“It’s worth a try. Let’s hope the Supreme Leader and the Great Leader are watching down upon us.”

  “Let’s hope.” Choe leaned in. “But just in case, fly this thing like you normally would. No evasive maneuvers, don’t change altitude, don’t increase or decrease your speed. Just stick to the flight plan.” Choe stepped out of the cockpit and closed the door. He pulled out his satellite phone and held it out for their prisoner. “Call whoever you have to call and tell them to back off.”

  Burkett stared up at him from his seat and snickered. “Nothing I can say will change their minds.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because they probably read my file.”

  “And what does your file say?”

  “I’m sure it says a lot of things, but two things are of importance. The first is that I’m all about the work.”

  Choe’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I don’t care who I’m working for, as long as I’m allowed to work. I live for the science, so whether I’m doing that science for the country I was born in, or for the country that imprisons me, I really don’t care. In a hundred years, in a thousand years, it won’t matter. All that matters is that the science moves forward. Your country chose wisely when it chose me. Most other scientists would hold out, try to trick you, refuse to cooperate. Me?” Burkett shrugged. “I simply don’t care about such things. Geopolitics never interested me. All I care about is the science.

  “How many German scientists after World War II, even during World War II, worked with the allies on the nuclear bomb, then worked with the Americans and the Russians on their rocket programs? They didn’t care either. They were there for the science, though I will agree self-preservation played some part in most of their cases, and self-preservation plays a part for me as well. I must survive. I must continue to work. Whether it benefits your country now and mine in a decade or in a century, I don’t care as long as somebody benefits and the science pushes forward.

  “Minds like mine are rare, and they come once or twice in a generation. It can’t be wasted. It will cost humanity far too much. In time, all countries fall, all hatreds end, all alliances crumble. It’s the nature of things. Eventually, any knowledge that I develop for you will make it into the hands of others and spread throughout the world, and the human species will advance because of it. You kidnapping me can’t be allowed to interfere with that work.”

  “And what’s the second thing?”

  “Your file will indicate that I’m an arrogant asshole that nobody likes. I can guarantee you, there will be nobody back home agitating on my behalf. Once you have me, you have me, and they know that.”

  “If you’re so important to the future of mankind, what makes you think they wouldn’t try to get you back?”

  “Because those making the decisions are morons.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “They’re government. Politicians and bureaucrats. You can’t expect them to make decisions based on what’s best for mankind. They make decisions based on what’s best for them and their immediate political future. I fully expect that we’ll be dead in the next few minutes unless someone far more intelligent than would normally be involved is able to change their minds and think past the immediate problem. Washington needs a grandmaster chess player in the game instead of all the checkers players they normally have.”

  Choe pocketed the satphone. This man wasn’t going to make any calls, and even if he did, his unparalleled arrogance would likely get them shot down sooner than they otherwise would.

  The pilot’s voice crackled over the speakers. “It looks like they’re lining up for their shot. Say your goodbyes now. This should be over quickly. It’s been an honor, gentlemen.”

  Burkett closed his eyes and leaned his head back, his slight smile suggesting he was pleased he had been proven correct. Choe sat in his seat and pulled out his wallet. He retrieved a photo and ran three fingers across its surface, touching the faces of his wife and two daughters that he hadn’t seen in years. His assignment as a sleeper agent in the United States meant a tremendous sacrifice for his family. The Americans preferred to send agents that had no family ties, but with North Korea it was the exact opposite. Family ties guaranteed you’d return. The temptations of life in the West were great, but unlike the average American, he had been trained to pay attention to the inequalities. To see how the poor were left to rot in their own filth, how the elderly were abandoned by their families and the system they had paid for all their lives. In North Korea, everyone was treated equally. Everyone was provided for equally. Yes, life could be hard, but no one was left behind.

  He missed his family dearly and he couldn’t wait to see them, yet now he’d have to wait to see them in the afterlife, if there even was such a thing. This was supposed to be his last mission. He had been activated, his identity compromised. He was supposed to come home a hero with the rewards promised him for his selfless service to the state, and be reunited with his wife and daughters.

  “Brace yourselves.”

  He closed his eyes and thought of the promise he had made to his wife the day he left. A promise he was about to break.

  I’ll be back. Trust me.

  25 |

  Operations Center 2, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia

  Leroux burst into the operations center and pointed at Tong. “Bring up Secure Pentagon Feed Bravo Victor Five-Four-Five.”

  Tong tapped at her keyboard as Leroux came to a stop in the center of the room, turning to face the displays. “It’s audio only.”

  “Let me hear it and show me everything we’ve got on that plane.”

  The speakers crackled overhead. “Stand by, Hotel-Sierra-One. We’re still waiting for confirmation, over.”

  “Copy that, standing by.”

