Battlefield 4: Countdown to War Page 21

  ‘You don’t shut up, do you? Maybe you will when you understand what’s happening.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, the old walk the plank routine. Thought you’d be bored with that by now, but maybe you don’t have the imagination to think of anything new.’

  Kovic reasoned that if he was going to go, he wasn’t going to give Tsu the satisfaction of seeing any flicker of fear. He continued in Mandarin for the benefit of his men.

  ‘No wonder you were such a reject at high school. Is it true that your dick is as thin as a pencil? Is that why all the girls laughed at you? ’

  Kovic saw a couple of the guards exchange astonished glances, trying not to laugh. His hands were still shackled, about thirty inches of chain connecting the metal cuff s, with a similar arrangement around his ankles. All the time he kept his hand pressed over the cuff on his wrist, wary that the blade might drop through. He needed Tsu to come close again so he could use it.

  The guards were filing into the helicopter as the pilot started the engines. He could see Qi, the top of his head just visible over the parapet on the south side. Beside him was Wu, half hidden behind the gun-sight. Kovic shook his head. Even with his level of marks-manship, it was too risky a shot and doubly disastrous if he missed and alerted Tsu to their presence.

  ‘Up the stairs. Get on with it.’

  Kovic refused to move.

  ‘Is it true you are so sexually perverted you can only do it with a chicken? ’ To this Kovic added a stream of orgiastic clucking.

  Tsu came forward, grabbed him by the chains and hauled him up the steps. A stiff wind was blowing from the east and Kovic felt it tug at his clothing. Tsu prodded him forward.

  ‘I’m through with you, Kovic.’

  ‘Just as I thought we were beginning to get along.’

  Tsu kicked him hard and Kovic fell against the planks. He was beyond the edge of the parapet now, nothing beneath him except a few thousand metres of crisp mountain air. Tsu pulled him back up on to his feet. Kovic worked at the blade furiously, but it was jammed in the metal band. It was now or never. Below, some wisps of low cloud hung damply, waiting to receive him. Suddenly, the blade came free, too fast for him to catch it. He watched in despair as it pinged off the granite wall and flew downwards, glinting in the sun.

  It was gone.

  Tsu, surprised, looked down – and Kovic saw another chance. He yanked his fists upward so the metal cuff s hit Tsu under the chin. Then he pushed forward with all the strength that his exploded feet would allow so that they both fell. He didn’t care if they both went over; at least he would be sure of finishing the job. But they didn’t. Tsu landed on the stone of the parapet, Kovic on top of him. Tsu writhed and struggled to free himself. He was in much better shape than Kovic after his night of torture and was soon on top, bearing down, trying to press his thumbs into Kovic’s eyes. Kovic tried to fight him off , but his movements were limited by the metal cuff s. Then he saw one last opportunity, stretched his arms out and raised them as high as he could. He couldn’t see any more, he could feel thumbnails almost piercing his eyelids. As Tsu pressed down, Kovic swung the chain so it wrapped around Tsu’s neck and with what strength he had left he crossed his fists and kicked out at the same time. Tsu was now half off the parapet, his arms flailing. Kovic could hear someone coming up the steps.

  ‘Take out the chopper!’ he yelled, in the hope that Qi would pick up the order and pass it on to Wu. For a second nothing happened. Only Wu had the marksman’s skill and knowledge of the right place to hit an aircraft. Then it came – the shot – followed by a massive blast as the machine’s fuel tank erupted. The rush of air nearly sent them both over the edge. But it was Tsu who slipped. He scrabbled desperately to get some purchase on the stone. Kovic kicked out again and Tsu’s weight dropped. Now he was suspended by the chain, his own weight tightening it around his neck. His body twitched and jerked, his fingers scratching at the chain and his legs flailing, but there was nothing he could do. All Kovic had to do was hold on just long enough.

  ‘This is for Olsen and all the others.’ Kovic gave the chain an extra tug. ‘And for Louise.’

  Tsu’s tongue hung out of his mouth like it was trying to escape. His eyes bulged in dismay. He was trying to speak but Kovic didn’t care. He had heard enough.

