Wei looked at him sharply. “You’re delusional. The Americans will never let this stand.”
Zhou watched the roiling water a moment. Then he lowered the empty cooler to the cement dock and turned to Wei.
“Respectfully, we’ve built the greatest naval battle force in the world. Yet we turn a blind eye when foreign powers defy our boundaries. They cross our sovereign waters. They send armed vessels within striking range of our shores. And now tap our undersea cables with impunity.”
“Where is your proof?”
“There is more than enough.”
“Then, I want to see it. I’ll also require a written account of the incident for the chairman. By tomorrow morning.”
The water off the dock had stilled. Wei heard the steady, insistent beat of the sea.
After a minute Zhou said, “I’ll have a report ready. And all the evidence you need.”
“Good.” Wei stared at him. “A word of warning. Some ambition is desirable in a young officer. But you might want to go easier for the sake of your future.”
Zhou was expressionless. He nodded toward the settled water off the quay.
“The tiger sharks have eaten all the food I threw them. Or perhaps they’re simply exhausted,” he said. “I’ve observed that the stripes fade in the older ones. Eventually they vanish altogether, the creature’s best years behind it.”
Wei looked at him. “I’ll leave the sharks to you, Captain. I know men. There is a difference between bluster and true inner ferocity.”
Zhou remained silent a long moment. Then he nodded. “My guards will show you to your sleeping quarters. They’re soft and comfortable. I think you’ll find them suited to your needs.”
General Wei pretended not to pick up on the insult. After a moment the men reappeared and escorted him back inside the dome and out through its south entrance to his waiting vehicle. As his driver looped around toward the far side of the island, he thought of those he served in Beijing, many cannibalistic sharks in their own right. He hoped they would not soon be making a feast of him and his faded stripes.
5
Various Locales
April 15, 2024
Dragonfly climbed into the air over New England for the third time that morning, having looped back to the Coast Guard medical facility in Boothbay Harbor after its unexpected trip to Maine’s northern extreme.
Only one of its two pickups remained aboard. One was the instructor at the Net Force CyberOperations Training Center named Natasha Mori. Her companion, Bryan Ferago, had been left at Boothbay for emergency treatment of his hand injuries.