CARRIER 2: VIPER STRIKE
By Keith Douglass
CARRIER 2: VIPER STRIKE
By Keith Douglass
Also by Keith Douglass
The CARRIER SERIES:
CARRIER Carrier 2: VIPER STRIKE Carrier 3: ARMAGEDDON MODE Carrier 4:
FLAME-OUT Carrier 5: MAELSTROM Carrier 6: COUNTDOWN
THE SEAL TEAM SEVEN SERIES:
SEAL TEAM SEVEN SPECTER
PROLOGUE
0920 hours, 12 January, Mong-koi, Burma
General Hsiao Kuoping stooped beneath the still-turning blades of the
helicopter as he strode across the tarmac toward the group waiting to
receive him. It had rained the night before, and the runway was slick
with pools of water on which the helo’s prop wash etched churning
patterns.
The long flight northeast from Rangoon had only added to Hsiao’s anger.
Twenty-four hours before he had been in Bangkok. Travel from the That
capital to this remote corner of Burma was dangerous, and the chance of
discovery became greater each time he risked travel between the two
countries.
Hsiao was not in uniform, but the Burmese honor guard snapped to
attention and the officers saluted. One of the three officers present
wore the austere uniform of a general of the Chinese People’s Army. The
other officer, a ponderously fat man, wore the gaudy uniform trappings
of a Burmese army general.
With his glasses, short stature, and graying hair, Hsiao Kuoping looked
more like a college professor than a military officer, but the attitude
of his reception committee was one of deference. Once, he had been
director of the foreign service branch of China’s intelligence
directorate. Theoretically, he still was. Beijing did not yet know
that he was now working not for them, but for himself.
Thunder rolled through the sky, and Hsiao looked up. A pair of Chinese
fighters, Shenyang J-7s, dropped below the overcast and overflew the
field, the tops of their swept-back wings trailing white contrails in
the wet, morning air.
“This is indeed an honor,” one of the Chinese officers said. A small,
waspish man, General Xiang Xu was Hsiao’s commander of the PRC forces
covertly based in Burma. “We thought you were remaining in Bangkok
until the end of the week.”
“That was my plan, yes,” Hsiao replied, his voice low and dangerous.
Xiang and the Chinese colonel at his side shifted uncomfortably under
his stare. The fat Burmese officer, who did not speak Mandarin, just
looked confused. “Unfortunately, events seem to have dictated a change
of that plan.
What cretin ordered the suspension of flights from Fuhsingchen?”
Xiang swallowed. “I … I gave the order, Comrade General.”
Hsiao stared down at the smaller man until Xiang dropped his gaze. “And
your reason?”
“We received word here two days ago that an American aircraft carrier
battle group was entering the Gulf of Thailand, possibly in support of
the Bangkok regime. I thought it would be best if we suspended the
flights from Fuhsingchen, rather than risk being detected by the
Americans.”
“And are the Americans so formidable that everything I have planned,
everything I have worked for must be suspended simply because a few of
their ships approach the That coast?”
“Sir … comrade … we tried to notify you. But communications between
our base here and Bangkok are slow and uncertain.”
“I sent the message alerting you to the situation yesterday, General,”
Colonel Wu Ying added quietly. He gave Xiang a sideways glance. “I
thought you should be apprised of the situation.”
“Quite right, Colonel.” Thunder echoed again as the two fighters
approached the airfield once more. Their landing gear were down, their
flaps deployed as they settled toward the end of the jungle runway. “I
see the transfers have been resumed.”
“Only this morning, yes, sir,” Wu said. “Eighteen have arrived already,
counting those two. Those still at Fuhsingchen should all be here
within the next twenty hours. I ordered the flights resumed as soon as
your message reached us this morning.”
Hsiao watched in silence as the two J-7s touched down and shrieked past
the spot where the group stood. Drogue chutes popped from their tails,
slowing them.
This operation had been years in the making. It was complex and
far-reaching, and the most insignificant of incidents could unravel
everything. Xiang’s interference could have destroyed the timetable
completely.
Hsiao arrived at a decision. “Colonel Wu, place General Xiang under