The Hermit Kingdom, page 14
Evans, slightly amused by the plan, smiled. “I’ll admit, it’s a good plan. But you think it's as simple as that?"
Shane smiled back. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know nothing is as simple as that.”
Evans’ face told him everything. Finally, a point we can completely agree on.
Michaela approached Shane. "Let me understand. You want to enter that base, fight your way into the communications station – without knowing where it is — and then figure out how to shut down an entire cell tower?"
Shane shrugged. "I was hoping we could do it together?”
Evans shook his head.
“…But I’ll do it alone if I have to.”
“How will you know you’re even in the right place?” Michaela asked.
Shane smiled. “I’ll find something that resembles a cell tower control room — or something like that — then just blow everything up."
"We could assist with that part at least,” Evans said. “We’ve got four grenades between me and Grudowski. We’ll keep on, just in case. But if you can't figure out what to blow up with three grenades, you're more useless than you look."
Shane grinned. “I’ve never let a good grenade go to waste. I'll find something to blow up, trust me."
"Guys, this is insane," Michaela interjected. "You mentioned earlier you had line-of-sight radios that don't require connection with the cell tower?"
Evans nodded. “They don't, but getting a signal out once you're inside the station will be challenging. So we can set up a rendezvous point, as well as a plan of attack for out here. We'll give you… let’s say half an hour, to find and neutralize the communications depot. If not, we'll assume the worst and storm in to provide support."
Shane nodded. "Seems like a good compromise. If I can't disable the communications within half an hour, it's likely because I've been pinned down. Having you storm in then will give us a second chance."
"Assuming our assassin stays away long enough for us to get in and cut him off," Grudowski chimed in.
"I agree with Shane on this one,” Michaela said. “We’re alive now because the assassin fled, likely to get new orders. He might still be maneuvering, trying to position himself for a flank attack. He'll expect us to enter the base, so he'll wait for that, then try to call it in.”
“And he won't be able to," Grudowski said.
"That doesn't mean he'll abandon the mission," Shane said.
"Correct," Evans said sharply. "But we're going to attempt this. Michaela and Shane are right about Seong. If she's still in there, this is our last chance to rescue her. We can't afford to waste time."
"Alright then," Shane said, determination etching his features. "I'll take my chances with the front gate. You can monitor my progress from here, hiding behind these bushes. If there are more soldiers inside, you'll see them. If they emerge, I'll assess the situation from the front once I'm there. That's likely my quickest way in. Give me a radio I can bring to the gate. I'll update you then."
"Once you're inside, the radio will be useless," Evans said. "Those are thick walls, concrete and metal. I doubt you'll be able to get a signal out."
"Agreed, but at least I'll have it for a while. Plus," Shane continued, "this location offers a prime vantage point over the whole area. You, Evans, and Michaela can stay here and watch for our friend.”
Evans and Grudowski nodded.
“Don't dawdle," Shane added. "We'll rendezvous at the north gate exactly thirty-five minutes after I go inside, got it? That’s 30 minutes to locate and disable communications, and five minutes to run like hell and get back out. Once I take down their communications tower, they're going to notice pretty quickly. They'll either be here or they'll see it, but at that point, I'm exposed. I need you to follow quickly. Oh, and be prepared for another battle."
"Understood. Consider it done," Evans replied, his gaze steady and resolved.
Shane studied Evans’ expression, finding nothing but sincerity there, and finally, the two men shook hands.
"Are you okay staying with the team?" Shane asked Michaela.
He hated leaving her, but it really was the best scenario. There was no need for her to risk entering the base just yet – let him take down the communications and get everyone inside focused on him. Once Evans stormed in, she could sneak down and locate Seong Park.
She shook her head. “No, but it makes the most sense.”
“We’ll take good care of you,” Grudowski said, followed by a snicker of laughter.
Shane looked at Michaela. “Feel free to change your mind.” And to Grudowski, “seems like you deserve a punch in the nuts. Care to partake?”
Grudowski spit on the ground, but Evans stepped in front of him. “She’s safe with us, Riley,” he said.
It wasn't a perfect plan, but it wasn't the worst he had ever come up with, either.
He just hoped it would work.
43
EVANS
Grudowski and Evans found positions with cover at their backs. They sat against a boulder and the truck respectively, each watching out in a different direction. They were on the lookout for movement, for more enemy soldiers.
For the assassin.
Michaela Everly sat next to Evans, who was watching the base itself. Shane had decided to take the direct route, unsurprisingly, and was making his way through the previous battlefield still littered with four bodies. He was currently near one of the guard towers on the southwest quadrant of the H-shaped facility.
No shots rang out, and Shane stepped out from underneath the turret. Evans could sense the trepidation in Michaela's body next to him. If the assassin was planning to attack, it would happen soon. Either he would come back to finish what he had started with Evans’ team, follow Shane inside, or he would position himself to prevent Shane from getting inside the base altogether. He hoped none of those things happened, that Shane was right and the assassin had pulled back, waiting for orders.
