by Van Torrey
Chance, Blackie, and Max, having participated in many dangerous operations in the past, knew the gravity of the situation and the consequences of being caught by either the Canadians, or worse, the Korean terrorists. All three silently hoped the rookies had taken the training they had received at the CIA Farm seriously and would react calmly and professionally as the operation went forward. But there was always the unknown.
*
True to his word, the next day Park gathered his team and Gamma to brief them on the final phase of the mission to deploy and detonate the nuclear warhead on the sovereign territory of the United States of America. For each of these men, this would be the most important experience of their life, and they listened with an air of seriousness.
“Here is what I can tell you. Tonight we will begin the process of moving the warhead from its current location toward the final destination. We expect to be able to detonate the weapon at its ultimate destination sometime during the preparation of the July Fourth holiday weekend in the United States. We will leave this place after it gets dark and rendezvous with the warhead somewhere here in Vancouver. We will proceed under cover of darkness to the place where we will begin the second stage of a multiple stop journey. It is important for all of you to be extra vigilant so we will not be detected.”
At midday Lyon received a text from Gamma:
WE MOVE TONIGHT TO MEET UP WITH THE WARHEAD. STILL NO WORD OF TARGET. LEADER IS ULTRA-CAREFUL. UNCLEAR WHAT OTHER’S ROLES ARE. LEADER IS BUYING MY COVER, SO FARR.
After forwarding the text to their FBI liaison, Max remarked, “Well, we know the message is legitimate, but we’re still basically in the dark about the details.”
“We should be proactive, even with this small amount of information,” said Lyon. “According to the Argus surveillance, we know where the Koreans are - at least the group that Gamma is with. Assuming they link up with a vehicle to make their move, there is only one road out of the docks to a main road that will take them to the next stop. We’ll split up in two groups with two vehicles. Blackie, Peggy and I will park near where they could turn west, Max and Miss Joon cover the east exit. That way we have a tail on them whichever way they go. The other car will have to catch up. We’ll keep in touch with our sat phones so the Canadians can’t listen in on our activities.”
As dusk descended on Vancouver Jenkins and Lyon reviewed their contingencies one more time while Peggy swept the safe house for the last time for documents and any evidence of their clandestine activity. Lyon contacted Craig Murphy, who was acting as the communications liaison between NSA and the Americans and let him know they were moving into position. “Let us know when you get a GPS signal that Gamma is moving,” he said.
*
Park himself went out and purchased food for the group that was to be their final meal before they began the last phase of the sabotage operation. He also purchased a bottle of Canadian whiskey that he encouraged the men to share with him prior to eating the meal. “This may be our last chance to enjoy each other’s company before we embark on the most dangerous phase of the operation,” he said cryptically.
Gamma declined to partake in the alcohol consumption simply saying that he did not indulge in distilled spirits. “To each his own, Dong-sun, that leaves more for the rest of us,” remarked Park lightly. “Drink up friends, there will be plenty of time to sleep during the journey ahead.”
As Park and his four friends became more jovial after consuming the excellent whiskey, Gamma began to feel a vague sense of unease that he could not catalog. Gamma was no stranger to intrigue and, in fact, had perpetrated acts of subterfuge many times on his own to further his goals, but he could not shake a sense of foreboding about what lay ahead as this evening’s events progressed.
Park soon announced genially that it was time to eat the dinner he had purchased. “Come friends, we must eat and then tend to the business at hand. We have much to do this evening.”
Park went to the makeshift food preparation area and doled out generous portions of Korean kimchi, the traditional fare made from fermented vegetables, universally loved by the Korean people, but loathed by most Westerners for its spicy and sour taste. Park served it first to his four young companions and urged them to begin saying, “Dong-sun and I will join you in a moment.” The four unsuspecting Korean soldiers spent little time observing the food before they began to eat ravenously. It was not more than thirty seconds before the four men looked urgently at each other, then Park, and began to gag. Their bodies became rigid as they struggled to rise from the table before simultaneously succumbing to violent seizures and convulsions. Less than one minute after beginning to consume the food, all four fell to the floor in a desperate and grotesque orgasm of suffocating death.
