Flags of Sin (28 page)

That
left ten.

All with
automatic weapons, who would pour down a rain of lead on them so thick they’d
be lucky to find enough pieces of them to ship back in a FedEx envelope.

It was
best to play along.

At least
for now.

The lieutenant
took the passport, examined it, then handed it back to Jimmy, but as he
approached, his eyes opened wide and he pulled his handgun from its holster,
shouting in Chinese, pointing at the back seat.

Jimmy
shook his hands gently, still gripping the passport as he put on a smile that
would have won him Miss Fort Bragg.

“It’s
okay, we’re taking him to the hospital. Can you help us get there quicker?
Perhaps an escort?”

The lieutenant,
his weapon drifting between the rear seat, Jimmy, and back, suddenly focused on
Jimmy, his eyes narrowing as he appeared to make a decision.

Oh
shit!

Dawson
wished they had kept some of those guns, but even then, the situation would
have been hopeless.

But
at least you’d have gone down fighting.

Endless
years, countless missions, and he’d always made it out alive. Sometimes it was
by the skin of his teeth, sometimes it was with a sucking chest wound, but he
always made it out. To die in China, as a bystander in a goddamned coup?

That
just wasn’t acceptable.

“Now.”

Jimmy
dropped his right foot hard on the accelerator, lifting the left foot from the
brake, his two foot driver technique saving him a precious half-second. The car
surged backward, shocking the lieutenant, who fired. Dawson ducked as the bullet
slammed into the windshield. There was a thud then the car bounced several
times and Dawson saw the two soldiers who had been behind them roll out from
the front of the car as if deposited by the tiny vehicle.

Gunfire
erupted and they all ducked when Jimmy cursed.

“What?”

“Look!”
he said, pointing behind them.

Dawson
looked forward first and saw the soldiers were all shooting at the sky as
opposed to at them. He spun around and saw two fighters racing down the road
directly toward them.

“Hope
that’s not for us!”

“Can’t
be, BD, why waste ordnance like those things are carrying on a civilian vehicle?”

A
missile dropped from the lead fighter’s wing, followed by a second, both
streaking toward them.

“I hope
you’re right!” yelled Dawson, his voice getting louder with each word as the
missiles neared.

“You and
me both, boss!”

The
missiles roared past, the jets not far behind, their cannons opening up, Dawson
and Jimmy both ducking, realizing the pilot would have no worries about wasting
bullets on them. Dawson spun around and felt a surge of hope as the two tanks
blocking their way took direct hits, blasting their hulls open, tossing them
back a dozen feet.

“Do you
see what I see?” he asked as Jimmy raised his head.

Jimmy
nodded and slammed the brakes on, then put the car in drive, hammering on the
gas. They surged forward, Jimmy jerking the car to the side, the street torn to
shreds by the cannons, their would be killers lying either dead, wounded, or
scattered. The car raced past the carnage, directly toward the flaming tanks.

“We’re
not going to fit!” yelled Dawson as one of the tanks spasmed forward, closing
the gap by several feet.

“We’ll
fit!” yelled Jimmy, still accelerating. The rattle of automatic weapons erupted
from behind them, and the rear window took several hits causing the girls to
scream and the Ambassador to moan. Dawson reached back with a hand and put it
reassuringly on Juan’s shoulder as the car raced toward the two flaming hulks,
one of them still partially operational, its engine engaged, jerking forward
inches at a time, sometimes feet.

“Hang
on!” yelled Jimmy as he aimed the car at the tank that was slightly farther
back, its partner slowly shuddering toward it. They blasted past the spasming
tank then Jimmy slammed on the brakes, spinning the wheel with one hand,
hauling on the emergency brake with the other. The car skidded sideways,
slamming into the rear tank, then Jimmy floored it again, releasing the hand
brake, and darted forward, the hull of the other tank mere inches from Dawson’s
door as they pulled clear.

“And the
letter of the day is effin’ A!” yelled Jimmy with a smile as the car turned a
corner, out of the line of fire.

