Burkett turned to Pak. “You’re in charge here?”

  “I’m the senior ranking officer in the room,” was all Pak was willing to admit since he wasn’t certain how Dr. Ri felt about the hierarchy within these four walls.

  Burkett pointed at Kane. “I want him with me at all times.”

  “To hell with that!” exclaimed Kane. “That was never part of the deal!”

  Burkett shook his head. “I want a familiar face.”

  Pak frowned. “You mean a white face.”

  “No, I’m not a racist. I need somebody from back home that I can speak to who shares a common culture.”

  Kane waved his hands. “Hell no, Major. We have an agreement. I deliver him to you and I get my nice little life here. Find someone else.”

  Burkett rolled his eyes at Kane. “And just who would you have them get? It’s not like this place is crawling with Americans.”

  Ri cleared his throat. “There is another.”

  Pak’s eyebrows shot up but he said nothing.

  “Who?” asked Burkett.

  “Dr. Gorman. He’s one of yours.”

  Burkett stared at the man. “Gorman? As in Dr. Nathan Gorman?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Bullshit. He retired two months ago. He went completely off the grid. Nobody’s heard from him since.”

  “That’s the cover story your government gave, yes. We liberated him from his miserable retirement and brought him here to work on our reactor.”

  Burkett threw up his hands. “Then why did you need me? He should be able to figure out what’s wrong.”

  “That’s what we assumed as well, however he hasn’t been very cooperative, which is why four weeks ago, operatives in the United States took his daughter and granddaughter into custody. He’s now proving quite cooperative, even without you we would have our nuclear program back on track soon. With your assistance, we’ll shave another year or two off of that.”

  Burkett smiled. “This is fantastic news. Gorman is an excellent scientist, not my caliber of course, but excellent nonetheless. It’ll be a pleasure to work with him.” He wagged a finger at Kane. “But I still want him with me. Gorman is an old man from a different generation. This one will be better company.”

  Pak glanced at Ri who gave a slight nod. “Very well, Dr. Burkett, Mr. Kane will accompany you―”

  Kane glared at him. “No fu―”

  Pak cut him off. “For the next several days to make your transition easier.”

  Kane relaxed slightly. “Fine. A few days, but she comes with me,” he said, taking Kwan’s hand.

  She snuggled closer to him and Burkett raised a finger.

  “Umm, can I get one of those?”

  41 |

  Operations Center 2, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia

  Leroux was going batshit crazy waiting. It was bad enough running an op where there were long stretches with nothing happening, but merely being an observer, with the op run from an entirely different operations center, was excruciating. He leaped to his feet then paced behind his station. Nobody said anything, but they all felt the same way. Everyone desperately wanted something to happen just to break the tension, but they were all acutely aware that when that something did happen, Dylan Kane would most likely die.

  Delta was in position. There was no evidence so far that their presence in North Korea had been detected, and the drone left behind to monitor the area where the two soldiers had been taken out suggested their discovery wasn’t coming anytime soon.

  This could be a clean mission for a change. Go in, do your business, get out.

  He frowned.

  Tong looked up at him. “What?”

  He flinched. “Huh?”

  “You’ve got that look on your face.”

  He thought for a moment then chuckled. “I was just thinking that this op looks like it’s going to go smoothly.”

  She laughed. “And you’re wondering why ours never do?”

  He tossed up his hands. “Exactly. Aren’t we supposed to be the best?”

  “We are!” shouted Therrien from the back of the room. “That’s why they always throw the Charlie-Foxtrots at us. No way Epps’ crew could handle those.”

  Cheers and claps of agreement filled the room, relieving some tension, when somebody brought them back to reality.

  “We’ve got movement!”

  The laughter stopped and everyone focused on the main displays. A side door to the hangar opened. Several soldiers emerged first, then Kane and his new woman, hand in hand, stepped into the late afternoon sunlight. Another man followed, and from the angle, he appeared Caucasian.