Gamma was no stranger to sudden violence, but looked on the scene with a mixture of surprise and revulsion. Looking toward Park, who had already turned away from the death scene with feigned indifference, Gamma could only say, “Was that necessary? Those men were your comrades.”
“Unfortunately, Dong-sun, they are no longer necessary for the completion of the mission, and, as such, expendable. Cyanide is fast and remarkably effective. Now if you will assist me in wrapping these bodies, minus their departed souls, in the tarps from the rear of the building there will be no need for their further disposal. By the time they are found, we will be on our way to Cuba.”
In an attempt to gather any usable intelligence for the path forward, Gamma casually questioned Park. “But why now? They have been with you thus far, why are they suddenly expendable?”
“They were needed to assist in transferring the warhead from Wonson to here in Vancouver. I decided to keep them with me until you arrived, mainly for the company and for security of the device. Now that you and the technical equipment have arrived we can proceed without them,” replied Park.
“But surely something of this magnitude will require more than us two,” offered Gamma.
“Oh, there are others...or I should say one other. He assisted in transferring the warhead from the Korean trawler off the coast of Canada and getting into Vancouver. He also had the warehouse where we kept the warhead and where we lived these past five months arranged for. Mr. Choi has been an integral part of the plan...and will continue to be so - more than he knows.”
“That would seem to imply that he is not fully briefed on the entire operation,” coaxed Gamma carefully.
“Compartmentalization is the key to security of an operation such as this, Dong-sun. Each person knows only what they need to accomplish their part of the mission. In the case of our comrades here, I’m afraid they knew too much about the past to risk taking them into the future and their potential compromise. Besides, from now on we will have to travel fast and efficiently - lean and mean, as the Americans say.”
“Dong-sun, if you will scour the warehouse for any clues about our stay here and destroy them, I will be going out and will return in less than one hour. When I return we will be on our way.”
*
Shortly thereafter Chance received the following text from Gamma:
KNT LEADER POISONED 4 COMRADES AT DINNER. THERE ARE NOW JUST 3 OF US PARK, CHOI(?), AND ME. LEADER STILL HAS US IN THE DARK ABOUT DETAILS. WE MOVE IN ONE HOUR. DESTINATION AND METHOD OF TRAVEL UNKNOWN. URGENT YOU TRACK US. FUTUREA COMMUNICATION QUESTIONABLE.
“Let’s move!” urged Lyon to his prepared colleagues. “If there was any doubt these guys mean business, it should be dispelled by Gamma’s message. We have to stop these guys before they find that Gamma can’t even light a campfire with this gadget he’s carrying, let alone set off a nuke.”
In ten minutes Chance Lyon and his team were on the freeway heading toward the Vancouver docks feeling like hunters in search of an unknown prey.
*
Gamma took advantage of Park’s absence to look through the belongings of the four poisoned Koreans in order to learn anything new about the sabotage operation but was unsuccessful. He did find high quality cou
nterfeit identity documents of the men along with some personal effects that he threw in a plastic bag for disposal along the way. Gamma thought for a moment about the dismal lives of the four Korean soldiers who had been murdered by Park far from their homeland. Like many before them from many countries in many wars, they would be consigned to an unmarked grave without the benefit of a moment’s kind remembrance or a single flower from a loved one. In another day and another time, that could have been me, he thought. It occurred to Gamma that Park was so mission-oriented and ruthless that the moment he determined that Gamma was no longer useful, he could be subject to the same fate. He vowed not to take Park for granted as a trusted comrade. Two can play this game, and I have played it before, thought Gamma.
Park Man-soo returned to the warehouse and said simply, “Come, we must go. We have a long way to travel tonight.”
