Brilliant New Light (Chance Lyon military adventure series Book 3)

by Van Torrey

  Miss Joon strained to consider the options she had to slow down Park’s obsession with getting to Victoria as soon as possible. She decided that it all boiled down to the van itself. No amount of obsession or motivation on the part of Park could overcome the fact that the van would be unable to move if disabled. She also reasoned - correctly - that the ice chests that took up nearly all the cavernous internal space of the large van could not easily be transferred to another vehicle. Therefore the key to slowing Park down was to disable the van.

  Gamma brought the coffee and some sandwiches back to the van and the three settled in, regaining their warmth and making conversation as the ferry steadily made its way through the drizzle toward Nanaimo just twenty minutes away. “Something is making me ill,” spoke Miss Joon urgently. “I must get out...I’m feeling very ill.”

  Gamma quickly opened his passenger door and Miss Joon stumbled out and hurried to the rail of the ferry pretending to be physically ill over the side. After feigning illness for several minutes she returned to the van and apologized with a great deal of obvious embarrassment to the two men. “I think it was the food...I don’t think you should eat it,” she said as she stood unsteadily by the door. “I must use the bathroom...but let me take the food and dispose of it before it makes you ill as well.” Neither man had started to eat, preferring to drink the coffee first, and looked at the sandwiches suspiciously before handing them back to Miss Joon. “I’ll return soon, I just have to freshen up.”

  Within the confines of the lavatory Miss Joon entered one of the stalls and quickly wrote a note on the remnants of one of the sandwich bags for Gamma.

  Pretending food illness. Will try to get Park to take me for some food when we arrive Nanaimo. You disable van battery so we can’t move upon return. Hide paper between battery cable and battery terminal. This may force us to wait until morning to move to Victoria. If you can’t do that let air out of back tire. I am trying to take advantage of Park’s lack of female companionship for the past several months which he has alluded to.

  Miss Joon folded the paper carefully into a small size and planned on palming it to Gamma at the first opportunity. She hoped her acting skills and Park’s natural male instincts would collide to make her plan work to the benefit of the American team.

  Miss Joon returned to the van and allowed to the men that she ‘now had nothing in her stomach, but felt somewhat better.’

  As Miss Joon sat back of the two men she simultaneously put her hand on Park’s right shoulder and spoke earnestly about trivial matters she moved her head close to him in the process, while palming the folded message to Gamma by wrapping her right hand around his seat and tapping on his leg. Miss Joon was not a woman who used perfume regularly, but her natural scent reminded Park that he was in the company of a very attractive woman of his own ethnicity. She was gradually getting his complete attention. “I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am for your help,” she cooed to Park as he turned halfway in his seat while she spoke. “I feel so helpless out here without my friends, and you have saved me!”

  After spending five boring months in a musty, rundown backwater warehouse waiting for the promised savior from his mysterious DPRK masters, Park felt like a Spartan warrior, stoically enduring a tedious and uncertain life over which he had no control. There had been no creature comforts beyond the basic necessities of subsistence, no leave or communication with distant family or lovers, and no socializing to break the monotony of maintaining the security of a dark and sinister terrorist plan while being responsible for the others who were charged with helping him carry it out. And in the true tradition of the North Korean military, failure of the mission would only bring death or long imprisonment as its reward. Now suddenly, Park was in the presence of an attractive and vulnerable young woman who was breaking down the barriers of his bland and dutiful existence by simply treating him like a human being...and a man! Park’s mind began to race with the nascent thoughts of how perfect his life could be if he could succeed in his mission and somehow return to North Korea to a hero’s welcome, accompanied by this luscious specimen of Korean femininity. Even within the social and cultural confinement of North Korea they would have a good life!

  As the ferry began its final approach to Nanaimo, Gamma was searching for a way to read the note Miss Joon had palmed to him. He reasoned it had to be relevant to their conspiracy, and he felt he should try to read it before they disembarked at the ferry dock.

  “We are approaching the ferry dock, Man-soo,” remarked Gamma, “I am going to inspect the van from outside to ensure the back is locked and the ice chests are properly secured.”

