by Rawlin Cash
It sounded like they were just trying to buy time.
It was clear what was going on.
The Vice President and China were about to strike a deal. Both of their press secretaries had said the same thing. They were just waiting for a few logistical problems to get out of the way before making any definitive steps forward.
It was obvious as hell what that logistical step was.
They were both waiting for President Raynor's execution.
The entire geopolitical landscape in Asia was about to change. According to leaks to the press, China and the United States were going to launch unilateral strikes against North Korea's General Woo. As a result, the United States would withdraw its forces from South Korea. In a sense, the United States would be giving up Asia to China.
Countries like Japan and Taiwan would be left to their own devices. They'd have no choice but to stand together. It was going to feel like a giant retreat.
It made Margot feel sick.
The only hope that Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea had was one assassin. A former CIA officer who the agency believed dead up until a couple of days ago—a man she'd fired from a torpedo launcher, the bravest and most stubborn man in the world.
She felt for him and wondered how he was doing.
She got into a cab and sighed.
"Kensington, please," she said.
She reclined back in her seat and continued to read the news about North Korea and President Raynor. It didn't sound good. General Woo had just announced that he was going to execute the President that night. It was early morning in North Korea, so Hunter had less than eight hours if he was still alive.
She didn't give those thoughts too much space in her head.
The cab drove the narrow and cluttered streets of London. Margot didn't pay much attention to the direction. She just focused on the news. On the fifth page, she saw a report about the Joint Chiefs of Staff calling out the Vice President and accusing him of waiting for the President's death.
Margot shook her head. The way the article was presented, the way it was so easily dismissed, had the look of an intelligence leak. She knew it was Fawn. The Deputy Director never believed in the operation in North Korea in the first place.
She then noticed that the cab driver had driven her way off course. She was far from her home.
"Excuse me," she said. "Where are you taking me?"
The cabbie didn't respond.
"Excuse me!" she shouted.
Again the cab driver didn't respond. He just kept driving.
"If you don't pull over, I'll be forced to call the police."
The cab driver leered back at her and smiled. "They won't help you, miss."
"Pull over!"
"No."
Margot tried to open the cab's doors as it slowed down to make a sharp left turn, but the cabbie had hit the locks.
"Let me out!" she screamed.
"No."
The cabbie laughed and then reached for something from his glovebox. It was a gas mask. He quickly put it on before Margot could react. He then pulled a small device out of his pocket. A cloud of green smoke was emitted from it and spread throughout the whole cab. It was a sleep agent, strong enough to knock a subject out in seconds.
Margot's vision went black. She fell asleep in the back of the cab.
The cabbie continued to drive down the road. He didn't pull off his gas mask until he was sure she was out, and he was confident that the gas had dissipated itself out the opened windows.
Fifty-Eight
Hunter landed the Hind D in a wooded area. The tall pines and other trees swayed violently as the rotors on the bird spun to a stop. Hunter hopped out of the Hind D and wanted to sprint toward the military installation, but he couldn't. He had to carry the damn kid.
He needed Yong, and if he let anyone else carry the poor kid, they would be too slow.
Once they were all out of the chopper, they made their way northwest. The military installation was in a valley. It was a three-mile hike away from their current location.
With Yong on his back, Hunter trudged through the deep and dense snow. There was no turning back now. He was too close.
"What if the President's dead?" Kim asked Hunter as they walked through the woods. "What will we do then?"
"I don't want to imagine," Hunter said. "My guess is that your people will suffer."
"So, things will stay the same," Yong interjected.
Hunter chuckled.
Kim sighed.
Hunter was happy to hear that Yong's sense of reality hadn't been left in Wung. Seeing the effects of Park's attack on the village had clearly left a strong impression on the young man.
Thirty minutes into the walk toward the installation, Hunter felt his legs wobble. He could feel his heart pound in his chest, and his vision grew dark in the corners. It was an attack. He needed the G-12. He needed it quick. He fell to his knees, and Yong fell into the snow.
"What's wrong?" Kim said, helping Yong up.
"Nothing," Hunter said. "Just an old wound. It flares up from time to time."
"Your hands were shaking in the comm station," Yong said. "Are you okay?"
Hunter took a deep breath and shook his head. "I'm a trained killer, kid. I'm not okay."
Hunter picked Yong back up and continued the trek toward the valley.
"What did the CIA do to you?" Kim asked.
"Bad things."
"Are there others like you?"
"There were," Hunter said.
"What happened to them?" Kim asked.
"I killed them."
"You murdered your own men?"
"They'd slaughtered innocents. Think dead children."
"And what's stopping you from doing the same? If you're just like them, why are you different?"
Hunter chuckled. "It's one of the reasons I'm doing this job."
Both Kim and Yong looked at each other. Their hope for a free Korea rested in the hands of a lunatic.
"There's a voice in my head telling me to kill everyone I see," Hunter said. "I'm here because the CIA promised me a lifetime supply of drugs to help keep those demons at bay."
