Cyber Countdown

by Terence Flynn

  Dimitri laughed. “It won’t be the first time you’ve taken off my pants, Anya.”

  “Yes, but that was a long time ago.”

  Anya examined his leg.

  “There’s no fracture, but you have a very serious contusion. You’ll need to stay off your injured leg for at least a week or two. I’ll help you to the master bedroom.”

  “I don’t want to put you out of your bedroom, Anya.”

  Anya kissed him passionately. “Don’t worry, you won’t.”

  15

  Kim visited Cai in the hospital after she was stabbed, as did Shen, Lian, and Mei. Cai’s parents also visited from their home in Qufu and were staying in the Xiyuan Hotel on campus, courtesy of the university. She was informed by her doctors that she’d be able to return to school in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, her professors and classmates were recording her classes.

  The story of the attack on Cai had made her a minor celebrity on local Harbin TV. All of the local news reports applauded Cai’s bravery while trying to save her roommate from a Korean who was in the country illegally. The reports also stated that the Korean was arrested after suffering minor wounds during an apparent fight with some friends after someone called the police.

  Kim laughed when he heard that the wounds were considered minor. He was also relieved after hearing that the police had closed the case. Kim called Shen to tell him the news.

  “Hi, Shen. It looks like I’ll still be available for the project and school.”

  “Yes, I heard the news. Unfortunately, the loss of Cai will be difficult, so I’ve decided to take her place.”

  “Can you manage the project and also do Cai’s work?”

  “I think so, but I’ll need your help with both, Kim.”

  “Sure, I’ll help with anything you need.”

  “Good. Meet me after our last class today. I’ll drive us to my apartment where we’ll have some privacy.”

  “Won’t Lian be there?”

  “No, she only stays at my place on weekends. She has her own apartment.”

  Kim always enjoyed riding in Shen’s Mercedes and was even more impressed when he saw Shen’s apartment. It was on the ninth floor of a high-rise in New Harbin City, one of the most luxurious areas of Harbin. Shen noticed Kim’s reaction and said, “It’s not mine, Kim. It belongs to my father’s business. He’s letting me use it as long as I’m in school.”

  “This place is huge, and your view is incredible.”

  “Yes, it’s a two-bedroom suite. Follow me to the bedroom I use as my office.”

  “Wow, it’s really well equipped,” Kim said, as he looked around Shen’s office.

  “Thanks. You can set up your laptop on the small conference table. Here’s a jump drive with a copy of the target network addresses that Sean Flaherty provided. Take a few minutes to copy and review them while I change my clothes.”

  “Thanks,” Kim said as he began his review of the target information.

  Shen returned in a few minutes wearing sweat clothes. Kim laughed. “I hope this review isn’t going to be as strenuous as your clothing indicates, Shen.”

  Shen smiled. “No, I’m going to do my daily workout in the gym in the basement after we’re done. You’re welcome to join me.”

  “Thanks, but I have some things from school that I need to take to Cai after we’re done. When does Flaherty want us to begin the probing of these addresses?”

  “Two days from now.”

  “That’s not a lot of time to prepare. What are these network addresses listed as special targets?”

  “I don’t know, Kim. Flaherty told me not to worry about them. He said they don’t require probing.”

  “Why is that? They’re in the range of addresses selected for the attack. It doesn’t make any sense not to probe them, Shen.”

  “Yeah, I know. Flaherty said they were preselected for attack.”

  “That’s crazy. How can we attack targets without first probing to identify the type and severity of their vulnerabilities? You need to ask Flaherty about that.”

  “I’ll contact him before he leaves tomorrow night.”

  “Okay, let me know. How do I get to the hospital?”

  “You can use the tenant car service. Here’s my service card.”

  Kim took all the recordings for Cai’s classes to the hospital. When he entered her room, he saw Cai’s laptop on the hospital bed table.

  “How’d you get your laptop, Cai?”

  “Mei brought it from the apartment earlier. I think I’ll be able to return to school and the project sooner than anticipated, Kim.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Cai. Shen is taking your position until you get well.”

  “How are things going?”

  “I’m not sure. We just got the target information, and it’s very strange. There are targets that are preselected for attack, even though we’re not allowed to probe them first.”

  “Why would they preselect targets for attack without probing for weaknesses, Kim? How would they know if the attack would be effective or not?”

  “I have no idea. Maybe they have other sources of information on these targets that they plan to provide us before the exploitation phases. Shen plans to ask Flaherty that question before he leaves. He’s also providing grades on all the students.”

  “Why would they want to grade us?”

  “I don’t know, unless this is just some crazy recruiting exercise.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense, Kim. It would be an extremely expensive way to recruit.”

  Shen met Flaherty at the Shang Palace that evening and handed him his grading report. Flaherty looked at the grades.

  “You’re an easy grader, Shen. All As and Bs but no Cs or Ds? I’ll also want grades after the probing phase is completed and again after the exploitation phase. From now on, I want number grades with a clearer differentiation, is that clear?”

