Brink of Chaos Read online

  THREE

  Ethan glanced around the room, which was occupied by several special-ops professionals. The place was windowless with thick sound-deadening walls, located deep within the tactical operations sector of the South Korean Army headquarters. It was impervious to outside surveillance. The participants around the conference table included a Middle Eastern – looking couple with International Red Cross ID tags hanging from their necks. The man, known as Gavi, was affable and had an easy smile, shaved head, and a muscular neck and torso. His partner, Rivka, was a slender woman with dark, intense eyes, who wore a short-sleeved shirt that revealed tight biceps. Ethan figured out they were more than humanitarian-aid workers.

  The head honcho, the implacable Brigadier General Liu, sat at the head of the table and welcomed the attendees, identifying them by name, and called the meeting to order. Next to him was Lieutenant Colonel Quan, who had met them at the car earlier, and to his right was Major Chung, who would lead the briefing. The only other person was a young Asian man in blue jeans named Yung Tao.

  Chung began with an intriguing question. “How many people, outside this bunker, even remember Captain Jimmy Louder of the United States Air Force?”

  In an instant, the pieces fell into place for Ethan. As a former pilot, he knew the story well. Three years earlier, Louder had been flying a Navy Prowler along the DMZ between South and North Korea. Louder’s jet was shot down in a skirmish with a sortie from the North. It rapidly escalated into a military crisis with the United States. No one could have foreseen the cyclone of geopolitical events that followed. A misinterpreted message was bulleted from Pyongyang to a North Korean nuke-armed ship on maneuvers in the Atlantic. That scrambled digital telex to the nuclear destroyer caused it to launch a retaliatory strike against America. The two nukes launched from that ship were aimed at New York City but were diverted when the Pentagon chain-of-command ordered the use of Joshua’s brilliantly designed RTS anti-missile system. The warheads turned back like twin boomerangs and returned to the North Korean ship that had launched them, liquidating the ship and its captain, the father of the gun-toting Han Suk Yong.

  Ethan had always wondered why President Tulrude had never publicly addressed the outrage of North Korea’s keeping Captain Louder hostage — she had seemingly forgotten about his plight — but clearly the South Koreans hadn’t. Nor had Joshua. Ethan had even heard rumors from his flier buddies that the Department of Defense was, under the radar of course, supporting some kind of effort to get Louder out. It now looked like it was coming together.

  Chung continued, “Those of us in the South Korean military remember Captain Louder, who provided courageous service by monitoring the border with our enemies to the North. We do not forget his bravery. And neither do you, Colonel Jordan. Thank you for playing your part.”

  Joshua nodded and said, “Captain Louder’s a good man. I’m glad we’re going to get him a ‘furlough’ from that North Korean prison.”

  A glimmer of a smile broke over the face of Brigadier General Liu.

  Ethan’s heart rate jumped. Whatever this is, I want in, he thought.

  “We have a double agent inside the North Korean prison,” Chung continued, “and he has processed the request by the International Red Cross to inspect the conditions of Captain Louder’s confinement. And at the same time our source in the prison slipped a message to Louder, suggesting that he ask for a personal visit from Colonel Jordan. It was thought that the North Koreans would jump at the chance to get Joshua Jordan, their public enemy number one, within their reach and would do anything to accomplish that, including allowing the International Red Cross to gain access to their prison. And of course, we were right. But our intelligence also indicates that they won’t arrest Colonel Jordan until he has made face-to-face contact with Captain Louder. The North Koreans plan to have guards posted in the meeting room at first, but then a short time later they will be called out of the room. The North Koreans have bugged the room and are hoping that Colonel Jordan or Captain Louder might get sloppy when they think they’re alone and reveal some useful information before Jordan is taken into custody. But our plan should short-circuit all of that. Literally. It will happen quickly, within just a few minutes of Colonel Jordan and our ‘Red Cross’ workers entering the room.”

