When the Killing Starts (The Blackwell Files Book 8)

by Steven F Freeman

  “That’s always been your goal, hasn’t it?” said Alton.

  “What’s his goal been?” asked David, as astonished as anyone.

  “Keeping us focused on the nuclear power plant attack. So focused, in fact, that it would never occur to us that the main purpose of the Olchin attack has been to serve as a decoy to North Korea’s true objective.”

  “True objective?” said Nang with a sneer. “And what might that be?”

  “I don’t know…not yet. But give me time and I’ll figure it out.”

  “Listen to yourself,” said Nang, his confidence visibly growing. “You sound like someone suffering from schizophrenia. You claim there’s another, sinister attack, but you don’t know what it is. You claim I’m some sort of evil North Korean agent, but you can’t offer any proof.”

  “You’re wrong there,” said Alton. “The clues were all around me. I just didn’t put the puzzle pieces together until now.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Nang barked another command in Korean to his soldiers. Lieutenant Kae’s men had already advanced out of earshot across the perimeter road. But Chegal and Ru had stayed close to their commander and now swiveled their rifles in Alton’s direction.

  “Alton!” said Camron in a trembling voice. “Nang’s telling his men to prepare to shoot you.”

  “Of course he is,” said Alton in an even voice. “He can’t have his secrets revealed.”

  “There are no secrets,” insisted Nang.

  Chegal and Yu’s eyes signaled uncertainty. They looked to Alton for an explanation.

  “I’ll start with the final clue, the one I noticed a few minutes ago.”

  “Please…tell us.” Nang’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “You’ll show everyone how crazy you really are.”

  “When the North Korean troops started retreating so quickly, it surprised me,” said Alton, “especially when Camron mentioned they’re the elite Storm Corps. Now I know why.” He locked Nang in a stare. “And so do you. Olchin’s guards never patrolled up here, but a couple of minutes ago you saw the boot prints of dozens of men leading away from the plant. Here’s the weird part: you never let on to that fact. You knew the enemy troops had accomplished their mission and were retreating yet never said anything about it, even though it meant we’d have to pursue them aggressively to recapture the nuclear material they presumably stole from the plant.”

  “Wait,” said Nang with a contemptuous smile. “You said attacking Olchin wasn’t their mission. Make up your mind.”

  “Their mission here is to produce as convincing a display as possible, one that will keep us so occupied we’d never suspect the North’s other, more important objective. Your job is to ensure we stayed focused on the decoy targets: first the Olympics, then Olchin. Once we eventually discovered the boot prints, we’d chase them across the country, not realizing that’s exactly what they wanted.”

  “Speculation and fairy tales,” said Nang. He looked over his shoulder. “Meanwhile, the Northern soldiers continue to retreat.”

  “Not speculation. A handful of events that seemed a little strange at the time all make sense now.”

  “Such as—?”

  Alton limped towards his adversary but spoke his words loudly enough for all to hear, including Chegal and Yu. “The day my team arrived in Seoul, your mom came to our HQ building to see you, but you refused to meet her—even though you admittedly hadn’t seen her in months.”

  Nang snorted. “I can’t interrupt an important debriefing for a family reunion.”

  “Which is exactly why I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But now I realized you couldn’t have met her. She would have outed you as an imposter.”

  Nang shook his head and looked at the sky, as if asking the heavens for guidance.

  Alton continued. “And then there was your ‘sighting’ of the North Korean spy at the Olympic Village.”

  “That was a legitimate event—”

  “So you say,” cut in Alton. “But no one besides you ever saw your bad guy. And Agent Vega, my NSA boss, sent me an email last night. He ran all security footage from the Olympic Village from the day of our visit through facial recognition software but came up empty. No one missing an earlobe appeared on any of the footage.”

  Nang’s lips twitched downward, and his eyes blazed in anger. “That still doesn’t prove anything.”

