Fires of War by Jim DeFelice, Larry Bond Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jim DeFelice, Larry Bond
already hung up.
~ * ~
11
SOUTH CHUNGCHONG PROVINCE, SOUTH KOREA
Thera got up and went into the shower, not wanting to have to wait for her roommate. She let the hot water pummel her face, then backed off the heat until the water sent shivers through her body, shaking away the fear and paranoia she’d stewed in all night. She saw the tags in her hand, saw herself slipping them under the mattress, moving on. It was going to be easy, easiest thing she’d ever done, a piece of cake.
She’d have to take her roommate to dinner, make sure she was out of the way.
Bring her to karaoke with Evora.
Ugh, if she could stand it. Thera’s head was OK, but her stomach felt as if it had been pushed up into her chest. Too much kimchi.
Done with her shower, Thera dressed and headed downstairs to the coffee shop, where the team gathered for breakfast before assembling in one of the hotel conference rooms and starting out. As she stuck her cup under the spout of the coffee urn, Dr. Norkelus tapped her on the shoulder.
“A word, please.”
Thera finished filling her cup, then took a teaspoon and a small amount of sugar, stirring meticulously before placing the cup on a saucer. Norkelus stared at her the whole time, his expression similar to the look a vice principal might give when calling a student out of study hall for cutting up. Finally he tilted his long nose downward, then swung around and walked toward the exit.
Thera followed, sure she was going to be scolded, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. Had someone seen her smoking with the guard? Or was last night the problem? Norkelus had a puritanical streak. He walked with a gait so stiff it reminded her of some of the Greek Orthodox priests who’d taught her religion when she was young, righteous, sanctimonious old bastards who once made a girl spit out her bubblegum and stick it on her head for chewing in class.
Norkelus went into an empty conference room. Thera nearly bumped into him just inside the door.
“Tony is sick. I’ll need you to compile the logs and e-mail them to New York and the Hague,” he told her.
“Tony’s sick?” Thera managed, caught off guard.
“The UN secretary general wants the briefings. Here are my notes.”
He handed her a small flash-memory card, used by the team’s voice recorders.
“OK, sure,” said Thera. “I’ll get to work on it as soon as I get back.”
“It has to go out by noon, our time.”
“Noon?”
Norkelus tilted his head slightly. He didn’t comprehend her question, or rather why she was asking it. The secretaries weren’t needed on the inspections for anything more than running errands; here was real work that needed to be done.
And besides, she was a secretary; he was the boss.
“It has to be out of here by noon, or they have to get it by noon their time?” asked Thera.
“Our time.”
“In New York, it’ll be, say ten at night.”
“You have an objection?”
“No, of course not.”
“When you’re done, you can help make sure everything is ready for the trip North. We should be back by three.”
“I can go out to the site to help break down the equipment.”
“Unnecessary,” said Norkelus. “Thank you, though.”
Thera tried to think of an excuse, any excuse, to get out to the site, but nothing would come.
“Is there a problem?” asked Norkelus in his coldest you-better-not voice.
“It’s only that it may not be enough time,” said Thera. “To have the report done by noon.”
“I’m afraid it will have to be.”
~ * ~
12
DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA
Ferguson spread the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal out on the table in the Korean Palace Hotel’s restaurant and opened to the editorial page. The editors had decided to denounce the nonproliferation treaty with North Korea, claiming that it was a “poorly worded document more
~ * ~
11
SOUTH CHUNGCHONG PROVINCE, SOUTH KOREA
Thera got up and went into the shower, not wanting to have to wait for her roommate. She let the hot water pummel her face, then backed off the heat until the water sent shivers through her body, shaking away the fear and paranoia she’d stewed in all night. She saw the tags in her hand, saw herself slipping them under the mattress, moving on. It was going to be easy, easiest thing she’d ever done, a piece of cake.
She’d have to take her roommate to dinner, make sure she was out of the way.
Bring her to karaoke with Evora.
Ugh, if she could stand it. Thera’s head was OK, but her stomach felt as if it had been pushed up into her chest. Too much kimchi.
Done with her shower, Thera dressed and headed downstairs to the coffee shop, where the team gathered for breakfast before assembling in one of the hotel conference rooms and starting out. As she stuck her cup under the spout of the coffee urn, Dr. Norkelus tapped her on the shoulder.
“A word, please.”
Thera finished filling her cup, then took a teaspoon and a small amount of sugar, stirring meticulously before placing the cup on a saucer. Norkelus stared at her the whole time, his expression similar to the look a vice principal might give when calling a student out of study hall for cutting up. Finally he tilted his long nose downward, then swung around and walked toward the exit.
Thera followed, sure she was going to be scolded, though she wasn’t exactly sure why. Had someone seen her smoking with the guard? Or was last night the problem? Norkelus had a puritanical streak. He walked with a gait so stiff it reminded her of some of the Greek Orthodox priests who’d taught her religion when she was young, righteous, sanctimonious old bastards who once made a girl spit out her bubblegum and stick it on her head for chewing in class.
Norkelus went into an empty conference room. Thera nearly bumped into him just inside the door.
“Tony is sick. I’ll need you to compile the logs and e-mail them to New York and the Hague,” he told her.
“Tony’s sick?” Thera managed, caught off guard.
“The UN secretary general wants the briefings. Here are my notes.”
He handed her a small flash-memory card, used by the team’s voice recorders.
“OK, sure,” said Thera. “I’ll get to work on it as soon as I get back.”
“It has to go out by noon, our time.”
“Noon?”
Norkelus tilted his head slightly. He didn’t comprehend her question, or rather why she was asking it. The secretaries weren’t needed on the inspections for anything more than running errands; here was real work that needed to be done.
And besides, she was a secretary; he was the boss.
“It has to be out of here by noon, or they have to get it by noon their time?” asked Thera.
“Our time.”
“In New York, it’ll be, say ten at night.”
“You have an objection?”
“No, of course not.”
“When you’re done, you can help make sure everything is ready for the trip North. We should be back by three.”
“I can go out to the site to help break down the equipment.”
“Unnecessary,” said Norkelus. “Thank you, though.”
Thera tried to think of an excuse, any excuse, to get out to the site, but nothing would come.
“Is there a problem?” asked Norkelus in his coldest you-better-not voice.
“It’s only that it may not be enough time,” said Thera. “To have the report done by noon.”
“I’m afraid it will have to be.”
~ * ~
12
DAEJEON, SOUTH KOREA
Ferguson spread the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal out on the table in the Korean Palace Hotel’s restaurant and opened to the editorial page. The editors had decided to denounce the nonproliferation treaty with North Korea, claiming that it was a “poorly worded document more
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