Chapter
25
THE THREE MEN WERE IN the White House Situation Room again. And once more the NSC Watch teams had been walled off. There were no recordings being made. There were no other attendees. No official transcript would be kept.
Evan Tucker looked at the president, and the president stared back at him. The latter had not been told why this meeting had been called, only that it was urgent and needed to take place immediately. That was why they were sitting here now and why the president had canceled four meetings that he had been scheduled to attend.
“Care to take me out of the dark, Evan?” the president said in a clearly annoyed tone.
Josh Potter had already met with Tucker and thus knew what was coming. He had been uncomfortable not informing the president directly since he was the president’s man, but Tucker had browbeaten him into letting the DCI make the briefing.
And, in truth, Potter did not want to be the messenger on this debacle.
Tucker cleared his throat, which lately had felt like mold was growing there. He clasped his hands together and rubbed his two thumbs against one another so hard they turned bright pink.
“There have been developments of a critical nature related to the mission and none of them are good.”
All the color seemed to drain from the president’s face. He barked, “Explain that.”
Tucker said, “As you know, Lloyd Carson was the British envoy assigned to the embassy in Pyongyang. He has been our chief go-between with General Pak. Really our only go-between.”
The president said, “And I was initially incredulous. He should’ve gone to his own government with this. Then my esteemed colleague at 10 Downing Street could have dealt with it.”
“And as I explained, Carson was well aware that no one in his country would have the stomach to follow this through. So with his leader’s blessing he presented the opportunity to us.”
The president closed his eyes, his top row of teeth clamping onto his bottom lip. When he opened his eyes, his look was one of fury. “It always falls to us, doesn’t it? The good old USA, the world’s policeman. We’ll do the dirty work while everyone else stays safely on the sidelines. And if things go to hell feel free to turn on us or simply run away.”
Tucker nodded and said, “Superpower status carries great responsibility and much of it is unfair. But the fact remains we did follow it up because we saw a tremendous opportunity to get rid of a regime that has been a thorn in the civilized world’s side for decades. We knew there were risks, but we all felt that the benefits outweighed them.”
“Save the cover-your-ass speech, Evan,” snapped the president, “and tell me what happened.”
Tucker sat back and composed himself. The president had read him exactly right. That was his CYA speech, but at least he had said it.
“Lloyd Carson apparently got on the radar of the North Korean’s state security people.”
“How?”
“The entire country is one huge pool of paranoia where everyone spies on everyone else, sir. That’s built into their psyche from the cradle. It truly is like Orwell’s novel.”
“So he got on their radar. Then what?” said the president tersely.
“He was traveling outside the country. He had stops along the way, so he flew to Istanbul and boarded the Orient Express, which would take him first to eastern Europe and then on to western Europe, ending in Venice.”
“But he didn’t finish his ride?”
“He apparently felt compromised in Romania and got off. He went to a hotel. In his room there he was attacked. And killed.”
“My God,” exclaimed the president, and then he waited for Tucker to continue.
“Apparently he had called a number shortly before he was murdered.”
“Whose number?”
“General Pak’s. It was a special phone, untraceable.”
“All right. So what exactly is the problem?” said the president, looking puzzled.
“Apparently, their agent called the number. General Pak, thinking it was Carson, answered. And the agent recognized his voice.”
“Shit!” roared the president. “Are you serious, Tucker? That’s how it went down?” He slumped back in his chair, his eyes closed once more.
Tucker and Potter exchanged anxious glances. Each man was probably thinking about what his next career might be. Certainly it would be outside government.
Without opening his eyes the president said, “And if Carson was murdered and no one other than us knew about this mission, how did we learn about all this?”
Tucker knew the question was coming and he had prepared many answers, some longer than others. He had decided the shortest response would be the best.
“General Pak. When he learned that Carson had been murdered, he immediately recognized his mistake in answering the phone and reported to us.”
The president opened his eyes. “So what exactly does North Korea intend to do?”
“Well, this is only conjecture, but I imagine that they intend to tell the world what the plot was. That Western powers were planning to assassinate their Supreme Leader and install General Pak as the new leader. And even though Carson was a Brit, the term ‘Western powers’ would obviously include us.”
“And who would believe that?”
“Well, we’ve done it before,” pointed out Tucker. “In other countries.”
“But not for a long time,” replied the president. “That’s why there’s a law now that—” He broke off and muttered “Shit” again.
“Great Britain is our closest ally. No one would believe they would act without us on something like this,” added Potter.
“They will torture Pak and his family until he tells all he knows,” said Tucker. “He will have details, facts that will substantiate his position. He will tell them of the video conference here where you gave him your word—”
The president slammed his fist against the tabletop. “Don’t throw that in my face, Tucker; this is your screwup and yours only.”
“I absolutely agree with you, sir. Only—”
“Only what!” snapped the president.
Potter spoke, perhaps feeling that as the president’s advisor he needed to, well, advise. “Only the ultimate blame will fall to you, sir,” he said in an apologetic tone.
The president put a hand to his face and said, “Harry Truman, right? Buck stops here?”
Potter nodded and eyed Tucker severely. “Unfair, sir, but true. The DCI won’t be the main target. You will.”
The president opened his eyes and looked at Tucker.
“We certainly hoped for better, sir,” said Tucker lamely.
The president sighed and said resignedly, “So they tell the world. All right. They torture Pak and he gives them ammo for it. All right. I guess we wait and counterpunch when the blow comes. Do we know what the timing will be? I assume they already have Pak in custody.”
“He’s not in North Korea,” answered Tucker.
The president shot him a glance. “What?”
“He left North Korea both on official business and because of a medical condition that needed tending to and which he felt foreign doctors were better suited to treat. Because of his position within the leadership he was able to do that.”
“Well, where the hell is he?” sputtered the president, evidently still trying to process all of this.
“He’s in France.”
“But with what the North Koreans know, won’t he already be under arrest there?”
“He would have been, except he has unofficially left his entourage and is now in hiding.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because I needed you to fully understand the situation, sir, before I started to present possible solutions.”
Potter spoke up. “If he’s in hiding and not under North Korean arrest, why don’t we simply go get him and put him in hiding permanently?”
“With what explanation?” asked Tucker.
The president said, “Why the need for explanation at all? They don’t have to know that we have him.”
“Then they’ll simply release publicly that we attempted to use Pak to overthrow the government in violation of both international law and our own laws. And that we are now harboring him and granting him asylum in the United States.”
“And they won’t have a shred of proof.”
“Sir, they do not deal in facts. But consider this. If they do make the allegations, it will stir up a lot of attention. As you’ve said, Carson was a Brit. That will entangle our allies in London. He goes missing in France. Our Paris colleagues will be targeted. No one will believe that they acted without the United States. The media will have a field day. They will leave no stone unturned. Questions will be asked. Answers will have to be given. And if the truth comes out?” He looked at both Potter and the president. “I personally do not want to go to prison over this.”
The president jerked to his feet, put his hands in his pockets, and began to pace, agitation all over his features. “I can’t believe this situation, I really cannot believe that I allowed myself to be put in this…in this untenable, bullshit position.”
“I think that we must remain calm and think this through,” said Potter, though his face was very pale.