The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy [156]
The problem was politics. The state enforced its will with ruthlessness. She knew what could happen, the syringe filled with formaldehyde stabbed into the babys head at the very moment of birth. In China, it was state policy. For the Yangs, it was premeditated, cold-blooded murder, and they were determined not to lose a second child, who, the Reverend Yu had told them, was a gift from God Himself.
And there was a way. If you delivered the baby at home without medical assistance, and if the baby took its first breath, then the state would not kill it. There were some things even the government of the Peoples Republic quailed at, and the killing of a living, breathing human infant was one of them. But until it took that breath, it was of no more consequence than a piece of meat in a market. There were even rumors that the Chinese government was selling organs from the aborted newborns on the worlds tissue market, to be used for medical purposes, and that was something the Yangs were able to believe.
So, their plan was for Lien-Hua to deliver the child at home, after which they would present their state with a fait accompli—and eventually have it baptized by Reverend Yu. To this end, Mrs. Yang had kept herself in good physical shape, walking two kilometers every day, eating sensibly, and generally doing all the things the government-published booklets told expectant mothers to do. And if anything went badly wrong, theyd go to Reverend Yu for counsel and advice. The plan enabled Lien-Hua to deal with the stress—in fact it was a heart-rending terror-of her unauthorized condition.
"Well?" Ryan asked.
"Rutledge has all the right talents, and weve given him the instructions he needs. He ought to carry them out properly. Question is, will the Chinese play ball."
"If they dont, things become harder for them," the President said, if not coldly, then with some degree of determination. "If they think they can bully us, Scott, its time they found out who the big kid in the playground is."
"Theyll fight back. Theyve taken out options on fourteen Boeing 777s—just did that four days ago, remember?
"Thats the first thing theyll chop if they dont like us. Thats a lot of money and a lot of jobs for Boeing in Seattle," SecState warned.
"I never have been real big on blackmail, Scott. Besides, thats a classic case of penny-wise, pound-foolish. If we cave because of that, then we lose ten times the money and ten times the jobs elsewhere—okay, they wont be all in one place, and so the TV news guys wont be able to point their cameras, and so they wont do the real story, just the one that can fit on half-inch tape. But Im not in here to keep the goddamned media happy. Im here to serve the people to the best of my ability, Scott. And thats by-God going to happen," POTUS promised his guest.
"I dont doubt it, Jack," Adler responded. "Just remember that it wont play out quite the way you want it to."
"It never does, but if they play rough, its going to cost them seventy billion dollars a year. We can afford to do without their products. Can they afford to do without our money?" Ryan asked.
Secretary Adler was not totally comfortable with the way the question was posed. "I suppose well have to wait and see."
CHAPTER 21—Simmering
"So, what did you develop last night?" Reilly asked. Hed be late to his embassy office, but his gut told him that things were breaking loose in the RPG Case—that was how he thought of it—and Director Murray had a personal interest in the case, because the President did, and that made it more important than the routine bullshit on Reillys desk.
"Our Chinese friend—the one in the mens room, that is—is the Third Secretary at their mission. Our friends across