tc.thebearandthedragon-第152部分

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river　to　scout　out　the　bunkers　that　had　faced　south　for　fifty　years。　The　Russians　were　good　military　engineers；　and　those　fixed　defenses　would　take　some　dealing　with。
　But　his　attack　plan　was　a　simple　one。　Behind　a　massive　artillery　barrage；　he'd　put　infantry　across　the　Amur　River　in　assault　boats　to　deal　with　the　Russian　bunkers；　simultaneously　bringing　up　engineers　to　span　the　river　with　ribbon　bridges　in　order　to　rush　his　mechanized　forces　across；　up　the　hills　on　the　far　side；　then　farther　north。　He　had　helicopters；　though　not　enough　of　the　attack　kind　to　suit　his　needs。　He'd　plained　about　this；　but　so　had　every　other　senior　officer　in　the　People's　Liberation　Army。　The　only　thing　about　the　Russian　Army　that　worried　him　were　their　Mi…24　attack　helicopters。　They　were　clumsy　machines　but　dangerous　in　their　capabilities；　if　wisely　used。
　His　best　intelligence　came　from　reams　of　Humint　from　Chinese　citizens　living　illegally　but　fortably　in　Russia…shopkeepers　and　workers；　a　fair　number　of　whom　were　officers　or　stringers　for　the　Ministry　for　State　Security。　He　would　have　preferred　more　photographs；　but　his　country　had　only　a　single　orbiting　reconnaissance　satellite；　and　the　truth　was　that　the　imagery　purchased　from　the　French　SPOT　mercial　satellite　pany　was　better；　at　one…meter　resolution；　than　his　own　country　could　manage。　It　was　also　easier　to　acquire　over　the　Internet；　and　for　that　his　intelligence　coordinator　had　a　blank　check。　They　showed　the　nearest　Russian　mechanized　formation　over　a　hundred　kilometers　away。　That　confirmed　the　human　intelligence　that　had　said　only　things　within　artillery　range　were　garrison　units　assigned　to　the　border　defenses。　It　was　interesting　that　the　Russian　high　mand　had　not　surged　forces　forward；　but　they　didn't　have　many　to　surge；　and　defending　a　border；　with　its　numerous　crenellations　and　meanders；　used　up　manpower　as　a　sponge　used　up　water…and　they　didn't　have　that　many　troops　to　squander。　He　also　possessed　information　that　this　General…Colonel　Bondarenko　was　training　his　troops　harder　than　his　predecessor　had；　but　that　was　not　much　cause　for　concern。　The　Chinese　had　been　training　hard　for　years；　and　Ivan　would　take　time　to　catch　up。
　No；　his　only　concern　was　distance。　His　army　and　its　neighbors　had　a　long　way　to　go。　Keeping　them　supplied　would　be　a　problem；　because　as　Napoleon　said　that　an　army　marched　on　its　stomach；　so　tanks　and　tracked　vehicles　floated　on　a　sea　of　diesel　oil。　His　intelligence　sources　gave　locations　for　large　Russian　stocks；　but　he　couldn't　count　on　seizing　them　intact；　desirable　though　that　might　be；　and　even　though　he　had　plans　for　helicopter　assaults　on　every　one　he　had　charted。
　Peng　put　out　his　sixtieth　cigarette　of　the　day　and　looked　up　at　his　operations　officer。　〃Yes？〃
　〃The　final　order　has　arrived。　Jump　off　at　03：30　in　three　days。〃
　〃Will　you　have　everything　in　place　by　then？〃　Peng　asked。
　〃Yes；　rade　General；　with　twenty…four　hours　to　spare。〃
　〃Good。　Let's　make　sure　that　all　our　men　are　well　fed。　It　may　be　a　long　time　between　meals　for　the　next　few　weeks。〃
　〃That　order　has　already　been　given；　rade　General；〃　the　colonel　told　him。
　〃And　total　radio　silence。〃
　〃Of　course；　rade　General。〃