That's what they were about to find out. Evans would never have risked one of his own men going into this place alone, but Shane had reiterated time and again that he was not one of Evans’ men. He wanted to play lone operator, that was his business.
Evans would therefore use this operation as a test, a way to gather more data. If an army of men rushed out and killed Shane, it told Evans that what he feared most was true — that there were plenty more soldiers hiding inside. But if Shane got inside successfully and was able to dismantle the communications tower attached to the roof of the station, it told him they were clear enough to get into the base themselves.
Either way, Evans felt anxious as he watched it unfold.
He felt Michaela tense next to him. The woman had a powerful energy, a warmth that seemed to radiate outward, consuming anyone close to her. It was no surprise that Shane was attracted to her.
She was gorgeous.
He wondered what the history was between this woman and Shane Riley. It was clear to everyone around – hell, probably even the assassin who had kidnapped them – that there was some deeper connection between the two.
"What's his deal?" he asked.
Dr. Everly turned her head to the side and looked at him, “His deal? What do you mean?"
"I mean, what's up with him? Why is he so… cagey?"
"You've never met a cagey soldier?" she asked.
He smiled. “I didn't say that. But every cagey soldier I've met had a past. What's his?"
"Broken, damaged, fragile — you pick."
"So you're not willing to share his story either?"
"It's not my story to share."
He shifted his jaw, nodding once. "Fair enough. Seems to me, though, some of his story is connected in some way to your story. Is your story a story you can share?”
Michaela watched him, and he did his best to hide the curiosity he was feeling. This woman was an enigma, attractive in all the best ways. There was no doubt she was whip smart, possibly brilliant. But he didn't even know what field of work she was in – was it related to the work being done at the station? Was that how she had gotten Shane Riley into the country and why she was here now?
It was obvious she was no trained operative – even without the weapon, the way she carried herself, the way she responded to the gunfire, told him she was a civilian.
"Sure, I'm an open book,” she said. “But I hardly think this is the time. Don't you guys need to talk through… logistics or whatever?"
"Already did."
"When?"
"For the past decades of service, and then together as a team for about two years. Logistics, operations, tactics, strategy – all of it. We know what to do. We just talked through the plan with Riley, and we're all on board. So, here we sit. Watching and waiting. Plenty of time for a good story."
Michaela smiled, a glint in her eye. "I never said it was a good story."
"Any story is better than Grudowski talking about how hot his daddy’s new trophy wife is, or how often he gets gets the shits when he’s deployed in foreign countries," Evans said.
"I heard that," Grudowski responded.
"I bet you did," Evans retorted.
"But my old man's new wife is quite the catch," Grudowski added.
Evans smiled. "See?"
Michaela shrugged. "Honestly, there's not much to tell. Shane was married. Kate is her name. I was his wife’s best friend, her coworker. He met both of us at the same time. They hit it off, got married, and… the rest is history."
"Is it?"
Michaela paused for a long time, and Evans didn't fill the empty space.
"Shortly after we all met, I went away on a trip. Business, I don't even remember what I was doing. I was gone for three weeks? A month? When I came back, it was pretty much a done deal. They had fallen in love, got engaged, and were married two months after I returned."
"Short engagement."
Michaela shrugged again, turning and looking out over the horizon, above the mountain peaks. "I guess they both just knew what they wanted pretty quickly." She turned back to face Evans. "Besides, none of us were young. We were both postgraduate; Shane had spent his career with the military, and I think there was a sense of urgency for all of us. You know, if you're going to settle down…"
Evans squinted as the sun peaked out from behind a cloud and caught his eye. "Except you didn't settle down, did you? This girl Kate – and Shane – did instead."
He watched her face, keeping one eye on the base as Shane tiptoed around the next tower and began his approach to the northern gate where he would then attempt to enter the base. She pulled back, eyes darting down, a look of sadness on her face. What was that? Denial? Regret?
She didn't answer.
He shifted, pulling himself a bit away from her. He sensed the need to give her a bit more physical space. "Sorry, didn't mean to pry. Things are usually… quieter out here on assignment."
"No, it's okay. It’s just — I know you didn't mean anything by it. Truth be told, I'm trying to figure things out as well. I haven't talked to Shane in over a year. Since…"
Evans didn't need to be filled in on the details. He remembered Shane telling Chung-Hee Park that his wife was dead; that Park had said she had been murdered. And the way Michaela was talking now, the way she was reminiscing and letting bottled-up emotions finally spill out, he could tell it was all more than she intended.
He could tell he had struck a nerve, harder than she had anticipated.
Shane had lost a wife, and this woman had lost her best friend.
He let out a long breath of air between two puffed cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Everly."
She nodded, accepting his sympathy. He didn't need to say anything more. He couldn't say anything more.