  Park, slightly annoyed that his intimate conversation with Miss Joon had been interrupted by such a trivial matter, simply gave a wrist wave of acceptance to Gamma and continued to listen as if entranced by the story-telling of his female companion.

  Gamma exited the passenger side of the cargo van and went to the rear as if inspecting it carefully. By the dim deck lights of the ferry he read Miss Joon’s message and then walked to the railing and tossed the paper overboard. After opening and forcefully closing the rear cargo door he made his way back to the van and reentered. Park and Miss Joon were in an animated discussion about South Korean politics, with Miss Joon explaining to Park’s great delight her great dislike of the current corrupt regime in the South and her idealistic vision of a reunited North and South Korea. Gamma could not help but smirk slightly about how Miss Joon was steadily winding the unsophisticated Park around her finger. Give her another two or three hours and she could talk him into defecting, thought Gamma.

  The ferry began its docking maneuver as the drizzle had turned to a fine mist and the break in the clouds revealed a full moon that lit up the ferry terminal. Outside the approaching ferry, there was little activity at this late hour. As the cars began to slowly roll off the ferry onto the dock the men began to plan for the near future. “We need gas,” remarked Park. “Somewhere near here we need to find a fueling station, and then we can make our way to Victoria.”

  After a pregnant pause, Miss Joon once again knew this was basically her show and she was in the dock. All the semi-seductive attention she had paid to Park was antecedent to what lay ahead. “Man-soo, I am so hungry after losing everything that was in my stomach. Would you be a sweetheart and indulge me while I got some food. I don’t want to eat alone. Then if you will bring me back to the terminal I’ll wait here for my ride...if it comes,” she concluded pessimistically and with a sigh of resignation.

  Park, throwing caution to the wind at this chance to be noble, quickly responded in Miss Joon’s defense by saying, “Of course, Miss Joon. We will find a diner close-by and get you warmed up and something hot to eat. We can still make Victoria by morning.”

  They passed an open gas station not far from the ferry, but Park was not thinking logically at the moment and was focused only on seeing that Miss Joon’s discomfort was relieved, with him being the source of her relief. Once again, Gamma smirked at Park’s gullibility and thought to himself, I don’t understand how Miss Joon cannot break out laughing at how easy this is. If I were in Park’s shoes, would I do any better? She’s very good at this.

  Along the same highway, about a half mile from the gas station, Park spied what appeared to be a diner whose neon sign was still flashing OPEN. He pulled in and asked Miss Joon if this was going to be all right. “Oh, Man-soo, you are so kind. Anything will do at this hour. I am so grateful,” as she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

  With all his male inclinations now running at full speed, Park looked at Gamma as if he were a paid chauffeur and said, “Dong-sun, can you take the van back to that gas station and fill it up? Then perhaps you will come back and join us. Here is some cash to buy the fuel.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Park exited the vehicle and extended his hand to help Miss Joon out of the vehicle. Gamma watched in amusement as Miss Joon took Park’s arm walking toward the diner. She had done her job, now it wa
s time for Gamma to do his best to disable the vehicle. Gamma thought that under these present circumstances, somehow Park would not be overly concerned about a short delay in their plans.

  After gassing the car and paying the attendant he pulled around to another island out of view of the attendant and opened the hood of the van. Gamma, after all his experience leading convoys around to the various nuclear facilities in Pakistan, had extensive hands-on experience with motor vehicles and was at home with any minor mechanical and electrical systems. Miss Joon’s idea about disabling the battery was simple tradecraft from her CIA training and was immediately mentally endorsed by Gamma. He produced a small wrench from the toolbox of the cargo van and loosened the positive battery terminal. He tore a strip of material from a rag and wound it carefully around the battery terminal to insulate the metal of the terminal from the cable head. He then replaced the cable and camouflaged the top of the battery and cable connection with grease from the engine mounts. Only someone with knowledge of automobile electrical systems could identify the problem visually. Gamma was betting that Park was not such a man.

  After trying to start the van and verifying that the ruse would work, Gamma walked to the diner and broke the news to Park. “I asked the attendant and he said nothing is open until eight tomorrow morning. He doesn’t have access to any of the tools, he’s just a cashier. Looks like we’ll have to stay the night and try to get a jump or a new battery in the morning. We should be on our way by nine or so.”