　〃Not　a　whisper；〃　the　sergeant　said。　〃Not　even　carrier　waves。〃　The　RC…135　Rivet　Joint　aircraft　was　the　first　USAF　bird　to　deploy；　flying　out　of　Anderson　Air　Force　base　on　the　island　of　Guam。　It　had　refueled　over　the　Sea　of　Okhotsk　and　entered　Russian　airspace　over　the　port　city　of　Ayan；　and　now；　two　hours　later；　was　just　east　of　Skovorodino　on　the　Russian　side　of　the　border。　The　Rivet　Joint　was　an　extensively　modified　windowless　version　of　the　old　Boeing　707；　crammed　with　radio…receiving　equipment　and　crewed　with　experienced　ferret　personnel；　one　of　only　two　USAF　crews　who　spoke　passable　Chinese。
　〃Sergeant；　what's　it　mean　when　you　have　a　lot　of　soldiers　in　the　field　and　no　radios？〃　the　colonel　in　mand　of　the　mission　asked。　It　was　a　rhetorical　question；　of　course。
　〃Same　thing　it　means　when　your　two…year…old　isn't　making　any　noise；　sir。　He's　crayoning　the　wall；　or　doing　something　else　to　get　his　bottom　smacked。〃　The　sergeant　leaned　back　in　the　pilot…type　seat；　looking　at　the　numerous　visual　scans　tuned　to　known　PLA　frequencies。　The　screen　was　blank　except　for　mild　static。　Maybe　there'd　been　some　chatter　as　the　PLA　had　moved　units　into　place；　but　now　there　was　nothing　but　some　mercial　FM　traffic；　mainly　music　that　was　as　alien　to　the　American　flight　crew　as　Grand　of　Opry　would　have　been　in　Beijing。　Two　crewmen　listening　to　the　civilian　stations　noted　that　the　lyrics　of　the　Chinese　love　ballads　were　as　mindless　as　those　of　their　Nashville　counterparts；　though　the　stations　were　leaning　more　heavily　to　patriotic　songs　at　the　moment。
　
　The　same　was　noted　at　Fort　Meade；　Maryland。　The　National　Security　Agency　had　a　lot　of　ferret　satellites　up　and　circling　the　globe；　including　two　monster　Rhyolite…types　in　geosynchronous　orbit　over　the　equator；　and　all　were　tuned　to　Chinese　military　and　government　channels。　The　FM…radio　chatter　associated　with　military　formations　had　trended　down　to　zero　in　the　last　twelve　hours；　and　to　the　uniformed　and　civilian　analysts　alike　that　meant　just　one　thing：　A　quiet　army　is　an　army　planning　to　do　something。
　
　The　people　at　the　National　Reconnaissance　Office　had　the　main　tasking　in　finishing　up　a　Special　National　Intelligence　Estimate；　because　people　tended　to　believe　photographs　more　than　mere　words。　The　imagery　had　been　puter…matched　with　the　radar…imaging　satellites'　〃take；〃　but　surprisingly　to　no　one；　the　assembly　areas　were　mostly　empty　now。　The　tanks　and　other　tracked　vehicles　had　lingered　only　long　enough　to　get　reorganized　after　the　train　trip；　and　had　moved　out　north；　judging　by　the　ruts　they'd　left　in　the　mainly　dirt　roads　of　the　region。　They'd　taken　the　time　to　spread　their　camouflage　nets　over　the　redeployed　tanks；　but　that；　too；　had　been　a　pro　forma　waste　of　time；　because　they　could　as　little　hide　the　track　marks　of　hundreds　of　such　vehicles　as　they　could　hide　a　mountain　range。　And　scarcely　any　such　effort　had　been　taken　with　the　hundreds　of　supply　trucks；　which；　they　saw；　were　still　moving　in　tight　little　convoys；　at　about　thirty　kilometers　per　hour；　heading　for　assembly　areas　just　a　few　klicks　south　of　where　the　shooters　were。　The　imagery　was　printed　up　on　six　of　the　big　laser　printers　custom…made　for　the　NRO；　and　driven　to　the　White　House；　where　people　were　mainly　sitting　around　in　the　Oval　Office　pulling　a　Presidential　all…nighter；　which　was　rather　more　special　than　those　done　by　the　deliveryman；　an　Army　sergeant　E…5　in　this　case。　The　civilian　analyst　who'd　e　with　him　stayed　inside　while　the　NCO　walked　back　out　to　the　government　Ford　sedan；　having　left　behind　a　Newport　hundred…millimeter　cigarette　for　the　President。
