Page 259 of Never

Then Pauline noticed another clutch of missiles approaching theFujianfrom the opposite direction. These had come from the plane, she assumed.

Some of the smaller ships escorting theFujianwere now firing, but there were only a few seconds left to impact.

On deck, sailors raced to reload Red Banners, but they could not move fast enough.

The impacts were almost simultaneous. The hits were concentrated amidships. There was a huge explosion. Pauline gasped as the deck of theFujianseemed to lift and snap in the middle, sending all the aircraft sliding into the sea. Flame erupted from within and smoke poured out. Then the two halves of the thousand-foot deck collapsed slowly downwards. Pauline watched in horror as the giant ship broke into two halves. Both halves upended, the central parts sinking while the bow and stern rose into the air. She thought she saw human figures, tiny at this distance, flying through the air and into the water, and she whispered: ‘Oh, no!’ She felt Gus’s hand touch her arm, squeeze gently, then withdraw.

Minutes passed as the wreckage slowly filled with water and descended deeper. The stern went under first, leaving a brief crater in the sea that immediately filled and spouted foam. The bow sank soon after, with a similar effect. Pauline stared at the surface as it returned to normal. In a while the sea was calm. A few motionless bodies floated amid bits of wreckage: timber, rubber and plastic. The escort ships lowered boats, doubtless to pick up survivors. Pauline thought there would not be many.

It was almost as if theFujianhad never existed.

***

The men who led China were in shock.

They had little experience of war, Kai reflected. The last time the Chinese military had been involved in serious fighting had been 1979, during a brief and unsuccessful invasion of Vietnam. Most of the people in the room had never witnessed what they had just seen on video, thousands of people being killed deliberately and violently.

The anger and grief of the people in the room would be matched by ordinary citizens, Kai felt sure. The desire for revenge would be strong here and even greater on the streets, among the people whose taxes had paid for the aircraft carrier. The Chinese government had to retaliate. Even Kai thought that. They could not overlook the killing of so many Chinese people.

General Huang said: ‘At a minimum, we must sink one of their aircraft carriers in retaliation.’

As usual Kong Zhao, the young defence minister, sounded the cautious note. ‘If we do that, they will sink another of ours. One more round of that tit-for-tat and we will have none left, whereas the Americans will still have –’ he thought for a moment – ‘eight.’

‘Will you just let them get away with this?’

‘No, but I think we might pause to reflect.’

Kai’s phone rang. He left the table and found a quiet corner of the room.

It was Ham. He said: ‘The South Koreans are taking over the city of Pyongyang. General Pak has left.’

‘Where has he gone?’

‘To his original base at Yeongjeo-dong.’

‘Where the nuclear missiles are.’ Kai had seen them, the day he visited: six of them, lined up on their giant launch vehicles.

‘There’s a way you can stop him using them.’

‘Tell me, quick.’

‘You won’t like it.’

‘I bet.’

‘Get the US to make the South Korean army pull back from Pyongyang.’

The suggestion was radical, but it made a kind of sense. For a moment Kai said nothing, thinking.

Ham added: ‘You have contacts with the Americans, don’t you?’

‘I’ll call them, but they may not be able to do what you want.’

‘Tell them that if the South Koreans don’t withdraw, Pak will use nuclear weapons.’

‘Would he?’

‘It’s possible.’