plane and was led to his car. As it pulled away, Monk said: ‘Home, sir?’
‘No,’ said Kai. ‘Take me to Zhongnanhai.’
The rush hour was over and traffic was moving freely through the city. It was night, but Beijing had three hundred thousand street lights, Kai recalled.
Japan was a powerful enemy, but the worst of this news, he reflected, was that Japan had a long-standing military treaty with the US, according to which the US had to intervene when Japan was attacked. So the question was not merely how Japan would respond to the bombing, but what the Americans would do now.
And how would this affect the deal Kai had just done in Yeongjeo-dong?
He called Neil Davidson.
‘This is Neil.’
‘This is Kai.’
‘It’s a shitstorm, Kai.’
‘Something you need to know,’ Kai said, taking the plunge. ‘The regime of the Supreme Leader in North Korea will have ended by this time tomorrow.’
‘What – what makes you say that?’
‘We’re installing a new regime.’ This was aspiration reported as achievement. ‘Don’t ask me for details, please.’
‘I’m glad you let me know.’
‘I presume your President Green will be talking to Prime Minister Ishikawa about how Washington and Tokyo are going to respond to the bombing of US bases in Japan.’
‘Indeed.’
‘So now you can tell them they can leave it to China to eliminate the regime that launched those missiles.’
Kai did not expect Neil to consent to that. As he foresaw, the response was non-committal. ‘Good to know,’ the Texan said.
‘Just give us twenty-four hours. That’s all I ask.’
Neil continued to be carefully neutral. ‘I’ll pass that on.’
Kai could do no more. ‘Thanks,’ he said, and hung up.
He felt bothered by that conversation. It was not Neil’s studied neutrality, which was to be expected, but something else that made him uneasy. However, he could not immediately put his finger on it.
He phoned home. Ting answered, sounding worried. ‘You normally call me when you’re going to be this late.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Kai said. ‘I was in a place where I had no phone connectivity. Is everything all right?’
‘Except for dinner, yes.’
Kai sighed. ‘It’s good to hear your voice. And to know that someone worries about me when I don’t show up. It makes me feel loved.’
‘You are loved, you know that.’
‘I like to be reminded.’
‘Now you’ve made me wet. When will you be here?’