  Gradually Tsu’s strength ebbed away and his body hung limp. Kovic couldn’t hold on much longer. It would be too cruel if Tsu’s dead weight carried him over. Wu was running towards him along the parapet.

  ‘Get me out of here!’

  He stopped, twenty metres away. ‘Head down.’

  Kovic turned and Wu fired. The explosion stunned him, but the bullet did the job. The chain sprang apart and Kovic looked up in time to see Tsu’s corpse smash into the wall and then bounce out again and fall down and down and down, head twirling over heels until it was engulfed by the clouds.

  47

  Fudan Road, Shanghai

  There was no one else to tell. Hannah didn’t spare her father any details and after she had finished, he sat in silence processing what he had heard. They were in his study, surrounded by memorabilia: photos of him with Mao, Deng, his staff , and his medals. His patriotism was undimmed by the years in exile. He was the one she measured herself against, his stoicism and forbearance she tried to live up to, but lately she had started to question whether those fine values were relevant to her now – especially today.

  ‘I’m sorry I had to burden you with this. And I hope you will understand I had no alternative.’

  She was braced for his reaction. She knew that as an exemplary Communist he had always cherished the sanctity of the state and respected its authority, despite the past. How would he respond? Surely he would accept it was self-defence, though she was under no illusion that she would have a hard time convincing a court of that.

  To her surprise, the old general’s mouth curved into a small smile. He wiped a strand of silvery hair from his brow.

  ‘Your method of dispatch shows great ingenuity, I will say that for you. And the fact that he was in the act of ingesting an illegal substance does leave his reputation somewhat compromised.’ Then the smile vanished. ‘But I’ve always warned you, dearest Shuyi, your impetuousness would land you in trouble.’

  She let out a long silent sigh. How many times had she heard this before?

  ‘Of course, I will make some inquiries and see to it that you are not implicated. The chances are that the powers that be will wish this sorry incident to be hushed up. Such an ignominious demise does nothing to help the reputation of the MSS.’ He let out a small hoarse laugh. ‘And based on what you’ve told me it sounds like he could have – slipped.’

  Then his brow furrowed again. ‘For the time being you must take great care not to upset anyone. Further unusual acts could focus suspicion on you and cause people to suspect you. As we used to say, keep the peak of your cap pulled down and your eyes low.’

  ‘But how can I, knowing what I know?’

  She had told him about the bomb in the square and the call-to-action text.

  ‘Really, my dear, it could have been from a friend in the Navy Ministry to that poor boy.’

  ‘It’s an official internal Chinese Navy number and the text was broadcast to over two thousand people!’

  He wasn’t hearing her. The fate of the Director of the MSS was one thing, but he wouldn’t hear of the navy’s good name being brought into disrepute. It was one thing to have exposed a single bad apple at the MSS, but his respect for the armed forces, as for all state institutions, remained inviolable.

  ‘My advice is to let that lie. Especially in these times of heightened tension with foreign elements.’ He tapped the chair arm with a gnarled finger. ‘And also with the return of your friend Jin Jié—’ He shook his head as if the mere thought of him was distasteful. ‘You don’t want any – how shall I put it – repercussions from your association with him.’

  He wrapped his gown around him and stood.

  ‘I must ret
urn to bed. You get some sleep, my child, and we’ll talk about it some more in the morning. I’m sure it will all look a bit diff erent by then.’

  He stooped to kiss her on the forehead and walked slowly out of the room. She watched him go. All her life she had looked up to him as the fount of all wisdom. Now he seemed deaf to her, deaf to what was happening in his beloved China.

  She went to her old room and lay down on the bed. But what exactly was happening? The sight of young people dead and horribly wounded . . . It was as if the country was unravelling and she didn’t know why. Then a horrible thought occurred to her. The Director had been deaf to her concerns, just like her father. Were they all in denial? Why?

  She thought again about Kovic. She hadn’t breathed a word about him. Turning him loose was a classic example of what her father called her impetuousness. Anyway, it didn’t much matter now. He had ignored all her texts. She would be surprised if she ever heard from him again. Maybe it didn’t matter now. Her own future was in jeopardy. She took out her phone. She needed to call Jin Jié and see that he was safe. Then she saw all the missed calls and the text.

