Act of War by Brad Thor Read Free Book Online Page A

matter how many times Colonel Shi repeated his deepest held belief that the United States would be made to bow to China, the answer from the PSC was an unequivocal and emphatic no.
    Shi had been disappointed, but far from surprised. Politicians lackednot only vision, but courage. He had returned to his office, opened his walk-in safe, and relegated Snow Dragon to the stack of other rejected plans he and his people had developed over the years. At some point, China would wake up and realize that war with the United States was inevitable. When that happened, his phone would ring. Two weeks later, it did.
    The General Secretary, who was a supporter of Second Department and its unrestricted warfare program, had lobbied continually in favor of a strike against the United States. He presented them with fact, after fact, after fact. China was running out of time, and options. Either China would dictate the terms of war or the terms of war would be dictated to it. War, though, was inevitable. Eventually, the PSC agreed. Permission was granted, but with one caveat. The Politburo Standing Committee wanted essential Chinese personnel evacuated from America beforehand.
    There was absolutely no way such a thing could be done without risking exposure. The plan’s success depended upon the United States and the rest of the world believing that the attack had been committed by Al Qaeda terrorists. If anything at all hinted at China’s involvement, the entire operation would be undone.
    There were two key reasons Shi and his people had picked September for the attack. The first was the most obvious. A strike on the September 11 anniversary would automatically be blamed on Al Qaeda. It would be the only evidence most people needed in order to levy blame.
    The other reason was that the strike Shi had planned would create absolute chaos in the U.S. But to maximize that chaos, they needed to hit before America’s crops were harvested. If they did, famine would take hold over the winter and the die-off of American citizens would be accelerated.
    Despite these excellent reasons, the politicians on the Politburo Standing Committee had convinced themselves of a “better” idea—postpone the attack until Chinese New Year.
    It was one of China’s biggest national holidays, and millions of Chinese from around the world returned for the event every year. The United States wouldn’t think twice about influential Chinese doing the same. Shi disagreed.
    While it might not draw attention before the attack, it definitely would afterward. It wouldn’t matter if the United States government was in a shambles. Every intelligence agency around the globe would be trying to figure out what had happened. The timing of the attack would be one of the key things they’d be looking at. That it had taken place during Chinese New Year and so many of China’s America-based VIPs had been miraculously spared wouldn’t go unnoticed. In the intelligence business, there were no such things as coincidences. They were always signs of something more sinister afoot.
    Because the men and materials would already be in the United States, postponing the attack until midwinter also meant more time for the attack to be uncovered. The PSC was unswayed. The General Secretary delivered their decision.
    Even though the PSC planned to abandon many high-level Chinese executives and diplomats in the U.S., Shi still didn’t like it. Knowledge of the 9/11 attacks and the significance of the anniversary were burned into global consciousness. Using any other date was a mistake. The PSC didn’t care. Shi was ordered to make a New Year’s strike a success.
    No matter what time of year, attacking America on its own soil posed special challenges. Security was always elevated and American law enforcement was getting better and better training on what to look for. Even if men and materials could be smuggled into the country and could remain hidden, one American patrol officer could undo