Ryan and Foley decided Ryan would use this trip to Beijing to pass the intelligence about North Korea’s involvement directly to Chinese President Ling. Ling would be terrified — he would know any action taken by the United States against Pyongyang would destabilize the Korean Peninsula, and he would worry about a war, a refugee crisis, and his own country’s exposure to “guilt by association,” since even though China and North Korea were in the middle of their worst relationship of the past seventy years, North Korea still had no closer friend than its large communist neighbor to the north.
Ryan wanted Ling to be scared about what actions the U.S. might take for retribution. The more concerned China was about threats to its own national interests, the more inclined they would be to partner with the United States against the criminal regime in Pyongyang.
Then Mary Pat read President Ryan in on Acrid Herald. What had started out as an opportunity to learn about a North Korean mineral processing facility had turned into a major intelligence coup. Right now Hwang Min-ho was on the run in North Korea, attempting to defect, he thought, to the Chinese. If this worked, Ryan knew, he would have someone who could reveal to the world how North Korea’s mineral wealth was being used not for the good of its own people but instead to build up their nuclear missile arsenal. If it all worked as planned, if Hwang made it out and revealed what he knew, then Ryan knew his meeting with President Ling tomorrow would be an opportunity for the two superpowers to work together on a mutual problem.
In the meantime, Ryan just wished he wasn’t such an invalid at the moment. Although he could walk and talk, his left hand was in a cast and his right arm was in a sling. With all the attendants at his disposal, there was no one around here in this office on Air Force One, and he needed to scratch his damn nose, and this put him in an exceptionally foul humor.
Adam Yao drove the North Korean — made SUV slowly down the long, straight dirt road at midnight. He went all the way to the end, some mile and a half from the main highway, until he reached the poultry farm. Here he turned off the engine and listened carefully.
Nothing. A few chickens clucking in a coop, the sound of wind through the pine trees thick on the adjacent hillside, but no sound of helicopters racing in.
Adam was scared now, but the kids behind him were asleep. Hwang and his wife spoke softly back and forth. She was frightened still, but Hwang seemed to be doing a better job of calming her than himself, because he appeared to be scared shitless.
Min-hee, the nine-year-old girl, sat up suddenly and looked around, and soon Du-ho did the same. Within seconds Adam heard it as well — it was a high-pitched buzzing, very faint but growing in volume.
It didn’t sound to Adam like an airplane, not even a small one, and it was definitely not a helicopter. Still, he told everyone to get out.
Once they were on the dirt road they heard it better. It was definitely a propeller, and it hummed almost like a lawn mower.
Adam saw it first, but he didn’t know what he was looking at. A winged apparition moved low over the trees, darker than the night sky behind it.
Then Hwang saw it. “What is that?”
It passed directly overhead, then banked tightly, and lined up on the road upon which they stood.
Adam said, “It’s a UAV. A drone.” It was a Predator, which was unquestionably American, but it was doubtful Hwang or his wife would know this. As it neared, Adam was glad to see there was no U.S. flag on the side.
“What is it doing here?” Hwang asked.
“I have absolutely no idea.”
Du-ho pointed into the sky. “There is another one.”
Both Predators landed on the road, one after the other, and then taxied to within fifty feet of Adam Yao.
To himself he said, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
It occurred to him there might be a message or a piece of equipment on the aircraft, so he walked over to the closer one. He saw a large basket hanging from the bottom. It was the size of a loveseat, and it had a pneumatic hatch with a marking that read PULL.
Adam did so, and the device separated like a clamshell, the bottom lowering down about a foot and a half. Adam looked inside. There was LED lighting glowing to help him.
He saw two sleeping bags and a satellite phone.
He snatched the phone and saw that it was blinking; there was already a call coming through.
Adam moved away from Hwang and his family and whispered. “Avalanche.”
“Hello, Avalanche. You are speaking with the tactical operations center on board the USS Freedom. This line is being broadcast to op center TIDALWAVE, and we are watching you from a KH-12.”
“Understood.”
“What is the status of your cargo? We see three adults and two children in addition to yourself.”
“I have six pax total. Three adults including precious cargo and two children.”
“Who is the other adult?”
“I had to bring out an Australian woman. Dr. Powers. She was compromised and in danger.”
There was a pause. “Copy.”
“Is this basket what I think it is?”
“It is a personnel recovery device. Place the adult male in one basket with the male child. Put the two adult women together with the female child. We didn’t know about the Australian. We are expediting the backup UAV to your poz, but be advised, you’ll be waiting there five mikes.”
Adam spoke even softer now so Hwang and his wife could not hear, although they did not speak English. “Is this shit gonna work?”
“Affirmative, Avalanche. Those UAVs are top secret. Code name Freebird. They are tested at three hundred pounds per aircraft, well over the weight requirement needed. The baskets are not pressurized, so the ride will be low and a little bumpy, but it won’t be too bad.”
“Oh… okay. Any chance I can squeeze in?”
“Unless your new friend weighs less than forty-five pounds, I do not recommend it. The aircraft becomes unstable above three hundred twenty-five pounds.”
Adam started to speak, but the male voice told him to wait. After a few seconds he came back on the line, his voice more agitated.
“Be advised, Avalanche. We are monitoring military helicopters moving into your sector. Twelve minutes out at current speed. Get that cargo on board, seal the hatch, and go find some cover. We’ll do the rest, sir.”
“Okay.” He was more resolute this time with his reply, not because he now felt much better about flying in the Freebird, but rather because now that he knew DPRK helos were inbound, he felt much worse about standing around here pondering his options.
He ran over to Hwang and spoke in Mandarin. “Quickly. You and your family will fly in these airplanes.”
“Those aren’t airplanes!”
The man did have a point, Adam conceded to himself, but he knew he had to appear steadfast. “They are perfectly safe. We do this all the time.”
“Where are the pilots?”
Adam would have said the pilots were sitting safe and comfortable, maybe thousands of miles away, because he didn’t like this idea one bit, but he needed Hwang to comply.
So instead he said, “You’ll meet them when they land. These are remote-controlled UAVs.”
“I… I don’t know.”
“Dae Wonsu’s helicopters will be here in ten minutes. Do you know what will happen if the Army catches you and your family?”
Adam knew his argument was convincing, but he was surprised by the quick one-eighty. Hwang said, “We should go now.”