watching Kang's vessel race across the river. The Benetti's course
held firm as it crossed midriver and streaked toward the dredge and
the opposite bank. As it drew closer to the opposite shore, it became
apparent to everyone who watched that the vessel was headed directly
for the dredge. The dredge's pilot, seeing the speeding yacht heading
toward him, let loose with a long blast from his whistle but the
rapidly approaching boat held steady.
With a thunderous shriek, the gleaming white yacht burst into the
dredge ship like a charging bull, her bow plowing into the rusty steel
vessel amidships. Striking at top speed, the yacht disintegrated into
a cloud of white smoke, followed by a small fireball that floated into
the air as the fuel tanks were crushed and ignited. Splinters of wood
and debris rained across the dredge and around the river as the mashed
remains of the vessel slid off the dredge and sank to the bottom. When
the smoke and flames cleared, there was little evidence to indicate a
165-foot yacht had existed moments before.
Dirk and Gutierrez drifted in the river, watching the carnage with grim
captivation as a rescue dinghy from the support ship puttered toward
them.
"Might be hell to pay for not bringing him in alive," Gutierrez said
after the flames and smoke had dissipated.
Dirk shook his head bitterly. "So he could spend the rest of his days
in a country club prison? No thanks."
"You get no argument from me. I think we just bestowed a colossal
favor upon humanity. But his death might bring repercussions. My
superiors are not going to be happy if we create an international
incident with Korea."
"When the facts come out, there will be no tears shed for Kang and his
enterprise of murderers. Besides, he was still alive when we left the
yacht. It looked like a boating accident to me."
Gutierrez thought for a moment. " "A boating accident," " he repeated,
trying to convince himself. "Sure, that might just fly."
Dirk watched as the remaining smoke from the collision slowly
dissipated over the river, then smiled a tired grin at Gutierrez as the
rescue boat approached and fished them out of the river.
Referendum
July 1, 2007
As Kang was obliterated, so fell his empire. The SEAL forces that
swept through his residence captured his assistant Kwan alive, along
with a cache of incriminating documents that he was desperately trying
to destroy in his employer's private office. To the south at Inchon,
additional Special Forces teams sped through Kang's shipyard and
neighboring telecommunications facility. Heavy security resistance at
the facility raised suspicions and a large intelligence team quickly
descended on the building. The secret biological research lab in the
basement was soon discovered, as were the staff's ties to North Korea.
Faced with mounting evidence and the death of his master, Kwan quickly
folded under the duress and fully confessed Kang's sins in a
self-serving ploy to save his own neck.
Back in the United States, news of the "accidental death of Kang as he
was fleeing authorities" brought a similar reaction from ling and his
top engineers. Threatened by officials with attempted mass murder
charges, they cooperated as well, offering the ill excuse that they
were just following orders. Only the Ukrainian engineers refused to
cooperate, which eventually ensured their lengthy stay in a federal
penitentiary.
The government authorities, meanwhile, held their cards to the vest
publicly until the final piece of damning evidence had been uncovered.
The remains of the rocket payload that Pitt and Giordino had retrieved
were transferred under secrecy to Vandenberg Air Force Base north of
Los Angeles. In a tightly guarded hangar, a team of space engineers
carefully disassembled the payload, uncovering the mock satellite that
disguised the virus canisters and vapor-dispensing system. Army and
CDC epidemiologists removed the canisters of the freeze-dried virus,
finding, to their shock, that they contained the lethal chimera of
smallpox and HIV organisms. Samples from the Inchon lab were quietly
matched up and the horror confirmed. Despite an interest by the Army
in maintaining samples, the recovered viruses were ordered destroyed in
their entirety by the president. Fears lingered that additional
samples escaped capture and destruction, but the chimera engineered by
Kang's scientists was in fact fully eradicated.
With the Koguryo and her crew traced to Kang Enterprises and the ties
from Kang to North Korea firmly established, officials from the
Homeland Security Department finally went public. A firestorm of media
attention broke worldwide as details of the deadliest attempted
terrorist attack on U.S. soil were fully released. The global press
transferred its focus from Japan to North Korea as the diplomatic
assassinations were additionally linked to Kang. The failed rocket
attack brought worldwide outrage against the North Korean totalitarian
regime despite the Korean Workers' Party blanket denial of involvement.
The few trading partners North Korea had cultivated before the incident
retaliated by placing even tighter restrictions on imports and exports.
Even China joined in the sanctions by halting its trade with the
outlaw regime. Once again, the starving peasantry in the North began
to quietly question the dictatorial rule of their nepotistic leader.
In South Korea, the overwhelming evidence against Kang and the
actions of his accomplices hit Seoul like a nuclear strike. Any
displeasure the South Korean government initially manifested at the
American unilateral military intervention was quickly put aside by the
ensuing global uproar. South Korean sentiment turned from shock and
disbelief to anger and outrage at their country's duping by Kang and
his servitude to North Korea. The fallout was rapid. Political
cronies and deal makers who had supported Kang were publicly vilified.
A wave of resignations swept through the National Assembly, leading
right up to the office of the presidency. Revelations of close
personal ties with Kang forced even the South Korean leader to resign
from office.
The national embarrassment and anger led the government to quickly
nationalize the holdings of Kang Enterprises. The yachts and
helicopters were dispensed with first and his fortress residence turned
into a think tank devoted to the study of South Korean sovereignty. His
name was removed from any association with his former assets, which
were later broken up and sold to competing businesses over time. Soon
there was nothing left to remind any of his very existence. Almost by
silent decree, the name of Kang was entirely purged from the South
Korean lexicon.
The expose of Kang's ties to the north impacted every level of society.
