The Elephant Game Read online

  The Elephant Game

  The War Planners Book 4

  Andrew Watts

  Point Whiskey Publishing

  Copyright © 2017 by Point Whiskey Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  From the Author:

  About the Author

  Also by Andrew Watts

  1

  “They’re coming for you,” the base commander told her as he returned the phone to its cradle.

  Natesh watched Lena for a reaction. Nothing. Stoic. But he knew that there was more behind the emotionless eyes. Lena was trusting everyone around her even less than usual after the recent failures.

  It was probably over, Natesh knew. His life’s defining moment—and his biggest mistake—was coming to an end. Cheng Jinshan had been taken into custody. And now a plane full of Chinese military police was secretly flying to Manta, Ecuador, with orders to apprehend the criminal Lena Chou.

  Criminal.

  It was amazing how quickly things could change. Lena was the best covert operative China possessed. Natesh had seen the results firsthand. And they were sometimes hard to watch.

  Lena stood next to him now. Her long black hair ran down her tall, muscular frame. She had been wearing her hair down more lately. Natesh suspected that she wanted it to hide the recently acquired burn scars that ran from her right ear down to her leg. He had seen her looking in the mirror at the scars, when she thought no one was watching. That was a remarkable sight in itself. It proved that even the robotic killer queen wasn’t immune to human emotion.

  What was going on behind those eyes? Was she contemplating the recent turn of events, and how it would affect her? Would she become a survivalist, turning on Jinshan as others in China must have?

  “When was Jinshan taken?” Lena asked the base commander.

  “Several hours ago.”

  She turned to Natesh. “What have we heard from the island?”

  “Nothing since the Americans attacked our ships. Admiral Song’s operation has gone dark.”

  Their failure was still raw. One Chinese ship had been sunk in the Eastern Pacific, as well as one Chinese submarine. Three Chinese navy ships were limping into a port in Panama.

  The American Navy had responded swiftly when one of their destroyers, the USS Farragut, had been attacked by a Chinese submarine. Three US-allied ships were sunk, but the Farragut had survived. The Farragut had then gone on to recover a team of US special operations commandos who had raided the Chinese base in Ecuador and gotten a vital piece of Chinese cryptologic equipment into the hands of the NSA.

  That was what had gotten Cheng Jinshan arrested, Natesh knew. The crypto key had uncovered Jinshan and Admiral Song’s secret military movements. With that evidence, the Americans had shown the Chinese president and a few politicians that Jinshan was plotting a war. While the Chinese leadership had likely been horrified to learn that one of their most powerful citizens had been able to orchestrate a Chinese military operation without their knowledge, that wasn’t what scared them the most. The Chinese politicians were most terrified of what their exclusion from Jinshan’s inner circle meant for them. He must have been planning a coup. And there is nothing like the fear of losing one’s throne to motivate action. Cheng Jinshan and Admiral Song had been arrested within hours.

  Lena let out a breath of frustration through her nostrils, looking at the floor. Slowly turning her head. Thinking. “Colonel, do you know when the aircraft filled with military police will arrive?”

  “My source tells me to expect it sometime today. This information didn’t come from normal channels. It is likely a matter of hours.”

  She nodded, her eyes racing from side to side as she thought. “Very well. Thank you for the notice. We bid you farewell for now. When they do arrive, this conversation never happened.”

  “Of course.”

  Natesh followed Lena out of the office. He knew enough not to ask her any questions right now. Natesh had seen her eyes like this before. She was on the warpath.

  Their first stop was at one of the barracks buildings. They were nothing more than a series of trailers, recently set up to house the influx of Chinese military personnel that had been flown over from Guangzhou.

  This trailer held a single resident. From his uniform, Natesh saw that he was an officer. When he saw Lena and Natesh enter, he sat up in his bunk, a surprised and frightened look on his face. Lena and the officer began speaking in rapid Mandarin. Natesh couldn’t understand them, but the Chinese officer rose to his feet and began to protest whatever Lena was saying. Her eyes were narrowed, and the tiniest of smiles crept over her face. Natesh took a few steps back.

  The fight didn’t last long. As soon as the Chinese officer realized what she was here for, he tried to move past her. But she blocked his path down the narrow corridor of the trailer, sliding gracefully in front of him and cocking her head.

  He would have to go through her.

  The officer’s face grew red. He glared at her, then struck. A right hook that would have connected with her head, had she not ducked. The miss angered him, and he yelled and walked forward, on the offensive.