  For fuck’s sake call.

  It was from Kovic.

  48

  USS Valkyrie, South China Sea

  Garrison stared out at the vast, jet-black expanse. It was a strange thing to do, to spend months away from home, trapped on a gigantic floating metal city, surrounded only by sea and sky. Not for the first time, he was asking himself what made him do it when the personal price had been so high. Sure, he wanted to serve his country – to be a role model, even a hero. But the eff ect on his own life had been a cruel reversal of that dream. He knew what it had done to his marriage. As for his son . . . Tommy had said that he had followed him into the navy to get closer to him: his exact words. He was killed in Afghanistan at nineteen. And Marcy had never explicitly blamed him but it was there in her eyes. The deaths of Olsen and his team and then the conversation with Kovic had brought back memories of that terrible day. And now Kovic was back on the satphone, with more crazy stories.

  Only this time something was diff erent. Against his better judgement, he found himself believing every word.

  Garrison had met Admiral Chang Wei only twice; once on the first Sino–American joint manoeuvres, a pointless exercise that had nothing whatsoever to do with naval matters and everything to do with politics. There, he had been respectful but aloof, barely able to hide his disdain for the whole venture. The second time was more purposeful, to flesh out the strategy for their anti-piracy campaign here in the South China Sea. Then, Garrison had noted a disturbing change in the man, as if his arrogance, barely restrained before, had burst out and taken charge. His opposition to the mere idea of the US policing waters so close to China was something he made no secret of. There were many orders Garrison had had to follow regardless of what he thought of them, but that was all part of military life. Without obedience the whole proposition was blown. Chang had done his part, gone through the motions of cooperation, but all the time Garrison couldn’t get it out of his mind that there was another agenda driving him. And although the sea looked empty from the command bridge, he knew damn well that over the horizon the Chinese Navy – Chang’s fleet – was watching his every move, just as he was watching theirs. Something about the way Chang was positioning his fleet bothered him. And then there was the unrest in Shanghai. Two separate things – until Kovic put them together.

  ‘You still there, sir?’

  ‘I was thinking.’

  ‘Are you aware of the implications of this, sir?’ There was an impatience in Kovic’s tone.

  ‘Naturally I am. You sound like hell, Kovic. You looking for exfil?’

  ‘Negative, sir, attractive as that sounds. There’s more to be done here.’

  ‘So what is it you want me to do?’

  ‘Raise the alarm about Chang with the Pentagon.’

  ‘You briefing your people – Cutler?’

  ‘Not till I’m back in Shanghai. I want to do that face to face. It’s going to be difficult for him, accepting the idea that he was set up by Chang. When you speak to the Pentagon don’t use me as the source. It will be dismissed as ass-covering.’

  ‘How you gonna get off that mountain?’

  ‘I’m working on that now, sir.’

  Garrison thought he could hear gunfire in the background.

  ‘You under attack?’

  ‘Kind of.’

  ‘You better watch out, Kovic. If what you’re saying has any substance, any substance at all—’

  ‘Absolutely, sir, will do.’

  And with that he was gone.

  49

  Huangshan Mountains

  Kovic dropped the satphone into his pack. A second later, the cable car jolted to a halt.

  ‘Fan-fucking-tastic.’

  At least this time he wasn’t to blame. The auxiliary battery power was Zhou’s discovery; it kept the cable car going if the mains electricity was cut, which thanks to Qi it was. He had blacked out the whole complex, plunging all the subterranean rooms into darkness. And for good measure he had also jammed their backup systems. The whole mountaintop was literally powerless. The cable car was the only moving part left – until now.

  The helicopter explosion had taken out a substantial number of Tsu’s men and distracted many more. The survivors, thinking there was more to come, had taken cover underground, which gave Kovic and his crew some time to organise their escape with only limited resistance. And as Zhou had also managed to disable the security system, all but a few stragglers were locked in. Kovic was delighted. His team had all come good. But now they were suspended on a tiny platform, a thousand feet from the ground, unable to move.

  Eventually Wu spoke up.

  ‘So, what we gonna do?’

