Now it was time to see if they would survive getting out of China. General Allen looked at his watch. It was exactly midnight China time, and the sky was still clear. The general looked back to see tears in Mrs. Wang’s eyes.

“Why are you crying?” he asked her.

“Because those people killed so many, many others, and that makes me sad,” she replied.

*****

The chairman and his 15 comrades had watched the lone 747-400ER aircraft take off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport with much fanfare at 9:00am that morning. There was a military band playing, the Red Guards stood at attention and faced the departing aircraft, and at the moment the chairman felt like it was all coming together. There was nothing that could stop him now.

Comrade Feng, back on the 29th floor of the Zedong Electronics building was not too sure. He was the most senior man in the building now, his superiors were at sea and he was now in charge of relaying all information.

He had tried Comrade Wang’s phone and twice now, Wang hadn’t answered it. He also had the chairman’s satellite phone number, but if he called the chairman, and he was in a bad mood, the chances were that he would be in extremely deep trouble. Nobody phoned the chairman for just any insignificant reason.

It was 4:00 in the afternoon when he saw several transponder reports over the sea around Japan and Korea for the second time. He had been scanning the screens since he had seen three transponders in the middle of the vast ocean, miles from anywhere several hours earlier. Where were they were coming from? He could only surmise that they were Chinese or North Korean aircraft checking out something. There was no other air force that could fly aircraft into that area. The first transponder distance had even been too far for Chinese aircraft to reach without in-flight refueling. They had to be North Korean.

The second one confirmed his thoughts, because this time they flew close to South Korea and were only 50 or so miles offshore. His orders were to tell Comrade Wang about any transponder movements anywhere, and for the third time he called Wang’s number.

Comrade Mo Wang was sitting in the bus after a leisurely lunch in downtown Shanghai, about to arrive at the docks for the second time that day to board the ships. The flotilla of ten ships was due to leave Shanghai harbor at 6:00, an hour from then.

His cell phone buzzed for a second and then stopped. It had done this a couple of times that afternoon, and this time he had a chance to take it out of his pocket. He looked at the screen and was surprised to see that the weirdly lit up screen had nothing but dashes across it—not what he had expected. “It must have been damaged when I dropped it,” he thought to himself, as the bus pulled up to the wharf next to the aircraft carrier towering up above them and blocking out the sun. He would have to wait until he got to his room before he could get the spare phone out of his luggage.

He didn’t have time, however, because just then the chairman told all the men that there would be drinks and celebration as the ships left Shanghai and he expected all of them to be with him as they began their journey to invade and capture the other half of the world.

They entered the carrier through a large cargo door in its side and the captain of the ship escorted them up several flights of stairs to the flight deck. They followed the uniformed men, impeccability dressed in navy white, as they walked across the outside flight deck where several fighters were standing. They walked past them across the wide runway and over to the port side of the ship. It was so high that they felt as if they were on the roof of a massive building.

The view of Shanghai and the harbor was fantastic once the group reached the port side. They could hear orders being shouted and the grinding of steel chains, as well as new rumblings beneath their feet. It was an hour yet before darkness would creep into the area, and the sun was just getting low over the buildings of the city.

“Isn’t it a wonderful feeling to be so high and know that the whole world is at your feet, Comrade Wang?” the chairman asked Wang. Wang hadn’t noticed that the chairman had sidled up to him, as he had been deep in thought. “I get the sense that something is troubling you, Comrade.”

“Something does not feel right, you are correct in sensing my feelings, Comrade Chairman,” replied Wang. “I’ve have this knot in my stomach for a day or two now that something out there is not as it seems. I should have had more phone calls from my men telling me of great victories, but I get somebody different on the phone every time I call. I know this young man Bo Lee Tang, he is a good man and dependable, but I cannot get over the sound of his voice. It didn’t sound like him, yet he could prove everything I asked him, to make sure it actually was him, and not an imposter. Comrade Deng should have called twice today, but I haven’t gotten a call. The squads clearing the runway in New York were meant to contact me directly, as well as contacting Comrade Fung back at headquarters. Yet, I do not receive a phone call but Comrade Feng does. Comrade Chairman, these are our elite troops. It is part of their training to do as ordered.”

“I understand your need for discipline and information at all times. That is the making of a great leader,” replied Chairman Chunqiao. “But today is a day of glory. This is the only aircraft carrier in the world. Look at her magnificence. Look at her power, Comrade Wang. We are invincible only because we defeated our enemy before we even attacked. The rules of war are to defeat your enemy before you go into battle, and we have done that, Comrade. Yes, there will be problems arising out of the fires and the ashes of the enemy’s defeat, but without their Army, their Navy, and their Air Force, America is a small mouse and we are a large cat. Who is going to win, Comrade? Who is going to win?”

The ship slowly grumbled and vibrated underneath them. Several tugs slowly moved and guided her to the large entrance to the docks, and beyond that, the open river and then the ocean. A dozen or so sailors began to distribute glasses of champagne to the 16 dignitaries, and they could faintly hear the band still playing across the harbor. The whole mass of shipping began an orderly move towards open water.

Alarms sounded and dozens of soldiers in dress uniform ran out of doors everywhere, and within two minutes thousands of them lined the complete flight deck of the aircraft carrier, one arm length apart except for where the Politburo was standing. Fanfares sounded out of horns on the ships as they glided by thousands of soldiers waving their goodbyes.

As the sun set, the Shi Lang left the protection of the harbor, the tugs disengaged, and she and the four smaller warships left for open water to allow the massive container ships enough room to get out of the harbor behind them.

Once they reached the sea, and at ten knots, the naval ships aimed for Panama and sailed at reduced speed so that the container ships could catch up with them and get into formation.

By the time night covered the area the five container ships had left the river and were only a couple of miles behind. Within three hours, the flotilla was only a mile apart and the coast of Shanghai disappeared off the short-range radar screens in the dark night behind them.

Once the VIPs had gone back inside the aircraft carrier’s tower, they moved to the bridge to watch the whole flotilla coming together. Night lights began flashing from the others around them as the sea worsened and the radar screen showed the ten ships getting into formation for their pass 200 miles south of the Hawaiian Islands in two days time.

Dinner for the Politburo was served at 9:00 pm in the main dining room on a large table. By this time, several bottles of champagne had been drunk and the group was in a festive mood. They had still not been allowed to visit their rooms and Wang was desperate to get his replacement phone and call Feng to get updates.