28 China
Pru woke to the chime of the com. She roused, glanced at the time readout and frowned at being disturbed at four in the morning, thinking she had set the com not to disturb her. But, when she turned to the com screen, she was startled to see the logo of the OSG and quickly keyed for Voice Only.
“Prudence Whiteside,” she said.
There was a hesitation, while, she assumed, voice recognition took place, and the logo was replaced by General Khan, seated at his desk. He smiled and nodded, a slight smile on his face.
“Good morning, Pru,” he said, “sorry to wake you. I have a problem I need your help with.”
“Just a moment, sir,” Pru said, running her fingers through her hair. She reached for the remote, turned up the lights in the room and set the com for a view of her upper body. “How can I help you?” Her hands reached for the room’s service module and she dialed for coffee.
I believe you are in Beijing?” Kahn asked.
Sue nodded. “I’ve been working on business development in the coastal CAs for the past few weeks.
“I checked your resume,” the general went on, “and your language skills may be of use to us, as well as your knowledge of the local area.” His grin acknowledged their earlier discussions. “I need an Operations Manager for a rather delicate mission in the Xinjiang area. Can you detach yourself for a few days?”
“Of course, sir; if you have no one else.” Her coffee arrived, and she took a sip.
“Frankly, Pru, I don’t. You know our operations, you know the new management concept, and you know the language and country. I’ll be putting you in touch with a Case Operator here who has the details, but let me just say that we are dealing with a kidnapping or hostage situation in Xinjiang. We need to resolve the matter quickly. In addition to the Case Operator, I’m assigning a local SO force to you. The commander – she is Captain Jiang Lia-Chu – will contact you shortly. The Case Operator’s name is Luther Mies. If you need anything else, please let me know.”
Pru set her cup down; her spine tingled with a hunch. “General, I’m not sure why I’m asking this, but could Captain al-Khud lend me his Sergeant Major?”
“Sergeant O’Leary? I’ll ask him. Do you want her immediately?”
“General, I haven’t the foggiest idea what I’m doing. I need help. Please send her as soon as you can.”
“I’ll get back to you on that. In the meantime, here is Mr Mies.”
The general’s face was replaced by the image of a heavy-set man with dark hair. He was sitting at a desk that was clearly in the Neo-Tantra offices, but he quickly zoomed the view to his upper body, as was common courtesy.
“Good morning, Ms Whiteside,” he said, “I’m afraid it’s rather early where you are. Sorry about that.”
“Call me Pru, please. Anyway, the general got my attention rather quickly.” She punched the service unit for breakfast.
“He has a way of doing that. And call me Luther.”
“So, what’s up?”
“Have you ever heard of Turpan? It’s in Xinjiang province.”
“Yes, I know the place. Pretty nasty, unless you live there and love it. I spent a few months in Kashgar when I was a kid. The climate is a little harsh.”
Luther chuckled. “That’s an understatement. Well, that’s where we have our problem. Seems there’s a fellow there who’s gotten some of his followers to kidnap a number of people and hold them hostage.”
“Who are these people?”
“I’ll send you a list of the hostages. From appearances – the names, that is – they are all ethnic Han Chinese. The guy who started this is a local boy, name of Elik Baltar. We don’t have much on his background, but he’s been active in Turpan for some time as a religious organizer – he’s Muslim.”
“He’s a Uighur, too, from his name. Is he an imam?” Pru interrupted.
“No, he’s not. But, he hangs out at the mosques a lot, and seems to be supported by unknown funds. Someone’s bankrolling him, and he does the dirty work. We’ve got a few people out there who are tracing his sources, but nothing definite yet.
“Anyway, it seems Baltar has been telling people that the current economic problems in the area are all the fault of the Han population. He says that the Han aren’t Muslims nor are they Uighur, and that they should be somehow expelled from the parts of Xinjiang that, he says, belong to the Uighur.” He looked up from his notes. “You know about the Uighur?”
Pru nodded and responded, “Most of the population of western Xinjiang is ethnic Uighur. They’re Turkic-speakers descended from nomads. Until about 200 years ago, a lot of them still raised cotton and sheep.” She looked at him again. “Is this guy Baltar using any religious justification for this?”
Luther looked surprised. “Why, yes. The old ‘out with the infidels’ thing. Do you know about this?”
Pru chuckled. “No, Luther. But, you should read your history. For centuries, fanatics of one sort or another in that area have used the same excuse to try and get rid of the Han. There was even a Wahabbist revolt there back in the 20th century. They’re traditional enemies, even though the populations have intermarried for – what? – 300 years. Of course, the Han have tried to increase their population there, too, but not really since the UN has taken over world government.”
