“Behind every strong man is a strong woman.”
Nancy held her breath, the excitement of someone finally fighting back nipped in the bud with the cold, digital reality that faced them.
Everyone flinched then turned as one as the rear ramp hit the pavement with a rattle. Nancy felt her body tense as the internal debate raged on whether to bolt.
Two drones suddenly dropped into view from above, making the decision for her.
“Leave now, or you will die. You will stand on the side of the road until the drones leave. If you attempt to leave before that, you will be killed, and so will the others.”
The Chinese woman stood, straightening her jacket before sucking in a deep breath, forcing as much dignity as she could muster on her face, though her trembling chin betrayed the terror she felt as she jerked forward, a step at a time.
Nancy reached out on impulse, squeezing her hand. The woman flinched then looked at her, forcing a smile on her face before patting Nancy’s hand.
“Be safe, little one.” She reached the rear of the truck and turned back to face the others. “I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know why they’re letting me go.”
“It’s okay. Tell my husband and kids that I love them,” said the Italian woman, tears flowing down her cheeks, she suddenly human again, Nancy immediately regretting her horrible thoughts of earlier. A flurry of messages burst forth, but Nancy sat silently, gripping the bench as she continued to resist the urge to follow the Chinese woman down the ramp.
The moment her feet hit the pavement the ramp began to rise, the large rectangle of light disappearing quickly, becoming a narrowing shaft, then nothing.
“Why do you think they let her go?” asked someone, Nancy not sure who, her eyes still adjusting to their old reality.
Suddenly she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Maybe the Chinese are behind this?”
24
Crawford Residence
Forest Hills, Washington, DC
“Dude, are you seeing this?”
Jeff Crawford’s head bobbed as he snapped his jaw shut before his friends noticed. “These guys need a new special effects company.”
“Pretty cheesy,” agreed his best friend and fellow Squad member Clarence. “How can you be taken seriously as a nuclear power if you can’t even make a realistic looking propaganda video?”
“What’s the difference between North and South Korea?” asked Vic, the third member of their group he had managed to reach.
Jeff stared at a monitor to his left, it split screen with his two friends. “Are you kidding me?”
Clarence shrugged. “I don’t know either. Which one’s the bad one?”
“They’re both bad, aren’t they? I think my grandfather fought them.”
Jeff shook his head. “Man, you guys are useless. North is bad, South is good. We all fought the North, and we all tried to protect the South.”
“Where’s Nancy again?” asked Vic.
Jeff let out a low growl. “South.”
“So then she got kidnapped by the North in the South.”
Jeff nodded. “Yes.”
“I call bullshit on that.”
Jeff glanced at Clarence’s feed. “Why?”
“I’m pulling timestamps from the metadata on these posts all over the web and they’re too close together.”
Jeff tore his eyes away from the video showing the dead bodies. “What do you mean?”
“Well, this is an HD file. It’s pretty big.”
“So?”
“Sooo, according to what I’m reading here, North Korea only has 2.5 gigs of bandwidth for the entire country, all through China.”
Vic spun in his chair. “Are you kidding me? I’ve almost got that coming into my house!”
“Exactly! So how the hell did they upload that much data in seconds with that little bandwidth? They couldn’t have!”
Jeff agreed. “There’s no way.” His eyes narrowed as he watched the video. “Maybe someone did it for them?”
Clarence nodded. “That’s the only way I can think of.”
Jeff leaned forward and cracked his knuckles. “Then we need to find out who.”
25
Operations Center 1
CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
“Show me their bandwidth usage.”
Leroux watched the display as Child brought up the data. “Looks like they’re pretty much tapped out, but then again, they always are.”
Leroux agreed. The North Koreans had a single line connecting the country to the Chinese networks, though there were rumors of a second, high-speed line reserved for the elites. There were also satellite connections, though those were limited in capability.
Bandwidth was at a premium, and a high-definition video, uploaded to hundreds of sites within seconds, just wasn’t possible unless they had shut down all access, reserving all the bandwidth for this one task.
Something he highly doubted.
Child motioned toward the screen. “You’d think the Chinese would give them more bandwidth than that.”
“I don’t think they trust them anymore. What with Bureau 121 out of control in Pyongyang, they’re probably afraid they’ll become targets if they piss off the psycho.” Leroux tapped his chin. “It definitely wasn’t transmitted from within North Korea.”
“What are you thinking?”
Leroux looked at Child. “Someone transmitted it from the outside.”
“We already know Bureau 121 does a lot of its work from outside. China mostly.”
“Exactly. We need to find them. Whoever uploaded the original video knows where the hostages are.”
“Sir, got something.”
Leroux turned toward Tong, who pointed at the screen. A video showing a busy city street appeared, pedestrians passing, cars farther in the shot, a fairly steady though not heavy stream.
