Norris scanned a document one of his aides had slid to him regarding the current conflict. It replaced the one he’d been reading from his campaign manager that showed Norris headed for an easy re-election. His popularity had risen to Ronald Reagan levels, almost assuring him a similar reverential position in American history. But the preliminary polling showed that entering into a conflict with North Korea would put that smooth route to re-election in jeopardy.
Once the meeting began, the defense secretary explained that the Navy jets scrambled to show North Korea the U.S. military was taking their threats seriously had served their purpose. For the twenty-four hours following the initial altercation, Kim Yong-ju had gone silent. He hadn’t pumped out any propaganda videos or thumped his chest on social media. But in the past two hours, things had changed quickly.
Several North Korean nuclear subs were being moved around to the port in Sonbong, which worried the Pentagon—and Norris, too.
“Why are we even here, sir?” General Miller asked. “I think it’s evident to all of us at the table that we need to send another message, this time making it even clearer that we will not tolerate this foolishness from Kim Yong-ju.”
Secretary Wheeler cocked her head to one side and scowled. “Not evident to everyone at the table.”
Norris closed his eyes, wishing he was anywhere but the situation room, mediating a disagreement between his chief diplomat and the war-thirsty vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Can we please not do this today?” Norris said, smacking his hands on the table. “I think we should all act like the adults that we are. If we can’t have an intelligent discussion about the pros and cons of launching an attack on North Korea to stop this nonsense, I wonder what we’re doing here too.”
“Sir, did you read my proposal?” Wheeler asked. “I think it outlines some important ideas that we can act upon to squelch this threat.”
“I read it,” Miller began, “and I don’t think—”
Norris held up his hand. “That’s enough, General. We all know how you feel. And we all know how Secretary Wheeler feels. What I want to know is how the rest of you feel—and if you think those feelings match up with the gravity of the situation we’re facing. We’re talking about the possibility of a conflict that will require great sacrifice from the American people, including the loss of life. Is this something people are willing to get behind to snuff out Kim Yong-ju and his regime? Will it be worth it to assist getting someone in power who can actually do something to lift that nation out of abject poverty and totalitarian rule?”
“That’s not our job, sir,” Admiral Brent Gaston said. “We spread democracy by modeling it, not by forcing it upon other nations.”
“Agreed,” Norris said. “But that ultimately doesn’t change the situation we’re facing here. We don’t engage North Korea to help install a democratic government, but we certainly shouldn’t ignore an opportunity to do so through a conflict.”
“Is this what you want your legacy to be, sir?” Miller asked. “Because I think that’d be a great one.”
“An even better one would be to bring peace through negotiations,” Wheeler chimed in.
“Okay, enough,” Norris said. “I can see this isn’t headed anywhere. Let me mull this over before announcing my decision to this cabinet. And if you have any Hail Marys, say them now because we need all the help we can get.”
Norris didn’t move as the room emptied out. He spread out the documents in front of them, his eyes bouncing from one to the other as he considered his next move. A peaceful resolution was ideal, but it was also unlikely given Kim Yong-ju’s penchant for abruptly leaving summits after everyone believed significant progress was being made.
The more Norris looked at the poll numbers, the more he was inclined not to engage the North Koreans. But would that decision be based off his desire to achieve peace by other means or his White House ambitions? He couldn’t be sure—and his inability to discern the difference ate at him.
TWO HOURS AFTER the meeting, no one on the Joint Chiefs of Staff had heard from the president. And waiting longer put the U.S. in a defensive position instead an offensive one.
And Admiral Brent Gaston wasn’t interested in waiting.
He picked up a phone and called the captain in charge of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan patrolling in the Pacific along with the U.S.S. Roosevelt.
“It’s time,” Gaston said. “Move to Phase One.”
CHAPTER 28
Khasan, Russia
HAWK EYED TYSON AS he pulled off the road less than two kilometers from the border of North Korea. Just ahead of them, a sign notified them that they were approaching the Most Druzhby, or the Friendship Bridge, which spanned the Tumen River separating North Korea and Russia.
“I need to make sure I have all my papers in order,” Tyson said.
“Are you sure you have to do this?” Hawk asked.
“If I don’t, they’ll just send someone else who will.”
“But think about it, T-Bone. You don’t really know what’s inside there, but I can tell you that the drumbeats of war are creating quite the rhythm these days. And if the Russians are trying to start a war by proxy, giving the North Koreans nuclear weapons, you can’t guarantee that you’re keeping your family safe by doing what you’re doing.”
“What am I supposed to do? I’m out of options.”
“Work with me here. Maybe we can get in there and sabotage this mission for both the North Koreans and the Russians.”
“That’s a suicide mission, and you know it. And I have a feeling that those urges you had to rush into danger have subsided since you got married and had a kid, right?”
Hawk sighed. “I have more people to think about these days than just myself. But my ultimate goal in doing this job is to help others, not assuage my insatiable desire to get another adrenaline fix. As long as I keep things in perspective, I’ll always do the right thing.”
“Then maybe you can help me out here,” Tyson said, “because I don’t know what to do. If I go home, they’ll find me and either kill me or harm my family. If I don’t do this, the Russians will kill me and still help the North Koreans launch a nuclear war.”
“We still have a chance to do something if you’re willing,” Hawk said. “You just need to understand that the odds would be very low.”
Tyson chuckled. “You’ve never been one to care about the odds.”
“And look where it’s gotten me? I’m sitting on the border of Russia and North Korea with no plan to get out and no way to warn my family that there’s danger crouching at the door.”
“If you’re trying to convince me to join you on one of your damned fool missions, you’re failing miserably.”
“I had to try,” Hawk said.
“Look, I don’t know how this is going to go,” Tyson said. “According to my assignment, I have to take this package to the North Korean military harbor in Sonbong, which is another half-hour from here.”
“You honestly think they’re going to let you in with me riding shotgun?”
Tyson shook his head. “Not a chance in hell. But they know I’m coming, so why don’t you hide in the back and we’ll hope everything works out. Once we get to Sonbong, you do what you feel needs to be done, if the opportunity arises.”
“I can live with that,” Hawk said.
“And if you can’t find a way out of here, you’ll be accompanying me back to Yakutsk.”