by Van Torrey
“I have to pee and would like some water,” Park announced from under the hood. “Could you take off this damnable hood so I can breathe?”
“Okay, Mr. Park, we can help you with that,” said Matt Bogan, one of the three escorts who had been with Park since he had been taken into custody by FBI agents at the Port Angeles Coast Guard station, “but first we need to establish some ground rules that will make this easier for both of us...”
Park angrily interrupted and demanded, “Where are we?!”, as he tossed his head from side to side in a vain attempt to dislodge the hood from his head.
Bogan grabbed the struggling Park, marched him across the room and slammed him down onto a straight-backed chair, pulling off his hood in the process. “Listen you son of a bitch, we’re going to have a mutual understanding before you get to piss or drink anything! First, to your question. We are not in North Korea or Vancouver. It doesn’t matter where we are, as you could not escape even if we invited you to. You have no money, no phone, no papers, and no shoes. You are what we in America refer to as barefoot and pregnant, so understand that. All you have to do is provide us answers to the questions we have - honestly - and you will be fed, given some whisky at the end of the day, and a soft bed to sleep in without being bound. You will not be mistreated. However, if you refuse to answer or try to lie to us we can make it very difficult for you.”
“Fuck you, I want one of your American lawyers!” remarked Park in a faux display of machismo. “I know plenty of good lawyers in Vancouver who will take my case for free.”
“Right. Okay, big shot, I’ll call a couple of those assholes for you. Here’s how it will sound: “Hello asshole lawyer, your potential client here, Mr. Park, is a North Korean terrorist who just tried to smuggle a nuclear weapon into the United States. Oh, by the way, he also murdered a number of his colleagues in cold blood in the process...money? No he has no money for your fee. Witnesses? Oh yes, we have several credible eye-witnesses to all this. You say you’re too busy with other cases right now? How about your colleagues? They’re too busy too? Oh well.”
“That’s what getting a lawyer will be like for you, Mr. Park. There’s one other problem, Mr. Park, we’re not in the United States or Canada. I’ll give you a hint. We’re somewhere like North Korea, where nobody has any rights, except whoever is sitting in the big chair at the moment. So you see, Mr. Park, you are shit-out-of-luck now, and possibly forever!”
Park had been at the Bangor Trident Base for two days. He was driven to McChord Air Force Base and brought by private jet to El Salvador for interrogation. Park could have been interrogated nearly anywhere but this was the same place Chance Lyon and Blackie Olyphant had used previously to interrogate their captive from the Colon and his Cuban handler. The American FBI and CIA used El Salvador as a place to extract vital intel from uncooperative sources out of sight of American civil libertarians. El Presidente, or the current Generalissimo in charge of this postage stamp sized country, simply looked the other way and was paid well for doing so.
“Now, Mr. Park, I’m going outside for a sandwich and a smoke right now while you consider your situation. I’ll be back in half an hour. By the way, don’t soil yourself while you’re sitting there, we don’t have any fresh clothes for you and there are no laundry facilities at this Hilton.”
*
Foreign Minister Yang received Secretary Randolph and Ambassador Bledsoe back at the Chinese Foreign Ministry one day after Randolph had delivered the letter from President Hunter addressed to the Premier. “Good afternoon, Mr. Randolph. I wanted to see you in person to report on the Premier’s reaction to President Hunter’s letter. Were you aware that there was also a memory card with the letter containing video and still images of the warhead? The Premier was fascinated with the content, and he wanted to congratulate your intelligence service for their skill in thwarting this heinous terrorist act. It is surely an abomination.”
“Yes, just so, and thank you, Minister,” replied Randolph. “Please pass along the President’s kindest regards to the Premier at your earliest opportunity, and mine as well.”