“What am I looking at?”
“An ATM on Sapyeong Street. Watch.”
The video continued when Leroux smiled, a bus, G20 logos emblazoned on the side, driving past. “Okay everyone, concentrate your efforts on buildings that could house a bus on that route from that location onward.” He pointed at Tong. “And get that to Delta.”
26
Embassy of the United States Seoul
32 Sejongno Street, Seoul, Republic of Korea
“It is imperative that we respond immediately and with strength. There can be no hesitation. Pyongyang must be made to realize they risk war if they do not return the hostages.”
President Starling agreed, the Japanese Prime Minister clearly correct. The only way to deal with a bully was to stand up to him. With North Korea now confirmed involved, it changed the game. This was about face, not money, not religion. North Korea had a long history of playing the petulant child, and it appeared they had taken it to new extremes.
Kidnapping wasn’t new. They were credited with a long list of abductions including that of Korean nationals living in other countries, as well as Japanese and other foreigners, though this scale and profile was unprecedented.
And they had a history of killing.
But again, to kill the German Chancellor’s husband was unfathomable.
Yet he was dead.
And the world now knew who was responsible.
The German people were demanding action despite their pacifist history since the war, and every other country with the exception of the Chinese were already dealing with the outrage of the public. His briefing only minutes ago indicated talk radio stations and Internet discussion groups were afire, war demanded.
“We have limited assets in the area,” said the British Prime Minister. “I’ve ordered as many vessels as we can spare to head to the region, but it will take weeks before we can contribute substantially. I’m afraid it will be up to regional powers to handle this for the time being. Mr. President, I assume we can count on the Pacific Fleet?”
Starling nodded. “I’ve already ordered our for
ces to full readiness. Elements of the Seventh Fleet are being redeployed from patrols in the South China Sea and Japan.”
“I’ve ordered our Navy to deploy as well,” said the Australian Prime Minister. “We also have several fighter squadrons that are ready to assist should it become necessary. What I want to know is what the Chinese response to this is? President Cheng, you are perhaps North Korea’s only ally in the region. Is there anything you can do?”
Cheng cleared his throat. “We have of course been in contact with Pyongyang, who deny any involvement. In fact, they are threatening war over the implied insult that they would commit such a crime.”
“Ridiculous!” cried the French President. “That lunatic is always threatening war.”
The British Prime Minister agreed. “If someone breaks wind in Trafalgar Square near a North Korean, they think it’s an attack on their dear leader or whatever the bloody hell they’re calling this one.”
“Gentlemen, if I may,” interjected the South Korean President. “It is the North’s unpredictability that we must be wary of. They have a standing army of over one million men and over seven-hundred artillery pieces within striking distance of the capital. If we go to war, this city will be leveled and tens of thousands will die, if not more.”
Starling’s head bobbed, he painfully aware this was the most dangerous capital city in the civilized world, it the only one with a sworn enemy within shelling distance. “Agreed. We need to be very careful how we proceed. We should position our forces but avoid provocation. This is more than our loved ones at risk, it is the lives of the innocent civilians of this country as well, that must be considered.”
“What are you suggesting?” asked the Australian Prime Minister.
“I suggest we be extremely careful lest we risk war.”
The Italian Prime Minister raised a finger as he leaned toward the camera. “Not to sound the coward, but with Seoul being within artillery range, should we still be in the city? My security team wants to evacuate immediately.”
The Australian nodded. “Mine as well.”
Starling glanced at Red, who had remained remarkably well behaved after the initial refusal to evacuate, the operator’s face revealing no emotion.
“Then it is agreed, we should leave at once?” asked the Italian.
“Yes,” replied the German Chancellor, the woman displaying remarkable courage and strength after having just lost her husband. “But if we leave, we must do so as one, so no one person is singled out by the media.”
The South Korean returned to her chair. “We can evacuate to Busan. It is out of range.”
Starling drew a breath before speaking. “I will not leave until my daughter is safe. The rest of you are free to leave, and I urge you to do so. Do not let the foolish desire of a father dissuade you.”
The Canadian Prime Minister spoke. “Mr. President, while I understand your desire to be near your daughter, right now we have no idea if they are even in Seoul. We should evacuate so our security teams can focus on finding the hostages rather than worry about us.”
Starling agreed, the argument sound. The man was right. Right now he had two Delta operators providing security for him, when they could be out searching, and he was certain the same was true for them all. He sighed. “Very well. I’ll meet you in Busan.”
The South Korean Prime Minister, the Chair of the meeting, ended the teleconference. “Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned. We will reconvene when we are all secure in Busan.”
The displays went blank and Starling leaned back in his chair.
“I’ll arrange the evac,” said Red as he headed for the door.
Starling shook his head. “No. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving this city until my daughter is in my arms.”