  Leroux pointed. “Zoom in on him. That must be Burkett.”

  Tong tapped at her keyboard and a new window appeared showing a zoomed-in image of the cluster of people. Kane and the woman approached the vehicle they had arrived in, along with what was likely the officer that had brought them there. Another vehicle pulled up and the second cluster headed for it.

  “Control, One-One, I have the shot. Am I cleared to take it, over?” came Niner’s voice over the comms, broadcast on the overhead speakers.

  “Affirmative, One-One. You are cleared to take the shot. I repeat, you are cleared to take the shot, over.”

  “Confirmation acknowledged. Awaiting Zero-Seven’s acquisition of secondary target, over.”

  “Stand by,” replied Atlas.

  Leroux collapsed in his chair, not sure he wanted to see what was about to happen, yet unable to tear his eyes away from the final moments of his best friend’s life.

  And that was when Burkett stared up at the sky and everyone in the room, including Leroux, gasped in shock. Leroux grabbed his headset and fit it in place. “This is Leroux! Abort! Abort! Abort!” he shouted as Atlas’ voice came in over the speakers.

  “Secondary target acquired. Preparing to take the shot.”

  Leroux spun to Tong. “Am I on?”

  She shook her head. “No, it looks like they’ve cut us out of the loop.”

  He cursed and tore the headset off, whipping the useless piece of shit across his station as he sprinted for the doors, pointing at Tong. “Call the Chief! We have to stop this!”

  She reached for her phone as Leroux pushed against the heavy door sealing them inside. It opened enough for him to squeeze through and he sprinted down the corridor toward the operations center run by Epps.

  Two guards stood on either side of the door.

  “I need to get inside,” he gasped as he reached for the panel.

  One of them blocked him. “I’m sorry, sir. We have specific orders that no one from your team is allowed inside.”

  Leroux cursed. “You don’t understand. They’re about to kill an innocent man. We just identified the secondary target. It’s not who we’ve been told it is. We have to stop this now. Just let me inside. You can shoot me later.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. We have our orders.”

  Leroux cursed. “Said countless men throughout history before unnecessary tragedies that could have been prevented were allowed to occur.” He hauled out his phone and dialed the Chief. So much time had passed, he had little doubt Niner had already executed his orders and Kane was dead. He had known all along his best friend was innocent. There was no way he was a traitor.

  And unfortunately, the proof had come too late.

  Dr. Burkett wasn’t Dr. Burkett at all.

  He was another operations officer that they were well acquainted with.

  Jack.

  Just Jack.

  42 |

  Sunchon Airbase Perimeter Sunchon, North Korea

  Niner said a silent prayer for his aim to be true and for his friend, now in his sights, to die painlessly. He moved his finger from the trigger guard to the trigger, gently exhaling as he prepared to squeeze.

  “Hold your fire!” hissed Atlas, and Niner moved his hand away but kept Kane in his scope.

  Dawson’s voice came over his headset. “Zero-Seven, explain.”

  “Zero-One, check the secondary target. Am I high or is that who I think it is?”

  Niner desperately wanted to adjust his aim and see who the hell Atlas thought he saw, but that wasn’t his mission. His mission was to kill Kane, and though Atlas had ordered him to stop, it wasn’t Atlas’ place to give that order. Only Dawson or Control could do that. He put his finger back on the trigger guard and prepared once again to take the shot, but stood by, for Kane was still standing outside the vehicle, and for the moment, it appeared there would be at least several more seconds in which to take him down cleanly.

  Dawson cursed. “Holy shit! Okay, what the hell does that mean?”

  Niner slowly adjusted his aim as Kane rounded the vehicle. “Would somebody care to explain what the hell is going on?”

  “Stand by, One-One,” replied Dawson from his vantage point ten yards to the left. “It appears that Burkett is actually Jack.”

  Niner’s eyes narrowed. “Jack? As in Jack, the man with no last name?”

  “Exactly.”

  “What the hell is he doing here?”