Yang continued, “Once again the Premier is deeply troubled by these revelations about the DPRK. This shows that they are a legitimate nuclear state having a common border with the People’s Republic, and that is something we have been concerned about for some time, but with little hard information up to now. There is a complicating factor here that I would like to share with you, sir. As you know the People’s Republic has broken off diplomatic relations with the DPRK and recalled our ambassador. However General Fhang was nonetheless brought here a few days ago by his doctors and a young woman for the treatment of a serious health issue. The doctors at the hospital treating him say that he may need very difficult brain surgery to deal with this condition. This places us in a complicated situation as there is little precedent for this type of cooperation under the current diplomatic circumstances.”
“Yes, I understand, but that seems like a peripheral issue to what I came to discuss with you,” remarked Randolph. Up to now Randolph had heard nothing of this and wanted to get this information back to Rachel Hunter as quickly as possible.
“Well it may or may not, Mr. Secretary. This is a very fluid situation at the moment. However, the main message today is that the Premier is dispatching me shortly to travel to Seattle and accept your President’s gracious invitation to see the warhead and speak personally with the Koreans who have been involved in this terrorist scheme. She boldly invited, we readily accept! It is important to the Premier to know as much about this as possible if we are to be involved in any resolution of this ongoing situation. My cover for this trip, which will undoubtedly be noticed by the media, is that I am taking a delegation to visit some of the Boeing aircraft sites in the Seattle area. As you know, the People’s Republic of China is one of Boeing’s largest customers,” Yang said with a sly smile.
“As well as a growing and capable competitor,” rejoined Randolph.
“Perhaps we should say friendly rivals,” added Yang. “Now Mr. Secretary, perhaps you and Ambassador Bledsoe will take tea with me now and join me later for drinks and dinner.”
*
The coded cable marked TOP SECRET from Secretary Randolph arrived at the State Department and the CIA’s China Desk simultaneously.
HAVE IT ON VERY RELIABLE AUTHORITY THAT GENERAL FHANG (DPRK) HAS BEEN IN A BEIJING HOSPITAL FOR UNSPECIFIED NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION FOR PAST FEW DAYS. THIS PRESENTS DELICATE PROBLEMS FOR PRC LEADERSHIP. NO FURTHER DETAILS AVAILABLE. END. A.RANDOLPH.
“Well, at least we have official confirmation of what we heard before. What a witch’s brew we have in the cauldron now, Ms. President,” remarked Philip Johnson, after he had been called by Marilyn Mitchell. I don’t know if this changes anything for the long term, but it is encouraging that Foreign Minister Yang is accepting our invitation to see the warhead and talk to the players.”
“Yes, it may mean they are interested in working toward a solution which will be helpful to us and their region as well.”
“Two questions, Ms. President,” posed Johnson. “Are we going to let him talk to General Kim, and if so, what will be the ground rules?”
“I knew you were going to ask me that, Philip. I expect nothing less than the hard questions from you...and wise counsel for answers,” she said.
*
With Gamma safely ensconced in a CIA secured safe house in the Virginia Mountains, Doug Chambers returned to CIA Headquarters in Langley to meet with Marilyn Mitchell and her intelligence staff. Gamma had been a valuable asset and the challenge now was to war-game the overall situation to determine if and how he could continue to be used as an intelligence conduit for information out of the DPRK. Intelligence out of Pyongyang had been viewed as important before Operation Hard Candy, but now it was seen as vital, with the murky political situation exacerbated by Fhang’s mysterious illness and the revelation of the DPRK’s enhanced nuclear capability.
“If we ar
e going to be able to continue to use Gamma effectively we have to figure a way of reintegrating him back into the North Korean hierarchy with no suspicion about his absence. If we can’t do that we would simply have to give him asylum and give him a job as an analyst here. He’s a very intelligent man, and courageous as well. If he is willing he might be able to become a covert agent for us, but there are a lot of people we would like to spy on who know him and that could backfire on us. I think we have to concentrate on getting him back into a position of trust in the DPRK,” said Doug Chambers.
“In your conversations with him, did he think others within the leadership knew he was traveling to Canada to assist in the nuclear caper?” asked Marilyn Mitchell.
“We discussed that at length, and he was adamant that no one other than he and Fhang were aware of the plot and his involvement in it. Gamma said Fhang was paranoid about this terrorist cell in Canada not being real, and being set up by General Rhee, who is now out of the picture of course. His cover story was to be that Fhang was sending Gamma to Cuba to work out some economic cooperation with them.”