Luther was impressed. “Well, they’ve taken these 30 or so hostages and are demanding economic and cultural concessions from the OSG. Mainly, they say the OSG must remove Han landowners from the area and restore ‘traditional’ life to the original Uighur residents. They aren’t too specific about that, but they do say that, if we don’t meet their demands in ten days, they’ll execute the hostages.”
“Ten days from when?”
“Actually, on the last day of this month.”
“That’s nine days left. Is anyone talking to them? And, who is it? I need to talk with whoever it is.”
“Actually, I have spoken with their contact person, but only once. Basically, I told them that OSG policy is that we will not discus anything until the hostages are freed.”
“And, they laughed at you.”
Luther’s face reddened. “Right. But, I left it at that. I told them we would be in touch.”
“What about the comNews?”
“Actually, they broke the story. Baltar commed them and told them what he’s done, and what his demands are. We’ve stonewalled, saying we have had no reports from the field.”
“Good. Squawk me this guy’s CID. I’ll need to establish contact from here.”
“All right.” Luther touched his remote and the CID appeared on Pru’s screen, her com beeped as it received the information. She could see there was a call waiting.
“Luther, right now, I need to get organized. I have to meet with my SO commander and find out what’s happening here. Squawk me any information you have now so I can be up to speed when I talk to her, and I’ll be back to you in a couple of hours.”
They closed the connection and Pru took a bite or two of breakfast before acknowledging the call that was waiting. The square face of a Han Chinese woman in SO uniform filled the screen.
“I am Captain Jiang,” she stated bluntly, and in English.
Pru replied in her fluent Mandarin, “I am Prudence Whiteside. I am pleased to meet you. I hope you have not been kept waiting. If so, you have my apologies. I was talking to our Case Operator.”
The captain’s eyes widened slightly. “You speak excellent Mandarin, Ms Whiteside.”
“Thank you. I think it is essential that we meet as soon as possible. Where are you?”
“I am at the OSG offices here in Beijing.”
“I know where they are. I will be there as quickly as the slideways can get me there.”
They closed the connection in a formal way and Pru finished her breakfast, took a shower and dressed. Because this was Beijing, she put on a fitted silk top, in the style of a cheong sam, which went with her kilt. Otherwise, she wore her knife and carried her remote in her shoulder bag. At the last minute, she put on her wrist com, and the ear cuffs and throat-mike necklace that went with it. Riding down in the elevator, she contacted Luther.
“Luther, I’m on my way to meet with Captain Jiang at OSG headquarters. You can reach me on my wrist com.”
“Understood,” Luther replied in her ear.
Outside the hotel, Pru took a slideway across town. Early as it was, there were a number of people about. Typically for China, nearly everyone wore some form of clothing on their upper bodies – whether a tunic or a top similar to Pru’s. The CA’s temperature and humidity were correspondingly cooler. The kilts they wore differed only in cut and color from those worn in countless CAs around the world. The utility of that garment had quickly become accepted in the Controlled Areas.
At the OSG building, the scanners passed Pru through the doors without hesitation, and soon she was facing Captain Jiang, a sturdy woman of medium height, wearing a tunic, an Uncommitted flash and a row of medal ribbons as prescribed by OSG uniform rules. They shook hands and went into her office. Captain Jiang seemed cool and reserved as they sat down across a low table. Pru sensed disapproval and hostility from her. The captain waited briefly until an orderly brought in a tea service and poured for both of them.
The captain began, “So, you’re the Operations Manager.” She did not sound pleased.
“That’s correct. General Khan asked me to take that role.”
“And I am to report to you and take your orders.”
“That is my understanding. However, please be aware that I am not acting as a force commander – that is your job. I will develop strategy with you and discuss tactics with you.”
“We will see how that will work,” the captain said, “and then we will see what is needed to resolve the matter. Have you been briefed?”
Pru nodded. “Only minimally. I’ve talked with Luther Mies, the Case Operator, and he has sent me appropriate information. I would like to take the time to go over it before we go much further.” She looked at the captain, who was sitting stiffly in her chair. “I assume you have been briefed as well. Do you have information I do not have?”
A flicker of a smile passed over the square lips. “I have the original comNews report as well as certain information from Mr Mies, and I have some material from our own files. Xinjiang and the Uighur have been a problem for us for a long time.”
