by David Archer
“But, Sarah,” he replied, “the important thing to remember about a game is that it has rules. Rules can be used to strengthen your own position, or to weaken those of your opponent. Fortunately for you,” he said, giving her a conspiratorial grin, “I am one of those who write the rules.”
Sarah looked at him for just a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh, my goodness,” she said as she caught her breath. “Chung, if you weren’t holding me prisoner you’d be almost likable.”
The Chinaman offered her a broad smile. “That is possibly one of the nicest things anyone has ever said about me. Let us hope that I shall only continue to become more so.”
Her laughter subsided and faded away. “Well, letting me go would be a step in the right direction.”
“I’m certain it would, but I’m afraid it is not within my power to do so. You and I, Sarah, are much alike. We both work for a government, and we are both subject to orders we may not always wish to follow. We perform the task set before us, and we cannot imagine failing to do so. If it were not for the fact that my government considers yours to be deceitful and cunning, you and I would not be having these conversations.”
Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you’re right,” she said. “So where does that leave us?”
Chung let out a long, slow sigh. “Sarah, today I must begin asking you questions, and report to those above me what you say. This does not mean I will reveal everything; as I said a moment ago, some things I will keep between us.”
“Yeah, I figured that was coming. So, what happens when I refuse to answer? Is that when the friendliness ends?”
“I suggest we simply start with some easy questions. If you do not answer one of them, I will simply move to another. This way, you can choose what you wish to tell me.”
Sarah gave him a humorous but knowing look. “And the more questions I answer, the easier answering them becomes.” She suddenly grinned. “I’ll tell you what,” she said. “You can ask anything you want to know about me personally, and unless I feel that it’s going to endanger anyone I care about, I’ll answer.”
Chung bowed his head to her. “I accept,” he said. “And my first question would be a very simple one. Would you tell me how old you are, Sarah?”
She shrugged again. “Don’t see any harm in that,” she said. “I’m twenty-two.”
“Twenty-two,” Chung mused. “I would’ve thought you were a bit younger than that. Simply judging from your appearance, I had taken you for only twenty, perhaps even nineteen.”
Sarah chuckled. “Flattery isn’t going to get you anywhere with me,” she said. “How about you? I figure you’re about thirty-five, am I right?”
Both of his eyebrows shot upward. “I am only twenty-nine,” he said. “It appears that while you look younger than your true age, I must look older.”
“No, not really,” Sarah said quickly. “There’s a look in your eyes that made me think you were older. Like maybe you’ve seen too many things you didn’t really want to see. I’ve seen that look before in people who work for their government.”
Nodding, Chung said, “And this is probably true. I began my career in the Army when I was quite young, and displayed a propensity for intelligence work. I was transferred to the Ministry of State Security, where I spent four years as a field agent, then two more years as an attaché in our embassy to the United States. It was for that position that I was taught to speak English, but afterward I was placed in our counterintelligence division and trained as an interrogator.” He looked at her with a slight grin. “My next question is also an easy one. How did you come to be in this type of work?”
Sarah considered whether or not to answer for a moment, then decided it was safe. “I was raised by my dad, who was a car thief. By the time I was fourteen I could drive anything, and better than most professional drivers, so that’s when he started taking me out to steal them. We got caught when I was nineteen, and I was offered this job instead of a prison sentence.”
“So you are truly nothing more than a driver?”
“That’s what it says on my job description.”
“And yet, you were sent into Bangkok prison for some reason. What was the purpose of placing you there?”
“Sorry, buddy,” Sarah said. “That’s one of those questions I’m not going to answer.”
Chung smiled. “Very well, I’ll leave that alone. For now.”
NINE
Noah, Neil and Marco had taken one of the bunk rooms, and Jim, Randy and Dave took the other. While Jenny went into the bathroom to shower, the men decided to catch some rest while they had the opportunity. Neil hopped onto the bunk over Noah’s, stretched out on his back, and was asleep only a moment later.
Marco was sitting on the other bottom bunk, and he suddenly grinned and pointed at Neil’s feet, which were hanging in the air almost a foot from the end of the bunk.
“You know that’s got to be uncomfortable,” he said, and Noah nodded.
“Most likely, but I’m sure he’s used to it.”
“Yeah, probably.” Marco looked back at Noah. “Hey, boss?”
“Yes?”
“Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”
Noah looked him in the eye. “What makes you ask that?”
“I’ve been watching you and Jenny,” Marco said, “and it looks to me like y’all are watching the rest of us pretty close. Like maybe you two know something the rest of us don’t. Anything I need to worry about?”
“Not as long as you do your job right,” Noah said. “Is there something bothering you?”
Marco chewed the inside of his left cheek for a couple of seconds. “Matter of fact, there is, but I’ve been reluctant to say anything. Permission to speak freely?”
“Go ahead.”
“Okay. It’s that whole mess that happened in Thailand. I can’t for the life of me figure out how it could be some big coincidence that Sarah got snatched out of that prison, can you? If the guys who took her were really looking for sex slaves, wouldn’t you think they’d go after locals, especially the younger ones? Why would they grab American girls?”
