CIA Offices
U.S. Embassy
Peking (Beijing), Republic of
China
Major
General David Halderman and Colonel Aaron Bank waited patiently for Brigadier
General Archimedes L.A. Patti's attractive assistant, Sergeant Jane Li, to
announce them. In the meanwhile, they entertained themselves by drinking coffee
and watching Sergeant Li work, until she finally opened the door and announced
them. Arch has done quite well for himself, thought Halderman, noting that the
CIA's top intelligence officer in China, and General Donovan's personal envoy
to Chinese president, Sun Li-jen, had an office that was far larger than the
one that they had once shared.
As
all the regulation pleasantries were adhered to, the men settled down to talk.
“Nice accommodations, Arch. I was thinking that this was nothing compared to
our office in the Pentagon” said Halderman. “Well, David, I really didn't have
a choice in the matter, but if I had to be shanghaied again, this is exactly
the way it should be. By the way, who's the newbie?” Patti was obviously
referring to Colonel Bank, whose uniform mostly made sense to him, as an
Airborne-trained OSS man, except for the green beret he wore and the
crossed-arrow branch-of-service emblem he wore. As an old-school OSS man, Patti
was familiar with Aaron Bank's exploits, especially his operation to kill or
capture Adolf Hitler, Operation Iron Cross. “This is Colonel Aaron Bank, and
we're here to ask for your help, Arch. I worked up a plan for Jedburgh-style
drops into Siberia. See, over the past few years, there have been rumors as to
what really happens in Stalin's Gulags and to the Jews that he's had
transported east, under the pretense of 'protecting' them. As man whose
maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, this hits pretty close to
home for me, as chilling memories of stories that my grandparents told me are
unfolding before my eyes. Also, there are German and Eastern European prisoners
in the camps that could be useful to us. It could be worth our while to free
them and use them to sow chaos in Siberia...” as Patti allowed himself to
absorb what he was being told, he was already formulating a plan, that he would
have to present to President Sun and General Rushenko of the FRAF.
As
a hedge, Patti asked “How can I help you, gentlemen?” Halderman and Bank looked
at each other, then Halderman nodded to Bank, who said “Well, sir, General
Halderman and myself, along with my executive officer, have developed a plan to
insert my command, the 10th Special Forces Group, by air and
by land, and we will require local help in doing so. Since you have impeccable local
contacts, we figured that we could do worse than asking you, sir...” the last
comment, Bank delivered with a lop-sided, insouciant, smile. Patti found
himself thinking “an irregular commander for an irregular command” and found it
difficult to suppress a smile of his own. “David, Aaron, you have my wheels
turning and I have a few ideas of my own to add” Patti called into his intercom
“Sergeant Li, please put on another pot of coffee for our guests, and pot of
oolong tea for us, and then join us when you are ready” “Yes, sir” she replied
through the intercom. Halderman and Bank shot concerned looks at Patti, as he
replied “Jane Li comes from one of the most prominent families in San
Francisco, and has been fighting the communists since before we had entered the
world war. She has been vetted many times and holds high security clearances
for us, and for the Chinese government. She also happens to be a very
meticulous planner. We can use her unique talents”
A
few minutes later, Jane Li enters the office, pulls out a couple of small
office tables, and serves up coffee and tea, before sitting down to join the
brainstorming session. She listens intently, and a few minutes into the
session, she speaks up “Sirs – General Halderman and Colonel Bank – I think it would
be prudent to hire trustworthy local guides to train your men how to travel
through their terrain. There are several native Siberians that I can think of
who can be given suitable motivation to defect and help us. From my
understanding of the situation, if we do not do something soon, the window of
opportunity will close and the Soviets will consolidate their gains everywhere.
We will never have this chance again.” They all looked at Sergeant Li in
stunned surprise, and agreement. They all knew that she was right. “Here's what
I propose should happen: follow the model of the Cabanatuan POW camp raid on
four of the gulag camps that Chinese intelligence has identified, near the
border. One of those camps has been confirmed as having German and Eastern European
POW's from the last war, being 're-educated' for repariation back to their
nations of origin. We've had paid assets there for many years, especially after
the failed 'Republic of Yakutia' fiasco, during the Russian Civil War” Only
General Patti was familiar with what Sergeant Li was talking about, so he
explained the local history, giving his guests a better understanding of the
regional situation.
Having
been thus informed, all four of them set about meticulously planning, and
gaming, the first large-scale guerrilla action of the Third World War.
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