  “And then there was your foot-dragging when I mentioned the idea of trying to hack the North’s servers with my phishing e-mail. First, you questioned whether the attempt was worth the effort, then you expressed doubt that we’d be able to gather meaningful intel in a short time. Now I understand…you’d never be able to stop the thousands of Northern confidential e-mails that might be intercepted, so you did your best to squash the effort before we learned too much.”

  “If your hacking technique was so useful,” said Nang, “why didn’t you discover the ‘true plot,’ the one you said I’m trying to hide?”

  “Because the North uses code words for everything. I’ve said all along that the decrypted messages contained references we hadn’t yet figured out.

  “Speaking of computer viruses,” continued Alton, “it was you who pointed out the common thread in the people and servers sought out by the North’s thumb drives malware. You pointed us in the direction of the power plant and kept us pointed in that direction the entire way. We were so focused on that decoy, we never considered any alternatives—until now.”

  “A fascinating story,” said Nang. “Are Chegal and Ru North Korean agents, too?”

  “You know they’re not. Unlike you, they didn’t travel from the border. They came directly from units stationed in Seoul, where fifty men know their identities. That was the beauty of your scheme. No one on the team knew you from the real Nang.”

  Chegal lowered his rifle, and Ru followed suit. Good thing, since O’Neil had his trained on both men from the furthermost right flank.

  Breathing a sigh of relief that his life no longer depended on the soldiers’ nervous trigger fingers, Alton took a step towards Nang. “The most damning evidence of all was the ambush at the Seoraksan Mountains.”

  “How is that my fault?” spat Nang.

  “You led us right to the spot of the ambush, literally within yards of enemy troops. A funny coincidence, don’t you think?”

  “How could I know that? All indications were that the Northern soldiers wouldn’t arrive at that spot for at least a day.”

  “You said our U.S. satellites picked up no enemy movements in the twenty-four hours prior to our arrival there.” Alton withdrew his cellphone from a coat pocket. “What say I call Agent Vega and confirm that? Or how about you come back to the NIS HQ building in Seoul and let them verify your fingerprints? If you are who you say you are, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

  With surprising speed, Nang sprang for a clump of evergreens, firing off a shot as he shoulder-rolled behind the nearest trunk.

  Alton ducked for cover behind his own tree. Pine bark showered onto his head as Nang’s slugs ripped into the truck.

  “Return fire,” commanded Alton. “Don’t let him get away!”

  Momentarily stunned, Chegal and Ru sprang into motion. The sergeant leapt behind a scraggly pine. Ru moved to follow, but one of Nang’s rounds slammed into the corporal’s left shoulder, spinning him around before dropping him to the ice pack.

  Chegal peered around the tree at his fallen comrade, only to be driven back by the deadly precision of Nang’s shots.

  “Covering fire!” said Alton as he nestled his rifle into his shoulder. “Give Chegal a chance to recover Ru.”

  A fusillade of rounds poured into the thick trunk Nang used for cover, sending debris onto the snowpack below.

  Chegal raced to Ru’s side. He scooped up the lanky man and murmured to him in Korean while carrying his friend-in-arms to the safety of three solid evergreens. Blood-stained snow marked the spot in which Ru had fallen.

  A movement caught Al
ton’s eye. Nang was moving straight back from his pine tree, trying to escape while keeping the trees between him and his adversaries.

  Mallory was a step ahead. She had already spotted Nang’s movement and had skirted around to the left. From her position, she had a clean shot.

  “Drop your weapon,” she called out.

  In reply, Nang sent a burst of hot lead in her direction.

  Toggling the “mode” switch on his rifle to full automatic, Alton returned the favor. He sent a stream of hot lead in Nang’s direction, emptying his rifle’s magazine in seconds. Most of the rounds slammed into the trees the North Korean used for cover, but Alton wasn’t about to let the man open fire on Mallory without a response.

  O’Neil began to low-crawl through the snow, angling away from Alton’s right side—probably trying to flank their adversary.

  Chegal had taken cover to the right of Nang’s hiding spot and now had a bead on Nang himself. He fired off a three-round burst and struck the spy in his left thigh.

