"So we have about four weeks before the lid blows," the President said, letting his intense blue eyes shift from one man to the other. Stretched to his full height, he was an imposing figure. "Would anyone care to speculate on just what President Kwak has in mind?"
"I've been talking to the people over at State," said General Thatcher. "They still aren't convinced Kwak is calling the shots. Prime Minister Hong appears to be accumulating more power. Then there's Colonel Han Sun-shin of the NSP."
The President gave the robust Army veteran with the short, sandy hair a skeptical grin. "I wonder if the Koreans think somebody besides me is calling the shots here, Henry?"
"Uh… no… no, sir," the General stammered. "I mean—"
"Never mind. What's your opinion, Kingsley?"
"I'm afraid the Agency takes the opposite view, Mr. President. We believe Kwak is fully in charge. According to our information, he's had disagreements with both Hong and Han, and the president's views have prevailed. But as for what he plans to do with nuclear weapons, God only knows."
The President turned his gaze to Nate Highsmith. "Do you have any direct channels to the Almighty, Mr. Highsmith?"
Nate had always admired the President's ability to keep his head in a crisis, to dampen the gloom with a little levity. "Unfortunately, He doesn't confide in me, sir," Nate said with a smile. "However, I'll go along with Kingsley Marshall. I'm inclined to think that Mr. Kwak is being driven to some degree by his pride. He wants to elevate himself to equality with you, and with the leaders of Great Britain, France, China and Russia. He sees the South Korean economy as rivaling all of us, and the next step after economic parity is military. That requires nuclear weapons. It would definitely put him in the big leagues."
The President nodded. "So you don't think he's posing an overt threat, but wants to let everybody know he has the power, should he choose to use it?"
"In a nutshell."
"If that's the case," said Thatcher in a growling voice that had kept soldiers at bay for a quarter of a century, "let's cool him, cut him back to size."
"And how would you do that, Henry?"
"Expose his great clandestine scheme to the world. While he's still not ready, we go to the Security Council and demand immediate sanctions unless he stops forthwith. It might necessitate your calling a lot of the leaders, like was done in the Iraqi situation."
"I see," said the President, frowning, "and in the process throw away forty-plus years of good relations, not to mention billions of taxpayer dollars shelled out in aid. Ruin any chance of exerting any persuasive power on the Korean peninsula for years to come. I'm afraid what you suggest would make the whole country lose face. We need to concentrate on the ringleaders. And remember, there's one other player in this game nobody's mentioned, Japan."
That had been the President's real worry from the start. He had fought to keep the trade doors open to Japan, believing our failure to understand the Japanese viewpoint was propelling America on a collision course with her rapidly cooling ally and former enemy. An increasingly protectionist Congress was bent on nailing the door shut. The Japanese mood was surly as the more radical elements demanded severing the security treaty with the U.S. and launching a rearmament program to provide their own defense. As every military man knew, the shift from defense to offense could be made in short order. What had it taken in the Persian Gulf, less than three months?
"You're thinking of Korea as a foil to any Japanese ambitions?" Marshall asked, inquisitively cocking his head to one side.
"Right. We need to salvage some kind of decent relations there. China's still a question mark. We lose any more clout over there and we can kiss off the Pacific Rim as an area of American influence. I don't relish going down in history as the President who pulled America out of the Far East."
Nate shifted uncomfortably in his chair, leaning his hands on his knees. He'd have preferred to stand, as well, but that would have looked like an effort to usurp the President's position. "What if we let President Kwak know we have the evidence on him and are prepared to go public if he doesn't back off?"
"What if he calls our bluff?" General Thatcher objected.
The President held up a hand. "Wait. I like that." He looked at Nate. "If we could produce your dissident physicist, quietly tell Kwak we were prepared to parade him before the Security Council, it just might work. After they explode a bomb, the genie's out of the bottle. But right now, they would be under considerable pressure to hold up. Any Security Council sanctions would be very detrimental to their economic plans. I don't believe he'd want to take the risk."
"We stop the bomb but they don't lose face," said Kingsley Marshall.
The President nodded. "Exactly. Can you get Dr. Shin out of the country?"
Nate frowned thoughtfully. "It might be a problem getting him aboard an airliner. The government is working hard to track him down."
"We could arrange a submarine pickup in the Sea of Japan," Marshall suggested. "Nate has a man over there who recently went through the Agency's training program. He could handle that end of it."
The President turned to his National Security Advisor. "Any problems, Henry?"
"No, sir. I'll get with the Pentagon immediately. If we have a suitable boat in the area, we can set it up for sometime in the next few days."
Chapter 43
Burke groggily fumbled around in the dark for the telephone. He finally got it off the hook on the third or fourth ring. He wasn't sure which.
"Hello," he said wearily, reaching his other hand out to switch on a table lamp. He saw by the clock it was just after 1:30. He had only been asleep a couple of hours.
"Burke?" a faraway-sounding voice said.
"Yeah. Who is this?"
"Sorry to rouse you this time of night. I know it's early there."
"Nate?"
"Right. This is a 'Sierra' call. I'll wait for you."
Burke quickly got everything set up and pressed the Activate button. "Okay, Nate. What's up?"
Highsmith briefed him quickly on the meeting in the Oval Office. He relayed what the President wanted and what Kingsley Marshall had said about using Duane Elliston to set up the operation.
Burke was happy the President had approved getting Dr. Shin out of Korea, but he took the final point glumly. "In other words, I don't have any choice in the matter."
"That's affirmative," said Nate Highsmith. "Duane has been trained in this sort of thing. He knows the procedures. The reason I called right away was so you could get him down to that temple as soon as possible. He needs to arrange to move Dr. Shin to a safe spot along the coast. We'll make the rendezvous around Pyonghae. That's due east of the temple."
"Okay. I'll get Duane on the road at daylight. Jerry can call Moon Chwa at Pulguksa and alert him to what's going on. I'll be in touch as soon as Duane makes contact and reports back to us."
Burke sat on the side of the bed for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts before calling Duane's room. Maybe he was being too hard on the guy. He did possess a sharp mind, and he'd had the training for the job. It would be a big help if he spoke Korean, but Duane was never hesitant about bluffing his way through any situation. He'd been craving action. Well, he was about to get his chance.