Dawson
simply sat back in his seat, performing some tactical breathing to bring his
heart rate down. His eyes darted to a group of signs and he pointed.

“Hospital.”

Jimmy
nodded, cranking the wheel down the street indicated.

As they
did they both sucked in a breath as two choppers made a low pass overhead,
apparently not interested in them.

We’ve
gotta get off the streets.

North of the Forbidden City, Beijing, China

“You’re certain that’s the man you saw?”

It was
Inspector Li that asked the question, and Laura furiously nodded. “Absolutely.
And there was a Qing Dynasty flag on the wall behind him.”

“Qing?”
asked Niner.

“They
were the last of the emperors to rule China. Gold flag with a blue dragon,”
explained Acton. He turned to Laura. “You’re sure you saw
that
flag?”

“Absolutely.”

Niner
made an expression suggesting he found the thought ‘cool’, and put the car back
in gear with a motion from Spock.

“Where
are you going?” demanded Laura.

Spock
turned around to face them. “Away from here, Professor. We’re in the middle of
a war zone.”

“But we
need to stop this.”

“I’d
love to, and I’m open to suggestions how.”

Acton
frowned at the tone, but realized the pressure and frustration Spock must be
operating under, especially considering Laura’s demand.
How do we, five
people in a car, stop an army hell-bent on taking over?
And that wasn’t the
only thing that came to mind. He also wondered if they should. Should they
interfere in the natural course of a country’s development?

He
thought of the Arab Spring, and how the West was so eager to get involved,
especially in Egypt and Libya. Now what was the result? Most of the countries
that had successfully overthrown their secular dictators had fallen under
Islamist control, with Egypt even bringing in a new constitution so heavily
laden with Islamic philosophies, they risked becoming the next Iran.

I’d
hate to be a Christian in Egypt now.

And here
they were in China. A country slowly progressing politically, rapidly
progressing economically. Would this coup bring in greater freedoms for their
people? It might, but he doubted it. If someone was using the Qing Dynasty as
their reasoning, then most likely a megalomaniac was at the helm, with visions
of a throne and worshippers dancing through his head. And if his method of
takeover was to massacre thousands of innocent children, then one thing that
could be said with all honesty, was that the new regime was certainly no
better
than the old.

But
Inspector Li had apparently already made up his mind.

“The
professor is correct. We must stop this if we can.”

“And
again I ask how?”

“We need
to find the headquarters we escaped from. If we can find that, then we can stop
them,” said Laura.

Spock
nodded, and Acton could see the wheels turning through the thoughtful eyes.

“Where
is it?” he asked.

“It
moved.” Laura sighed. “I don’t know where to. When we escaped, we had to jump
out of the back because they were repositioning.”

Something
flashed in Acton’s mind, a memory of something he had noticed on their rush
here.

“What’s
it look like?” he asked.

“Like a
huge semi-trailer, armored, camouflaged, with a bunch of antennae and satellite
dishes on the roof,” replied Laura.

Acton’s
heart pounded a little faster as the description matched up with what he was
remembering.

“I’ve
seen that!” he exclaimed. “On our way here, we drove right past it!”

This had
Spock turning in his seat to face him.

“Where?”

“I don’t
know Beijing, I just know we passed a parking lot, and the vehicle Laura
described was there, with a bunch of other military vehicles. I thought it was
some sort of staging area.”

“Was it
before or after the road block we avoided?”

Acton
had to think about that for a moment.

“After,
just
after as a matter of fact. You had pulled the u-ey, and we had just turned onto
a side street, parallel to the main road that was blocked. Niner called in a
sit rep.”

“I know
exactly where that is,” said Niner, pressing down on the accelerator a little
harder. “We’ll be there in less than five minutes.”

Li
leaned forward. “How do you know Beijing so well?”

Spock
and Niner exchanged glances.

“As part
of our embassy training, we’re required to familiarize ourselves with each city
we visit.”

