High Alert (The Project Book 14) Page 6

  "Yes."

  "You are alone? You can talk?"

  Haltman's voice was disguised by a program which masked his voice and gave it a vaguely Asian quality.

  "Yes."

  "I have another assignment for you."

  "I'm not going to help you."

  "Don't be foolish, General. Do I have to remind you what will happen if you refuse to do as I ask?"

  "It's not easy. You know everything is heavily secured. After the last assignment things have gotten more difficult. I may be under suspicion."

  "Suspicion is the least of your worries."

  "I can't do this. Not anymore. I didn't know how you were going to use what I gave you. You told me it was about parity, that you wanted to create a defensive countermeasure in case Black Dolphin was deployed against you. I know about the California. You didn't tell me you would use it against us."

  "You were paid well. If you believe what you're saying, you are more naïve than I thought. If it makes you feel any better, it was not our intention for this to happen."

  "No, it doesn't make me feel any better. I'm through. I'm not going to give you anything else."

  "So you don't care about the pictures? I'm sure General Samson would find them interesting. And of course, your wife and children. They would certainly enjoy them."

  There it was. General Samson was Sanford's boss, one of the Joint Chiefs. Sanford was his aide, which gave him access to high levels of secret material. The pictures the voice had mentioned showed him in explicit, naked embrace with a transvestite prostitute. One moment of weakness, and now he was paying for it. His career and his marriage would be over if the pictures came to light. And if anyone found out what he'd done, that would be the least of it.

  Sanford's heart pounded. He clenched the phone in his hand.

  "You said you wouldn't show them to anyone. You promised."

  The voice was soothing, the voice of a friend. "And I haven't, General. Nor will I, if you do one more favor for me. Then I will give you the negatives and you'll never hear from me again."

  "One more? That's all?"

  "That's right."

  "What do you want?"

  "I want you to obtain a copy of the war plan for China."

  "How do you know about that?"

  "Don't be ridiculous. Everyone knows there's a war plan for China. I want to know what's in it."

  "Are you out of your mind? I can't possibly copy that without being discovered."

  "I'm sure you'll find a way," the voice said. "Call when you have it. Don't take too long. Shall we say within a week?"

  "I can't..."

  "One week, or the pictures will be made public. Goodbye, General."

  Haltman broke the connection. Sanford set the phone down on his desk and put his head in his hands.

  The Pentagon's war plan for China was detailed and complex. It analyzed Chinese capabilities and troop strength, defensive positions and weaponry. It pinpointed specific targets and vulnerability. The plan provided detailed logistics for an American first strike, along with alternative scenarios. Troop movements, air support, naval support and more. In short, everything the Pentagon could think of would be in those documents. If the Chinese got hold of them, they'd gain a significant advantage in the event of war.

  What am I going to do? Sanford thought.

  He reached for a decanter half full of eighteen-year-old single malt and poured himself a stiff drink. His daughter was in her second year at Amherst. His son was captain of the local high school football team. He loved his children. Their lives would change forever if those pictures saw the light of day. His wife would be devastated. His life would be ruined.

  What am I going to do? he thought again.

  CHAPTER 10

  Elizabeth Harker opened her eyes. Everything was blurred. She blinked, blinked again. The ceiling overhead was white. She was lying down, her upper body partly raised in a bed. Her throat was dry.

  "Elizabeth. It's Stephanie. Can you hear me?"

  She turned her head toward the sound of Stephanie's voice and tried to speak. It came out as a rasping sound. Water. She needed water.

  "Thirsty…" She croaked out.

  Stephanie's face appeared, bending over her. She was holding a glass with a flexible straw in it. She placed the end of the straw between Elizabeth's lips.

  "Here. Go easy."

  Elizabeth took a sip. The water was cool nectar, soothing the burning in her throat. She took another sip.

  "Where…?"

  "Walter Reed," Stephanie said. "We were in an accident. You've been in a coma."

  "Accident?"

  "We were on our way to the hospital. Do you remember?"

  "No."

  Stephanie watched Elizabeth searching her memory.

  "I remember getting in the car." Her voice was quiet. "You were having contractions."

  "That's right."

  "I don't…remember anything after that."

  "It's all right, it will come back. Thank God you're okay."

  "The baby. What about the baby?"

  "The baby is fine. We named him Matthew, after Lucas' grandfather."

  "Lucas? Who is he?"

  Oh, oh, Stephanie thought.

  In Virginia, Nick was on the phone with Clarence Hood, talking about the assassination of the Chinese ambassador.

  "For once, the FBI is cooperating with us," Hood said. "They found a Korean connection to the assassin. Once they discovered that, they brought us into it. They're not up to speed on Korea."

  "It's not their turf," Nick said. "What did they find?"

  "Their forensics lab is good, it's one of the things they do really well. They found a laundry mark on what was left of the killer's clothing. That led them to a dry cleaner. From there they got an address. They found bomb materials, a passport and some pictures in his apartment. The assassin was a South Korean national named Chun Gok. He'd been here less than a month, on a tourist visa."

  "What was in the pictures?"