  “Control, Zero-One, we’re aborting. The secondary target is not Burkett. It’s one of your operatives.”

  “Stand by, Zero-One, we’re trying to find out what’s going on here.”

  “Everybody hold your fire,” said Dawson. “But keep your targets in sight. This still goes down if we receive the order.”

  Niner growled. “This is bullshit. We’ve been looking for that piece of evidence that something’s going on, and if this isn’t it, I don’t know what the hell is. There’s no way two of them defected. And I’ve met Jack. He’s no nuclear physicist. So, unless that’s his twin, he’s undercover and Kane’s defection was all just a ploy to get him inside.”

  Atlas backed him up. “He’s right. Control, get your shit together. You know this isn’t right.”

  “Maintain radio discipline, Bravo Team,” snapped Dawson. “I give the order, no one else. Understood?”

  “Understood,” replied Niner as the others did the same. There was no way he was shooting Kane if some anonymous voice from Langley told him to. If Dawson did, he’d take the shot, no matter how hard it would be to do so, especially now, knowing something else was going on. The comms crackled in Niner’s ear and the decision came down from above.

  “Bravo Team, Control Actual. Abort! Abort! Abort! I repeat, abort the op! Stand by at your current position for further instructions.”

  Niner removed his right hand from his weapon and finally took the opportunity to adjust his aim to see the so-called Burkett as he acknowledged the order. “This is One-One, acknowledging abort, over.”

  Atlas did the same, the two active shooters acknowledging before Dawson did for the team as a whole. Niner shook his head as he found Jack in his scope.

  What the hell are you two up to?

  43 |

  Operations Center 4, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia

  The door to the operations center hissed open and one of Epps’ people emerged, her eyes bulging at finding Leroux standing there in a shouting match with the guards.

  “Chris, Epps just sent me to get you. Something’s happened.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t take the shot.”

  She shook her head. “No.” She beckoned him inside. “Come on, he wants to talk to you.”

  Leroux gave both guards a look as they stepped aside and he entered the operations center manned by Epps’ team. He headed for the center of the room, his eyes glued to the displays, displays that showed Kane and the others alive and now climbing into their vehicles. “I assume you figured it out.”

  Epps shook his head. “Don’t give us the credit. I gave the order to shoot, but one of the Delta team recognized Jack before we did. I’ve only worked with him a couple of times and had never actually seen his face.”

  Leroux’s shoulders relaxed. “So, we’re agreed?”

  “Yes. I’ve already given the abort order. I was just going to see the Chief and explain to him why.”

  Leroux’s phone vibrated with a message from the Chief.

  Come see me immediately. Alone.

  Leroux held up the phone. “Chief wants to see me alone.”

  Epps’ phone vibrated and he laughed. “It’s from the Chief. He says the op’s now back with your team. We’re to stand down.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  Epps waved his hands. “Hell, no need to apologize. I didn’t want this op in the first place. I’m just glad I didn’t kill him.”

  “You and me both,” said Leroux as he headed for the door. “Inform my team that they’re back in control and that I’m going to see the Chief.”

  “Will do.”

  Leroux stepped through the doors and past the guards. He stopped and turned to face them. “Sorry for giving you guys a hard time. If you knew what was going on, you’d understand. Thanks for not shooting.”

  They both laughed, the more senior responding. “Don’t worry about it, sir. You were actually quite polite compared to some of the people we’ve had to turn away.”

  “So, what you’re telling me is next time more junkyard dog, less pussycat?”

  They chuckled. “Junkyard dog might just have got you shot.”

  Leroux grinned as he headed for the elevators. “Then status quo for next time.” He climbed on the next car and sent a quick message to Sherrie.

  Kane is innocent. Kill order has been aborted. More details to follow.

  The reply was immediate.

  Thank God. BTW, another message was sent to the Chief and one to the lone mystery number.

  He replied back.

  Understood.

