Page 199 of Never

‘I promise,’ he said.

‘You may have to send a Special Forces team across the border in helicopters to get me out.’

Kai might struggle to make that happen for the sake of one spy whose usefulness was at an end, but this was no time to confess to doubts. ‘If that’s what it takes, we’ll do it,’ he said, with all the sincerity he could fake.

‘I think you owe me that.’

‘I certainly do.’ Kai meant it, and hoped he would be able to pay his debt.

‘Thank you.’ Ham hung up.

The implication Kai and Jin had drawn from the speech of the Supreme Leader had been confirmed by the most trustworthy spy Kai had ever had. He had to share the news.

He had been looking forward to a quiet evening at home with Ting. They both worked hard and at the end of the day, neither of them wanted to dress up and go to fashionable places where they would see and be seen. Quiet evenings were their delight. In their neighbourhood a new place had opened called Trattoria Reggio. Kai had been looking forward to some penne all’arrabbiata. But duty called.

He would tell the vice-chairman of the National Security Commission, who was his father, Chang Jianjun.

There was no answer from Jianjun’s personal phone, but he would probably be at home by now. Kai dialled the number and his mother answered. Kai spent a few moments patiently answering her questions: he was not getting sinus headaches and had not suffered them for some years now; Ting had had her annual vaccination for influenza and had suffered no side effects from the jab; Ting’s mother was very well for her age, and not suffering any more than usual from her old leg injury; and, finally, he did not know what was going to happen next onLove in the Palace. Then he asked for his father.

She said: ‘He’s gone to the Enjoy Hot restaurant to eat pigs’ feet with his comrades and he’ll come home stinking of garlic.’

‘Thank you,’ said Kai. ‘I’ll catch him there.’

He could have phoned the restaurant, but the old man might resent being called to the phone during a dinner with old companions. However, the place was not far from Guoanbu headquarters, so Kai decided to go there. It was always better to talk to his father in person rather than on the phone, anyway. He told Peng Yawen to notify Monk.

Before leaving, he told Jin what he had learned from General Ham. ‘Now I’m going to brief Chang Jianjun,’ he said. ‘Call me if anything happens.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Enjoy Hot was a large restaurant with several private rooms. In one of them Kai found his father dining with General Huang Ling and Kai’s boss, Fu Chuyu, the Minister for State Security. The room was full of the steamy odours of chilli, garlic and ginger. All three men were members of the National Security Commission; they formed a powerful conservative group. They looked sober and serious, and seemed irritated to be disturbed. Perhaps this was more than a convivial get-together. Kai would have liked to know what they had been discussing that required privacy from other diners.

Kai said: ‘Some news from North Korea that won’t wait until the morning.’

He expected them to tell him to pull up a chair, but they thought such courtesy was not necessary towards a younger man. Fu Chuyu, his boss, said: ‘Carry on.’

‘There’s strong evidence that the regime of Kang U-jung is losing its grip on the country. The ultras now control the north-east as well as the north-west – in other words, half the country. A reliable informant describes the situation as civil war.’

Fu said: ‘That changes the game.’

General Huang looked sceptical. ‘If it’s true.’

Kai said: ‘That’s always a question with secret intelligence. But I would not have brought you this information if I did not have confidence in it.’

Chang Jianjun said: ‘If it’s true, what do we do?’

Huang was aggressive, as ever. ‘Bomb the traitors. In half an hour we could flatten every base they’ve taken over and kill them all. Why not?’

Kai knew why not, but he kept quiet, and his father answered the question with a touch of impatience. ‘Because in that half-hour they might launch nuclear missiles at Chinese cities.’

Huang bristled. ‘Are we scared of a rabble of Korean mutineers now?’

‘No,’ said Jianjun. ‘We’re scared of nuclear bombs. Anyone in his right mind is scared of nuclear bombs.’

This kind of talk infuriated Huang. He thought it made China weak. He said: ‘So anyone who steals a few nukes can do whatever he likes and China will be powerless to resist!’

‘Certainly not,’ said Jianjun crisply. ‘But bombing is not our first move.’ After a moment he added thoughtfully: ‘Though it might well be our last.’

Huang shifted his ground. ‘I doubt whether the situation is as bad as it’s been represented. Spies always exaggerate their reports in order to pump up their own importance.’