"So, you're a junkie," Kim said.
"I guess," Hunter smiled.
"They really fucked you up," Kim said.
"Yes, they did,” Hunter responded. "But it could be worse, you could have no one here, and your cause would have no hope at achieving anything."
Yong just chuckled at the two of them talking. He was busy on his laptop again. He finally was in the range of another satellite signal and could reconnect with the KPA network. The laptop rested up against Hunter's head.
The three other Liberators followed and stayed silent. It was clear to Hunter that they didn't speak a lick of English. If they had, he was sure he'd be hearing it from them, too. They'd accuse him of being a junkie, too.
Although Hunter was wise enough to know that the real fools were those that followed fools.
Fifty-Nine
"Did you hear?" Director Hunt said to Fawn. "They're going to assassinate the President in four hours. It's all over the news. It's a fucking mess. Jack Hunter better be on the way, or we lost. The whole world could change. Did you hear what they're saying about the Vice President and China? Jesus... he's a fucking idiot."
"I saw," Fawn said. "I heard."
"Have you heard anything from MI6? Have you heard anything about Officer Hunter?"
"No."
Hunt slammed his fist down on his desk. His coffee cup tipped over and spilled over a series of documents and books he had on it.
Fawn smiled. She'd been thinking a lot about the talk she'd had with Hank, about the fact that she had no control over anything, despite her high position in one of the most powerful agencies in the world.
She wanted to give her notice of resignation, but she'd wait.
She wanted to hear confirmation about Hunter first.
She needed to know whether he was alive or dead.
He was the only thing keeping her around the CIA. Once she knew he'd either succeeded or failed, she'd be gone. She needed to move on with her life.
'This is a fucking mess," Hunt said, "This is all the fault of the previous director. Jeff Hale was too aggressive. With his help, the CIA expanded its powers in Washington. This is the result of that action. This is the push back that Hale, the poor dead bastard, never had to deal with. He'd put up with that corrupt as hell President Meredith for years. She was just a Saudi Arabia puppet, you know?"
Fawn nodded. "I know."
Hell, she felt guilt hearing Hunt rehash everything she'd been a part of. She was beginning to realize that it was all for Hunter... the man who was never going to love her the same way she loved him.
"It's a fucking mess," Hunt continued. "Jeff Hale was a curse on this agency. He helped expand its powers, but at the same time he set it up for its end. Maybe that was his point. His failed operations. His failed attempts to persuade international politicians. He's lucky he's dead."
"Did you call me here just to vent, sir?"
"No," Hunt said. "I called you here to give you a choice. You'll only get one shot at this, Fawn. So listen carefully. Do you want out, or do you want to stay in?"
"Sir? What do you mean?"
"I mean, I can wipe the records clean. I can give you a fresh start. You know the director's power."
Fucking, Hank.
He must have passed the word along about her feelings of doubt.
She rubbed her brow.
"What is it?" he said.
Fawn looked him in the eyes and responded slowly.
She couldn't give up on Hunter yet.
Sixty
They wandered through the woods until they made their way up to a series of sewage pipes that poured out into a creek. While on Hunter's back, Yong had downloaded the architectural blueprints of every government building in the country and looked at them on his computer. He'd discovered a way into the installation via the sewage systems. It would take them up into the laundry rooms, through the staff sleeping quarters, through the dining halls, then finally into the upper chambers and prison cells.
"When we get inside, we need to go to the surveillance room," Yong said to Hunter. "It's close to the laundry rooms. I'll be able to pinpoint the location of the President from there."
"You can't access it on your computer now?" Hunter asked.
"No," Yong said. "It doesn't work like that." He giggled.
"If we face some resistance, I'll need to be agile," Hunter said. "Will you be okay if I leave you in the surveillance room."
"Yes," Yong said. "If you fail, then our country is lost to the Chinese. I'll die knowing I did what I could to help avoid that outcome."
"Good," Hunter said. "You know, you kids have some fire in your bellies. I can feel it. After we kill Woo and rescue the President, you're going to need to keep that fire burning. You're people, and your country will depend on it."
Yong understood the sentiment.
So did Kim.
The two men felt honored to fight alongside Hunter, but they knew that they were at the start of a long journey.
Hunter led the Liberators into the sewage tunnels, which smelled like piss and shit.
After thirty minutes of pushing through the tunnels' cramped space, they found the access point into the building that Yong had spotted on the blueprints.
"It's up there."
Hunter, Kim, and the three other Liberators helped Yong get inside and then made sure that no one had spotted them. They were in the laundry quarters. Large, old machines were up against the wall.
"These installations are massive," Yong said. "The Supreme Leaders built them as tributes to themselves. They live like kings, and we live worshipping them in the filth of their shadows."
"We need to stay silent as we move through the building," Hunter said. "Woo most likely has this place jampacked with KPA soldiers. Don't fire unless you have no other choice."