Youthful demonstrations for reunification fell away as a wariness of
the neighbor to the north reemerged in the national psyche. The
massive North Korean military
force poised across the border was no
longer conveniently overlooked. Reunification remained a national
goal, but it would have to come on South Korea's terms. When
reunification finally did arrive on the Korean Peninsula some eighteen
years later, it was driven by a growing hunger for capitalism in the
Korean Workers' Party. Acceding to the personal freedoms that came
with it, the party at last purged itself of dictatorial family rule and
unilaterally converted the bulk of its military troops into a civilian
economic workforce.
But before all that could occur, the South Korean National Assembly had
to vote on Bill 188256, the legislative measure calling for the
expulsion of U.S. military forces from within the national borders. In
a rare show of bipartisan accord, the measure lost by a unanimous
vote.
At Kunsan City, Korea, Air Force Master Sergeant Keith Catana was
quietly walked out of a dingy municipal jail cell just before dawn and
released into the waiting custody of an Air Force colonel attached to
the American embassy. Far beyond his comprehension of events, Catana
was told nothing about the reason for his release. Catana would never
know that he had been set up for the murder of an underage prostitute
as part of a concerted plot to influence public sentiment against the
U.S. military presence in Korea. Nor would he know that Kang's own
assistant, Kwan, had revealed the details of the staged murder.
Ensuring full blame fell to the dead assassin Tongju, Kwan readily
confessed to the plot, along with the political assassinations that
occurred in Japan. None of this mattered to the stunned serviceman as
he was whisked onto a U.S.-bound military jet. He knew only one thing.
He would happily oblige the order given by the Air Force colonel never
to set foot on Korean soil again for as long as he lived.
In Washington, D.C." NUMA was briefly exalted for the role played in
diverting the launch and preventing the release of the deadly virus
over Los Angeles. But with the death of Kang and the public release of
his culpability for the attack, Pitt's and Giordino's exploits quickly
fell to yesterday's news. Congressional hearings and investigations
into the attack were the order of the day, and a drumbeat for war with
North Korea beat loudly for a spell. But emotions eventually cooled as
the diplomats were held at bay and the focus gradually shifted to Homeland Security's border resources and ensuring that such
an act could never occur again.
Shrewdly seizing the moment, the new head of NUMA appealed to Congress
for a special appropriations supplement for his organization, to fund a
replacement helicopter, research ship, and two submersibles for those
damaged or destroyed by Kang's men. In a wave of patriotic gratitude,
Congress heartily approved the measure, the bill sweeping through both
houses in just a matter of days.
Much to Giordino's chagrin, Pitt had sneaked an additional funding item
into the approved bill, requesting a mobile atmospheric marine
surveillance platform for the agency to use in coastal research. It
was otherwise known as "a blimp."
It was A clear, crisp afternoon in Seattle, the type of day that was
just a few degrees shy of invigorating. The declining sun was casting
long shadows from the tall pines dotting Fircrest Campus when Sarah
hobbled out the front door of the Washington State Public Health Lab. A
heavy plaster cast coated her right leg, which she was heartened to
know would finally be removed in just a few more days.
She winced slightly as she set her weight on a pair of aluminum
crutches, her wrists and forearms sore from carrying the load of her
broken leg for the past few weeks. Hobbling a few paces out the
doorway, she dropped her eyes to the pavement and navigated herself
down a short flight of steps. Carefully picking the next spot along
the ground to jab her crutches, she did not notice the car parked
illegally at the sidewalk entrance and nearly bumped into it. Looking
up, she dropped her jaw in amazement.
Parked in front of her was Dirk's 1958 Chrysler 300-D convertible. The
car looked to be in a semi state of restoration. The pockmarked leather seats had been temporarily taped over while the bullet holes in
the body had been sealed with bondo Assorted spots of gray primer
paint across the turquoise body gave the car the look of a giant
camouflaged manta ray.
"I promise not to break the other leg."
Sarah turned to the deep voice behind her to find Dirk standing there
with a bouquet of white lilies and a mischievous grin on his face. Lost
in emotion, she dropped her crutches and threw her arms around him in a
warm hug.
"I was beginning to worry. I hadn't heard from you since the rocket
attack."
"I was away on an all-expense-paid trip to Korea for a farewell cruise
on Dae-jong Kang's yacht."
"The virus they concocted ... it's just mad," she said, shaking her
head.
"There is no need to worry anymore. Confidence is high that all the
samples were retrieved and destroyed. Hopefully, that bug will never
appear on earth again."
"There's always some crazy working on the next biological Pandora's box
for money or notoriety."
"Speaking of crazies, how's Irv doing?"
Sarah laughed at the simile. "He's going to be the only modern-day
survivor of smallpox in the world. He's fast on his way to a full
recovery."
"Glad to hear it. He's a good man."
"Looks like your car is on the road to recovery as well," she said,
nodding toward the Chrysler.
"She's a tough old beast. I had the mechanicals refurbished while I
was away but haven't got to the body and interior yet."
Dirk turned and looked at Sarah tenderly. "I still owe you that crab
dinner."
Sarah looked deep into Dirk's green eyes and nodded. With a quick
scoop, Dirk bent over and picked Sarah up and placed her gently on
the front seat of the car with the lilies, then kissed her lightly on
the cheek. Tossing the crutches into the backseat, he jumped in behind
the wheel and fired up the car. The rebuilt motor kicked over easily
and idled with a deep purr.
"No ferries?" Sarah asked, snuggling close to Dirk.
"No ferries," Dirk laughed, slipping an arm around Sarah. Tapping on
the accelerator, the old convertible rumbling deeply, he steered across
the lush grounds and into the pink-tinted dusk.
Dirk Pitt18-Black Wind Page 58