  “Yes, but what’s the purpose of the grades?”

  “I wasn’t told, and I only do what I’m told. You should as well.”

  “I always have, Sean. But it’s hard to plan if I don’t know the goals. My team needs to know why certain targets are listed as special targets that shouldn’t be probed, but are listed for attack during the exploitation phases. How do we know how to exploit them if we don’t probe first?”

  “You worry too much about things that aren’t your concern. The vulnerabilities on those addresses are assigned to a separate group.”

  Shen wasn’t sure what that meant. It almost sounded as if the vulnerabilities were being created as opposed to being discovered. He quickly discarded that thought; creating vulnerabilities on that many addresses would be impossible.

  When Kim got back to his apartment, Lee Park was waiting for him. Kim knew that she had a key since she was the landlord, but up to now she’d always called first if she was going to meet him there.

  “This is a surprise, Lee. Why are you here?”

  “I’m sorry, Kim, but it couldn’t be helped. I got a message from your uncle that you need to return to Nampo immediately and meet with him at his office. He said it had nothing to do with your family, but was related to your mission, and he needed to discuss it with you face-to-face.”

  Kim wasn’t worried about his safety, since he knew his uncle would never put him in danger. He didn’t like leaving Cai while she was in the hospital, and was concerned that he might be ordered to return to North Korea for some new assignment away from her. The very thought of that made him nauseous.

  “How am I supposed to return immediately, Lee? Air China only flies to North Korea three times a week. The next flight is two days from now.”

  “The admiral has set up a special flight. It’s been approved by the Chinese and your government.”

  “When’s the flight, and how do I get to fleet headquarters in Nampo?”

  “A military plane will fly directly from Harbin Taiping Airport to the air base outside Nampo. The admiral will have a car take
you to his fleet headquarters. I have your authorization papers. Just take them to the Air China office by nine tomorrow morning and they’ll direct you. I’ve arranged for a taxi to pick you up here at eight.”

  “How long will I be gone? I need to tell my professors and classmates.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that. I’ll tell the school that you had to visit a sick relative. The admiral said you should be able to return tomorrow evening at the latest.”

  A half hour after Lee left, Kim received a call from Cai.

  “Hi, Kim. Some woman called me and said you had to return home tomorrow. Is everything okay? Are you in any danger?”

  “I’m fine. It’s a short trip to meet with my uncle. I’ll be home tomorrow and will come by the hospital to see you.”

  “I hope you’re not in any danger.”

  “Don’t worry, Cai. My uncle would never let me be harmed. Get some rest.”

  “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

  Kim got up the next morning and packed a few toiletries in a small bag along with a change of clothing. The taxi arrived at eight and took him to Harbin Taiping International Airport. He was led to a gate at the far end of the airport by a uniformed policeman who stayed with him until the gate was opened shortly before nine. A young North Korean Air Force second lieutenant came through the gate and introduced himself.

  “Commander, please follow me,” he said as he led Kim onto the plane. “Please take any seat, you’re our only passenger today.”

  Kim made himself comfortable in what was obviously the admiral’s private plane. The two hour flight landed at the air base near Nampo. Kim sat in his seat until the lieutenant opened the exit door and led him toward a waiting car. He enjoyed the ride, which passed areas and landmarks that Kim remembered from his childhood.

  When he arrived at the Western Fleet headquarters, Kim showed his authorization papers and military ID to the guard at the entrance, who saluted and directed him to the admiral’s office. Kim hadn’t visited his uncle since the Glorious Leader had promoted him to fleet admiral over a year ago. When Kim arrived at the office, he took a deep breath, opened the door, and introduced himself to the admiral’s secretary.

  “The admiral will be right out, Commander, he’s just finishing an important conference call. Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable.”

  Kim sat on a black leather couch under the North Korean flag. He waited almost twenty minutes before his uncle appeared. Kim immediately stood at attention and saluted.

  “At ease, Commander. Please follow me.”

  Kim followed the admiral into a small conference room with no phones and was directed to sit as the admiral closed the door. As he looked around the room, he realized that the lack of phones, windows, and electrical sockets was by design. He quickly glanced at his cell phone and realized it was being jammed. This was a room designed to prevent eavesdropping. He wondered why he was there and what the admiral was up to.

  “How are you, Kim? You look well.”

  “So do you, Admiral,” Kim said.

  “Don’t lie, Kim. I can see by your expression that you don’t believe that.”

  “Are you okay, Admiral? You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

  “I’m dying, nephew. It isn’t a fast death, but it’s a certain one. The doctors here have no way to treat my illness. My doctor is an old friend who’s keeping me alive, since the quacks in the navy are incompetent. I don’t want our Glorious Leader to remove me, so we’re keeping it secret. I’m just telling everyone that my doctor told me to lose weight for my health.”

  Kim was shocked. It took him a while to respond to what he just heard.

  “I’m sincerely sorry to hear this, Admiral. You’ve always been like a father to me. You’re the reason I joined the navy.”

