“Impressive,” Smith said absently, unable to take his eyes off Randi. The woman was a witch when it came to recognizing that she was in danger. Yet there she was, completely oblivious. He tried to will her to look up but what good would it do? All she’d see was a goddamn bird perched in a tree.

“I have to admit that I’m not quite sure how to react to Ms. Russell’s efforts and thought I’d ask your advice. My assumption is that by now Keith Morrison has told your president that siding with the Chinese would be suicidal. But is he listening? Is what you’re looking at on that tablet a last, futile attempt to stop me? Or is it the first salvo in a full-scale attack by your country? Is Castilla willing to sacrifice the lives of millions of Americans in order to protect a country that every day becomes more of a threat to you and your standing in the world? From my perspective, that seems…insane.”

Smith stared down at the video feeds, trying to decide what to say. He’d had a great deal of time to think, and much of it had been spent on how the US would fare in a confrontation with Takahashi’s new military. The conclusion that he’d come to was that America would be decimated and the world would descend into chaos in the aftermath.

“President Castilla isn’t a stupid man and neither are the people advising him, General. Here’s what I can tell you. If Randi is involved, this is a very quiet, small-scale operation. Virtually no one knows about it and if it doesn’t work, no one ever will.”

“Then, in your opinion, your country will back down.”

“In my opinion, yes,” Smith said honestly. “There’s a big difference between sacrificing a handful of operatives and sacrificing three hundred and fifty million civilians.”

Takahashi leaned back in his chair and nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps he just can’t face the idea that you are no longer the world’s preeminent power.”

“He’s a realist, General. We’ve known for decades that the era of wars between major powers was over. The destructive force of modern weapons is just too great. There would only be losers.”

Takahashi smiled thinly. “Until now.”

It was clear that he was referring to his nanoscale weapon and its ability to throw off the balance of power enough for him to get the upper hand.

“No, sir,” Smith said. “I believe the potential for blowback from your weapon goes well beyond anything we saw during the Cold War. And I suspect that if you ask Dr. Ito, he’ll tell you the same thing.”

“Scientists are never certain of anything, Colonel. They hedge, they equivocate, they overcomplicate. As a soldier, I expected more of you.”