Marilyn’s DDI broke in and made a comment about what a folly that would be, an economic axis of cooperation between Cuba and the DPRK. “Kind of like a military alliance between the countries of Chad and Sierra Leone,” he cracked.
“Fhang and Gamma were apparently the only parties privy to this operation. I do believe there is containment at that end, unless Fhang let someone in on it after Gamma left for Vancouver,” answered Chambers. “From what we know, that’s not his style.”
“If this is true and we make this a thoughtful assumption, then I feel we need to place all our efforts into a plan for reintegrating Gamma back into the power structure of the DPRK. The vehicle for that, I believe, has just fallen into our lap,” said Marilyn Mitchell with a knowing smile. “I need some time with my analysts first. Perhaps we can meet again tomorrow.”
*
The next afternoon Director Mitchell was on the phone with Philip Johnson. “Philip, this is Director Mitchell. May I schedule an early appointment with you and President Hunter? I think we may be on the verge of a plan to kill two birds with one stone.”
Two hours later the three were sitting in the White House Situation Room. Once Marilyn had given Philip Johnson a brief outline of her agenda he had proposed that the topic was too sensitive for the Oval Office and the venue had been changed.
Marilyn Mitchell began. “Ms. President, it seems we have two problems and an opportunity all rolled into one. I have discussed this with my senior staff and we all agree that Gamma is of most value to us if we can reintegrate him back into the power structure of the DPRK. The second problem, of course, is how we respond to the serious provocation of the attempted nuclear warhead infiltration by the North Koreans. Just as Gamma was Fhang’s chosen lynchpin in affecting the success of the terrorists, I propose that Gamma be our countermove, except with purer motives.”
“Please tell us more, this sounds interesting,” remarked Hunter.
“Let me start with some basic assumptions, Ms. President...Philip. Number one is that the Chinese leadership is fed up enough with Fhang’s regime to have broken diplomatic relations with the DPRK and that speaks to the probability of them having a vested interest in being part of a long term solution to his leadership. The second is how do we reintegrate Gamma into the DPRK without suspicion from the other members of the hierarchy? We mustn’t forget that before Gamma left on this mission to Canada he was for all intents and purposes number two in the hierarchy there. This was as much a result of him being the gatekeeper for access to General Fhang and the fact many of the Generals and higher ranking bureaucrats knew Fhang’s mistress was Gamma’s sister. Even though she was seldom seen in public, no one but Fhang and Gamma knew she was not a power broker there. Some in the DPRK hierarchy might even suspect that she was instrumental in bringing Colonel Kim home and making him General Kim with keys to the corner office. As we well know, blood relatives and paranoia make up the secret sauce that equates to holding power in the DPRK. She’s as close a thing Fhang has to a blood relative now.”
Philip Johnson could see immediately where Marilyn Mitchell was going with this and decided to remain silent, hoping - trusting - that Rachel Hunter would warm to what the CIA Director was proposing without being prodded by him.
“Go on, Director Mitchell, we’re listening,” President Hunter said with a slight smile.
“Well, Ms. President, in broad outline form, if we can figure a way to amalgamate General Fhang’s illness with the return of Gamma, in the persona of a more powerful General Kim, to Pyongyang, we can achieve something even beyond our wildest dreams...”
“...And that would be?” asked Rachel Hunter expectedly.
“Ms. President...Philip, this may sound crazy and even naive, but I think we may have the rare opportunity of placing Gamma into the position of supreme power in the DPRK and therefore being a vehicle for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization at the same time.”
Marilyn Mitchell let a moment of silence pass until concluding, “I know, the devil is in the details, but this could work,” she said evenly. The Situation Room was seldom a venue for such a small gathering, but it was somehow fitting that such an audacious concept was discussed by so few in that storied venue.
After thirty long seconds of complete silence, Rachel Hunter spoke up and said profoundly, “Who says that women can’t fix problems in this screwed up world?!”