  Lena’s movements were fast and controlled. Her fists shot out in a series of rapid strikes to his torso and neck area. The captain doubled over and fell to his knees, writhing in pain. He made a choking sound, one hand covering his throat and the other his stomach.

  Lena removed a knife from her belt.

  “Lena,” Natesh said, “what are you—”

  She jabbed the knife up into the officer’s chest. The man’s eyes widened as the gleaming blade penetrated his heart. He collapsed onto the floor, a steady flow of blood pouring out of the wound. Lena grabbed him by the shirt and pants, her muscles rippling as she dragged him back over to his bed and heaved him up onto the mattress. She walked over to a sink, cleaning the blood off her hands. The knife remained in the man’s chest.

  Natesh stared in silence, his eyes wide. For a moment, the only sound was that of the running sink.

  She scrubbed off the blood with soap and water, not looking up as she spoke. “You are wondering why I have done this? Well, here is your answer. I knew this man. I had a debt to settle with him. And I suspect that he may have been the one who notified the authorities that I am here. If he is watching us, I don’t want him to see us exit the camp.”

  Natesh didn’t reply immediately. He just looked at her and the dead body behind her, the knife protruding from the man’s chest cavity.

  A wave of questions filled Natesh’s mind. W
as this something he wanted to be a part of? What had he fallen into? These methods weren’t what Natesh had agreed to with Jinshan. Modern war was to be quick and decisive. Jinshan had lured Natesh with the opportunity to design a new and better society. But first, he had to help orchestrate a war. The allure of power and the challenge of writing history—even if that history began with a war—was what had drawn him to this path. But seeing the violence up close…this wasn’t at all how he’d thought it would be.

  She glanced at him. “Are you alright? I’m sorry that you had to see this, Natesh.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be okay.”

  She dried her hands and arms with a towel. “Come. This way.”

  As they walked out of the dead officer’s trailer, Lena could see that Natesh was upset. He had every right to be. A few weeks ago, he had been a promising Silicon Valley entrepreneur. CEO of his own boutique consulting company, working with some of the world’s largest firms to solve problems and create new products.

  Now, he was a witness to murder, each one bloodier than the last. He was likely questioning himself. Natesh Chaudry was one of the chief architects of the Chinese invasion of the United States. A brilliant mind, and a valuable asset. One that Jinshan thought highly of. She couldn’t have him getting cold feet.

  “Wait here, please.” She went into her own quarters, leaving him outside. She dug around in the trunk under her bed. Beneath a false floor was a hidden compartment. She opened it and removed a satellite phone that worked through an encrypted connection, routing calls through a special network of Chinese military communications satellites. Lena powered up the phone and dialed a number from memory.

  The operator on the island picked up within seconds.

  After providing her passphrase, Lena was transferred to the duty officer. Their conversation lasted five minutes, as Lena received her instructions, interrupting only twice to clarify the information. When the call ended, she stared at the phone. Then she shook off the feeling of surprise and placed the phone in her bag. She dug around in the trunk and retrieved other items as well—clothing, a silenced pistol, cash, and false IDs. Passports for both her and Natesh.

  She walked back outside and handed him his passport. “Is your travel bag ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s go to your quarters and retrieve it. Quickly. I want to be gone in the next few minutes.”

  Natesh nodded and they both walked over to his trailer. He was in and out in a matter of seconds. They walked over to the fenced area that stored the military vehicles. The guard saw Lena and nodded to her. Everyone knew and feared her. There would be no questions. Not until the team arrived from Beijing.

  Lena had toyed with the idea of having the Leishen Commandos on the base take the military police prisoner, but she didn’t want to test their loyalty. Besides, now she had a new set of orders.

  She threw her bag into the back of a jeep. “Put your stuff in here.”

  Natesh did as commanded. “Where are we going?”

  “We’re going to Portoviejo. It is a city about an hour from here. Now get in.”

  She started up the jeep and drove them out of base. The guards nodded at her as she left. Lena could have had the private jet pick them up from Manta, but there would be too much risk that it would be tracked by the Americans or Chinese parties not loyal to Jinshan.

  Green jungle trees arched over the dirt road, providing shade from the hot sun.

  Lena glanced at Natesh. “You are worried.”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t be. We’ve planned for this.”

  “For what?”

  “For the possibility of Jinshan being taken into custody. For the possibility of…things not going well.”

  “Lena, four Chinese navy ships were defeated by the Americans. A Chinese submarine was sunk. Now the Chinese government is coming to Manta to apprehend you.” He looked exasperated. “If Jinshan has been taken into custody, that means that the American government has exposed him. The Chinese president must know about the Red Cell now…”

  “Yes?” She looked over at him while driving. “What of it?”

