by Andy Harp
“That’s it.”
“Okay,” said Scott, moving away from Krowl. “Here are my terms. We’ll wire you the money within the next hour. This claim is dismissed with prejudice, then sealed forever. And you give me every copy of that tape.”
“Done,” said Will. Matthews nodded.
As Krowl remained slumped in the chair, his hands covering his face, Scott followed Will out of the courtroom, catching up to him on the stairs. “Colonel?” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you really do it? Take the mission?”
“Did you do your research, Mr. Scott?” said Will.
“I don’t know. What do you mean?”
“Did you know the flight that William and Debra Parker were on?”
Scott recognized the names of Will Parker’s parents. “One coming back from Europe.”
“Yeah,” said Will. “PanAm Flight 103.”
“God, Parker.”
Will Parker had been one of America’s first victims of terrorism.
“It took me a while to realize it, but. . .” He paused. “This war has been going on for a long time.” And it was very personal. North Korea supplied terrorists. Will had lost much to terrorism.
As he walked away, Scott called out again, “Colonel.” Will turned. “How did you know to record it?”
Will smiled tightly, turned away, and walked down the stairs to the waiting Clark Ashby.
Epilogue
The Central Intelligence Agency reported a firing of a multi-stage Taepo Dong-3X missile from the newly-discovered complex near the DMZ. The launch occurred shortly after the reported death of one of North Korea’s leading scientists, Peter Nampo. The missile failed to reach a geo-synchronized orbit of the earth, likely, according to the world’s scientists, because the payload’s weight unduly affected the rocket’s trajectory. The rocket disappeared from radar and was presumed destroyed upon re-entry.
In the weeks following the failed launch, Chinese sources reported an upheaval in the government of Pyongyang. The vice prime minister and several generals were absent from prominent activities, including the annual parade in honor of Kim Jong Il. Deeper intelligence sources revealed the homes of these leaders in the secret inner city of Pyongyang were vacated and their children missing from school. No other intelligence reports reflected the military leaders’ whereabouts.
Meantime, Kim Jong Il made another effort to engage in talks with the United States, China, and Japan. Famine still had a grip on the country, and well over one-fourth its children suffered from severe malnutrition. Despite these concerns, North Korea had not complied with requests to acknowledge the existence of secret underground research facilities near Kosan and in three other locations. North Korea remained committed to the development of a multistage Taepo Dong intercontinental missile, despite Western overtures aimed at prompting a dialogue with North Korea.
In the country of Somalia, a U.S. Delta Force attacked a suspected terrorist camp, finding a mobile rocket launcher equipped with an intercontinental missile. It bore no markings. The payload was missing, as were many of the terrorists believed to be connected with the remote desert site. The nature and extent of the planned operation remains a secret.
On December 21st at oh-eight-hundred five, the United States launched its third series GPS IIR-10 satellite, Number SUN47. The satellite became the latest of twenty-nine making up a worldwide GPS system, on which both the military and corporate America increasingly rely.
In local news, the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported the city morgue missing the cadaver of a homeless person with no known next of kin. No further information was available.
The Trident submarine U.S.S. Florida returned to its homeport in Bangor, Washington, several weeks after an incident off the coast of North Korea. A Marine colonel, unknown to authorities in the port, was seen at Pier 10A greeting the crew and a Marine team onboard.
Acknowledgements
I have done my best to make this story a fact-based web of intrigue with more than one puzzle that the reader might not catch on first glance. The characters would not carry their weight without a host of people who provide insights into why we all do what we do.
To the late Bill Steber, Ed Rodzwicz, the many Marines (all who served, but are never “former” Marines) of the BLET, and also the Marines of the Crisis Action Team at Marine Forces Pacific: each of you reminds me in your own way that the true heart of the Marine Corps are not the generals, but the corporals, the sergeants, the warrant officers, the new lieutenants, and the seasoned captains who cause the train to run.
To Bob Harriss, Jeff Casurella, and the late Dale Oliver, it is greatly appreciated that you took the time to read a manuscript that was too long and slow at the beginning.
To Lee and Bonnie Green, I appreciate the reminder that, when mobilized, there are many, many citizens who support the Reservist. Tom Ragsdale, Joe Sawyer, Bill Todd, Bill Buckley, and the many members of the Marine Corps Reserve Officers Association (now the Marine Corps Reserve Association) have been of considerable help in many ways. Cal Callier also served to consult on more than one draft and is gratefully acknowledged.
And for the encouragement of my late good friend, Gary Christy, I am much grateful.
Alan Clark has provided good counsel, which is sincerely appreciated.
Ty Elliott has served to inspire my effort to be a creative writer and, for that, I thank him. Both Bruce Bortz, Bancroft Press’s publisher, and his assistant, Harrison Demchick, have been a great help in focusing and fashioning the story. I also appreciate the effort of the many folks at the Iowa Writers Workshop.
About the Author
J. Anderson Harp was born in a small Arkansas town on the banks of the Mississippi River. As a child, while hearing his father recount his colorful military experiences in the Pacific during World War II, he gained a lifelong appreciation for storytelling. As a youth, Harp’s cultural experiences expanded beyond the South when his parents moved to rural New Jersey. There, in a small town named Vineland, Harp had the opportunity for some unusual life experiences.
He served, for example, as an intern at the 1964 Democratic National Convention held that year in Atlantic City, NJ, where he heard Bobby Kennedy emotionally eulogize his brother, President John F. Kennedy, gunned down by an assassin the year before. He also became a high school track star, which eventually led to his participation in a national meet at Madison Square Garden in New York. His running ability led to an athletic scholarship at American University in Washington, D.C..
In the early 1970’s, Harp hiked and took trains all across Europe, from Lisbon, Spain, to Bodo, Norway, the true end of the railroad line in Northern Europe. After college and his European travels, he did a tour on active duty in the Marine Corps, where he was leader of a small group of arctic-trained instructors. He himself was trained at a number of bases, including Fort Greeley, Alaska, where he lived in temperatures at fifty degrees below zero, where car dashboards broke off like dried cake icing, and where packs of wolves roamed the streets at night.
After his stint on active duty, Harp returned to the South to attend law school at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. After graduating from law school and passing the bar, he served as a district attorney, where he prosecuted felonies. In one murder trial, he obtained a favorable verdict after a mere twelve minutes of jury deliberations. The victim’s mother cried in his arms in appreciation.
Harp left the criminal prosecution field to become a civil trial attorney, and has since participated in cases in more than eight states, from Texas to Florida. His practice has largely involved the representation of injured railroad men and women.
During his legal career, Harp has also written for several professional publications. One article, co-written with a Harvard physician, was described by the medical journal’s editor as one of the decade’s leading articles on catastrophic spinal cord injury care.
While building a successful career in law, he was also succeeding
in another career—the United States Marine Corps Reserves. During thirty years spent in the Reserves, Harp rose to the rank of colonel and served in the Persian Gulf, Central America, Europe, South Korea, and the Pentagon. He was mobilized for “Operation Enduring Freedom”—the U.S. invasion of Iraq—where he was the officer in charge of the Marines’ Crisis Action Team in the Pacific. On his departure, the men and women of his team presented him with a plaque of appreciation.
He lives with his wife in Columbus, Georgia. They have four children.