  Nang cried out and dropped to the snowy ground. Twisting around, he raised his rifle but didn’t fire.

  Empty.

  Nang threw the K2 aside. Defiantly, he withdrew a K5 military pistol from a side holster and fired in Chegal’s direction.

  Mallory squeezed off a three-round burst and caught Nang in his elbow. The pistol scattered across the frozen ground as Nang’s arm snapped into an unnatural angle.

  Alerted by the gunfire, Olchin’s guards had retraced their steps and now appeared in the distance behind Nang. Sergeant Chegal shouted to them in Korean over a walkie-talkie, presumably explaining the standoff.

  Moments later, shots began to ring out from the distant troops. Plumes of snow revealed Nang to be their target.

  “Cease fire!” yelled Alton with Chegal repeating the command in Korean. Better to keep the Northern agent alive if they were to have any hope of discovering his true objective.

  Alton squared himself towards his adversary. “You know you won’t escape. You’re surrounded and have two wounds. Throw down your weapon if you want to live.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” cried Nang. “My mission is complete.”

  “What mission?” Who knew—perhaps the man wouldn’t be able to resist bragging.

  “Nice try,” said Nang. He paused, the pain of his wounds apparent from his ragged tone of voice. “You were so sure of yourselves and your high-tech gadgetry. You never considered the possibility of a centuries-old trick: the substituted man.”

  “We caught you, didn’t we?”

  “Not in time for it to matter.”

  “We’ll see about that. It’s still your choice—leave as a prisoner or in a body bag.”

  “Prisoner?” Nang produced a mirthless laugh. “Not for long. You know what they do to spies here, don’t you?”

  Alton didn’t answer. Nang would be executed, the same as any other spy caught in enemy territory during war. And technically, the Koreas were still at war.

  “Why sign up for torture when I can have a quick death…a clean death…out here?” continued Nang.

  O’Neil’s low-crawl journey had carried him in an arc around Nang’s position until even with the man’s right flank. From his unobstructed point, the NSA agent occupied a good position to grant Nang’s wish.

  “This is your last chance,” called Alton.

  Nang gathered the last of his strength, raised a handgun in Alton’s direction, and fired.

  O’Neil counterattacked. His shot smashed into Nang’s left temple. A fountain of blood and brains ejected out the other side.

  Nang’s body slumped onto the snow pack, his shattered head resting on his right arm. As his body relaxed, the pistol slipped from his grasp. The spy appeared peaceful, as if sleeping—except for the gaping wound in his cranium.

  Alton exhaled and rose to his feet. His heart hammered in his chest as the adrenaline of combat continued to course through his veins.

  Sergeant Chegal turned to Alton with raised eyebrows. Now what?

  “Have the Olchin guards pursue the enemy soldiers,” called Alton.

  Chegal barked a command to the nearing Olchin guards, who pivoted and raced back towards the retreating Northerners. Shouts and the occasional crack of gunfire echoed across the frozen landscape.

  Her face flushed, Mallory rejoined her husband.

  Alton turned to her and tried to catch his breath. “If we catch one of the unfriendlies, maybe we’ll learn what true objective their pseudo-attack was meant to hide.”

  CHAPTER 36

  Frigid gusts rattled the aluminum siding of the Warren. Ever since the strike teams had left, incessant winds had provided most of the sounds in the North Korean warehouse.

  Commander Yun paced in front of the communications panel. Simultaneous coordination of two strike teams was never easy.

  “…to base,” crackled a voice over the encrypted radio. “Do you copy?”

  He keyed his mike. “This is Yun. Wave One team…Lieutenant Pi, is that you?”

  “Yes, sir.” The man sounded breathless. “We’re in retreat. Lost six men, maybe seven—”

  “Never mind the casualty report. What about the mission?”

  “A complete success. We made it in and out with no problem.”

  “You planted the contaminant satchels?” pressed Yun. “And uploaded the virus program to the central core mainframe?”