Red stopped and turned. “What will we tell the others?”
Starling peered out the window. “Nothing. Send Marine One with my double to Busan then isolate him. I’ll conduct all meetings with them via telecom. They don’t need to know.”
Red grunted. “They’re going to be pretty pissed when they find out.”
Starling turned to him. “So be it. I’m not leaving without my daughter.”
27
Seoul Metropolitan Police Lab
31 Sajik-ro-8-Gil, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Niner watched carefully as the technicians worked on the recovered chips. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them—he didn’t—it was that he got the feeling they weren’t operating under the same sense of urgency as he was. The President’s daughter was missing, a young girl he knew, someone he had been through one of the most harrowing experiences of his life with. After all, how many people could say they survived the crash of a 747 in the jungle?
Her mother had died, enough for any one family to go through. He respected the new President. The man had kept his cool during those events and others, and though Niner wasn’t political, he did think the man was doing a decent job under trying circumstances.
And Niner was determined to get the girl back.
I can’t imagine what he’s going through.
Niner wasn’t sure if he wanted kids. Maybe eventually, but definitely not now. Though when he saw Red with his little guy, he had to admit the man appeared happy. In fact, he seemed happiest when he was with his family. That seemed to be the pattern. The guys loved the Unit, loved their brothers in arms, yet when the mission was over, those with families were out the door as fast as they could manage, leaving the single guys to drink the beer.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want a girlfriend. He did. He just couldn’t seem to find the right woman. Jimmy said it was because they couldn’t take him seriously, every second word out of his mouth some sort of quip. It might be true, but that was who he was. If a woman wanted to be in a relationship with him, she’d have to be able to keep up.
He found his eyes settling on the Korean woman, Senior Inspector Kim. She was smokin’ hot in a buttoned-down sense. A lot of guys went for leggy blondes or busty redheads, but he was more into the tinier packages, and she was definitely that, though she was short by no means, Koreans not your stereotypical Asian, they on average only an inch or two shorter than Americans. He himself was actually slightly short for his heritage; something Atlas had no qualms teasing him about. His lithe form didn’t help. Barrel chests were not a family trait, as was confirmed with his interrupted visit with the family.
One of the techs from the car company held up his hand, Kim walking over. “What is it?”
“The base code for this chip has been modified.”
Niner’s eyes widened and he quietly translated for Jimmy.
“Are you sure?” asked Kim.
“Yes. The checksums don’t match. We’ll have to analyze the code to see how exactly it was modified, but it definitely was.”
Niner joined them. “Could it have been hacked?”
The tech shook his head. “No. These are set at the factory and there’s no way to change them. It’s a security feature to prevent tampering. You’d have to have changed them at the factory or at a dealership when being serviced.”
“So no way to do it remotely.”
“Absolutely no way. They’re isolated.”
“Can you figure out when they were modified?”
Another tech stepped forward, holding up a tablet. “It had to be at the factory.”
“Why?”
“These are brand new vehicles. According to the computer, they’ve never been serviced. They’ve got less than one thousand kilometers on them.”
Niner bit the inside of his cheek for a moment then looked at Kim. “We still need to know when they were modified. If we’re dealing with the North Koreans, then they could still have done it after the vehicles were delivered.”
“No.”
Niner turned to the tech. “You sound pretty certain.”
“I am. This chip was definitely modified at the factory.”
“How can you tell?”
; The tech tapped away at a keyboard for a moment then pointed at the display.
“I’m lost,” whispered Jimmy as he leaned in to look at the screen filled with Korean text.
“I’ll explain in a minute,” replied Niner as he quickly read the screen. He turned to the tech, speaking Korean. “Is this showing the update history of the chip?”
The man nodded. “Yes. This shows that someone modified the chip before a patch was applied. We discovered a bug in the software that we fixed just before shipping the vehicles.” He pointed at a line on the screen. “That’s the patch.” He pointed at a line below it. “This is when it was modified by someone.” He pointed at the last line. “And this is the original installation.” He jabbed a finger at the chip. “This was definitely done at the factory.”
Niner cursed. “There’s no way in hell we’re going to find out who did it, then. Thousands of people could have had access at some point.”
The tech shook his head. “Not necessarily true.”
“Excuse me?”
“These are brand new vehicles, delivered for the G20 meeting.”
“How new?” asked Kim.
“Less than two weeks. And because they were for a government client, additional security precautions were taken. The access might be more limited than you think.”
Kim clasped her hands behind her back. “We’re going to need a list of every single person who might have laid a finger on both these vehicles. Now.”
28
Seoripul Park
Seoul, Republic of Korea
Byung-ho lay on his back, enjoying the heat from the sun as it beat down on his face and bare arms. It was an incredible day. A perfect day. He started a new job tomorrow, his new girlfriend had told him she loved him last night, and he simply couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
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