  Miss Joon silently did the math in her head and hoped that timeline would be correct, as the first ferry from Horseshoe Bay was at seven AM, putting into Nanaimo at eight-forty.

  Park looked conflicted as he said nothing while mulling over his situation. He took a momentary break from his fantasy of being admired by an attractive young woman and tried to look at his situation rationally. “What do you think, Dong-sun?” Park asked uncharacteristically. He had largely ignored Gamma since they had left the warehouse, and it had occurred to Gamma that if he wasn’t a vital link to the endgame of the operation, he too, would be dead in the woods next to Mr. Choi.

  “I don’t think we have much choice but to stay here for the night. I don’t trust just getting a jump at this stage. We should get a new battery so there are no more surprises. I can take care of that in the morning while we are getting breakfast,” Gamma replied.

  Park thought for a moment and replied, “Very well. We can walk back to the ferry terminal and stay there overnight. It will be uncomfortable, but we will manage with some blankets from the van. This delay will not be much of a bother to us.”

  Gamma and Miss Joon made the briefest of eye contact that confirmed the fact that so far their plan was working. Now it depended on Max and Chance to close the deal on the ferry to Port Angeles.

  *

  Craig Murphy spoke with his liaison at NSA for several minutes and then passed the news on to Chance Lyon by encrypted Iridium hookup. “Chance, we’re getting a weak GPS signal from Gamma that didn’t leave the same spot in Nanaimo for about thirty minutes, and now they’re back at the ferry terminal. He hasn’t moved from there for over an hour. Don’t know what this means, but right now they are not on their way to Victoria.”

  “Okay, thanks Craig,” replied Chance. “Max’s phone battery is only about fifty percent, and I asked him to turn it off until six this morning when I’ll call him. He’s got to make that first ferry at seven so he has a shot at getting to Victoria early in the morning. That’s an imperative.”

  Chance, Peggy, and Blackie got together at breakfast and tried to anticipate every possible potential glitch in their plans and create contingencies for them. “We’ve done everything we can here,” concluded Lyon. “There are a lot of moving parts, and we’ve got to let the individual skills of all our people come together to make it work.” At that exact moment Lyon received a phone call from Craig Murphy. “Chance, this is Craig. NSA says they have lost the GPS signal from Gamma thirty minutes ago. They have no idea where he is.”

  CHAPTER 38

  FEMME FATALE

  “The silliest woman can manage a clever man; but it needs a very clever woman to manage a fool.”

  Rudyard Kipling

  *

  Lyon was awakened by Peggy pulling on his boot as he dozed on one of the large couches in the day room of the Coast Guard Officer’s quarters. “Chance, it’s Craig Murphy on the sat phone; says he has an update on Gamma for you.”

  Lyon willed himself awake and said, “Okay, Peggy I’m up for now, maybe you better get some sleep. We’ll need an alert and rested pilot when things start happening out in the Strait tomorrow. I’ll stand watch on the Iridium and have Blackie get some shut eye too.” With that, he walked to the small kitchen area where Olyphant was sitting at the table talking to Murphy.

  “Here’s Chance, Murph,” said Blackie as he handed the encrypted satellite phone to Chance.

  “Chance here, Murph, whataya have?”

  “Chance here’s a summary as of zero-three-hundred Pacific Daylight Time. We know the ferry got to Nanaimo and our people were on it... at least Gamma and his briefcase were. We got a very weak GPS signal from there five hours ago, then nothing. We also know there are no ferry departures off Vancouver Island until seven-hundred tomorrow morning. Logic would tell you they are there until at least that time tomorrow. As you know, Max is still at Horseshoe Bay until zero-seven-hundred tomorrow. He should make Nanaimo by eight-forty or so.”

  “So we’re black until early tomorrow?” replied Chance.

  “There may be a silver lining...maybe a slightly tarnished silver lining,” replied Craig. “I have a Special Agent flying to Victoria tonight by FBI helicopter who will be parking himself at the ferry terminal waiting for Max with the fresh phone batteries. He’s a veteran asset and an ace-in-the-hole should we need to deploy him. I know the guy, and he’s solid. Name of Jacob Ramsey...just call him Jake.”