  "One showed Chun when he was younger with an older couple, probably his parents. The other showed him standing with a woman and two children in front of a temple somewhere in Korea."

  "Nothing else?"

  "No. We're working the Korean end while the Bureau tries to track down the materials he used to assemble the bomb. Everything is generic, the kind of stuff you can buy at Radio Shack. Something might turn up. There's no indication of where he got the explosive. Before you ask, it was C-4."

  "Where would he get C-4?" Nick asked.

  "Good question."

  "Can you send over everything you've got? I'll get Stephanie on it."

  "I was hoping you'd say that."

  "What do you think he was trying to accomplish by killing the ambassador?"

  "That's hard to say, but it will make for problems when Beijing finds out the assassin was a South Korean."

  "It could be political. Li was an advocate for better relations between China and the U.S."

  "That's possible. Some powerful people don't want that to happen. He was perfect for his position. Li was one of the few voices for reform that President Zhang listened to. One of his political enemies could have staged this, but I doubt it."

  "There's something we're not seeing," Nick said. "You don't make a public show of knocking off an important government official because you don't like him. There are easier ways. So, who benefits? What happens with Li out of the way that wouldn't happen otherwise?"

  "Too bad we don't have that dog," Hood said.

  "What dog?"

  "You mentioned it, once. The one that didn't bark," Hood said. "In the Sherlock Holmes story. It was the clue that solved the mystery."

  "There may not be a dog, but there has to be a reason. Once we know what it is, we'll have the clue we need."

  "I'll send everything over by courier. You'll have it within the hour."

  "Thanks."

  The phone rang as soon as Nick put it down.

  "Yes.
"

  "Nick, it's Steph. Elizabeth is awake."

  "That's great news. How's she doing?"

  "Good, but there's a problem. She has some memory loss. Some of it is short-term, but she didn't remember who Lucas was. I don't know what else she may have forgotten."

  "It's not unusual after getting hit in the head like that," Nick said. "Have you talked with her doctor?"

  "Not yet. He's in there with her now. I'm waiting for him to get finished."

  "Let me know as soon as you have more information. Find out if she can have visitors. Hood is going to want to know. I'll call him."

  "She looked pretty rough," Stephanie said. "I don't think she's going to be back anytime soon."

  "We got through it once before, Steph. She just needs a little time to recover."

  "Sure," Steph said. "A little time."

  "I just talked with Hood. They tracked down the bomber who blew up Li's car. I want to see what you can turn up on him."

  "I've got something new downstairs to show you," Steph said. "This is a good opportunity to demonstrate it."

  "Get back as soon as you can. It may be nothing, but my gut tells me this could turn into a can of worms. The sooner we put a lid on it, the better."

  "The doctor just came out of Elizabeth's room," Steph said. "I'll leave as soon as I've talked to him."

  Nick set the phone down.

  Harker's memory is screwed up. Better get used to sitting at this desk.

  The thought gave him no joy.

  CHAPTER 11

  Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office while Nick was reviewing the President's daily intelligence brief.

  "I spoke with Elizabeth's doctor," she said. "Her memory is coming back and he thinks she'll be fine. She may never remember the crash itself, but everything else should come back. Her injuries are healing but she's going to hurt for a while. He said that with luck, she'll be back soon."

  "An optimist," Nick said. "I hope he's right."

  He made a note on the printed pages of the brief and set it aside.

  "You said you had something to show me."

  "Come downstairs."

  Nick followed Stephanie down the spiral staircase to the lower level. They walked past the ops center and the pool. Stephanie paused at the hermetically sealed glass doors leading into the computer room and placed her palm over a biometric scanner. The doors slid open with a quiet hiss.

  "Follow me," Steph said.

  She led Nick to a console in front of one of the Cray computers.

  "Take a seat."

  She sat down next to him and entered a sequence on her keyboard.

  "This is what I wanted to show you. This is Freddie."

  "A computer? You know, Steph, I've seen this before."

  "Yes, but Freddie hasn't seen you. Say hello, Freddie. This is Nick."

  A large camera lens over the console shifted position. Nick's face appeared on one of the monitors.

  Hello, Nick.

  The voice was eerie, almost human.

  "Holy shit," Nick said. "It talks?"

  "Not it, Nick, he. He talks. Don't hurt Freddie's feelings."

  Nick looked at her, at a loss for words.

  "Go on, Nick, talk to him."

  "Uh, okay. Hello, Freddie."

  I am happy to meet you, Nick. I have a lot of information about you in my database. I would shake hands with you but I don't have any. That is a joke.

  Nick looked at Stephanie. "A computer with a sense of humor?"

  "And a lot more," Stephanie said. "Freddie is the first of his kind. He is a true artificial intelligence, capable of learning at a very high rate of speed."

  "Artificial intelligence? It… he thinks?"

  "Yes. We can ask a question or seek information and Freddie's abilities will add a different perspective to the search. Think of him as a new member of the team, an independent mind that brings new abilities for analyzing and gathering intelligence."

  "So I can ask him about the man who killed Li and he'll respond?"

  "That's right. If the assassin is in any database that can be accessed by Freddie, he'll bring up the information."

  "We could do that before."