He had his own demons he was wrestling with, just like everyone else.
He only hoped they could stay inside him for a bit longer.
44
SHANE
Shane hadn't seen a soul since leaving Evans, Grudowski, and Dr. Everly behind. He crept around two of the ancient-looking guard turrets, seeing them for what they were now that he was closer. Each was falling apart, decayed, as if no maintenance had been done on them since they had been constructed. Portions of the edges crumbled, leaving chunks of concrete littering the ground around them. One such hole was big enough that Shane could see straight through into the interior.
It was dark inside, lifeless.
While Shane hoped he could find a similar lack of human defense inside the larger base, he knew that if he didn't find anyone inside, it meant he was highly unlikely to find Seong, either.
But he couldn't help but wonder why some guards had been left behind in that case. Why would whoever was in charge of this place totally evacuate the premises, leaving only a skeleton crew? Why not save the men and just leave altogether? Finding Seong would be like searching for a needle in a haystack; trying to chase her around the North Korean countryside would be damn near impossible.
But he was operating on assumptions and expectations. He needed eyes on. He needed to get inside, to see for himself what the situation was. If she was still in there, he would find her.
He reached the front gate and crouched beneath a concrete pillar holding up one side of the wrought-iron fence. The fence looked like the kind that slid sideways, allowing a vehicle access to the interior grounds. He was at the top section of the gate, which had been arranged north to south just at the base of the mountain. A meadow of overgrown grass stretched from the other side of this gate to what looked like the front doors of the base. They were about as ornate as he expected – nothing but plain slabs and rectangles to welcome him.
It looked every bit like the Nazi-era building he had expected.
No one fired at him or shouted, so he stood up, careful to take in his immediate surroundings to ensure he was in fact alone.
Finally satisfied, he reached up and pulled his body over the concrete rectangular pillar. He swung his feet around and over the fence, the gate, then pushed off the post and landed on the other side.
He was in.
He ran through the meadow, noticing the center of it had a circular concrete pad – perhaps for a helicopter? – And continued toward the front entrance.
Still, no one jumped out and started shooting at him. No one announced his arrival, he heard no sound of human life whatsoever.
He felt the chances of Seong's existence here diminishing, the window of opportunity closing fast. There's no way the people who had wanted her so badly would simply leave her here, alone.
He fell back against the left side of the first door he came to, holding the rifle Evans had given him up and ready. He waited for a few seconds, taking a few deep breaths. This was the riskiest move – moving into a dark, unknown space. He had no idea what to expect inside, other than knowing the general layout of the larger buildings.
But the building he was about to go into was massive – a sprawling complex, though only a single story aboveground, but he assumed one or two underground. The hallways and corridors were thick, wide enough that it would be possible to get lost inside if he wasn't careful.
He checked his rifle again out of habit, then said a quick prayer, openly hoping God was still listening. It seemed the man upstairs had forgotten this hellhole of a country, and he was once again reminded of the poor souls back in the village, all missing an eye.
He shook away the unnerving thought, focusing once again on the task at hand. He forced his mind clear, to do what it had been trained to do. Still, he felt out of his element – he had not been in active service for at least two years, and running into battle was not the career path he had chosen after leaving the military.
This is why I don't retrieve people, he reminded himself.
He stretched out his boot and pushed the door open with it. He pulled his shoulder around next, letting the heavy steel door, a windowless steel door, swing open. It hadn't been oiled in years, and a loud creak forced him to pause.
He took another two breaths, knowing that anyone waiting inside was now well aware of his impending presence. So, he did the only thing he knew how – he kicked the door as hard as he could, sending it flying open, then brought the gun up.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
45
SHANE
Bullets clanged against the steel door, the sound of rifle shots hitting him almost as hard as the impacts themselves. Thankfully, none of the bullets hit him, and he dove backward just as quickly as he had entered.
It was a good thing he did, too.
Just as he pulled to the left and pressed his back against the wall once more outside of the base, the door itself blew outward and sailed into the meadow. A shockwave brought with it dust and debris, and a significant amount of heat flashed against Shane's side.
A grenade.
Well, we found the welcoming party.
He pulled one of the grenades off of his belt given to him by Evans and yanked the pin out. He flicked it into the open door, followed by a second, this one directed farther to the right.
The consecutive concussive blasts were even louder now that there was no door to contain them, but he ignored the deafening roar and used the sudden chaos to get inside. He hoped the fragmentation grenades would offer enough force momentarily to daze his opponents – if they hadn't outright killed them. He needed a second, maybe two, to find cover.
If there was any.
Shane charged into the room full speed, aiming diagonally to the left. He found enough cover there to satisfy the immediate need. Not that it was much cover at all. An industrial-sized trashcan, circular and sitting on a rolling base, offered him the best option for protection. He dove and slid on his backside behind it, coming to rest between the trashcan and the far wall.
