“That’s funny you say that. What our illegals have been reporting is that despite the propaganda, many people there are at least somewhat disillusioned with their government, but they still have a very real dislike for the US.”
“It sounds like one very confused country,” Tom said as Jiyeon giggled. Tom continued, “seriously though, where it gets interesting is when you think about how many other countries don’t overtly teach this to kids, but still create the conditioning effect. Just from a general attitude in the country.”
Jiyeon thought for a second “Yes, it must be a key driver of behavior.”
Tom served the meat, which was about ready in the middle of the table. He took a bite into the spicy pork.
“Did you guys figure out how 1414 was compromised?”
Jiyeon shook her head, “No it’s still unclear. But something strange is going on.”
“Why do you say that?”
Jiyeon leaned in and spoke quietly “Mr. Park called Mr. Lee today and told us another illegal had been compromised but that he had escaped and was making his way back.”
“That was missing from my briefing today,” Tom said with a smirk.
“That’s why he had to go back to the office before me. He had to take Mr. Park’s call on short notice.”
Tom chewed the spicy chicken as he thought. He took another sip of bourbon. “How many officers are you guys pulling out?”
“For now just this one. Officer 6237. He was based in Pyongyang. I’m not supposed to give any more details on him.”
“Your group manages over six thousand deep cover officers in North Korea?” That was an absurd number of deep cover officers to have in any country Tom thought. Tom had heard that at the height of the Cold War, the Soviets had less than five illegals working in the US. Most of their spies had official cover — they worked at the embassy or trade missions in various made-up roles. He figured the US probably had the same number.
“No,” she smiled “The numbers are not assigned that way. It’s a different system we have.”
“Oh?”
Jiyeon tasted her drink, smiling through the edge of the glass. “You can figure it out. Let me know when you do.” She seemed to like playing the game of keeping something just out of Tom’s reach. She looked like she expected him to come around the table and shake it out of her. But Tom just thought he would figure it out later.
“So is that why Mr. Park is in DC with that team?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know exactly why he’s there. He told us about 6237 because he wanted us to help him get back. But he did not say anything else. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
“Is there anything you can think of that 1414 and 6237 had in common? Did they have any of the same contacts? Did they ever meet?”
“Other than that they were both based in Pyongyang, no. They did not even know each other. They had two separate missions. Nothing in common. In fact 6237 sent us a message last week saying that his mission was on track.”
“Maybe the messaging system has been hacked?”
“Maybe. But other illegals have sent us messages even today and yesterday. They have not been compromised yet. Like 2135 — the one who saw the strange men at the port.”
“Where is 6237 now?”
“He’s sneaking his way through the countryside. He’s going to China.”
“So what do you really think is in that base?” Tom asked in an oddly uncurious way.
“I’ve been trying to think about that. I don’t know. I can’t figure it out. I wish 1414 had been more specific.”
“He seemed to be trying to be extra vague.”
“I just don’t know what is scarier — that it was this hard to find this place or that we have no clue what’s inside. What do you think?”
“I’m holding judgment until I get inside.”
They continued eating. They were almost finished. Tom looked around the restaurant. It was a typical night scene. Darkness was punctuated with dimly lit candles. Servers were walking to and from the kitchen at fast speeds. Men were dressed in suits and were trying to look in control. Women were in skirts and were trying to laugh enough to appear cute. Tom noticed a lot of eyes on him. He had seen it before — even in cosmopolitan cities like Seoul. He stood out. He was a westerner who looked like he was built of stone. The attention did not bother him at all. Jiyeon appeared to not take her eyes off him and was engrossed in their conversation. She almost welcomed the eyes watching.
“What’s your favorite thing to do on weekends?” Tom asked.
“I’m not sure,” Jiyeon smiled as she thought about it, “What do you like to do?”
Tom thought about it. “I’ll tell you one thing I like. I wake up very early- before everyone — like 5 or 6 in the morning. I like to take a walk to the Potomac and see the early morning sun.”
“I know what you mean,” Jiyeon said, her eyes aimed upwards as if she were dreaming about it.
“But it’s not the sunrise I try to see. It’s the early sun. The sun is the most gentle at that time, right after it’s risen, and before it’s moved too high. The city is sleeping and in fact it feels like the world is sleeping. But the early sun makes you question whether the darkness of the night was present at all. It cleanses the world before us and gives the new day a fresh start. I like to just stand by the Potomac and take that in. Especially when I just get back.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Jiyeon leaned in.
When they were done, they made sure to bottoms-up the remainder of their drinks. They got up and started walking to the exit. On the way, as they were passing the bar, Jiyeon recognized a girl she knew. They hugged and talked excitedly for a half-minute. Then the girl saw Tom and became silent as she eyed him. Jiyeon introduced them — the girl’s name was Hyun-Joo. She was with a young man who stood solemnly and did not seem to be in the mood to talk. He was staring at Jiyeon with cold eyes. Tom was a head taller than him and twice as thick, so maybe he felt uncomfortable, Tom thought. As they exchanged pleasantries, Tom saw Jiyeon step closer to his side, so he put his arm around her waist.
A few moments later they were walking on the street. Tom saw that Jiyeon was walking close beside him. He put his arm around her. He felt her nestle into him.
“Can we get another drink somewhere else?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“By the way, there’s something funny I have to tell you about those two we just met.”
CHAPTER 13
NATPAC sat uncomfortably in his office chair. The night further darkened his office with each passing minute. He wanted to go home after a long day. He put out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk and shut down his computer.
His mind thought in decision trees. It was a simple tool used in economics to plan future decisions. It was helpful if someone wanted to see where a series of decisions would lead. It required one to imagine all of the situations resulting from an initial decision. Then for each new situation, one imagines the consequence of another decision. Each situation was typically assigned a probability. The technique was known as a tree because it allowed someone to visualize decisions and consequences similar to branches of a tree.