“Western girls have been abducted into the sex trade before,” Noah said. “You heard the local guys, this happens every now and then at the prison.”
“Yeah, I heard that,” Marco said, “it’s just the timing that throws me. What are the odds, you reckon, that Sarah would get there on the very day these goons show up to do their girl shopping?”
“Marco, what are you trying to say? Are you implying that someone knew Sarah wasn’t who she claimed to be?”
“Well, hell, Noah,” Marco said. “I just can’t wrap my head around the idea that this is all some big coincidence. I mean, didn’t it strike you as odd?”
“That thought had crossed my mind,” Noah replied. “The problem is that I can’t put my finger on who could have slipped up and allowed anyone to know about her. Any thoughts on that?”
“Only ones that come to mind would be that Darrell and his people. They live there, and sometimes they work with the local intelligence folks. Could be they’ve gotten pretty friendly, or at least that’s a possibility.” He chewed his cheek again for a moment. “There’s another thing that’s bugging me, too. I can’t help wondering if maybe Sarah’s still alive and that whole thing about showing us her hair in the ashes and all that was just a smokescreen.”
Noah looked into his eyes. “I’ve also considered that possibility,” he said. “Another possibility is that the way she was taken out of the prison really was coincidental, but then someone found out just who they had. There’s pretty much no doubt in my mind that somebody knows she’s an American agent. Whoever was behind her abduction is after information. If she’s still alive, and I personally think she is, then we need to find out who it was that betrayed her.”
“Damn straight,” Marco said. “But if it was after they took her, then it could be somebody on Jenny’s team, maybe even Jenny herself. Ev
er thought about that?”
“I’ve considered it. Of course, it could also be someone on mine.” He let his eyes bore into Marco’s.
Surprisingly, Marco only nodded his head. “Which naturally makes me the number one suspect. I already kinda figured that might be a possibility.” He made a point of making eye contact. “For what it’s worth, boss, I ain’t the kind could ever do that. If I say you can count on me, then you damn well can. I don’t betray the people I work with.”
Noah looked at him for another moment before speaking. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll take you at your word unless you show me something different. Don’t say anything to the others about this.”
Marco nodded. “Stays between you and me.” He turned and lay down on the bunk, folding his hands under his head. Noah did likewise a few minutes later.
Several hours passed, and Noah was awakened by the sound of someone moving around in the large outer room. He got up and opened the door to see Jenny going through the cabinets. She turned and looked at him, smiled and said, “I think Soo Mi must really like chicken. There’s probably five of them in the freezer. I found some canned potatoes and carrots in the cabinet. How would you feel about chicken stew for dinner?”
Noah nodded, then walked into the bathroom. When he came back a couple of minutes later, she had filled a deep pan with water and put it on the stove. She dropped in an entire frozen chicken and turned the burner up as high as it would go.
“It’ll take that an hour to boil down to the point I can get the bones out, then I’ll add the veggies and flour. It’ll be ready in about ninety minutes, I’d say.”
The other men had roused themselves and come out of the bunk rooms, flopping down on the sofas and chairs. “Anybody know what time it is?” Randy asked, and Jim looked at a wristwatch he was wearing.
“Almost 6:00, local time,” he said. “Noah, have you worked on a mission plan yet?”
“No. I want to go over to where the agents are being held tonight, do some reconnaissance. Marco, Randy, you’re with me on that.”
Both men grunted agreement, and Noah pushed the button on the intercom to let Soo Mi know he wanted to talk to her. Jenny glanced at him with an eyebrow slightly raised, but didn’t say anything, and the intercom came to life a moment later.
“Yes?” Soo Mi said.
“This is Noah. Is it safe to come up for a moment?”
“Sure. Give me a minute to open up.”
Noah pushed the shelving unit out of the way and stepped out into the cellar, then closed it behind him. Soo Mi swung the stove aside and Noah climbed up the ladder. As soon as he was up in the kitchen, she pushed the stove back into place and turned off the burner.
“What can I do for you?” Soo Mi asked.
“I’m taking a couple of men with me when it gets dark to recon the holding facility. You mentioned a couple of handguns?”
“Yep, Colt 1911’s.” She opened a cabinet door and took out a box that had once contained crackers, then passed it to Noah. He opened it and withdrew the two pistols, setting them on her table, and then took out four additional magazines and a box of bullets.
With practiced ease, he stripped one of them down and saw that it was in excellent condition, then turned back to Soo Mi. “Are you particularly fond of these guns?” he asked.
Her face registered surprise, but she shook her head. “Not really,” she said. “They actually got left here by mistake about a month ago. I’m in deep cover, I don’t normally carry. Why?”
“Because I can’t guarantee they’ll be coming back.” He reassembled the weapon and then repeated the process with the other one. When he was finished, he loaded all six magazines and slid two of them into the pistols.
Soo Mi watched him carefully, but didn’t ask any questions. He picked up the guns and the additional magazines, then went back down to the cellar and handed them to Randy and Marco.
“It should be dark by the time we finish eating,” he said. “I want to head out as soon after dark as we can. It’s about two miles to where they’re being held, and I’ve got the GPS coordinates plugged into my phone. We shouldn’t have any trouble finding it.”