CHAPTER 37
HOUNDS TO FOXES
“There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast.”
Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers.
*
Gamma followed Park out of the warehouse in the unaccustomed role of follower rather than leader. As uncomfortable as it was, he felt he had no choice. The initiative was completely in the hands of Park as putative leader of the Koreans. He realized how powerless he was having no knowledge of the immediate future.
After witnessing the callous and brutal murder of four of Park’s loyal colleagues in the warehouse just over an hour ago, Gamma was motivated to seize the initiative if for no other reason than protecting his own life. How soon would it be that Park convinced himself Gamma was nothing more than an inconvenience in the path of Park himself being able to accomplish the mission and return to North Korea in the role of a national hero? Megalomaniacs were not born but, rather, evolve after gaining improbable success fueled by unchecked sociopathic behavior over a period of time. Park Man-soo was well on his way to becoming the prototypical classic sociopath as he dreamed of detonating a nuclear weapon that could take the lives of thousands in the greatest terrorist act of all time.
Gamma followed Park to the corner of a small parking lot adjacent to the wharf area near the warehouse. “Get in, Dong-sun, we must hurry. I’m afraid as an added precaution I am going to have to ask you to put on this blindfold until we reach our destination. It is a precaution of the mission dictated to me by those who sent me.”
“And if I refuse?” asked Gamma nonchalantly.
“I have my orders, Dong-sun. I may not agree with them all of the time, but they are orders. Please do not ask me to violate them.”
Park drove carefully through the dark night taking a roundabout way through side streets and alleys as he steadily moved away from the dock area and toward the main street that connected with a four-lane parkway leading into the city. Park frequently looked anxiously at the rear-view mirror to confirm he wasn’t being followed. He took the west exit from the docks and was soon on the parkway heading into Vancouver. After five miles he made an abrupt lane change and turned sharply into a small business park lit only by a single overhead streetlight. Park drove slowly to the far end of the complex and pulled up to the large garage door of one of the bays. As soon as his headlights shone on the door it began its upward movement. The headlights of Park’s car illuminated the darkened inside of the bay, revealing a white cargo van, a few boxes strewn here and there, and a fork-lift. Standing next to the van was a single male dressed in blue jeans and a dark sweater. As they pulled into the bay Park told Gamma he could remove the blindfold. When he did Gamma could see the man’s Asian features as he smiled thinly toward the approaching vehicle.
Park stopped the car and doused the lights, momentarily plunging the bay into total darkness. The hum of the overhead door motor indicated that the large steel door was closing and as soon as it banged shut, the bay was suddenly flooded with illumination from an overhead bank of fluorescent lights. Gamma turned his head toward the passenger van and could see several large pieces of newspaper taped to the side presumably covering some information painted underneath. These people have been extremely careful not to disclose anything that would reveal information about their operation until the last possible minute, thought Gamma. The DPRK Reconnaissance Bureau had trained them well.
Both men exited the vehicle and were immediately met by a short, slim Korean who advanced toward Park and extended his hand in greeting. “Welcome, Man-soo, It’s good to see you again.”
“Yes, Mr. Choi,” Park said formally. “May I present our new colleague, Kim Dong-sun? I am confident he is the technician promised us by the DPRK. With him we are finally able to proceed with the final phase of our mission. You can tell he is a technician because he never lets his briefcase out of his sight,” Park joked sarcastically.
Choi turned his attention to Gamma and greeted him formally. “Finally, after all these months, we can now proceed. But I must claim ignorance, Mr. Kim. Man-soo has never given me the details of this job we are apparently preparing for, except to say it is important research being conducted by the DPRK in connection with improving relations with the Canadian government. Perhaps now that you are here, I will learn more.”
Park cut Choi’s conversation short by asking him, “Did you go to the docks today and get the ice chests filled?”
“Yes, of course, Man-soo. Two are completely filled with ice and salmon, and one has ice only,” he responded. “Just as you directed.”
