Page 179 of Never

‘Port Sudan.’

‘Oh, shit, I never thought of that.’ Pauline tapped her forehead with the heel of her hand, in a gesture that meantHow could I be so dumb?She looked at Gus, thinking how often he turned out to be the smartest person in the room.

‘It’s possible,’ Chess said. ‘They will say they never intended to kill American geologists, just as we say we never wanted our drone to be used to kill Chinese engineers. We’ll say it’s not the same, and they’ll say what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Neutral countries will shrug and say these superpowers are all the goddamn same.’

It was true, but it angered Pauline. ‘These are people, not debating points. They have families who grieve for them.’

‘I know. As they say in the Mafia, whaddaya gonna do?’

Pauline clenched her fists. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’

At her desktop workstation, there was a tone indicating a video call. Pauline sat behind the desk, looked at the screen, and clicked her mouse. Chen appeared. Although he was as smart as ever, in his usual blue suit, he looked tired. It was midnight there, and he had probably had a long day.

But she was not in a mood to enquire how he was. She said: ‘Mr President, the action of the Chinese navy in sinking the Vietnamese shipVu Trong Phung—’

To her surprise he interrupted her rudely and loudly in English. ‘Madam President, I protest in the strongest possible terms about criminal activities by Americans in the South China Sea.’

Pauline was astonished. ‘You’reprotesting? You just murdered two Americans!’

‘It is against the law for foreign nations to drill for oil in Chinese waters. We do not drill in the Gulf of Mexico without permission; why do you not give us the same respect?’

‘It’s not against international law to explore for oil in the South China Sea.’

‘It’s against our law.’

‘You can’t make up international law to suit yourselves.’

‘Why not? It’s what the Western nations did for centuries. When we made opium illegal, the British declared war on us!’ Chen smiled maliciously. ‘Now the boot is on the other foot.’

‘That’s ancient history.’

‘And you might prefer it to be forgotten, but we Chinese remember.’

Pauline took a deep breath to help her keep her temper. ‘The Vietnamese activities were not criminal but, even if they had been, that would not have justified sinking the ship and killing those on board.’

‘The illegal drill ship refused to surrender. Police action was necessary. Some of the crew were arrested. The ship became damaged and some of those on board regrettably drowned.’

‘Bullshit. We have satellite photos. You sank the ship with a cruise missile fired from three miles away.’

‘We enforced the law.’

‘When you discover people doing something you think is illegal, you don’t kill them, not in a civilized country.’

‘What do police officers do when a criminal refuses to surrender in thecivilizedUnited States? They shoot him – especially if he’s non-white.’

‘So next time a Chinese tourist is caught shoplifting tights in Macy’s, you would be perfectly happy for the security guard to shoot her dead.’

‘If she’s a thief, we don’t want her back in China.’ This was a remarkable conversation to have with a Chinese president, and Pauline paused for a moment. Chinese politicians could be politely aggressive. Chen seemed to have lost his cool. She resolved to keep hers.

Then she said: ‘We don’t shoot shoplifters, and neither do you. But we don’t sink unarmed ships, even if they violate our rules, and it’s unacceptable for you to do so.’

‘This is an internal Chinese matter, and you may not interfere.’

Jacqueline Brody held up a sheet of paper with the words:ASK ABOUT DR LAFAYETTE.

Pauline said: ‘Perhaps we should talk about the surviving American, Dr Joan Lafayette. She must be allowed to come home.’

Chen said: ‘I regret that will not be possible at this time. Goodbye, Madam President.’ To Pauline’s amazement, he hung up. The screen went blank and the phone became silent.