“So, this is just recon?” Marco asked. “We’re not going to try a strike tonight?”
“Not at this point. If we find a way into the building, we’ll come back for the others and try to make the strike after midnight. If there is no other option, we’ll use the explosives, but I’d prefer not to.”
Marco held up the .45. “Only two guns? What about you, boss?”
“I prefer to be unarmed for a recon like this, because it forces me to do all I can to avoid being detected. I’ll have the two of you to cover me, but you’ll stay back while I check out the building. If I’m caught, I want them to think I’m alone.”
Marco grunted, but didn’t say anything else. Noah took out his iPhone and glanced at it, then looked around the room until he spotted an electrical outlet. Over it, someone had written “110 V,” but it looked nothing like a conventional outlet in the United States. Instead of having two flat, rectangular holes, it had two perfectly round ones. He went into the bunk room and pulled a power adapter out of his bag, then plugged his phone charger into that before plugging the adapter into the wall outlet.
Dinner was finally ready and Jenny had managed to find bowls and spoons. She dipped a bowl out for herself, then told the men to help themselves. Noah got himself a bowl and sat down beside her on the sofa to eat.
“You sure about doing it this way?” Jenny asked softly. “Taking those two, I mean?”
Noah nodded. “I’m sure. It’ll be fine.”
Jenny rocked her head from side to side in surrender. “You’re the boss,” she said. “You won’t try to do this all on your own, will you?”
“No. The mission comes first, and it has a much better chance of success if we all go in together. This is just a scouting mission, trying to find out a few things.”
“Okay, then. We’ll be ready when you get back.”
Noah nodded, still shoveling food into his mouth. “Good. The sooner we get this job done, the better.”
“I hear ya,” Jenny said.
They finished eating, then changed into all-black clothing, and Noah checked in with Soo Mi via the intercom. She confirmed that it was dark out and moved the stove so the three men could climb up the ladder.
“You’re going east,” she said, “so you want to go out the back door. There are only a few little farms around here, so no one will notice if you keep to the fields. The building you’re looking for is about two miles away, and is currently being guarded by de-perk Army troops.”
“De-perk?” Marco asked.
“DPRK,” Soo Mi said. “Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. De-perk.” She looked at Noah. “Camelot—look, I know who you are, and I know what you do. The thing is, those people—I knew them, you know? I was their liaison officer with Langley. I understand what you have to do, but do me a favor. Try not to let them suffer.”
Noah caught the slip, but only nodded once. “I understand,” he said.
The three men slipped out the back door and started walking quickly in the direction she had indicated. Noah had his iPhone set to give him GPS directions through an earplug, but it simply told him to continue the way he was going. On foot, the GPS said, the trip should take about fifteen minutes.
The safe house was about two-and-a-half miles northwest of Pyongyang, and their destination was roughly two miles to its west. As Soo Mi had said, most of the area was occupied by small family farms, and they were able to make their way through fields of cabbages, potatoes and tomatoes, being careful not to damage the crops any more than what was unavoidable. A half-moon hanging low in the sky cast barely enough light, but they were essentially invisible as they made their way across the countryside.
When Noah stopped at one point to scan the terrain ahead of them, Marco stepped close. “You brought me and Randy,” he whispered. “We must be your prime susp
ects, huh?”
Randy caught up with them then, so Noah didn’t bother to reply. After looking over the fields in front of them, he simply started walking again. Marco and Randy followed, side-by-side.
“Something going on?” Randy asked Marco in a soft whisper.
“Just trying to get the job done,” Marco replied. “Like the man said, we’re just here to cover his back.”
They reached the industrial area only a few minutes later, and the building they were looking for was clearly visible. Noah had found a small stand of trees a couple of hundred yards away, and had chosen it for his staging area.
“All right,” he said, “you guys stay put here. I’m going to go and see what I can find out. Watch closely, because if I’m caught or killed, you’ve got to go back and tell Jenny it’s on her, now.” He crouched low and moved swiftly across the open ground, and was lost to their sight by the time he’d gone fifty yards.
Noah moved to within 100 feet of the building and then dropped to the ground. He lay perfectly still for several minutes, watching the back side of the building and looking for any signs of motion. Any shadow that crossed his line of sight would probably mean a guard, but after more than ten minutes, he had seen nothing.
He stayed on the ground and low-crawled slowly the rest of the way, constantly watching and listening for any approaching soldiers. He reached the wall of the building without incident, then rose once more to a crouching position.
As far as he could tell, there were no windows on that side of the building at all, but he had spotted at least three doors. Staying low, he moved quickly to the first one and put his ear against it. There was no sound coming through it, so he reached into a pocket and took out the special item he had gotten from Wally.
It was the iPhone, but when Noah entered a security code and tapped an icon that looked like a windowpane, the screen lit up gray. Noah held it up close to the door, and a ghostly image of the room beyond appeared. This was the backscatter radiation viewer they had once used on a mission that took them to Russia, and it allowed him to see through walls as if he had x-ray vision.