Pru hesitated and sat back in her chair, the teacup in her hand. “I hope you won’t think me impertinent, captain, but I detect something in your voice.” Pru switched from Mandarin to Cantonese. “Is it possible you are from the south?”
Captain Jiang’s eyes popped. She responded in Cantonese. “Yes, I was born in Guangdong. I am surprised you noticed.”
“I grew up here in China, captain. I lived here for more than 10 years – Beijing, Guangdong, and I even spent several months in Xinjiang. I think we can work this matter out together.”
“I think it may be possible. But, you are not military.”
“No, but I have had some experience. If you wish, you might query my background in the database.”
The captain looked down into her teacup. “Actually, I did, as soon as I was told you would be commanding.” She looked directly at Pru. “All I found was that you are Chief Operating Officer of some company that sells sex education.”
“That much is true,” Pru replied. “But, there is a little more. I will give you a code that will enable you to access more information.”
Pru waved her wrist com at the com screen and pressed one of the jewel-like buttons. The screen came to life and she coded in the necessary information. The captain did not miss the implication of her sophisticated wrist com.
“Now, this will give you access to part of my OSG file. While you look through that, I’ll take a few moments to go through the material Luther Mies sent. Can you free up a screen for me?”
The captain, her attitude and feelings somewhat mollified, took Pru to another office where Pru called up the information she needed and began reading through it. Shortly, she received a file from the captain with more details on the situation in Turpan and other parts of Uighur-populated Xinjiang. When she was finished, she returned to the captain’s office where the other woman was talking with a man with sergeant major’s insignia on his tunic.
“This is my Sergeant Major,” the captain said, speaking Mandarin, “Sergeant, this is Ms Whiteside, our Operations Manager. You will give her every assistance.” The sergeant saluted and left the room.
“Captain,” Pru said, “now that we’ve each had a chance to catch up on things, please give me your appreciation of the situation.”
Captain Jiang’s attitude had changed somewhat in the past half-hour. Although still not actually friendly, she spoke with respect and seemed to acknowledge Pru as, if not an equal, as someone she was willing to work with.
“We have here a fairly routine hostage situation, Ms Whiteside. Our normal approach is to locate the hostages, locate the ringleaders and take the necessary measures to extract the hostages. Once that is done, we round up the ringleaders and their followers and take them into custody for punishment by the courts.”
Pru interjected, “On average, how many hostages survive this process? And, how often do you have cases like this?”
Captain Jiang, stiffened. “Casualties are inevitable, both among hostages and their captors, Ms Whiteside. We do our best to keep them to a minimum.”
“And, as I asked, how often does this type of thing happen?”
“It depends. In some places, it happens fairly often. Other places, it is rare.”
“In Xinjiang?”
“There have been a number of cases that have occurred over the past 20 years or so. They do not seem to learn their lessons.”
Pru thought for a moment or two. “Captain, my job is to help you get those hostages out without casualties. If possible, I also want to minimize the risk of this happening as often as it has.
“Later today, I expect the arrival of my chief of staff, Sgt. Maj. O’Leary. In the meantime, I intend to contact Elik Baltar, who appears to be the leader of this outfit. I will open negotiations with him with a view to gaining an extension of his deadline or any other concession we can get from him.”
“We do not negotiate with these people, Ms Whiteside. My troops are ready to depart for Xinjiang immediately.”
“Captain, I appreciate your position. It accords with standard OSG doctrine. However, I am going to take a somewhat different approach. And in any case, I must do what I can to locate both the captors and the captives before we do anything.
“I believe you have the CIDs of the hostages. Please have a local scan made around Turpan to attempt to locate them. Also, please, when I contact Baltar, try to track his location, even though I’m sure he will do what he can to hide it. If it’s all right, I will continue to use the office you showed me.” Pru stood for a moment, thinking and letting her senses scan the captain.
“I assume the comNews have been in touch with you?”
“That is correct. I have told them that OSG is handling the situation.”
“That’s all?”
“What else is there to say?”
“Captain, you or one of your people will be the liaison with comNews. Please keep in regular, even frequent, touch with them and assure them that we have the welfare of the hostages in mind and that we are taking all measures to recover them safely.”
“Why don’t you do that?”
“My association with OSG and that of my company, as you know, is classified. I can’t meet with comNews on anything related to this, and you should be aware of that. Please keep me up to date on what comNews is asking and pass on any information they may inadvertently give you.
“And, later on – perhaps after lunch – I would appreciate it if you and I might take an hour and spar a bit at a good Salle. I need some exercise.”