Two muscular men in business suits grinned at the girls. "Out, ladies," one of them said with a nod toward the door. "The president is on his way."
One of them started to protest. "But we're not—"
"We won't be long… scoot… out!"
The men quickly went through the pavilion, checking under the table, moving the cushions, looking behind pictures, in vases, running their fingers along projecting surfaces.
"Somebody ought to tell them there's a light out over there," said one of the probers, pointing to a fixture high in the center of one wall. He was pointing directly at the small surveillance camera, which had been mounted in a hollowed-out post behind the fixture. The small transmitter and beamed antenna was mounted in the eaves of the roof just outside.
"They're coming," said one of the girls from the doorway.
The security agents left in a hurry.
A few moments later, the stooped figure of President Kwak came into view on the monitor, followed by the strapping, immaculately attired Prime Minister Hong. Colonel Han marched in ramrod straight. Kwak pulled off his tie and tossed it aside.
"Gentlemen," he said, "let's relax."
With that, a horde of smiling kisaeng descended upon them.
Burke had left a message at the hotel for Rudy vanRoden and his partner, Brad Gore. But when he stopped by the Chosun front desk on his return, he found the two reinforcements from Washington still hadn't arrived. He called the airline office and inquired about the flight.
"I'm sorry, sir, but all flights from Tokyo have been cancelled because of the snowstorm," the woman said.
"When do you expect the flights to resume?"
"Probably not before morning."
Well, he wouldn't be going anywhere before morning, he thought. He'd be happy to have the reinforcements although, so far, Duane had been unable to pick up any indications of surveillance. There had been a question about a possible tail on Duane, himself, but the evidence appeared rather nebulous and he thought it more likely the result of coincidence. Burke thought it strange that he had encountered no interference up to this point. However, he was well aware that his comfort zone was subject to being breached without warning.
He took the videotape up to his room and checked the telltale thread he had left in the doorway. Finding it still in place, he knew there had been no anonymous visitors. He locked the door, hung his heavy jacket on the clothes rack and reached into a pocket to retrieve the short-barrel Smith & Wesson revolver Lieutenant Yun had reluctantly provided him. It hadn't been easy overcoming the Lieutenant's apprehension at violating bureau rules, but Burke had argued the case they were building wouldn't be worth a hill of soybeans if somebody got to him before the final presentation was ready.
He laid the pistol on the bed and called Lori.
"Good morning, or whatever it is over there," she said.
"Did I wake you?" he asked.
"No, but I haven't been up long. Just finished feeding the kids. They asked about you. Wanted to know if they really had a father."
He laughed. "And what did you say?"
"I told them you'd be flying in most any day now, that you might even land on the roof and come down the chimney."
"Ho, ho, ho." he said. "Things are going fine at the moment. If it all works out, I should be wound up here in a couple of more days." If it all works out. In his mind, he put the emphasis a bit differently than his voice had said it.
"You're not just making that up for my benefit?"
"Nope. It's a fact."
"Well, you'd better be telling me the truth. We have a visitor coming for Christmas."
Burke frowned. A visitor? Surely not Grandma Szabo. She wasn't up to traveling that far. "Who's coming?"
"I had a call yesterday from Cliff Walters. He wanted to know if it would be all right to come visit us at Christmas."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him we'd be delighted to have him. After all, I want to meet my step-son. He has some leave coming and said he would be here on the twenty-fourth. So you'd better be here, too."
He crossed his fingers. "Didn't I tell you you could count on it?"
Afterward, he considered what lay ahead. He had one more crucial piece of the plan to cement in place. With that taken care of, he would contact Nate Highsmith for final clearance, then set up the inevitable showdown. Put that way, it sounded naively simple, a pushover, a piece of cake. But a piece of cake could take on many different looks depending upon the color and shape of the icing. He had a disturbing feeling that this icing could well have a dark side to it, a bitter taste.
He wedged a chair against the doorknob. If anyone tried to get to him tonight, they'd not accomplish it quietly. No surprises. He placed the Smith & Wesson on the bedside table and got ready for bed.
Chapter 66
Editor Kang Han-kyo's desk at Koryo Ilbo remained as cluttered as it had on Burke's first visit several weeks before. But Kang, thick black hair combed neatly, shirt and tie looking right out of the box, appeared unharried. Burke knew the editor's job was one that could never be called "finished." There was always another big story in the wings, awaiting his judgement on how it should be played. The briefcase Burke carried contained, without doubt, as startling a piece of news as the editor had encountered in awhile.
"I appreciate your agreeing to see me this morning, Mr. Kang," Burke said. "It concerns something very disturbing that's going on in the government here. The proposition I have for you is not one I enjoy making. But when I give you the background, you'll understand the necessity for it."
Kang's eyes narrowed behind the large spectacles. "That certainly sounds ominous, Mr. Hill. Might it have something to do with President Kwak's surprising decision to switch the emphasis in language education from English to Japanese?"
"Not directly. That's still a considerable enigma from my standpoint."
"Yes, there are many opinions. All the way to traitorous accusations that the president is in some way planning to deliver us over to another Japanese occupation. I find that rather far-fetched."
"Well, I hope you won't find what I have to tell you too far-fetched, because I know it to be absolutely true. You are aware, of course, of the plan to test a new intermediate range missile on January first."
"We have questioned the need for such a weapon," Kang said firmly, "now that there appears to be no threat from the North."
"I'm happy to hear that, but I hate to tell you the rest of the story. They won't be just testing a new missile. They'll also test an atomic weapon."
Kang's brow rumpled and his eyes stared in disbelief. "You can't be serious?"
Burke told him briefly about Dr. Shin Man-ki and Operation Pok Su at the Reijeo Chuwangsan Explosives Plant.
"I knew about the monks from Pulguksa protesting Dr. Shin's disappearance," said Kang. "The government, of course, denied any knowledge of it. But this Pok Su business is shocking."
"I agree," Burke said. "We got onto it through following up a request for information from a client, the Coalition for Nuclear Freedom. It was also tied in with a murder conspiracy being investigated by Captain Yun Yu-sop of the Seoul police. He had requested some assistance from me, since I once served as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
Kang appeared impressed. "Captain Yun Yu-sop? That name sounds vaguely familiar."
"He was killed a couple of weeks ago in Pyongyang. A hit-and-run accident while he was there with the delegation for the North-South talks."
"Yes, I remember. The Ministry of Culture and Information asked us to play the story down. They were afraid it might inflame passions against the North."