  “What’s going on?” asked Tong as the main displays filled with various feeds showing the current location of the charter plane carrying Burkett. “The president has just ordered them to splash that plane.”

  Child cursed. “Then you might as well tell Bravo Team to turn around. The North Koreans are going to kill Kane the moment they get word we’re willing to kill anyone he targets.”

  “The Chief and I are of the same opinion. He’s meeting with the director right now then heading into a teleconference with the president to try to get him to change his mind.”

  “But should we?” asked Therrien. “I mean, not to sound cold-hearted here, but if we don’t take out that plane, the North Koreans are going to have access to one of the top nuclear physicists in the world. Isn’t the risk of that too dangerous to let happen just because we’re not sure what Kane’s up to? I mean, let’s be honest here. If this were almost any other person, we wouldn’t even be thinking twice.”

  Leroux bristled at the accusation then calmed himself, for Therrien was right. They were biased, especially himself, which was why his team wouldn’t be involved in the final kill order. Morrison didn’t trust him to give the order, and frankly, he didn’t trust himself. Kane was his best friend, the only friend he had ever had, and killing him was unthinkable. “You’re right. If it were any other asset that we weren’t as familiar with, we wouldn’t be having these conversations, but there’s a reason for that and it’s not entirely bias. We know Kane. Hell, I’ve known him for years. Since high school. And he’s my best friend. I can’t say that about any other asset. In fact, most of the assets we deal with, I’ve never met and never spoken to outside of the communications you hear in this room. That means I don’t know them. You don’t know them. So, we have to go entirely based upon the facts at hand. But in this case, we do know him. We know it’s completely out of character. We know there were no warning signs. So, it opens up the possibility that something else is going on here. Should we ignore what we know about the man just because normally we wouldn’t have that type of human intel?”

  Therrien raised his hands slightly as he sighed. “You’re right. We shouldn’t ignore it. All I’m saying is that maybe we need to compartmentalize things a bit. Look at this situation and ignore Kane. Let’s assess the risk to our country and to the world. Should this scientist be allowed to reach North Korea?”

  Child grunted. “Dude, I hope you’re never in charge if somebody kidnaps me.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means we’re not talking about a hard drive filled with data here, we’re talking about an innocent human being. And we should just kill him?”

  “We’re prepared to kill Kane and we know him.”

  “Yes, but Kane might not be innocent. This guy is. He’s done nothing wrong, and we’re about to blow him out of the sky? Doesn’t he at least deserve a chance?”

  “I don’t think any of that matters anymore,” said Tong, pointing at the speakers overhead.

  Leroux cocked an ear to hear what he had missed.

  “—repeat. Abort! Abort! Abort! Return to base. Acknowledge, over!”

  “Copy that, Command. Abort order acknowledged. Flight Hotel-Sierra returning to base, over.”

  Leroux’s shoulders slumped as he exhaled heavily. Burkett would live, at least for now, and while the president had been willing to kill the man, the North Koreans would assume they had called America’s bluff and won. It should hopefully mean they would trust that anyone Kane named in the future could also be successfully brought in without worrying that the American government would shoot down an entire airplane.

  He had a feeling, though, the North Koreans would be more careful next time. This was the test. A snatch and grab of an extremely valuable asset, and America had let them do it. Unfortunately, by reacting the way they had, they had rendered useless the test he had planned. If the plane had landed in China, then it meant the North Koreans were trying to hide the fact they had kidnapped Burkett, which suggested Kane telling Morrison meant he was working independently of the North Koreans. But now that the North Koreans were fully aware that the American government was aware, there was no longer any need for them to land in China. They would simply land in North Korea now, and there would be no way to tell if it was the plan all along.

  He sat at his station and closed his eyes for a moment. He yawned then checked his watch. “Okay. We’re due to switch shifts soon. Prepare your briefing reports for your replacements on anything you want them to continue working on. Remember, we’ve been sequestered, so rack time, mealtime, happy times are all within the building. No one’s allowed to leave and all outgoing calls will be monitored. Everyone report back here in eight hours, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, so we’re ready to deal with that plane landing and Bravo Team getting into position. Get your rest because I don’t know when we’ll be sleeping again.” His phone vibrated with a secure message from Sherrie.

  We’ve got something. Need to talk to you on secure line.

  For her to want him to communicate in a way the CIA couldn’t monitor had to mean she had discovered something about the suspected mole, and the very idea there was somebody within their midst that they couldn’t trust, shook him to his core.

  26 |

  Kane’s off-the-books Operations Center Outside Bethesda, Maryland

  Sherrie stared at the screen, scrolling up and down through the phone records that Tommy had managed to gather. The guy was an extraordinary hacker and could gain access to pretty much any system in the world if given enough time. Telephone company records were child’s play. The messages signaling him to send the corresponding outgoing message were all coming in over a satellite feed using one of the dishes on the roof of the container they were in. That had made it slightly more challenging according to Tommy, but because Kane didn’t own his own satellite, every data packet was wrapped, giving the source.

