Empire Rising by Rick Campbell Read Free Book Online Page B

hope they’re still in the consideration phase and can be reasoned with.”
    The sedan ground to a halt beside the Great Hall of the People, the entrance to the building framed by massive gray marble colonnades illuminated by bright white perimeter lighting. Standing at the base of stone steps leading to the entrance were five men—four in a single line, while a fifth man, taller than the rest, stood behind them. The two men in the center were dressed in charcoal gray suits, while the other three men wore black suits. Christine figured the men in black were from the Central Guard Bureau’s Cadre Department—the Chinese equivalent of the Secret Service—their wary eyes surveying the two cars that pulled to a stop.
    Christine and Ambassador Richardson stepped from their sedan as two U.S. Diplomatic Security Service agents exited the second car, flanking Christine and the ambassador.
    One of the men wearing a charcoal gray suit extended his hand. “Welcome to Beijing, Miss O’Connor. I am Huan Zhixin, chairman of the Central Military Commission.”
    Christine shook the hand of the man in charge of China’s military, responding in Mandarin. “Ji ǔ y ǎ ng.” She had memorized a few Mandarin phrases for her meeting with Wang Qui, and decided to try the standard Chinese greeting between professionals, hoping her pronunciation was correct.
    Huan smiled warmly. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well.” He turned sideways toward the man behind them. “I’d like to introduce Yang Minsheng, head of President Xiang’s security detail.” Yang merely nodded as Huan continued, gesturing to the man beside him. “And this is Xie Hai, the president’s executive assistant, who will keep Ambassador Richardson occupied while you meet with the president.”
    Christine exchanged a concerned glance with Richardson. “The ambassador won’t be joining us?”
    â€œI’m afraid not, Miss O’Connor,” Huan replied. “We have several issues we would like to discuss with the ambassador tonight.”
    â€œAnd the DSS agents?” Christine asked.
    â€œThey may accompany you to the conference room, but they’ll have to disarm at the security checkpoint.”
    As Christine talked with Huan, Yang stared at her, completely ignoring Ambassador Richardson. Christine was an attractive woman and was accustomed to stares and glances from the opposite sex, but there was something odd about the way he studied her.
    Huan turned and led the four Americans up the steps into the Great Hall of the People, where Xie Hai peeled Ambassador Richardson from the group. Christine and the two DSS agents continued on to a security checkpoint, consisting of a metal detector and baggage X-ray machine, where the two DSS agents disarmed.
    After passing through the detector, Christine joined Huan at his side as they strode down a brightly lit corridor, their footsteps echoing off marble walls. Following closely behind were the two DSS agents, and behind them, Yang and the two Cadre Department bodyguards. Huan offered no further conversation. As they approached a pair of large mahogany doors, Huan pushed the heavy wooden doors inward.
    The doors swung open to reveal a large circular chamber, just over one hundred feet in diameter. The Politburo Diplomatic Reception Hall was similar in design to the other thirty-three halls named after China’s provinces and regions, each chamber decorated according to the local style of the province it represented. Although the Diplomatic Reception Hall was frequently furnished with up to fifty chairs arranged in a semicircle, tonight it contained only two, positioned at the far end of the chamber beneath an imposing twenty-by-thirty-foot oil painting of the Great Wall of China, winding its way atop the mountainous region north of Beijing.
    Sitting in one of the two chairs was Xiang Chenglei, with two additional Cadre Department