  “And you’ve always been like a son to me, Kim. It was my honor to watch over your mother, sister, and you after my brother died at that incompetent shipyard.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I’ll not bore you anymore by talking about my health like old people do. I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve invited you here today.”

  “Yes, sir, I was. Am I in some trouble?”

  “Not at all. The intelligence information you’ve provided has been highly appreciated by the leadership. I need to ask you a question that you need to keep confidential. Can you do that?”

  “I can, Admiral. What’s the question?”

  “Do you feel any different about our government since I approved your assignment to Harbin?”

  Kim took a deep breath. “Yes, Admiral, I do. It seems we treat our people like slaves while other countries place a higher value on their citizens’ welfare and freedom.”

  “Good. I was hoping that would be the case. I wanted to improve your skills since I knew you were good, but I also wanted to improve your perspective. My plan is to save you from this oppressive regime by helping you defect to another country. China won’t allow your defection because of their agreement with North Korea not to accept North Korean defectors.”

  “What about my mother and sister? Can we get them out as well?”

  “Possibly. I’m working on a plan to do just that. But it may require some outside help from the American Navy. I also need to discuss something else with you of even greater importance. It has implications that go far beyond our family. In fact, it could impact the lives of everyone in China, the United States, and their allies.”

  “What is it, Admiral?”

  “Our leaders have come up with a plan to use the information you provided to trigger a catastrophic war between China and the United States. They plan to amplify the current tension between them after their relationship is worsened by the project you’re involved with. The Chinese plan to display their naval strength during an upcoming military exercise between the United States and its East Asian allies: Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. That exercise will provide our leaders with the opportunity they’ve been looking for.”

  Kim was stunned. He realized his uncle was talking about the possibility of North Korea precipitating a disastrous nuclear war between the US and China.

  “When is this exercise, and where will it take place, Admiral?”

  “The exercise will take place less than five weeks from now around the disputed Senkaku Islands.”

  “I’ve never heard of those islands. Where are they?”

  “They’re uninhabited islands near Taiwan. Japan regained territorial rights to them from the United States in 1972, but China and Taiwan have also claimed title, which has created a political problem for the United States. The joint military exercise is being held about a month from now with all of the allied countries as a way to promote solidarity. The Chinese will also send their ships to the region to show their conviction for their ownership of the islands.”

  “How does this have anything to do with North Korea, Admiral?”

  “Our leaders believe that a cyber attack on America by the Chinese students you’re working with could create a problem for the American president. His support for a law that would put penalties on Chinese trade based on their cyber attacks on American businesses has already worsened their relations. The attacks by your group of Chinese hackers will make it even worse. Our maniacs have decided to stoke that fire by sending some of our latest submarines to the exercise area. They’ll launch anti-ship missiles while submergred at the ships of the allied countries from points very close to the Chinese surface fleet. The allied fleet will retaliate, thinking the Chinese surface fleet has launched the missiles. A state of war will exist that will benefit North Korea, since China will prop up the current North Korean regime with billions in aid that will help them fight the Americans and their allies.”

  “That’s insane, Admiral. Our navy doesn’t have the technology to pull this off. We don’t have the submarines or missiles with the required stealth or targeting capabilities for such an operation. In order to confuse the allied fleet into thinking the Chine
se had launched the attack, we’d need quieter submarines. They’d never get close enough to the Chinese fleet without being detected by the Chinese Navy. We’d also need a guidance system capable of accurately targeting individual allied ships to prevent hitting Chinese ships.”

  “You’ve been in cybersecurity and away from our navy too long, Kim. We now have all these capabilities. The Chinese have provided us several of their latest Russian Kilo diesel-electric submarines that are extremely quiet as part of our agreement with the Americans to denuclearize. These submarines are so quiet the Americans can’t always find them. Some of the new submarines also have very accurate guidance systems that allows an operator to select the target and steer the missile toward it while submerged. It’s much better than the guidance systems on our older submarines.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would the leadership even consider this plan? If it doesn’t work, our country could be destroyed.”

  “They know the risks, but they are desperate men. Our leadership accepted the help from the Americans to revitalize and modernize our economy. It’s clear that it will not happen as fast as they would like, and they’re worried about a possible revolution. This is all their fault, Kim. They have applied much of the US denuclearization revenue to our military instead of growing our economy. The only way they can stop a revolution is to start a war between China and the US to get financial aid and protection from China.”

  “Does this mean they’ll restart our nuclear weapons program?”

  “They don’t have to, Kim. Our military has over two hundred nuclear warheads that were buried in a fortified storage facility within the Mantapsan mountain test site. The collapse of the mountain and all tunnels to the storage facility prevented the US inspectors from finding the warheads. That is why our government agreed to denuclearization. Now that the detailed on-site inspections of our other nuclear facilities have ended, our military has started digging a new tunnel to the storage facility.”

  “How long will it take to get to the warheads, Admiral?”