  Everything was clear to Ethan now. The mission needed an entry to the communist north and then into the prison where Louder was being held — and Joshua was their ticket in. It didn’t take much imagination for Ethan to guess what the North Koreans had planned for Joshua once they had him within their borders. He began to raise his finger to ask a couple of pointed questions about Joshua’s safety, but Joshua gave him a disapproving shake of the head. Ethan didn’t like it, but he knew how to take orders — mostly. And Joshua was the boss. So Ethan complied and put his hand back down as Chung explained the plan.

  “Gavi and Rivka will play the part of International Red Cross workers and will escort Colonel Jordan to the security facility where they are holding Captain Louder. There, the prisoner meeting will take place. Afterward, the three of them — Gavi, Rivka, and Colonel Jordan — will exit the building.”

  Ethan wasn’t going to stay quiet. He didn’t know why Joshua had volunteered for this mission, though knowing his boss the way he did, he wasn’t surprised. Ethan whispered his concerns to Joshua. “You’re a hated guy up in the north. Case in point — they tried to kill you today at the church. Once you’re inside North Korea, they’ll never let you go.”

  Joshua quietly replied, “They won’t need to.” Then he motioned for Ethan to pay attention to the rest of the briefing. Chung described the operation. He finished by saying, “If the operation is successful, then Captain Louder will be walking out with our two friends posing as Red Cross workers and Colonel Jordan.”

  Gavi had a question. “What about the timing of the shut-down of the security grid?”

  “Satellite telemetry will direct the overcharging of the system. The timing will be accurate within a tenth of a second — occurring when you are five minutes into the meeting with Captain Louder. We should be able to override their software and shut down their security codes, their door lock-downs, and their information systems, and then insert our own command codes.”

  “And the backup software?” Rivka asked.

  “That’s where Yung Tao comes in,” Major Chung said and nodded to the young man in blue jeans, who picked up the explanation from there.

  “The North Koreans have a secondary software backup, of course, which is engaged instantly when there is a power loss. We will input our data and codes, which I can manipulate at will. I know all their algorithms and the codes for changing the data in that backup program.” Yung Tao flashed a grin. “My software company in North Korea installed their systems.” Then he added, “Obviously, by this time tomorrow, my company’s small staff will have relocated to new offices outside North Korea.”

  When the briefing was over, Ethan and Joshua were the only ones who remained in the room. Ethan cornered his boss. “I’m not questioning your judgment, but why didn’t you bring me into the loop earlier?”

  “I wasn’t sure this was a definite go until we arrived in Seoul.”

  “And those two Red Cross workers — are they for real?”

  “If you mean, are they really members of the International Red Cross … the answer is yes. If you mean, does the Red Cross know that Gavi and Rivka are also highly trained agents of an intelligence agency, the answer is no. This time the North is letting them inside — but only because I’m accompanying them.”

  “Who else do Gavi and Rivka work for?” Ethan asked. Then he answered his own question. “I’m betting the Israeli Mossad.” Yes, Ethan thought, that fits. Israel’s commandos handled most of the difficult foreign intelligence and national security work in protecting Israel. Then he wondered out loud to Joshua, “And my role?”

  Joshua patted him on the shoulder. “To stay here in Seoul. You need to monitor this from headquarters.”

  “You just pulled the rug out from under me,” Ethan complained. “Come on, I was Air Force too, Josh. Trained in combat. Survival skills. The whole nine yards. I’ve got a top-secret security clearance with the United States government. I can be useful somehow …”

  “You will be,” Joshua said. “Back here in Seoul. This is my deal, my risk. For a long time I’ve felt a personal connection to Jimmy Louder. He and I were swept into the same tidal wave together — at opposite ends maybe — Louder being shot down over North Korea, the event that sparked the launching of those North Korean nukes in the first place — and my being back in New York as a defense contractor, working with the Pentagon to stop those missiles. As a pilot I came close to crashing behind enemy lines myself. I would have liked to know there were guys out there willing to come after me. Anyway, I made up my mind if I ever got the chance to help Louder, I would do it. Then, several months after he was shot down, I happened to be at an Air Force reception in Washington, and Louder’s wife was there. I told her the same thing — to her face, Ethan. I never really thought I’d have the chance to make good on that promise. So there it is.”