　〃Jack；　you're　bad；〃　Jackson　observed。　〃Bumming　a　smoke　off　that　innocent　young　boy。〃
　〃Stick　it；　Robby；〃　POTUS　replied　with　a　grin。　The　smoke　made　him　cough；　but　it　helped　him　stay　awake　as　much　as　the　premium　coffee　did。　〃You　handle　the　stress　your　way；　I'll　handle　it　my　way。　Okay；　what　do　we　have　here？〃　the　President　asked　the　senior　analyst。
　〃Sir；　this　is　as　many　armored　vehicles　in　one　area　as　I　have　ever　seen　in　China；　plus　all　their　equipment。　They're　going　north；　and　soon；　in　less　than　three　days；　I'd　say。〃
　〃What　about　air？〃　Jackson　asked。
　〃Right　here；　sir。〃　The　analysts　finger　traced　over　one　of　the　photos。　〃Dedicated　fighter　base　at　Jinxi　is　a　good　example。　Here's　a　squadron　of　Russian…made　Su…27s；　plus　a　whole　regiment　of　J…7s。　The　Sukhoi's　a　pretty　good　fighter　plane；　similar　in　mission　and　capabilities　to　an　early　F…15。　The　…7's　a　day…fighter　knockoff　of　the　old　MiG…21；　modified　for　ground　attack　as　well　as　mixing　up　in　the　furball。　You　can　count　sixty…eight　aircraft。　Probably　at　least　four　were　in　the　air　when　the　satellite　went　overhead。　Note　the　fueling　trucks　right　on　the　ramp；　and　this　aircraft　has　ground　crew　tinkering　with　it。　We　estimate　that　this　base　was　stood…down　for　five　days…〃
　〃…getting　everything　ready？〃　Jackson　asked。　That's　how　people　did　it。
　〃Yes；　sir。　You　will　also　note　missile　noses　peeking　out　under　the　wings　of　all　these　aircraft。　They　appear　to　be　loaded　for　bat。〃
　〃White　ones　on　the　rails；〃　Robby　observed。　〃They're　planning　to　go　do　some　work。〃
　〃Unless　our　note　gets　them　to　calm　down；〃　Ryan　said；　with　a　minor　degree　of　hope　in　his　voice。　A　very　minor　note；　the　others　in　the　room　thought。　The　President　got　one　last　puff　off　the　purloined　Newport　and　stubbed　it　out。　〃Might　it　help　for　me　to　make　a　direct　personal　call　to　Premier　Xu？〃
　〃Honest　answer？〃　It　was　Professor　Weaver；　rather　the　worse　for　wear　at　four　in　the　Washington　morning。
　〃The　other　sort　isn't　much　use　to　me　at　the　moment；〃　Ryan　replied；　not　quite　testily。
　〃It　will　look　good　in　the　papers　and　maybe　the　history　books；　but　it　is　unlikely　to　affect　their　decision…making　process。〃
　〃It's　worth　a　try；〃　Ed　Foley　said　in　disagreement。　〃What　do　we　have　to　lose？〃
　〃Wait　until　eight；　Jack；〃　van　Damm　thought。　〃We　don't　want　him　to　think　we've　been　up　all　night。　It'll　inflate　his　sense　of　self…worth。〃
　Ryan　turned　to　look　at　the　windows　on　his　south　wall。　The　drapes　hadn't　been　closed；　and　anyone　passing　by　could　have　noted　that　the　lights　had　been　on　all　night。　But；　strangely；　he　didn't　know　if　the　Secret　Service　ever　turned　them　off　at　night。
　〃When　do　we　start　moving　forces？〃　Jack　asked　next。
　〃The　Air　Attache　will　call　from　Moscow　when　his　talks　have　been　concluded。　Ought　to　be　any　time。〃
　The　President　grunted。　〃Longer　night　than　ours。〃
　〃He's　younger　than　we　are；〃　Mickey　Moore　observed。　〃Just　a　colonel。〃
　〃If　this　goes；　what　are　our　plans　like？〃　van　Damm　asked。
　〃Hyperwar；〃　Moore　answered。　〃The　world　doesn't　know　the　new　weapons　we've　been　developing。　It'll　make　DESERT　STORM　look　like　slow　motion。〃
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　48
　Opening　Guns
　
　While　others　were　pulling　all…nighters；　Gennady　Iosifbvich　Bondarenko　was　forgetting　what　sleep　was　supposed　to　have　been。　His　teleprinter　was　running　hot　with　dispatches　from　Moscow；　reading　that　occupied　his　time；　and　not　always　to　his　profit。
　Russia　had　still　not　learned　to　leave　people　alone　when　they　were　doing　their　jobs；