“Okay, that makes sense,” Cook said. “But the question is why? What the hell were they up to?”
“Something about a coup attempt,” the other commando responded. “He says they were on their way to Changchon to put down some kind of insurrection.”
Bolan eyed the missile transporter. “They were going to use it like a Trojan Horse,” he guessed.
The other commando nodded. “Yeah. That was the plan.”
“A nice plan at that,” Cook said. “And it still might just work. For us.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Camp Bonifas, North Korea
Undersecretary Brooke Hilldecker slammed down the phone in the subterranean conference room that had become her base of operations since evacuating her quarters at the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom.
“Doesn’t sound like that went too well,” said Joe Leeton, another member of the negotiating team Hilldecker had spent the past few months sitting on. The tall, gaunt Montana native, a top-ranking member of the previous administration’s Defense Department, was seated directly across from Hilldecker. Like the undersecretary, he hadn’t slept since coming to Camp Bonifas, and there was a trace of stubble on his squarish jaw.
“That’s an understatement,” Hilldecker complained, refilling her coffee cup from a nearby thermos. “The Russians and Chinese are feigning concern, but when we try to lock them to any kind of commitment they both start trotting out all these other issues and try using them for leverage.”
“No surprise there,” Leeton said. “You had to figure they’d sniff through this whole mess looking for bargaining chips.”
“Yes, I’d counted on that,” Hilldecker conceded. “But you’d think that once we told them that North Korea might be itching to put its finger on the nuclear trigger, they’d cut out the bullshit and get down to business.”
Leeton shrugged. “Well, I’m sure they’ve got their own intelligence coming in,” he said, “and until there’s some kind of irrefutable proof that the KPA has their nukes up and ready to fire, they probably figure they’ve got time to stall and play hardball with us.”
“We just forwarded them the sat-cam footage of that transporter headed for Changchon,” Hilldecker groused. “What more proof do they want?”
“Well, come on, Hilly,” Leeton said. “It’s just a transporter, after all. If it was a mobile launcher, it might be another matter, but they’re probably saying that nuke the KPA’s hauling around can’t do much harm strapped to the back of a truck. How are they going to launch it? By driving it off a cliff?”
“Maybe they have launchers in Changchon,” Hilldecker countered.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Leeton said. “If those ops teams can get close enough to find out for sure, then maybe we’ll finally have the proof were looking for.”
Hilldecker took a sip of her coffee and grimaced. “What crank case did they drain this stuff from?”
The undersecretary shoved her coffee cup aside and picked up the phone on her desk. “At least we’ve got Japan aboard,” she said. “Let’s see what kind of muscle they’re prepared to throw behind us.”
Hilldecker was dialing the Japanese minister of defense when there was a knock on the door. Colonel Thomas Michaels let himself in. He had a smile on his face and was rubbing his hands together vigorously.
“Good news,” he told Hilldecker and Leeton. “You’re never going to believe what just fell into our laps.”
“Sorry, Colonel,” Hilldecker responded, “but I’m a little tapped out in the patience department, so can we skip the guessing games?”
“A freight train from the north just rolled through Panmunjom about an hour ago,” Michaels reported, “and when it pulled into the yard, they found a KPA official stowed away between two of the boxcars.”
“Defector?” Joe Leeton said.
“Well, he is now,” Michaels said. “Apparently he was racing to get out of Dodge when he heard about this coup business, only somebody gave chase and put a bullet into him while he was hopping the train. Guy’s in critical condition and about to go under the knife.”
Hilldecker didn’t seem impressed by the news. “I know it’s always nice to reel in somebody from the other side,” she said, “but I’m missing the part where this is worth turning somersaults over.”
“Well, here it is,” Michaels said. “This guy came to long enough to spill a few things to an interrogator. Turns out he’s a contractor and has been spearheading that new construction that’s been going on over in Kijongdong. That big new mall they’re putting up? Guess what. It’s not just an empty shell. They’re building a launch pad there.”