  "What's different is that Freddie will independently analyze the information and offer an interpretation to go with the facts."

  "And you think this will be more effective."

  "As I said, think of him as a member of the team. Another voice, another take on the situation. Go ahead, ask him about the assassination."

  "This is weird," Nick said.

  "You'll get used to it," Stephanie said. "Come on, what have you got to lose? Just look at the camera. Freddie also interprets facial expression and can respond accordingly. Talk to him as you would talk to me or Lamont or one of the others."

  "Okay." Nick looked at the camera lens. "Freddie, are you aware of the assassination of the Chinese ambassador?"

  One thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven Chinese ambassadors have been assassinated over the last two thousand years. Which one are you referring to?

  "You have to be specific in your questions," Stephanie said. "Later, as his circuitry evolves, it will be easier. For now, give him specific particulars and he'll do the rest."

  "I'm talking about ambassador Li," Nick said. "He was the current ambassador from the People's Republic. He was killed by a bomb earlier this week as he was about to meet with President Rice."

  I am aware of the incident.

  "The assassin was named Chun Gok. He entered the country about a month ago on a tourist visa from South Korea. I need to know more about him. What can you tell me?"

  Working.

  Nick started to ask Stephanie a question. "How long…"

  Chun Gok, fifty-three years old. Resident of Pyongyang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

  "Wait a second. His passport says he's from Seoul, in the South."

  I have compared the photograph on his passport with all pictures of male Korean nationals found in world databases. Chun Gok held the rank of major in North Korea's Security Service. His photograph appears in a group picture taken at service headquarters two years ago during a visit by Chairman Yun.

  "Damn it. This changes everything," Nick said.

  Please explain damn it.

  "I'll explain later, Freddie," Stephanie said. "Right now we need to focus on the assassination."

  As you wish, Stephanie. May I offer an opinion?

  Stephanie and Nick looked at each other.

  "We would be pleased to hear what you have to say, Freddie."

  If a North Korean security operative killed an important Chinese official on orders from Pyongyang, that would indicate a fundamental shift in the thinking of North Korea's leader toward what has been an important ally. This is not logical. It is my conclusion that things are not what they appear to be.

  "Not as they appear to be?"

  It is not logical. North Korea can not long survive as a viable society without the essential aid and support China provides. Therefore, the assassination is not what it appears to be.

  "You are assuming that North Korea's leader is logical," Nick said. "All indications are that he is anything but."

  Chairman Yun is highly unstable but he knows that his personal survival as leader of North Korea requires keeping his army supplied and fed and his people under control. This is not possible without China's assistance. Therefore, Yun would not sanction an illogical act that would threaten that assistance. When it becomes known that a member of Yun's security services murdered the ambassador, China is likely to retaliate by limiting that assistance. Therefore, assassinating the ambassador is not logical and the assassination is not what it appears to be.

  "If it's not what it appears to be, what is it?" Stephanie said.

  I do not have enough information to make a definitive interpretation.

  "Make a guess," Nick said. "We won't hold you to it."

  By guess, do you mean make an assumption?

&n
bsp; "Picky, isn't he?" Nick said to Stephanie. "Yes, an assumption."

  An unknown party is manipulating events to produce tension on the Korean Peninsula. It is possibly related to the sinking of the USS California. Would you like my analysis?

  Nick was about to say something when Stephanie interrupted.

  "Freddie, that would be wonderful but it would be best to print it out so that we can study it later. Nick and I have to discuss what you've just told us."

  May I listen to your discussion?

  "We're going to go upstairs to talk about it. When we're done, I'll brief you on what we decide."

  You said to Nick that he should treat me as part of the team. Shouldn't I be able to listen?

  Stephanie turned to Nick.

  "What do you think? It's easy enough for Freddie to monitor any part of the building. He'll use the existing security systems to observe and listen. It could be useful for his analysis to hear how we think about it."

  "This is all a little much on short notice," Nick said. He faced the camera lens. "Give me some time to think about it, Freddie. I'm not opposed to your listening in but I need to consider how best to integrate you into the team. For now I would prefer that you do not follow our discussions."

  Of course, Nick. You are the acting director.

  Nick wasn't sure, but he thought he detected a note of disappointment in the computer voice. But that wasn't possible, was it?

  CHAPTER 12

  Yun Chul-Moo, Chairman of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea and Supreme Leader of the Korean people, watched as Admiral Park Hwan was frog marched to a thick wooden post set deep into the frozen earth. Two enlisted men tied the Admiral to the post. His shoulder boards and decorations had been ripped from his uniform.

  Yun was enraged by the humiliation he'd suffered at the hands of the Chinese and the Americans. Admiral Park had been responsible for the defense of Wonsan. Someone had to pay for sinking the American spy submarine. The fact that Park was following orders was irrelevant.

  A half-dozen high-ranking officers holding binoculars stood behind Yun as witnesses. Admiral Park was about to become an object lesson in what happened when you angered the Supreme Leader. The post where Park awaited his fate was fifty meters away, far enough for safety but not so far that it was difficult to see him. A two man gun crew stood at attention by an SPG-9 recoilless rifle mounted on a tripod.