"Not to my knowledge."
"Captain, you have made my day," said Burke.
The following morning, the Worldwide staff gathered in Jerry's office to get their marching orders. Travis Tolliver was told to start making media contacts among the city's newspapers. Since he did not speak the language, he would have to locate English-speaking newsmen to work through. He was also advised to be on the lookout for a Korean journalist they might hire to work with him. Jerry considered it absolutely essential that they have a local news pro to avoid any gaffes with the language or local customs. He told Travis there was no need for him to wait around while the others got their instructions.
With Tolliver out of the office, they were free to discuss the situation from the standpoint of both the PR task and what lay ahead for the Amber Group. Burke briefed them on Captain Yun's revelation regarding the Embassy fracas.
"You mean this Ko was really a plant?" asked Duane Elliston.
"That's certainly what it looks like," Burke said. "We need to find a way to check out his real status with the Ministry of Culture and Information."
"Hell, let's take the direct approach," Duane said. "I could go over there and have a talk with the gentleman. I can dream up an endless number of plausible reasons. Give me ten or fifteen minutes with him, and I'll tell you anything you want to know about his real background."
Burke gave him a pained look. What he proposed was a risk they didn't need to take. Just because Captain Yun had no knowledge of Ko being anything but a construction worker did not mean he couldn't have in some way qualified for a ministry job. It might wind up involving Worldwide Communications Consultants in an obvious effort to discredit the Korean government. He had promised Nate he would make every effort to get along with Duane on this operation, however, so he kept his objections low key. "Before we get too bold, let's see what we can come up with indirectly. Jerry, let's you and I pay a call on Editor Kang at Koryo Ilbo, see if we can convince him of the error of his ways."
"Maybe we could prompt his newspaper to look into the Ministry," Jerry said.
Brittany nodded. "Good idea."
Duane shook his head. "I doubt it. Newspaper people don't like to admit they goofed. You may rub him the wrong way."
"We'll take our chances," Burke said.
Jerry removed a note from a file and handed it to Brittany. "Here are the names of a couple of market research firms. I want you and Duane to check them out, pick one to work with on our survey. You have your questions already prepared, don't you?"
"Certainly do. We refined everything as best we could back in Washington. We may need to make a few minor changes, something based on the local people's knowledge of the market. But, basically, we're ready to go."
"Try to nail something down today, okay? Tell them we need it yesterday."
Duane glanced at his three colleagues. "Does that take care of the ACBK account?"
Burke nodded.
"Then let's talk about where we start on this amber operation."
Burke and Jerry had discussed it at length and had formulated a plan. Duane and Brittany would work to ferret out any signs that South Korea was working toward a nuclear capability. They were told to look for the possibility that help with sophisticated technology may have been sought from Israel. Burke explained about Korea Electric Power's Dr. Nam and suggested they call on him about making photos at the Taesong nuclear facility. The excuse would be to illustrate a brochure for Bartell Engineering. While there, they would attempt to determine if Dr. Nam had been involved in dealings with the Israelis.
"I'll contact Bartell's manager at the Taesong Plant," Duane said before they broke up. "He needs to be advised about the brochure."
"Yeah," Jerry said. "It wouldn't look too good for him to deny anything like that was in the works."
"I can call Dr. Nam's office for an appointment," Brittany said, closing her note pad.
Jerry smiled. "No offense, Brittany, but I'd better make the call for the appointment. This is Korea. It's still mostly a man's world. Particularly at the upper echelons. I think he would react better to a man's call than a woman's."
"You're the boss," she said.
Jerry called the Koryo Ilbo office and got an appointment with Editor Kang for eleven. It was a pleasant walk from their building, despite the swarm of determined Koreans who jostled and bumped and veered around them. Burke noted that Jerry had a good eye for the girls with the shorter skirts. Maybe he would find someone over here to put him in the marrying mood. It made him think of Lori and prompt a wish that he was back in Falls Church, or she over here. Phone calls were fine, but they were no substitute for a gentle kiss at the end of a hard day or the pleasure of waking to the smell of freshly shampooed hair lying on the pillow beside you.
At the newspaper building, they were met at the reception area by the editor's secretary, a matronly woman with a heavily-lined forehead and eyes that appeared almost closed. She escorted them back to his office. It was located at one end of a large newsroom, a sea of desks and computer terminals where reporters were busily chronicling the day's events. Listening to the noisy chatter of voices, the staccato ring of telephones and the drone of line printers, Burke felt fortunate he didn't have to work in such a hectic environment. When the door closed behind them in the editor's office, however, calmness prevailed.
Kang, short and bespectacled, stood behind a large desk covered with printouts of stories, page proofs, issues of other Seoul dailies. It was the organized clutter of a harried executive. He welcomed them with a tolerant smile.
"Good morning, gentlemen. Would you like tea or coffee?'
"Coffee would be fine," Burke said. Jerry agreed.
Kang held up two fingers and his secretary left. "Please sit down. Now that you have been here for a week, what do you think of Seoul?"
"I'm impressed," Burke said, striking an upbeat note. "It's quite a bit larger than I had realized. I'm a little intimidated by all the people."
Kang nodded. "We have no shortage of people. But, after all, it's the people who form the character of a city. Or a country. Have you had an opportunity to get much reaction from them?"
"Only the few we've come in direct contact with," Jerry said. "Everyone has been very nice to us."
The secretary came back in with cups of coffee, allowing the newsroom noise to pour through like a torrent from an open spillway. When she left and closed the door, the dam held.
"I'm happy you have been well received," said Kang, though his noncommital look made Burke wonder. "Am I to assume that this visit concerns my editorial of yesterday?"
Burke smiled. "I think that's a safe assumption." He pulled the translation of the editorial from his pocket and unfolded it. "I don't guess you'll be surprised to know that we strongly disagree with your assessment of the situation."
Kang's expression remained neutral. "You should note I took care to point out that the incident was unfortunate. But it did happen. As you will remember, I was there. We can't ignore it and the effects it is having."
"I agree," Burke said. "But the really unfortunate part of it is that the incident was not what it seemed. It was a fake. It was staged. For what reason, I can only guess."
"Staged? As with a play?"
"Right. A theatrical production. That's exactly what it was. Did you know that Mr. Ko, the so-called information officer from the Ministry of Culture and Information, was a Taekwondo expert? That his previous employment was as a construction worker?"
Kang frowned. With an elbow on the chair arm, he leaned his chin into the "V" formed by his thumb and forefinger. Dark eyes stared out above his glasses. "What are you implying, Mr. Hill?"