With a smile, Kempt took his seat, followed by his staff.
“Good morning, all,” said Kempt.
“Good morning, Mister President,” replied everyone in unison.
“Before we invite General James in Seoul to join us to discuss what he has learned about the vehicle accident that has triggered this latest backlash against our forces in Korea, I would like to know if the information we received the other day is accurate. Has there been a coup in North Korea?”
Dan Leonard, the president’s National Security Advisor, a white-haired, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, looked over at the president. “Sir, it’s safe to say that there has been change of government in North Korea. Although they have yet to say so publically, our intelligence sources have confirmed that there has been a wholesale slaughter of the former regime, their families, and anyone suspected of being the slightest bit loyal to the late dictator.”
The president shook his head. North Korea was the most secretive, paranoid, and unstable nation on the planet. A new, hardline government looking to solidify its hold on the nation could easily propel them into a war at the slightest provocation.
“Who do we believe is now running the country?” asked the president.
An image of General Pak in full-dress uniform standing beside the man he had murdered flashed up on the screen nearest the president.
“Mister President, we suspect that it was a military coup, and that General Pak, the man on the screen, is now the de facto ruler of North Korea,” explained Anne Hook, the Director of the CIA.
Kempt studied the face of the man on the screen and didn’t like what he saw. He had the cunning look of a fox in his eyes, with all the charm of a used-car salesman etched on his weathered face.
“Have there been any signs of mobilization or changes to troop readiness postures by the North Korean military?”
“Yes, sir,” said Hook. “Satellite imagery has confirmed that the North Korean armed forces went on alert about the same time as the coup. They have moved several armored divisions to staging bases just behind the border with South Korea.”
“They surely can’t be planning an invasion. We’d send them reeling back across the border in a matter of days. I’m surprised that they haven’t threatened to nuke the west coast like they did last year when we held our annual war games with the South Korean Army,” said the vice president, David Grant, a Texan known for saying things from the hip.
“They’re behaving as per their usual script, that’s for sure,” said the president, not convinced that the North intended to start a shooting war — at least not yet. “Okay, change of topic. What do we know about the new interim president of South Korea?”
Anne Hook cleared her throat. “Sir, Shin Seong-il, the country’s former Minister of Defense, was sworn in yesterday as the interim leader of South Korea until elections can be held sometime in December.”
An image of Shin appeared. He was a short man who looked like he had added a few pounds to his midsection recently. His black hair was short, and he wore thick glasses on his round face.
“What do we know about President Shin?” asked Kempt.
“He was born in Busan and volunteered for service in the army when he was eighteen. Rising through the ranks, he retired as a major general before being enticed into politics. He is a quiet man known for his deep thinking and honesty.”
“What’s he doing in politics?” blurted out the vice president.
A chuckle erupted throughout the room.
“The only policy initiative he announced during his post-swearing-in-ceremony press conference was his desire to have all U.S. forces withdrawn from South Korea before he hands over power after an election in December,” said Hook.
“I’ll need to give him a call later today to discuss his decision to ask for troop withdrawals,” said the president to Phillip Riviero, his chief of staff.
“Sir, General James is waiting on the line,” Riviero politely reminded them.
“Yes, of course,” said Kempt. “Okay then, let’s hear from General James.”
A second later, General James appeared on the wall-mounted screen. He was in his late fifties, with short, white hair topping his lean face. His Marine Corps camouflage-pattern uniform was immaculately pressed and fit snug to his body.
“Evening, General, I hope all is well with you and your family,” said the president with a warm smile on his face.
“Sir, Jane and the girls are doing fine. In fact, they’re coming over to visit me next month,” replied James, with a deep southern accent.
If the brewing crisis in Korea was troubling the general, it didn’t show. He looked as cool as a block of ice to the president.
“General, what can you tell me about your investigation into the tragic accident on the outskirts of Seoul?”
“Mister President, the truck involved in the collision was stolen from a parking lot in the Yongsan garrison in Seoul. That fact has been corroborated by two sources. First, from the vehicle identification number found on the torched truck, and secondly, from a home video that was inadvertently shot by a soldier of his South Korean girlfriend as they took an early morning walk.”
“When did you find this video, General?” asked General Patterson, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Sir, the soldier didn’t even know that he had taken a video of people breaking into the camp until a few hours ago.”
“Can we see it, General?” asked the president.
“Certainly, sir,” replied General James. A few seconds later, the video shot up on the screen. A slight Korean girl was happily smiling and waving at the person filming her as she walked beside a tall fence. A couple of seconds later, a military truck drove past them on the street. One of the men in the cab was white, and the other, African-American.
“Sir, we verified that the truck in the video is the stolen truck,” said James.
“This doesn’t prove anything, General. It could have been a couple of soldiers out for a joyride who caused the accident,” said the vice president.
“Sir, my people used facial recognition software on the images provided and those men do not match any U.S. personnel serving under my command. Hell, I’d bet my pension that they aren’t even in the military,” said James resolutely.
“Whoever that soldier is, I want him promoted and given a medal,” said the president. “He’s proven that our people are not responsible for the tragic deaths of those children. General James, I want you to contact your counterpart in the South Korean military right away and share that video and anything else you have on those bastards with him.”
President Kempt locked eyes with his CIA director. “I want to know who those SOBs are, where they are, and who paid them up to commit this heinous crime.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Hook.
“Anne, I want them taken alive and then flown to the worst hellhole you can think of. I want answers. No one kills children and then walks away from it… no one,” said Kempt, his voice growing angrier by the second. “And when you are done with them, fly them to Seoul where they can be handed over to the families of the people who lost a child.”
Hook resolutely nodded. She was as tough as any man and was widely respected as a person who got the job done. A long-serving analyst with the CIA before moving up in the agency, she suspected that the men in the video were already dead, but decided to keep her thoughts to herself until the meeting wrapped up.