  Who the mystery number was, was now the mystery. And what had been sent? Obviously, the two messages were linked to the discovery that had just happened. So, who was the mole? Who could know that quickly? It was no one from his team, but was it someone from Epps’? He didn’t think so, because they hadn’t been involved until just recently, so they weren’t even read in on what was occurring, though it was still possible.

  He cursed as he headed toward Morrison’s office. He wanted to know the truth, the entire truth, but at least he knew the most important piece of it—his friend was innocent but still up to something. The question was, what the hell was he up to? And why did no one in the CIA know what was going on, especially now that two of their operatives were involved?

  44 |

  Kane’s off-the-books Operations Center Outside Bethesda, Maryland

  Fang sobbed uncontrollably, a mix of relief, joy, and simple stress shaking her body. And she couldn’t get the smile off her face as she and Sherrie celebrated, hopping up and down in the middle of the operations center as Tommy stared from his seat, a smile on his face. Fang finally pushed away, grabbing a tissue from a Kleenex box sitting on the workstation. She blew her nose then wiped her eyes with a second tissue before sighing heavily as she dropped into one of the chairs. “And he said nothing else?”

  “No, just ‘More details to follow.’ My guess is, whatever’s going on is still actively going on. He just wanted you to know that Dylan was no longer a target.”

  Fang tossed her head back, exhaling loudly. “He better have a good explanation for this or I’m going to kill him myself.”

  Sherrie laughed and gestured at the screen. “There is that last message. Maybe it has the explanation, just in case the in-person explanation isn’t good enough.”

  Fang chuckled. “You mean, let me read that then give me time to cool off?”

  “Exactly.”

  “That might be one of the smarter things he’s ever done.” She reached up and pulled at her hair. “God, I wish he could have told me what he was up to. I’ve been worried sick.”

  Tommy cleared his throat. “He’s still in North Korea. That doesn’t worry you?”

  Fang batted a hand. “No, he’s on the job and he’s good at what he does. And now that Langley knows what’s going on, he’s got their full support plus a Delta unit in-country with him. Right now, I’m no more worried than I ever am when he’s on assignment.”

  Sherrie patted her on the shoulder. “So, just another day at the office then?”

  Fang laughed. “I guess so.”

  “What do we do now?” asked Tommy.

  “We stick to the job.”

  “Isn’t the job over? I mean, we’ve done our part.”

  Fang shook her head, pointing at the display. “There are still more messages to be sent, and we still need to figure out who the two mystery callers are.”

  “Isn’t Langley on that?”

  Sherrie sat in one of the spare chairs. “Yup, but aren’t you supposed to be the whiz kid when it comes to telecommunications?”

  “That’s what they tell me.”

  “Then maybe now that we know Dylan is innocent in all this, we start focusing our attention on helping him, and figuring out who the hell these other people are he’s got involved, because like you said, he’s still in North Korea with no way to communicate with us.”

  Tommy faced his station, his fingers already flying. “Then let’s start breaking some laws.”

  45 |

  Director Morrison’s Office, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia

  Leroux rushed into the Chief’s office, still in shock as to what they had just discovered—and at the moment, he had no explanation for it. How could two of the Agency’s top operatives be in North Korea in an obviously coordinated op, without anyone in the Agency knowing beyond an apparent mole that had yet again shown how inside the loop they were by triggering two more messages the moment the discovery was made that Dr. Burkett was indeed Jack?

  Morrison pointed at Leroux’s customary chair as the door closed a little harder than usual. Leroux dropped in the chair, his mouth already in motion. “Sir, I assume you’ve heard that Burkett is actually Jack? The kill order has been aborted and Delta is standing down.” He threw his hands up. “What the hell is going on? I mean, this is insane! There’s no way the two of them defected.” He paused for a split second before continuing to think aloud. “Of course there’s no way. Jack was pretending to be Burkett. He was kidnapped from the office building Burkett was supposed to be working in. That’s not how you do a defection. My God, what the hell is going on?”

 

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