  Then Ethan caught a look on Joshua’s face — but not one that expressed bravery or loyalty or even the keeping of a sacred promise. It had to do with something else. After a moment Joshua explained. “And then there’s Abigail. She doesn’t know about this, and obviously neither do Cal or Deb. To my knowledge no one back in the U.S. is aware of the plan, except for a few people in the Pentagon. If things go down bad, you have to be the one —”

  “The one?”

  “To explain it to Abby. You’re the only one who could. She’s the love of my life. I’ve always felt she got the short end of the stick when she married me. The least I can do is to
make sure she’s told the truth. And considering my history with the current president, you can bet that Jessica Tulrude and those in her administration wouldn’t care if Abigail ever found out. After all, this whole mission is off the Pentagon’s official ledger. The Defense Department’s support is strictly backdoor. It’s a matter of principle with the Pentagon that we get one of their fliers out of a North Korean prison camp.”

  “Let me make sure I understand,” Ethan said bitterly. “I’m staying here in case I have to be one of those messengers that no wife wants to meet … knocking on her front door one day. So I can tell her how you died … and why? That’s why I’m staying behind?”

  “Not a happy thought. But yes, that’s the tough duty you have. And I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.” Joshua broke into a grin that reflected an air of confidence, but still with a weighty look in his eyes. “On the other hand, I’m trusting God in this, Ethan. Let’s leave the outcome to Him.”

  There it was again — the familiar angle that Ethan couldn’t argue with. Ethan had chosen a different path from his mentor when it came to religion, and he was okay with that. Still, Ethan had to admit to himself privately that he was curious about the change in Joshua. When Ethan fell quickly for Deborah, Joshua’s daughter — too quickly, as it turned out — he soon learned that the “God-stuff” was huge in her life as well. And the same with her mother and her brother. Of the whole family, Joshua had been the last holdout — until the hostage situation in Iran nearly cost him his life. Since then he seemed preoccupied with idea of the second coming of Christ, even more, it seemed, than with his anti-missile defense system.

  As Ethan broke out of his thoughts, he eyed Joshua and noticed that his boss had tapped his wrist Allfone and pulled up a small image of Abigail on the screen. After gazing at it, he waved his finger over the screen and the image disappeared.

  Ethan was struck by two thoughts, both of which hit him like a punch to the chest. He knew, once again, how Joshua was willfully exposing himself to high-stakes danger for the sake of another person. But there was something else. When Ethan saw Joshua looking at the image of his wife, that impressed him even more — how much Joshua was about to lose, what he would be leaving behind — if the mission failed.

  FOUR

  Manhattan

  Abigail Jordan strolled into the den of the high-rise penthouse. Several of her bar-association certificates hung on the wall, including her admission to practice before the Supreme Court and her black-framed law degree. She walked up to Cal, her twenty-year-old son, seated at the desk with his laptop, and she looked over his shoulder. He was tapping furiously on the keyboard. Then he stopped. And waited.

  Abigail knew Cal had been trying to contact Joshua.

  “Okay,” Cal said with his fingers still on the keyboard. “It’ll take a couple more minutes to finish the encryption to get an email contact with Dad.”

  Using the complicated security-enabled email procedure to communicate with Joshua while he was exiled overseas had become a regular routine for the Jordan household. Ever since Joshua had found himself facing trumped-up charges brought by the Department of Justice, Abigail had been counseling her husband to take advantage of the asylum that had been provided to him by Israel — at least until Abigail could prove his innocence and guarantee him a fair trial. But given the energy put into the case by the administration of President Tulrude, and the political corruption that Abigail believed was at the bottom of it all, she knew that would be a Herculean task.