“Excellent!...now all we have to do is load the scientific instruments into the chest and we will be on our way. Once we leave here the plan will be officially in motion,” replied Park.
Choi spoke up directing his question to Park, “But where are the others? I thought you said we needed them to assist with the experiments.”
After a brief hesitation, Park responded, “I decided to deploy them to another area closer to Vancouver itself, where we will be conducting additional studies.”
Choi thought for a moment before answering, “But none of them speak English well. How will they be able to manage without you, Man-soo?”
“What they will be doing will not require any English language skills,” replied Park with annoyance. “Please do not question my authority, Mr. Choi.”
Park’s attitude abruptly changed, and he then added, “You are sure, Mr. Choi that no one has had any access to the building in general or the locked room specifically except you, of course?”
Choi, anxious not to further agitate Park, responded quickly. “No...no one but me has had access to the building, and I have respected your wishes not to enter the room. It has remained locked since we moved the container in there two weeks ago. No one but me has been in the building, Man-soo.”
“You have been faithful about paying the rent and utilities?”
“Just as you directed, Man-soo, perfectly on time.”
“Then we will leave the building exactly as we found it and no one will have any suspicion that we were here...exactly as it should be,” Park said softly.
“Now, Mr. Choi, I have one more request of you. Please take my car and go to the nearest Chinese food restaurant and get some take-out for our dinner. Our dinner tonight was interrupted and we are quite hungry.” Park produced some Canadian money and gave it to Choi while saying, “Get plenty for you and some extra for us to eat while we are on the road. Some tea would also be good. Please do not return for at least thirty minutes as we have something to do with the instruments that can’t be interrupted once it begins.”
As soon as Choi left on his errand Park lowered the door once more and strode to the locked door of the room he had pointed to earlier and produced a key to a padlock. “Dong-sun, now you will be introduced to the object of your mission. This is where the nuclear warhead is stored.”
*
Craig Murphy was on the sat phone with Chance Lyon who was stopped at a convenience market just off the parkway. “We thought we had him, Craig, but we got boxed in by traffic and lost the target. Now
we’re waiting for our other car. Can you help us with a GPS signal?”
“GPS is all we’ve got and it stops near an industrial park and other commercial structures about three miles from where you are. I don’t know what that means, Chance. The signal comes from the briefcase he’s carrying and if they get inside a building with a lot of steel, it can get problematic. We had to take the Argus off station late this afternoon because the Canadian radar intensity was getting over our abort-mission threshold, so GPS is all the tracking we have unless you can get a visual.”
Chance knew all his team could do at the moment was to get somewhat closer to where the GPS signal stopped and wait for reacquisition by one of the twenty-four GPS satellites that continuously circled the globe.
*
Park withdrew his key from the padlock and slowly opened the door to the darkened room. He turned on the lights and Gamma was greeted by the image of a wooden box four feet long and two feet high as the only item in the room. His only other sensation was that of a musty odor of built up stale humidity that was the result of no air being changed in the room for a week or more.
“There it is, Dong-sun, your new toy. It certainly looks harmless enough, yes? Much like a Stradivarius violin or a Steinway piano, without a virtuoso it is useless, but with the right artist, it is something that will make the entire world take notice.”
The screws holding the top of the crate had been removed after the warhead had been moved there, presumably by Park, and Gamma slowly, almost reverently, set the cover aside as he peered inside the simple wooden crate. He was immediately taken back in time to his experiences in Pakistan. He and his men had been given the role by the corrupt Pakistani military of maintaining and refueling the nuclear inventory of that politically precarious state, a secret partner of the DPRK in the development and miniaturization of nuclear weapons and their missile delivery systems. What Gamma saw here tonight was a warhead virtually identical to those he and his band of Korean technicians had serviced. It was like seeing your child after years of being absent. A parent always recognized exactly what he was seeing.