Kim relayed the instructions to the other Liberators.
"The surveillance room is close by," Yong said. "Just down the next hall."
Hunter nodded.
He picked up Yong again and then led the way down the narrow hallways of the installation.
They made quick work of the two guards working in the surveillance room. Putting two bullets in each one. Yong then plugged in his computer and got to work. He took over the whole installation. He controlled the doors, the windows, the lights… everything.
"I'm in," he said.
He started scanning the prison cells. Looking for anything and everything. Most of the cells were empty, but then, after a few seconds of searching, he found him.
"There he is!" Yong shouted. "He's in a cell with another man. He looks American."
"Good," Hunter said. "Hopefully, we get to him before they bring… Fuck."
As quickly as Hunter spoke, the doors to the President's cell door opened. Six men walked in. They were too late.
The KPA soldiers were dragging the President out to be executed.
Sixty-One
Raynor knew his time was up. He could see the setting sun through the lone window in his cell. He watched as the early morning light turned to day and then turned into a thick, warm orange.
He'd been neglected.
He'd been set aside.
He shrugged.
The Vice President was getting exactly what he wanted.
"So much for peace," he mumbled to himself.
Hillcock heard Raynor and laughed. "Peace? I thought you said you were a politician."
"I am… or, I was. I don't know. I just hope that the American people find a peaceful way out of this conflict. The last thing we need is another prolonged war."
Raynor hadn't yet told Hillcock he was the President.
"I just want to see my kids again," Hillcock said. "I just want to see their faces one more time." His eyes drifted off into a random corner of the cell. His mind was a million miles away. "I've spent almost half my life here. I tried to kill myself numerous times. When I refused to eat, they inserted a tube down my throat. They wouldn't even let me die."
Raynor realized that death was actually the easy way out in this situation. He was the lucky one. Hillcock was the one who had it worse.
"I'm sorry," Raynor said.
"Don't be," Hillcock responded. "I've accepted it. I stopped trying to kill myself years ago. Now I find a kind of quiet beauty in it. I'm lucky in a way. I've mastered the art of the mind. Maybe I've gone crazy, but I don't know. There’s a part of me that doesn't want to meet my kids again. They've lived their entire life without me around. They've grown accustomed to the idea of me as a dead war hero. If I go home, I will never be able to live up to their dream of me. I'll disappoint them. I'm just another average joe, you know. I'll drink too much, and I'll lie. It's in my nature. It's in all our natures, isn't it? The ideal is better than the reality. I just want to die."
Hillcock closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Raynor nodded.
The two men sat in silence for what felt like an hour. Raynor had drifted off to sleep. He awoke when he heard the locks on the cell door click.
The door flew open, and six heavily armed KPA guards stormed into the room and grabbed Raynor from the floor. They unlocked the shackles connecting him to the wall and began to drag him out.
Raynor had played along with it all long enough.
If he was going to go down, he was going to go down swinging.
With his arms free, he punched one of the guards in the stomach and elbowed another in the nose.
Hillcock burst out laughing. "Who the fuck are you?" he said.
The guards wrestled Raynor to the ground. One of them was jamming his knee into Raynor's spine.
"I'm an asshole who refuses to quit."
The guards continued to pound away at Raynor, punching him in the side.
Raynor gritted his teeth and took every punch as well as he could. Wi
th his hands in cuffs once again, the guards picked him up.
One of them turned to Raynor and said. "You will die. You will die on national television. Your country will watch as their leader, their commander-in-chief, is shot in the head. Your pathetic people are hopeless. The Chinese blockade around our country has protected us! It's made us invulnerable!"
Hillcock's eyes widened upon learning that the man he'd shared the cell with was the American President. He shook his head and shouted out as the guards dragged Raynor out, "You're a good man, Mr. President. A very good man. I hope you get your miracle!"
Sixty-Two
"Do you think you know where they're taking the President?" Hunter asked.
"No," Yong said. "I've run through every surveillance camera in the building. They're taking him somewhere secure, out of my reach."
"Damnit," Hunter grunted.
"What do we do?" Yong asked.
"Nothing changes," Hunter said. "Kim, you're coming with me. The three others can stay and protect Yong." Hunter turned to Yong. "Monitor our movements on the security cameras. Help out; however, you can. Turn off the lights, unlock doors, lock doors, turn on alarms, hell, activate the sprinklers if you think it will give us an advantage."
"Of course," Yong said. "Absolutely."
Hunter turned to Kim. "You need to stick to me like glue. Don't engage unless I tell you. We're going to be outgunned and outmanned."
"Where are we going?" Kim said. "We don't know where the President is going?"
"If we wait around here to find out, we'll run out of time," Hunter said.
"So, we're just going to guess?" Kim asked, confused. "This complex is huge. They could be taking him anywhere. If they take him out of the building, it will be even worse."
"We're going to the cell," Hunter said. "The guy in there. He might have heard something. He might know where they're taking the President."