“Uh
huh.” Li leaned back in his seat, apparently unconvinced.

They
drove in silence for several minutes, everyone just catching their breath for
the action yet to come. Spock pointed ahead.

“Slow
down, I think we’re coming up on it. We’ll cover the last bit on foot.”

Niner
nodded, easing off the gas then pulling into an empty parking spot. They all
climbed out, probably making a none too innocent looking group, all of them
disheveled in some way. As they quickly walked down the street, toward the
presumed location of the headquarters coordinating this insanity, Acton tried
to straighten his hair with his fingers.

Laura
took him by the arm and shook her head.

“Don’t
bother, Dear, it’s hopeless.”

He
smiled as he brushed the matted hair from her face, then looked ahead at a gap
between two tall apartment buildings, realizing they must be almost there.

I
hope it didn’t move again.

Bo Yang’s Mobile Headquarters, Beijing, China

The crack of gunshots brought the room to a halt. Bo didn’t react,
he already expecting what had just happened. And the fact there was no
additional shouting or shots, pretty much confirmed it. The door to the control
room opened, and General Liang entered, holstering his weapon.

“The
traitor is dead,” he said matter-of-factly. “But we have a problem.”

“What?”

“He
hedged his bets.”

“Meaning?”

“He
played us and them. He had his air units from Qionglai dispatched on a training
exercise, flying Combat Air Patrols near the city, fully armed, as soon as our
operation started.”

Bo could
feel himself turning red with anger. He let go the breath he was holding with a
burst, trying to ease the death grip he had on his palms.

“What do
you mean?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Before
I shot him he said he wanted them in place in case things went wrong, then they
could be ordered in by the regime, and if they prevailed, he would look like
the hero. If we prevailed, he would claim it wasn’t him who gave the order.
Either way he’d come out a winner.”

“And you
showed him otherwise.”

Liang
shrugged.

“He got
what he deserved as a traitor.”

“Some
would call us traitors,” muttered Bo.

Liang
shook his head and strode to the head of the room.

“No, we
are patriots. We are doing this not for ourselves, but for our country, to make
it strong again, under one man.
You
. And with one man in power,
unanswerable to those who have only their own interests at heart, China will be
even greater than it is now. The world will tremble at the roar of the dragon
once more!” He stretched out his arms, encompassing all that were sitting at
their terminals, monitoring the situation. “Who do we serve?” he yelled.

“Bo! Bo!
Bo!” they all responded in rapid unison.

Liang
smiled as he walked back to Bo’s desk.

“We
serve
you
.
You
who would make us strong again.” He sighed. “But,
our traitor’s actions have caused a problem. We
will
lose air
superiority very shortly.”

Bo
nodded.

What
else can go wrong?

“Sir!”

“What is
it?” demanded Liang.

But the
subordinate didn’t reply, his expression suggesting he was too terrified to
speak the words. Instead, he handed a report to his General.

“What?
That’s impossible!”

“What?”
asked Bo, preparing himself for more bad news.

“Our
units at the Zhongnanhai Complex
are reporting that they are already
being engaged by the 32
^nd
!”

“What?”
exploded Bo, smashing his fist into the keyboard in front of him, snapping it
in half. “Send in everything we have! We
must
have control of that
complex or all is lost!”

Outside Bo Yang’s Mobile Headquarters, Beijing, China

“Something’s happening.”

It was
Inspector Li who broke the silence with his whispered observation. Engines were
firing up, and the several hundred troops who were idle a moment before, were
rushing toward their vehicles. Tanks, troop carriers and what Acton would
describe as jeep-type vehicles began to roll from the large parking lot that
had indeed been a staging area as Acton had originally thought.

A
staging area that protected the mobile headquarters containing Bo Yang with so
many troops, any type of attack by a five person squad would be useless. Li had
already phoned his boss on Niner’s satellite phone, a Superintendent Hong,
giving him the location, but they had no idea when help might arrive, if ever.