Ramez Naam - Apex

In ten minutes, the Chinese deadline would expire.

A perfect time to catch the US flat-footed.

“Command has reconfirmed our orders, Colonel,” his comms officer said. “We are to fire one missile on target ZHOU-17, with a one hundred meter offset. Launch time in three minutes.”

Cheung Baili wished he still smoked. A filthy habit, even if it no longer caused cancer. Not fit for a civilized man in a civilized nation.

But by hell he could use a cigarette right now.

“Fire Control,” he said.

“Aye, sir,” his fire control officer responded.

“You have coordinates for target ZHOU-17?”

“Aye, sir. Coordinates relayed by aircraft, sir.”

“A missile is programmed for target ZHOU-17 with one hundred meter offset?”

“Aye, sir,” Fire Control responded. “ZHOU-17, one hundred meter offset north.”

Colonel Cheung Baili took a deep breath. One hundred meters. The specs on these missiles said they were accurate to five meters against moving targets.

Cheung hadn’t made it this far in life by depending on specs.

“Reprogram the missile. ZHOU-17. New offset, five hundred meters.”

There was a pause, less than a second. Then, “Aye, sir. Reprogramming for five hundred meter offset north.”

More seconds passed. Cheung could hear his fire control officer tapping away. He heard the man stop. Could almost hear him thinking as he went back and rechecked that he’d made the changes correctly.

Good. This was not something to botch up.

“Reprogramming complete, Colonel,” his fire control officer said. “New target: ZHOU-17, five hundred meter offset north.”

“Radar officer,” Cheung said. “Check program and confirm.”

“Yes, sir,” Radar said. He heard keys pressed. Another few seconds passed. Then more.

Then his radar officer spoke up.

“Confirmed, Colonel. Missile is programmed for target ZHOU-17, five hundred meter offset to the north of the target.”

Cheung Baili looked at the clock. 12.02am. They were late.

He took a deep breath.

“Launch missile.”

“Launch!” an imaging officer cried. “We have clear indication of launch, Fujian region, strong IR signature, radar hit confirmed, ballistic track.”

“How many birds?” Admiral McWilliams asked.

Pryce blanched.

“One bird at present time, sir! Fleet alert sent. Defensive systems active.”

“Target?” Pryce asked. They all knew their defenses against ballistic inbounds sucked.

“Too soon to say, ma’am!”

The Secretary of Defense spoke. “Activate the JAVELINs.”

“Flight time?” Colonel Cheung asked.

“Impact in… four minutes twenty seconds, Colonel,” Fire Control responded.

He could really use that cigarette.

“JAVELINs armed,” the STRATCOM desk said. “Targets verified. Impactors ready for launch.”

“Negative!” Pryce said. “They only fired once!”

Bernard Stevens gave her a withering look. “That’s why we shoot back now ,” the Secretary of Defense said. “Disable those launchers, before they get the rest off!”

“Any indications of a further launch?” Admiral McWilliams yelled.

“Negative, sir!” the imaging officer replied.

“Anything more on the target?” McWilliams said.

Bernard Stevens fumed silently.

“Still too soon to be sure, sir,” the imaging officer replied, uncertainty in his voice.

“Is it headed for the Lincoln ?” McWilliams asked. “The James Madison ?”

Their two human-crewed carriers in the region. The giant floating cities, capable of wiping out whole nation states, that these missiles had been built to kill.

“Negative, sir!” the imaging officer said, firmly this time. “Target is not a carrier group!”

Pryce frowned in puzzlement.

“We should fire the JAVELINs now!” Secretary Stevens repeated. “Our fleet’s under attack!”

“More data,” Admiral McWilliams replied. “We don’t get to make mistakes here.”

“Target window’s shrinking, sirs,” the imaging officer said. “Looks like… Target is the Page, sirs!”

“The Page ?” Pryce asked.

“It’s a frigate,” McWilliams said softly. “Uncrewed.”

“Missile coming in range of defense systems!” Imaging yelled. “Lasers firing. Missile taking evasive.”

Pryce tensed.

“It’s through! Defenses didn’t hit it. Inbound, Mach 15, headed straight down. Guns opening up. Impact in twenty… fifteen… ten…”

Pryce held her breath.

“Impact!” Imaging yelled out.

“Dammit!” the Secretary of Defense yelled.

“Damage report!” Admiral McWilliams cried.

“Sir,” the fleet comms officer said. “No damage reported. Admiral Porter reports a clean miss, off to starboard of the Page . By a country mile, he says.”

Pryce exhaled.

Jesus.

“Warning shot,” she said aloud.

“The next one won’t be,” McWilliams replied. He turned to the fleet comms officer. “Tell Admiral Porter to have the Lincoln and the Madison commence flight operations. Same orders for the drone carriers. If the Chinese fire on our carriers, we need to have our wings in the air.”

Pryce bit her tongue. Escalation. It wasn’t shooting. But it was still escalation.

“Missile splashed into the sea, Colonel,” his comms officer said. “Airborne observer estimates four hundred meters away from target.”

Cheung Baili let out a long slow breath.

“Which of you has a cigarette for me?”

NEWSFLASH!

American News Network

“… exclusive report of what appears to have been a Chinese missile launch, possibly aimed at a US Navy ship. An American News Network micro-satellite captured this footage, just minutes ago, clearly showing a missile launching from a military installation on the coast of China, just across the strait from Taiwan, and arcing out towards the East China Sea, where US ships have been positioned since…”

The woman who called herself Kate turned off the news and sat in silence.

Pros and cons weighed on her. Risks and benefits. The risk of any contact with someone who claimed to be highly placed in the US Government. The high likelihood that they in fact were not.

The risk of doing nothing. Of hostilities escalating even further.

War created opportunities. That was true.

But war seldom meant new freedoms. War would see Americans rally around whoever was in the White House. War would see men and women give up their freedoms for false security, for a while at least. For another decade.

And in the worst case it could be even worse than that, of course. War between fully capable nuclear powers?

No. She didn’t want that. No one should.

Kate reopened her terminal, tunneled through every layer of anonymity she could, found the message she’d received from the self-professed government insider, and fired off a response.

URGENT: China didn’t kill Barnes…

120

Down the Rabbit Hole

Monday 2041.01.20

What was that sound? Sam closed her eyes, tried to tune into it.

“We go to her,” she heard Kade say. “We go down the rabbit hole.”

A grinding.

“CLEAR!” Sam yelled. She flew at Kade, hampered by the heavy gear bag on her back, slammed into him just as his face came around in surprise, flattened him to the ground, heard him explosively exhale with the force of it.

Just as the elevator doors began to open.

Feng and Bai and the other Fist, named Liwei, were already reacting, vaulting back out of the line of fire, guns up.

Muzzle flash filled the space. Bullets ripped out from their assault rifles. Liwei hurled a grenade into the massive vault of the elevator as the door opened wider.