Rachel Hunter added, “Director Mitchell, Philip, I say we adjourn from here and get Maurice to make us some drinks and a nice dinner. We’ve got a lot of thinking to do, and we can’t do that on an empty stomach. After dinner we’ll adjourn back here to discuss this further.”
*
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Lu Tho and his delegation arrived at King County International Airport, otherwise known as Boeing Field, and were greeted by the President of Boeing, Incorporated, and many of the top executives of the world’s largest producer of commercial and military aircraft. Boeing was pulling out all the stops to make this an impressive visit by one of their largest customers. Ostensibly the reason for the trip was to for the Chinese delegation to visit several of the Boeing facilities in the area to see the technical expertise and manufacturing might of America’s greatest manufacturing asset. In reality, the trip was cover for the Chinese Foreign Minister to meet with CIA Director Marilyn Mitchell and FBI Director Clayton Wheatley at the Bangor Trident Base to inspect the North Korean warhead and interview a North Korean participant from the terrorist group so he could give them a first-hand account of how the group had made its way to Vancouver and their plans to infiltrate the warhead. The primary goal of Rachel Hunter’s administration was to convince the Foreign Minister what was being presented to him was factual and not a fabrication intended to sway Chinese government feelings against the Fhang regime.
After a welcoming lunch served in one of the massive Boeing hangers at the field, the Foreign Minister and his interpreter were whisked away in one of the Boeing corporate JetRanger helicopters on the pretense of meeting with some U.S. State Department officials at a site in Seattle. Fifteen minutes later they landed at the Kitsap-Bangor Trident Submarine Base and were met by Secretary of State Alexander Randolph, U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Jeremiah Bledsoe, and CIA Director Marilyn Mitchell. Ambassador Bledsoe, speaking in Minister Yang’s native Mandarin dialect, walked forward and greeted Minister Yang, welcoming him graciously to the American military base. He and Secretary Randolph introduced him to Director Mitchell. During the exchange of pleasantries the Foreign Minister remarked he had seen the Bangor Base, “many times from aerial photos, but never expected to see it up close like this.” Marilyn Mitchell responded, “Of course, Minister Yang, the important part of this base is what one cannot see from the air,” which elicited a knowing laugh from the Foreign Minister.
The visiting party, escorted by Secretary Randolph w
ent directly to the secured area where the warhead was being stored and seated themselves at a conference table covered in a green tablecloth. A U.S. Navy steward entered and served coffee, tea, and light refreshments for the group. After small talk Marilyn Mitchell took the podium, lowered the lights and pressed a button that lowered a screen at the end of the room. She then began projecting a video on the screen that was very much like the one sent to Premier Zuan, that Minister Yang had also been shown. This video was more detailed and General Kim’s voice had been voiced over by a woman speaking Mandarin. The subtitles were in English. Over a period of fifteen minutes she explained everything that Kim had told Doug Chambers only a few days ago, with Gamma pointing to the many details he was speaking about without his face being shown. As the video proceeded, from time to time the Foreign Minister would say something in an undertone to his interpreter who made notes.
After the video played out, the CIA Director brought the lights back up and addressed the group. “Minister Yang, I trust this was explanatory about the warhead and its provenance. But we do not expect you to take our word on this matter simply by watching a video. The actual warhead is in this building and we would like to take you to see it. Unless you have any questions or comments, we would like to do that now.” Minister Yang nodded affirmatively to his interpreter, who addressed Director Mitchell, “Minister Yang would like to know who was doing the explanation of the device in the video.”
Marilyn Mitchell had anticipated this question well in advance and she had discussed it at length with President Hunter and Philip Johnson. As a result of those consultations, she had prepared the other Americans in advance for this and nodded in the direction of Jeremiah Bledsoe, who addressed the Foreign Minister directly in Mandarin. “Mr. Foreign Minister, Director Mitchell is prepared to answer this question, but due to the delicacy of the situation, she respectfully requests that everyone, except you, Director Mitchell, and me be excused from the room before she answers.”