  “Yes, sir. And made it out safely. The guards never even knew we were there.”

  Yun pursed his lips. “Then why are you now in retreat? And reporting casualties? They must have spotted you somehow.”

  Pi hesitated before answering, allowed the whine of motorcycle engines to bleed through for a moment. “I have no answer for that, sir. If they spotted us, they did a good job hiding it.” Another burst of static interrupted the transmission. “…doesn’t matter. The next phase of the mission is underway. The Southerners are pursuing us as planned.”

  Dr. Tong cut in. “And every soldier who pursues them is one less soldier that can track down the Wave Two team.”

  Yun jumped. He had been too absorbed in the conversation to hear the scientist approach. “Ah…yes, sir. That’s right.”

  “And what’s the status of Wave Two?” asked the doctor.

  Yun cleared his throat. “They don’t check in until early tomorrow morning. Shall I wrap up this call with the Wave One team?”

  A gust of wind rattled the door, but Tong kept his steely eyes locked on the mission commander. “Yes, why don’t you do that, Commander?”

  After signing off, Yun sighed and leaned back in his chair. He felt Tong’s eyes on his neck and swiveled around. Sure enough, the man’s eyes locked him in an unblinking stare.

  “Good progress, wouldn’t you say?” said Yun.

  Tong grimaced. “What if the Olchin guards capture Wave One? They might be forced to talk.”

  “That would be good.” In response to Tong’s curious stare, Yun continued. “Only Lieutenant Pi and his first sergeant know enough mission details to endanger Wave Two. As far as the rest of Wave One’s men are concerned, the Olchin mission involves the simple abduction of nuclear materials. So it’s not a problem if they’re forced to talk. In fact, it would reinforce our diversion.”

  “What if Pi or his sergeant talk? They know the truth.”

  “That’s what their dental cyanide capsules are for. Realistically, those two have the easy way out.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Any Wave One team member captured will be executed, but only after they’ve been tortured into revealing everything they know. At least Pi and his sergeant have the option of choosing a quick suicide.”

  Tong took a seat in the chair next to Yun’s. “You’re sure that besides Pi and his man, the other Wave One members don’t know they’re on a suicide mission?”

  “Positive,” replied Yun. “What would be the point of telling them? We would’ve created a risk of defection if we’d shared that bit of infor
mation.”

  Tong relaxed at last and looked thoughtful. “Good. I hate to lose good men, but the importance of this mission overshadows such concerns. It’s not an overstatement to say the fate of our country rests in the hands of both teams of soldiers.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Alton’s lungs heaved as he and the rest of the NSA team gathered around Nang’s bloody remains. Blood and brain matter stained the nearby snow, while a steady breeze had already covered the body in a dusting of ice crystals.

  Camron winced as he surveyed the corpse.

  Alton turned to him. “You never told me you spoke Korean.”

  The man’s face relaxed a bit. “What kind of analyst would I be if I didn’t? Besides,” he added with a grin, “sometimes people speak more freely when they don’t realize you understand their language.”

  Alton nodded. Without Camron’s warning, would he have had time to convince Chegal and Ru that their commander was an imposter? Probably not.

  “Let’s search through Nang’s stuff,” said David. “Maybe he’ll have a cellphone on him.”

  Alton nodded. “Good idea—although surely someone of Nang’s caliber would know better than keeping incriminating information on his phone.”

  “It’s still worth a shot,” said Camron.

  “I guess,” said O’Neil. He raised an eyebrow in doubt.

  “Hey, the guy’s a North Korean,” said Camron. “Don’t assume everything he does—or should I say did—was rational. We might find something.”

  David removed Nang’s winter-camouflaged ruck sack. As he examined its contents, Alton and Mallory turned the man’s pockets inside out.

  “Here’s his phone,” announced Mallory. She activated it and raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Unlocked. Maybe he wanted it to look like he had nothing to hide.”

  “Yeah,” said Alton, “but that suggests it’s even less likely the phone will contain anything worth finding.”