  The charges accused Joshua of treason, painting him as a domestic terrorist who had used his own defense-contracting firm and the Roundtable group to infiltrate the Department of Defense and manipulate America’s national-security apparatus so it would conform to his own political agenda. Abigail considered the allegations an absurd insult. Her husband was a decorated hero — yet the Tulrude administration and its attorney general had concocted a wild theory that through Josh’s leadership of the Roundtable, he was attempting to create his own “shadow government,” using his influence and connections to subvert American domestic and foreign policy. There was no greater patriot than her husband. Painting him as a revolutionary willing to use violence to oppose the White House policies was an atrocity. It was the lowest kind of “dirty tricks” that the Tulrude administration and Attorney General Cory Hamburg could have used. Abigail believed that the criminal case against Joshua was the only way to shut him up, to stop his work in exposing the dangerous direction that President Tulrude had taken the country.

  For the last two years, the case had been hanging in limbo in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while Joshua remained in Israel, beyond the court’s jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Abigail and her husband’s lawyers reviewed the evidence that the Department of Justice had been ordered to disclose during discovery. It all boiled down to one witness: the government’s case hinged on the testimony of a lawyer by the name of Allen Fulsin. The attorney had told the federal authorities that he had been interviewed by a member of the Roundtable, Fort Rice, a retired judge, about joining the Roundtable. That much was true, as far as it went.

  But it didn’t end there. Fulsin, who was later rejected for entrance to the group, went on to tell the DOJ that according to Rice, Joshua had repeatedly declared his Roundtable group existed for the purpose of “revolution.” That also was true, though only technically. Fulsin had cleverly parsed Joshua’s actual words, which in the full context were much different: Joshua had stated to the members of the Roundtable that they were in the “business of revolution — a moral and political revolution in America — from the top down, starting with the federal government and the White House.” Clearly, Joshua had been talking about lawful means to turn around the wretched direction that Washington had taken over the years.

  But Fulsin’s other statements to the feds were pure fantasy. He recited a raft of supposed quotes from Joshua, calling for an armed militia to take down the government, allegedly declaring that the Pentagon and the national security apparatus needed to be “interdicted.” When Abigail read Fulsin’s bogus story the first time, she screamed — right in the middle of the conference room at the Department of Justice — “This is a pack of lies straight from the pit of hell!”

  But Fulsin’s story, and the DOJ’s willingness to use it, wasn’t the only problem. While Josh’s attorneys were convinced of Joshua’s innocence, they had repeatedly voiced doubts about their chances of proving it at trial. Sensing a near-certain verdict of guilt based on Fulsin’s sworn statements, they had badgered Abigail to pressure her husband into accepting a plea bargain, pleading guilty to a lesser charge in return for a recommended sentence of two years in prison. In response, Abigail fired them all and took over her husband’s case herself. It was time to brush the cobwebs off her former career as a trial lawyer. Still, she knew she was on thin ice. She herself would almost certainly be called as a witness if the case ever came to trial, and ethics rules made it difficult, if not impossible, for her to wear both hats at once.

  But then, she never planned to allow Joshua’s case to get to trial anyway. The optimal strategy was to expose Fulsin’s lies and get the case dismissed. Until she could do that, she pleaded with Joshua to stay in Israel, his temporary home, where the government had given him asylum and refused the U.S. government’s extradition requests. It tortured her to be separated from him. Her lawyer’s brain told her that if Joshua were to rush into a courtroom now, it would be disastrous — the machinery of the entire government would be mounted against him, and he would end up spending the rest of his life in prison for a crime that didn’t exist.

  Because of the legal restrictions placed on her by a court order naming her as a “material witness” in her husband’s case, and prohibiting her from leaving the United States, she and Joshua had to live at opposite ends of the world. Their lengthy separation, limited to chatting by videofone or email, was killing her. She was tired of it, right down to her soul. And so was Josh. He would always say that he missed her like crazy and kept threatening to ignore her professional advice and return to America and, in his words, just fly right into the flak. But she would talk sense to him and urge him to give her a little more time to figure things out.