  “What about the Canadian customs people? Are they just going to let one of our FBI guys roam around up there without knowing what’s up? You-know-who wants to keep this black...as in “a dark and stormy night”.”

  “I think that’s being handled as we speak. The Seattle Special Agent in Charge knows the Vancouver Royal Canadian Mountie in Vancouver, who has jurisdiction on the island. He’s going with a story that our guy is boarding the ferry to make a routine observation of the ferry crew for a crossing. Just a precaution, given the holiday. We do this from time-to-time, and it’s no problem. The ferry is American-owned and the crew is American, so it’s not that big a deal.”

  I’m still worried about no GPS tracking from Gamma,” said Chance. “This uncertainty conjures up a lot of potential scenarios, none of them positive. Maybe we better divert this flight to Nanaimo where he can catch Max when he makes the island and also be another set of eyes for us up there.”

  “Okay, they have a customs agent at the SeaAir sea plane terminal near the ferry, and I’ll have my agent enter on a tourist visa.”

  “Have him give you an update when he gets there, and keep us in the loop,” concluded Lyon.

  *

  Gamma was startled awake by a janitor emptying trash cans in the nearly deserted passenger terminal of BC Ferries in Nanaimo. He was momentarily disoriented as he simultaneously looked for his briefcase and his companions, Miss Joon and Park Man-soo. Almost immediately he was relieved as he noticed that he was actually using the briefcase as a pillow with his jacket as a cushion, and both of his companions were dozing on opposite ends of the large wooden bench they were occupying. Hours of no sleep and the stress of acting out their ruse had contributed to their collective exhaustion. Gamma smirked as he eyed Park and noted that he was human after all, and not some invincible robot sent to America to bring harm to its people. In other circumstances Park could be taken as easily as a small child and put down in seconds, but such circumstances were not of this moment. There were many more miles to travel before this would be over. Gamma took a momen
t and looked admiringly at Miss Joon as he considered her poise and ingenuity at fabricating this deception that, so far, was working to their team’s advantage.

  Gamma decided to risk it and went into the men’s room to send a text to Chance. In less than five minutes he had sent a text offering an update to their situation.

  In Nanaimo til morning under guise of car trouble. Joon has deflected Park’s attention to mission. We expect to leave to Victoria by 09:00. Can’t put it off any longer. We should catch the noon ferry to Port Angeles. Max still on mainland.

  The receipt of the text from Gamma reached Chance Lyon as he was making coffee in the kitchen off the Coast Guard dayroom. He was relieved that their plan was still on schedule and there had been no slip-ups to this point.

  Lyon shared the message on the sat phone with Blackie who had declined to go to sleep, saying, “At this stage of an operation sleep interrupts my natural inclination to persuade a bad guy to give up peacefully before I have to resort to more persuasive methods. In Afghanistan I once went without sleep for four days existing on caffeine and Benzedrine when my platoon sergeant got wounded, and I didn’t have a senior NCO,” he told his partner.

  “Hold on, Chance,” Olyphant said as he read the message several more times. “There are no misspelled words here. How do we know it’s authentic? Maybe Park is on to them, and he made Gamma send this bogus message. If so, that would jibe with the fact that there has been no GPS signal from Gamma for hours. If Park has found them out, he could have made Gamma defeat the GPS locator, and they could be moving blind. Worst case scenario could be that they are already in Victoria and are preparing to take the first ferry out this morning. If so, that would SNAFU our planned intercept. What should we do?”

  *

  Gamma went back out into the deserted ferry terminal to find Miss Joon stirring and trying to get her bearings from a fitful sleep. She shifted uncomfortably before mumbling obligatory greetings to Gamma who wandered aimlessly near them while he tried to move his thoughts ahead of Park’s. Park will wake up and feel we need to get going right away. It is possible that he will look upon last night’s reverie with Miss Joon as bad judgment on his part and cast her aside as excess baggage. He will demand we get the van fixed as soon as possible and move on to Victoria quickly. With Max still stranded in Horseshoe Bay, he will never be able to catch up with us.