  He sighed, looking into the dark rainforests that whipped by.

  “Have faith, Natesh.”

  “Lena, you need to think about your own well-being. We need to think about—”

  “Stop it. Listen to what I said. We have planned for this.”

  Natesh shook his head. “We need to figure out a plan to hide. Maybe we should consider reconstructive surgery. I have cash. At a bank in Barbados. It’s an untraceable account. I’ve been putting some away ever since Jinshan told me about—”

  “Natesh, please. Nothing has changed.”

  She reached over and grabbed his shoulder with one hand, making sure to hold his eye for just the right amount of time. Then she placed her hands back on the wheel.

  “How can you say that? So much has gone wrong.”

  She decided to change tactics. “Is this really about Jinshan being captured?”

  He bristled. “What else would it be about?”

  “I know that you have been uncomfortable with things.”

  He pouted, not responding immediately. “Well, this was supposed to be a war of deception.”

  “It is. It will be.”

  Natesh scoffed. “Jinshan had promised me that there would be minimal casualties. In the past few days, I watched you execute an Ecuadorian military commander in front of thousands, and you just stabbed a Chinese officer to death.”

  Her grip on the wheel tightened. “I understand your frustration.”

  He was still staring at her as she drove. “Things are out of control.”

  “I’m sorry that you feel that way. But you knew that this wouldn’t be easy. Great achievement requires great sacrifice.”

  They didn’t speak for the rest of the trip.

  An hour later they drove through a small town. Most of the homes were shacks. She parked her jeep outside the airport and they both hopped out.

  “This airport doesn’t look open,” Natesh said. Bits of grass were growing up through segments of the runway pavement. The hangars and parking lot were empty, and the central terminal looked abandoned.

  “It’s not.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s not open.”

  She walked over and stood in front of him, taking his hands. He was frowning, still angry.

  “I’m sorry, Natesh. You are right. Things have gotten out of hand. This isn’t what Mr. Jinshan or I intended to happen. But you must keep trusting him. He is a visionary. And I suspect that you joined him for many of the same reasons that I did. His grand idea of what the world could become, if we can win.”

  “I appreciate you admitting that.”

  Lena nodded, doing her best to show empathy. “Part of the allure of our great task…for people like you and me, Natesh, is the challenge of sculpting the world into greatness.”

  Natesh folded his arms.

  Lena continued, “I know that you have now seen me do some horrible things. Truth be told, I am not proud of everything that I have done. But I won’t lie to you and tell you that it is going to stop. Many more will die. It has to happen. The world has become entrenched in political systems and power castes that won’t relinquish control without a fight. You must have known this when you accepted Jinshan’s offer to join us.”

  Natesh took a deep breath and nodded. “I was optimistic. Maybe naïve.”

  “Natesh, when I take someone’s life, I do it for a reason. That Ecuadorian general—he was a barrier to our progress. And his death, however gruesome, served as an example for the others. They will be better soldiers now that they understand the seriousness of their job. Now that they understand the realness of this war.”

  “And the Chinese officer?” Natesh looked skeptical. “Why did he need to die?”

  “I told you, I was worried that he might turn us in. We had history, and—”

  “Lena, you didn’t h
ave to kill him.”

  Her face darkened. “Listen. That Chinese military captain that I just…” She looked away for a moment. “If you knew what he did to me when I was a girl… Natesh, I was but a teenager. Trust me, if you knew what he did to me, you would be fine with his death.”

  Natesh’s expression changed. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

  She nodded. “There is a lot that you don’t know, Natesh. Cheng Jinshan is a good man. He wants to bring about a better world. We are his instruments. You need to trust that in the end, it will all be worth it.”

  Their eyes met, and Natesh nodded.

  A propeller plane buzzed low overhead, circling the runway.

  “There they are. Right on time.”

  Natesh said, “That sign says the airport is closed. And I can see some tents and containers on the far half of the runway. Where is the plane going to land?”

  “I spoke with them before we left. They assured me that they would be alright.”

  “Them?”

  “Colombians. Contractors. They’re going to fly us to the coast of Colombia. From there we will take a boat.”

  “To where?”

  She didn’t answer.

  The small propeller plane landed on the near side of the runway, which was clear of debris. The plane taxied over to Lena and Natesh’s jeep. The pair got out and threw their things into the plane.

  Moments later, they had taken off, headed north.

  Over the loud noise of the plane’s engine, Natesh spoke into Lena’s ear. “Can you please tell me where we are going now?”