were falling
off. The white, dilapidated concrete contrasted sharply with the
blue roof and door. It did not look like it had been touched for
repairs since it was built – however long ago that was. 2135
suspected it was probably built in the ‘60s. He assumed if this
structure were in South Korea it would have been condemned. For
some reason he did not mind living in his apartment though.
After walking up the stairs, feeling his
thighs aglow, he stopped before entering his apartment. He always
checked if anyone was in the hallway. He also looked if there had
been a disturbance on his door. If it had been opened, he would
have had to assume it was the secret police and try to escape.
Today, as usual, it looked normal to him. Looking around, he saw
that he stood alone in the hall.
Once inside his apartment, he followed his
usual security procedure. He locked his door completely and moved
his dining table in front of it. He had heard of illegals being
arrested as they were in the process of sending a message and he
always wanted an extra barrier between him and any unexpected guest
so he could send off a last message.
Officer 2135 walked into his bedroom and
pulled out his phone from its hiding place. He thought for a
moment.
This is not enough. But they need to know
something.
He began typing a message
that he thought might be helpful. Whatever they are doing here, he
thought, Command seems to be on the right track. I wonder what plans they have.
CHAPTER 9
TUESDAY
Yongsan Garrison, Seoul, South Korea
“ If you take this ridge
here, it should bring you to this dirt path over here, which gives
you a direct route to the entrance to the base,” Mr. Lee said,
pointing to a map.
Tom was in a well-lit conference room at the
US base in Seoul. Mr. Lee was giving Tom the promised follow-up
briefing. Next to Tom, Kang Jiyeon sat at the table. Tom noticed
she kept looking down and then over at him.
Mr. Lee and Jiyeon were analysts in Mr.
Park’s group at the NIS. They were in charge of the NIS illegals,
or deep cover officers, in North Korea. Jiyeon had long black hair
with almost a brown hue when in the sunlight. Her arms looked like
straight lines. Her slender frame was upright in her chair, her
neck so lean Tom wondered if he could hold it completely in his
hand. Her face was made of delicate features which mystified her
age - she could have been 25 or 35. Every time Tom looked over at
her, he caught her looking at him, but she moved her eyes away,
either down or towards Mr. Lee, who continued the briefing.
“ The next topic we need to
walk you through are the army counter-intelligence units in the
area.” He continued, “The men in these units are not the typical
half-trained soldiers like the regular ground force. These guys are
smart—many of them are fluent in English and one other language.
Many of them are related to the regime directly. We believe some
are nephews and cousins of the high-ranking generals as well as
members of the Politburo. What that means is they really believe in
their system. More than that, they view themselves as the enforcers
of their system. So you can expect them to be more vigilant and
more careful than typical soldiers. They will also be better–
better shooters and better tacticians than the
regulars.”
“ Do they carry different
weapons than the rest of the army?” Tom asked. Having a sense of
what weaponry you might encounter was an important element of SAD
missions.
“ These guys have all
switched to the Type 88.” Tom knew this was another name for the
AK-74 version of the original Kalashnikov rifle. Mr. Lee continued,
“a durable weapon, its performance does not change in sand, snow,
or wet environments. It has stopping power too, but in terms of
accuracy, an M4 like you use is superior.”
“ Do you have an estimate
for their numbers in that area?” Tom looked at them
both.
Mr. Lee motioned to Jiyeon. She started
speaking with a delicate voice:
“ From
off. The white, dilapidated concrete contrasted sharply with the
blue roof and door. It did not look like it had been touched for
repairs since it was built – however long ago that was. 2135
suspected it was probably built in the ‘60s. He assumed if this
structure were in South Korea it would have been condemned. For
some reason he did not mind living in his apartment though.
After walking up the stairs, feeling his
thighs aglow, he stopped before entering his apartment. He always
checked if anyone was in the hallway. He also looked if there had
been a disturbance on his door. If it had been opened, he would
have had to assume it was the secret police and try to escape.
Today, as usual, it looked normal to him. Looking around, he saw
that he stood alone in the hall.
Once inside his apartment, he followed his
usual security procedure. He locked his door completely and moved
his dining table in front of it. He had heard of illegals being
arrested as they were in the process of sending a message and he
always wanted an extra barrier between him and any unexpected guest
so he could send off a last message.
Officer 2135 walked into his bedroom and
pulled out his phone from its hiding place. He thought for a
moment.
This is not enough. But they need to know
something.
He began typing a message
that he thought might be helpful. Whatever they are doing here, he
thought, Command seems to be on the right track. I wonder what plans they have.
CHAPTER 9
TUESDAY
Yongsan Garrison, Seoul, South Korea
“ If you take this ridge
here, it should bring you to this dirt path over here, which gives
you a direct route to the entrance to the base,” Mr. Lee said,
pointing to a map.
Tom was in a well-lit conference room at the
US base in Seoul. Mr. Lee was giving Tom the promised follow-up
briefing. Next to Tom, Kang Jiyeon sat at the table. Tom noticed
she kept looking down and then over at him.
Mr. Lee and Jiyeon were analysts in Mr.
Park’s group at the NIS. They were in charge of the NIS illegals,
or deep cover officers, in North Korea. Jiyeon had long black hair
with almost a brown hue when in the sunlight. Her arms looked like
straight lines. Her slender frame was upright in her chair, her
neck so lean Tom wondered if he could hold it completely in his
hand. Her face was made of delicate features which mystified her
age - she could have been 25 or 35. Every time Tom looked over at
her, he caught her looking at him, but she moved her eyes away,
either down or towards Mr. Lee, who continued the briefing.
“ The next topic we need to
walk you through are the army counter-intelligence units in the
area.” He continued, “The men in these units are not the typical
half-trained soldiers like the regular ground force. These guys are
smart—many of them are fluent in English and one other language.
Many of them are related to the regime directly. We believe some
are nephews and cousins of the high-ranking generals as well as
members of the Politburo. What that means is they really believe in
their system. More than that, they view themselves as the enforcers
of their system. So you can expect them to be more vigilant and
more careful than typical soldiers. They will also be better–
better shooters and better tacticians than the
regulars.”
“ Do they carry different
weapons than the rest of the army?” Tom asked. Having a sense of
what weaponry you might encounter was an important element of SAD
missions.
“ These guys have all
switched to the Type 88.” Tom knew this was another name for the
AK-74 version of the original Kalashnikov rifle. Mr. Lee continued,
“a durable weapon, its performance does not change in sand, snow,
or wet environments. It has stopping power too, but in terms of
accuracy, an M4 like you use is superior.”
“ Do you have an estimate
for their numbers in that area?” Tom looked at them
both.
Mr. Lee motioned to Jiyeon. She started
speaking with a delicate voice:
“ From
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