  That source, of course, wasn’t the originating phone. It was merely the originating terminal that had sent the data packet to the satellite. It had taken him some time, but he had finally found the originating phone, and the implications were as horrifying as they had feared.

  A secure phone buzzed at the workstation and she grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”

  “Hey, it’s me. I’m secure at this end.”

  She checked the indicators on the panel, nothing showing any evidence of a suspected tap. “We’re good here.”

  “What’s so important you have me breaking protocol?”

  Sherrie smiled at her boyfriend’s question as she stared at the screen again. “We tracked the source phone number.”

  “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  She shook her head. “No. Tommy managed to find out that it was a burner phone activated three weeks ago.”

  “Do we know by whom?”

  “No, looks like it was paid for and activated with cash.”

  “Anything from the usage that could help us?”

  “This is what you’re not going to like. Every single one of the messages sent here were all sent by this phone. It looks like they would turn on the phone, send the message, then turn it off. We’re talking a minute at a time, tops.”

  “And the location?”

  “Every one of the messages was transmitted from a cellphone tower at Langley.”

  Leroux cursed. “I knew there was a mole, but I was hoping it was in DC. So, this means Dylan’s working with someone inside headquarters.”

  “Do you think they could be North Korean?”

  “Anything’s possible. It all depends on what side of things he’s on. If he is indeed working for the North Koreans, then using one of their assets is a possibility, though it wouldn’t really make much sense.”

  Sherrie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, none of these messages benefit the North Koreans, so why would they agree to have one of their assets assist in sending them? Also, if it were a North Korean asset, it would mean he had made contact with them before he arrived on that bridge. If that were the case, that’s not how he would have made entry. He would’ve just flown to China using one of his covers, then met them at the border. He wouldn’t have had to parachute in. Everything he’s done so far was dramatic. He wanted to be seen. He wanted us to know what he was doing, and there’s no way the North Koreans would’ve agreed to that.”

  “So, what are we saying?”

  There was a pause as her boyfriend collected his thoughts. “What I’m saying is that I don’t believe he’s using a North Korean asset. He’s using somebody inside the Agency.”

  “Wittingly?”

  “It would have to be wittingly. He’s not telling them when to send the messages. The mole is monitoring events then sending the message to Tommy.”

  “So then we might have two traitors.”

  “Possibly. Though if Kane is still on our side, that person could be helping him because it’s the right thing to do. We need to figure out who the hell that person is because they might be able to tell us what’s actually going on.”

  “But how do we find out if they’ve always got their phone turned off?”

  “We’re going to have to be ready for when the next message is sent.”

  “But how are we going to know when that is?”

  “My guess is the moment that plane crosses into North Korean airspace, we’re going to receive a message.”

  “What are you going to do in the meantime?”

  “Get some sleep. Call me if anything happens and have Tommy keep searching to see if there was any other activity with that phone. Also, have him check and see if any other phones were purchased and activated around the same time in the same area. We might get lucky.”

  “I’ll tell him.”

  “I’m going to get some sleep and I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Sherrie ended the call then turned to the others. “We’ve got work to do.”

  27 |

  Pothong Riverside Terraced Residential District Pyongyang, North Korea

  “Mr. Kane, I’d like you to meet Yang Kwan.”

  Kane smiled broadly at the gorgeous woman standing in front of him. Pak had come through in a big way, and if she were half as intelligent as she was beautiful, she would definitely help pass the time.

  Kwan bowed deeply. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kane.”

  Kane returned the bow though not as deep. He was, after all, the master here. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, call me Dylan.” He reached out and took her by the hand, clasping it in both of his. “I hope over time we’ll become good friends.”

  She smiled. “That is my wish as well.”

  She was too confident to be in the sex trade—she was an intelligence asset, there was no doubt about it. She probably knew a thousand ways to kill him that he’d have no defense against. She would keep him on his toes—she’d be trained to keep him happy, sexually and emotionally, but also to test him.

  He’d have to be careful.

  But she was perfect for his purposes.

  He let go of her hand then surveyed his new digs. They were basic, but clean. It appeared to be a one-bedroom apartment, and the complex he had driven up to seemed modern and well maintained. It would seem his captors were making an attempt to keep him happy by American standards. Yet this was very basic, and though perhaps recently built, the stylings were Soviet-era—forty or fifty years out of date with a few modern touches like a flat panel screen mounted on one wall across from the couch.

  “This is decent. I assume, however, once our final agreement is made, I’ll be upgraded to something better.”

  Pak stepped deeper into the apartment. “I assure you, this is one of the finest buildings available.”

  Kane turned to the major and gave him a look. “You and I both know there’s better. And with what I’ll be doing for your country, it’s a small price to pay.”