Ballistic Force(71)
The general was kept waiting only a few minutes before Jin emerged from the vault and joined him.
“Ah, General,” the major said, greeting Oh with a disarming smile. “How was your little side trip to Kijongdong?”
“Like you said, they’re making good progress,” Oh responded. “The tunnels have merged, and the missile base is coming along ahead of schedule.”
“And how is your back after riding in that damnable little cart?” Jin queried. “Do you need any more ‘medication’?”
The general shook his head. “The pain is manageable.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Jin said.
The major’s cheerful concern unnerved Oh. Eager to change the conversation, he brought Jin’s attention to the heap of crumbled debris at the base of the cave wall. As nonchalantly as he could manage, he explained, “I went ahead and called in a structural engineer like we discussed. COE said they would send someone up from Kaesong. He is probably already on his way.”
“There was no real need for them to hurry,” Jin said with a shrug, glancing at the loose rock. “It’s not like the walls are going to start collapsing around us.”
“Maybe not,” Oh countered, “but given what we’re storing here, I thought it best to err on the side of caution.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Jin said. He let the matter pass and told Oh, “I was just on my way to lunch. Join me, why don’t you?”
“I’d like to,” Oh said, “but I’m due back in Kaesong. I really should be going.”
“What difference will an hour make?” Jin said. “Besides, don’t you want to be here when the structural engineer shows up?”
Oh eyed Jin suspiciously, but the major gave no indication that he was asking something more than a straightforward question. Oh would have preferred not to spend any more time than necessary with Jin until after the surveillance, but now he was wary that turning down the major’s invitation might raise a red flag. He decided his best course was to play along and respond as he normally would.
“I guess I am a little hungry,” he told Jin, “but my memory of the food here doesn’t exactly arouse my appetite.”
“We have a new chef,” Jin said. “Stick with the beef dishes and you can’t go wrong. Come, come…”
Oh saw that there was no way he could beg off any further, so he relented and followed Jin to the complex’s dining facility, a small enclosed area located between his office and the housing units. There was no one in the food line and Oh followed Jin’s cue, helping himself to some beef strips, rice and a medley of fresh, chopped vegetables. Once they’d taken their trays to a table near the entrance, a uniformed private brought over a pot of tea and two ceramic cups, then vanished into the kitchen.
As the men began to eat, Jin casually inquired about Oh’s family and some of their mutual friends and colleagues. The conversation left Oh increasingly unsettled and soon his paranoia resurfaced, making him wonder if the major was deliberately bringing up so many personal matters as a ploy to increase the guilt the general felt for having summoned someone to come spy on him. Oh answered Jin’s queries tersely while trying, whenever possible, to tactfully steer the conversation back to military matters.
They discussed the latest delivery of warheads as well as the logistics of transferring a portion of the nuclear arsenal to Kijongdong once the co-joined tunnels had been widened enough to accommodate the missile transporters, and when Jin jokingly compared the maneuver to the first time he’d deflowered a virgin, his mirth and laughter seemed so genuine that Oh’s paranoia vanished, replaced by more pangs of guilt. The general found himself wishing that his nephew had never brought up the rumors about Jin and, even more, he wished he hadn’t overreacted and made the call to bring in an agent from MII to investigate the major. It all seemed like a big mistake.
Finally, Oh made up his mind that he would try as best he could to warn Jin to be more discreet about his under-the-counter dealings. Once he’d made his point, he figured he could then tell the arriving MII agent that there’d been a false alarm and that Jin and his fellow officers had already been carefully checked out and found to be unfailing in their loyalty to Kim Jong-il. The agent could then tend to the issue of the crumbling walls and return to Kaesong without the need for subterfuge.
As the two men were close to finishing their tea, Oh eased into his plan. He casually reaffirmed his conviction that things were going well at Changchon and suggested to Major Jin that the developments mirrored an overall change in the country’s fortunes.