The men of Phoenix Force, carrying their gear, crossed in driving rain and climbed on board. Grimaldi raised a hand in welcome as he watched the team arrive, then returned to his checking procedures. As they stowed their gear, McCarter spotted a familiar figure sitting patiently on one of the benches the far end of the aircraft.
It was Mei Anna. She wore a camou-pattern combat suit and boots, the same as Phoenix Force, her jet-black hair pulled back from her face. A backpack lay on the floor at her feet, along with her P-90 assault rifle. She carried a 9 mm Beretta pistol in a shoulder rig. She offered McCarter a brief, silent acknowledgment when he met her gaze. He nodded in recognition, then turned and made his way to the flight deck and immersed himself in the technicalities of the pre-takeoff discussion with the flight crew.
While he did that, James, Manning and Rafael Encizo secured their equipment, then joined the Chinese operatives.
“Where’s T. J.?” she asked.
“Working undercover on another piece of the mission,” Manning said. “We thought it was time he had a grown-up job.”
“It’s good to see you,” Anna said, standing and greeting them all with a quick hug.
They responded warmly. There wasn’t one man among Phoenix Force who didn’t hold Mei Anna in great esteem. Since their first encounter during a previous mission to China, she had proved herself to be a formidable young woman. Her dedication to her Pro-Democracy group was intense, and her fight against the repressions of the Chinese government and the often brutal suppression of civil and personal rights was something she believed in with a passion. Her fight had taken her all over China, and she was a wanted woman by Beijing. She accepted it without making a point over the matter. Her courage was something Phoenix Force was fully aware of. Her being back in action didn’t surprise them. It had been something they had all accepted as inevitable now that she had recovered from the aftermath of a wound that had taken its toll and forced her into a long recovery period.
“We had no idea you were involved in this until a short while ago,” Manning said.
“Things happened fast” Anna told him. “We’ve been monitoring the activity at Guang Lor for some time. This particular incident has given us something definite we can focus on, and it seems to have happened just as you became involved.”
They felt the aircraft vibrate as power was applied to the powerful engines. After a few seconds they felt the plane start to move, the whine of the engines increasing.
“Is David okay?”
James grinned. “He’s being David,” was all he said.
Anna touched his arm. “You don’t have to say any more.”
They braced themselves as the aircraft gained speed, the sound of the engines filling the cavernous interior, and then the deck beneath their feet tilted and they felt the momentary hollowness in their stomachs as the aircraft lifted off.
“No going back now,” Manning said.
McCarter appeared and made his way along the plane.
“Talk to you later,” James said.
They nodded to McCarter as they passed him halfway down the length of the plane and took their seats, leaving the Briton to join Mei Anna.
The woman had sat again and made a point of looking out the window. She kept up the pretence for a couple of minutes before turning to face McCarter.
“What do you want me to say, David?”
“Hello would be a start. Might make up for vanishing the way you did,” he stated.
“I had no choice.”
“Bloody hell, Anna, we all have choices.” McCarter controlled his outburst, lowering his voice. “What do you think I would have done? Locked you in the cellar and hidden the key?”
“Something like that,” the woman replied.
He moved to sit beside her. “Am I that much of an idiot?”
She laid a hand on his. “Of course not. You’re a caring man I have learned to trust and have affection for.”
“So why the disappearing act?” the Briton queried.
“You know why. If you had found out you would have tried to persuade me not to go. I was afraid you might succeed, so I decided the best thing to do was to just go. The last thing I intended was to hurt you. You have to understand my feelings in this. I was doing this kind of thing before we ever met. You know that. I would never change the times we have together, and I want that to go on. Truly. But what I do in China is something I can’t turn my back on. If a matter comes up and I’m needed, I have to respond. That was what happened, and it was why I had to go. Don’t hate me for that.”
McCarter put his arm around her shoulders.
“Hate you? Not going to happen, love. You are the best thing to happen to me in a long time. It’s just bloody hard to watch you haring off on some dangerous trek with a gun in hand and that look in your eyes. Honestly? It scares the pants off me. And I miss you.”
“Really? I haven’t given you a single thought since I boarded that plane out of England.”
“Comforting to know.”
“And not true. It was nice having you around. London can be a dangerous place.”
“Don’t I know it. Talking of dangerous places how was it going back to HK?”
“We have to be so careful now. The authorities have been coming down hard on any kind of antigovernment groups. Beijing is showing its tough face right now. Harsh penalties for anyone getting caught. It doesn’t show them in a good light when corruption or repression is exposed, so they use any means to strike back. Every so often they have a purge. Round up suspects, jail them without trial. Send them off to labor camps for reindoctrination. There are public executions, too. It doesn’t stop the groups though. Just makes the survivors more determined to carry on.”
“What the hell is it with Beijing?”
“The government is scared. They see the people getting restless, wanting change and being prepared to suffer, and die, to get it. The ruling group is terrified of allowing China its freedom because it would signal their end. They cling to power so desperately, the country pays the price.”
“So this missile deal is part of that paranoia?”
“Exactly. America is still the most powerful nation on Earth. Now Russia is updating its missile system, claiming it’s for defense. Beijing sees all this and has to respond, to bolster its own strength and to convince the people they are safe in the government’s hands. It’s all to do with saving face and maintaining the balance of power. No one has learned a thing, David. The wheel goes around and comes around.”
“More or less what we talked about back at base when we got the mission brief.”
“So we’re all after the same thing,” Anna said. “Only for slightly different reasons.”
“Not that different.” McCarter smiled. “I only said yes because I knew I’d see you.”
“Flatterer. But don’t stop, I like it.”
“Tell me about Xinjiang.”
Anna pulled a folded map from her pack and spread it. She pointed out locations.
“Northwest China. Close to Afghan border here. Some pretty harsh country where we’re going. Some desert areas. Rocky terrain. Desolate and isolated. Which is why China’s nuclear test site is located in the area. Here at Lop Nor. It’s a long way from where we’ll be operating, so don’t worry about picking up anything to make you glow in the dark. The missile research and development facility is here at Guang Lor, with a village close by to house outworkers. There is also a military presence in the area because the indigenous population,