CHAPTER 53
WEDNESDAY
Langley, Virginia
Sara felt the atmosphere in the Command Room lighten. She replayed the unbelievable day in her mind repeatedly. She felt less tense now that Tom had made it into the facility and was now almost past the ridge on the way back. They all saw the facility, and Tom had captured intelligence as well as a counter-intelligence soldier. She realized this was the first time that day that they felt as though they were succeeding. She remembered how they wanted to abort the mission immediately, but it was Tom who willed it to continue.
From the helmet camera footage on the main screen, she could see that dusk had arrived. The sun seemed to be peeking over the horizon, but it had not quite risen yet.
She continued to try to think of a way to get both Tom and Kim out of North Korea. Anderson did not want them to go to the village and get a boat because it exposed them too much. He did not want the Virginia to send a raft to get them out because he was afraid the North Korean navy would capture it and the sailors aboard. She was struggling to think of a solution because the only real way out was to get to the Virginia. As she thought, she realized there was no way to get to the Virginia other than on some type of boat. There did not seem to be a solution.
The door to the Command Room creaked open and one of Mr. Park’s analysts walked in. This was the first time Sara had seen one of Mr. Park’s analysts outside of the special conference room set up for them. The analyst had taken off his tie, undone several buttons on his shirt, and rolled his sleeves up. His hair was no longer combed as it looked like a hand had been running through it for days. Sara even noticed small bags under his eyes. Sara wondered when they would be able to sleep again. But what Sara found strange was that this analyst seemed to have a small grin on his face. He did not look as stiff as he did before in the conference room. Sara watched as the analyst walked up to Mr. Park and got his attention. Mr. Park had been transfixed at the screen in front of the room. The analyst said something to Mr. Park in Korean. It sounded like several sentences. Mr. Park did not reply at first but then started nodding his head slowly. He said something quick back to the analyst, who then left the room. Sara noticed Anderson was watching Mr. Park. Mr. Park turned to Anderson and quietly said,
“They figured it out. My analysts and I can leave now. Once they pack up we’ll head for the airport.”
“That’s good. Good luck.” Anderson said just as quietly. They both turned their attention back to the screen.
What did they figure out? I thought we figured everything out.
Sara watched the screen too, but she tried to figure out what that conversation referred to.
On the screen they all watched as Kim turned to Tom and asked if they could stop for a drink. They were in an open space within the woods. Tom agreed and they both stopped moving. Tom got on his knee and reached for his water container after putting down his rifle. As Tom’s torso was turned while reaching for his water, Captain Kim’s fist flew into Tom’s face.
Everyone in the Command Room stopped talking and those that were sitting stood up. On the screen, through Tom’s helmet camera, everyone watched as Tom was lying with his back on the ground. Captain Kim was on top of him, looking down. To everyone in the Command Room it looked like Captain Kim was looking at them. Captain Kim put all his weight on Tom and started punching wildly. Sara did not notice that she covered her mouth with her hands.
Tom’s hands rose and started to block the blows, but Captain Kim seemed to have turned into an enraged animal. He was punching and yelling. At first he was shrieking, but then he started to yell what sounded like phrases.
Mr. Park turned to Anderson. “He just yelled out ‘I have the American. Everyone come help me.’”