  There was a definite change of tone towards their leader. Just the state of him saw to that. Every part of his body whipped, beaten or slashed. The soles of his feet were now huge scabs from being flogged, and he had lost a couple of teeth when Tsu smashed him over the face with the Glock. He glanced sideways, causing a new increment of pain to shoot across his jaw.

  ‘See that rope?’

  A large coil of cord was tethered to the side of the platform cage, quite long, but almost certainly not long enough. He tried to infuse his voice with optimism.

  ‘Do a quick measurement; see if it reaches ground level. If it does, we fast-rope down.’

  ‘Without gloves?’

  ‘We’ll use our clothing.’

  The others tried not to look too obviously at the rags he had left.

  ‘And if it doesn’t reach the ground?’

  ‘The tree canopy down there’s quite thick. We fast-rope – and pray.’

  Wu went first, as he was the only one of them who had been trained to do this. Zhou, whose head for heights had been severely tested on this mission, followed. Whatever misgivings he had, he kept them to himself.

  ‘It’s like this. Either you try or I’m gonna have to leave you behind and you can hope someone switches the power back on, but I wouldn’t fancy your chances after that.’

  Qi took his time, knowing there was no alternative but unable to bring himself to commit to the rope. His face was streaked with fear and sweat but this was no time for pity, in fact there was no time for anything. In the end he made quite a good job of it, trapping the rope between his feet, benefitting from his low body weight. Kovic watched him disappear into the foliage. Like the captain of a ship, he insisted on going last.

  Then he bound his hands with strips of what was left of his shirt, and was preparing to go when something knocked him on the head. Whatever it was floored him, and he lost consciousness for at least a minute. A bullet must have grazed him because when he came to, blood was oozing down his forehead into his eyes. But the car had lurched forward. The power was back on. He was going up, not down, and someone was shooting at him.

  Another shot twanged off the cage. Kovic had to get off the cable c
ar – now. Already it had ascended at least five hundred feet. He had survived to this point, and there was no way he was going back up the mountain. There was nothing else for it. He gripped the rope and kicked out. The rope immediately chewed through the makeshift bindings on his hands and his feet failed to get a proper purchase on the cord. He was falling, falling, the air around him soothing, cooling his wounds, even as the rope burned his hands. Another shot zinged past him as he hurtled towards the tree canopy. After that he blacked out again.

  50

  Always in the right place at the wrong time.

  It had been said about him more than once. In Lebanon, searching the room next door to the one that was booby-trapped; in Iraq, in the seat behind the Humvee driver who took the bullet; in Afghanistan, in the one part of the base where the suicide bomber’s blast didn’t reach.

  And now, after losing his grip, freefalling towards the earth and crashing through a network of branches, he had splashed down harmlessly, in a deep narrow lake. If he was religious he could have said it was God’s work, giving him a break after the night’s indignities.

  He was wet and winded, but unmarked by the fall. He looked around at the tranquil woodland scene, an unspoiled pocket of the world not yet desecrated by man. Maybe someone was on his side after all. He was filled with euphoria. He had gone up the impossible mountain and come back down in one piece, having done what he set out to do. And the water cooled all his injuries wonderfully. But as he swam to the edge of the pool he knew that there was no time to waste, that events were gathering pace. Tsu had been thwarted, but Chang was unstoppable. The whole world order was under threat.

  From his backpack he took out the satphone. He prayed to God, if he was there, that it still worked.

  51

  MSS HQ, Shanghai

  Hannah moved swiftly through the subterranean corridors of the Golfball. More than ever, she felt like a stranger, an interloper. People stared at her. She was used to that, being one of so few women in the Ministry, but there was also the damage to her face from the bomb, which she had made no eff ort to cover up. She wanted people to know that she had been there and took some grim pride in the fact that unlike the rest of them she had first-hand experience of what was going on. So far no one was talking about the Director. That was expected. The shameful circumstances of his demise would already be a closely guarded secret. But how long did she have? No one had seen what she had done, but his guards had been close by, had known she was in the room. There would be questions. And even if they couldn’t prove it, she, an American-educated woman, in this time of paranoia, would make a perfect scapegoat. But all of this was blotted from her mind by what she was hearing now, the phone pressed to her ear as she headed for the parking garage. Surely Kovic had got it wrong.