The Target(141)

She was already chalk white and covered in blood.

Reel looked down at her, cradling her head with one hand while keeping the cloth pressed against the wound with the other.

Chung-Cha lifted her hand and touched Reel’s face. In a voice that grew weaker with each word she said, “Her name is Min. She is ten. Please help her.”

“I will, I promise I will. Min will be fine. But just don’t give up. Help is coming. You’re going to be okay. Don’t leave. You’re going to make it. I know you can do it. You’re…you’re the best I’ve ever seen.”

Chung-Cha did not seem to be able to hear her. She was now mouthing the words over and over. Her name is Min. She is ten. Please help her.

And then she said quite clearly with her last bit of breath and a final burst of fire, “I am Chung-Cha. I am young but very old. Please help me.”

Then her mouth stopped moving and her eyes became fixed.

Reel just sat there frozen for a long moment, and then gently laid the dead woman’s head down on the floor. She looked up at Robie, tears in her eyes. She shook her head once. Then she rose, shoved the deputy out of her way, and walked up the stairs.





Chapter

76



THE ATTACK ON THE FIRST family had driven the two countries nearly to war, but a diplomatic stalemate was reached that allowed the North Koreans to save face and kept the administration from having to reveal potentially embarrassing and politically damaging facts about the planned coup on the North Korean regime. The Nantucket attack was blamed on rogue elements within North Korea, their actions denounced by the leadership.

There the matter was laid to rest. At least for now.

The North Korean team had infiltrated the town hall by virtue of their Halloween costumes. They had killed a guard near the rear door, entered that way, and then sealed off the building, killing the inner cordon of guards as they went along. The lone deputy who had shot Chung-Cha had finally gotten into the building, seen what had happened, and followed the sounds to the cellar, where his shaky aim had still proved lethal, unfortunately for Chung-Cha.

Robie and Reel had received the heartfelt thanks of the president and his wife, and their children. They were told that they had earned the status of unofficial members of the first family. Tommy was more hero-struck than ever. But both he and his sister were being given counseling to help them cope with what they had seen and endured. Claire was clearly not herself, her brashness struck clean from her. Now it seemed that her brother was supporting her, which might actually have been a good thing for both of them.

Eleanor had warmly embraced Robie and Reel as they were leaving the White House.

“My children and I owe you our lives,” she said.

“No,” replied Reel firmly. “We all owe our lives to Yie Chung-Cha.”





After the White House meeting, Robie and Reel sat in Robie’s apartment. They had learned a lot about Yie Chung-Cha, through the information pipeline that was the CIA. What they learned had made Reel even more depressed than she already was.

“She survived all that. All those years at Yodok, having to kill her own family to get out of that hellhole? Starvation, torture, killing on behalf of that rogue nation. And then saving our lives. For what? To take a bullet from an overzealous cop?”

“He didn’t know, Jess,” said Robie. “He thought she was the enemy.”

“Well, she wasn’t,” snapped Reel.

“You know Pyongyang wanted her body returned there,” said Robie.

She nodded. “But we didn’t do it. She’s buried here.”

“Why do you think she did it?” asked Robie. “I mean really?”

“I took her at her word. She was tired of it all, Robie. Just like I am.”

“I guess.”

“She was better than us, you know that, don’t you?”

“She probably was,” agreed Robie. “I’ve certainly never seen anyone take out five opponents the way she did.”

“When she pulled out her knives and looked at us I knew she wasn’t going to attack us,” said Reel.

“Why? I mean, I thought she looked conflicted, but she told us she was sorry about it.”

“Did you ever tell someone you were sorry before you killed them?”

Robie sat back in his chair and thought about this, and then finally shook his head. “No.”

“She did it for Min.”

Robie nodded again. “For Min.”

“Pretty ingenious the way she got the girl out of the country like that.”

“Well, if she thought the way she fought she would have made one hell of a chess player.”

“Six steps ahead,” said Reel thoughtfully.

“Right.”